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stepriot's review
5.0
The opening is a little shaky, I often have trouble with young people in mortifying situations, but once we get the flashbacks I was all in. The horror is fantastic. It made me supremely uncomfortable but I had to know more. I think Ms. DeMeester was a little loud in her messaging about women not being taken seriously, but some people do need to be beaten over the head with it to get it. I can't get over how much I adore the monster. I love the nebulousness of the threats. Mixing the existential with the visceral isn't easy to do and I'll be happy to look into more of Ms. DeMeester's works!
babs_reviews's review
3.0
Not sure if what I just read would be considered horror or not...enough of the gore explained it counts I guess.
There were things here that I liked and things that I didn't.
For me, the dual timeline is a favorite if executed well. This dual timeline was off - there wasn't the same amount of drive or pace. It was slow horror, though I'd more classify as cross between thriller and coming of age and even supernatural.
I liked the plot idea here, a serial killer targeting young girls who act out. That part of the synopsis is what drew me in. However, there is a lot of confusion around this. It really isn't discussed as such and so most of the book leaves you wondering why they are being killed. The connection between timelines took forever to discover.
A few tweaks here and there and I would have been much more invested in the story. That's not to say that YOU won't enjoy it. So, if you are reading this review, and enjoy horror/thriller then I would suggest giving it a try, then come back and discuss with me!
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Kristi DeMeester for the gifted copy!
There were things here that I liked and things that I didn't.
For me, the dual timeline is a favorite if executed well. This dual timeline was off - there wasn't the same amount of drive or pace. It was slow horror, though I'd more classify as cross between thriller and coming of age and even supernatural.
I liked the plot idea here, a serial killer targeting young girls who act out. That part of the synopsis is what drew me in. However, there is a lot of confusion around this. It really isn't discussed as such and so most of the book leaves you wondering why they are being killed. The connection between timelines took forever to discover.
A few tweaks here and there and I would have been much more invested in the story. That's not to say that YOU won't enjoy it. So, if you are reading this review, and enjoy horror/thriller then I would suggest giving it a try, then come back and discuss with me!
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Kristi DeMeester for the gifted copy!
kaelaceleste's review
3.0
Mixed feelings about this... it's really not a full-fledged horror but more like magical realism with horror. I enjoyed the writing, but the story was just a little off. I didn't fully understand what I was getting into for the first half-ish and there were a lot of things going on that didn't really pay off by the end. The back and forth timeline was confusing, and despite only having two POVs I frequently got mixed up about who I was listening to. I liked the feminist undertones, but I hesitate to call them undertones at all, because the whole thing felt pretty in-your-face and overt to me. I also really didn't like the ending and especially the epilogue.
Overall I didn't dislike it, and I think there's good ideas in here somewhere. But it just felt not quite there for me! 2.5 and rounding up.
Overall I didn't dislike it, and I think there's good ideas in here somewhere. But it just felt not quite there for me! 2.5 and rounding up.
smthuriot's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
marieintheraw's review
3.0
I can tell that there is a clear discussion that this story poses on the cycles of abuse. However, some of it just does not work for me, in particular the duel-timelines.
I received an ecopy of this book via Netgalley; however, my opinions are my own.
I received an ecopy of this book via Netgalley; however, my opinions are my own.
icantcontroltheweather's review
3.0
Really great read but the ending spoiled it for me and I was left with a lot of unanswered questions