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brittanylee0302's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This book was pretty good but it was kind of poorly written. I know it was supposed to be written for a 1960s time period but some of the things mentioned felt unnecessary. The beginning of this book really dragged & everything mentioned was very much predictable. The surprises really didn't come until the very end. It made it hard to power through 70% of the book. It was also hard to follow because there were soooo many characters & they all didn't feel necessary to the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Sexism
Moderate: Gaslighting and Rape
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Mental illness
annaconaway19's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest and Child abuse
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Mental illness
hookedbybooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I kept thinking on this review for a while. But here it is. This one was underwhelming and I found it problematic.
Most of the plot was used to create shock value, but besides the plot holes and the naive journalist MC this had so many problems. For example - overused untrustworthy narrator. Eventually it is all forced into "mental health" issue. And I hate that. Besides trying to be patronizing due to the times, do we really need to use that trope?
I also found the use of racial slurs unnecessary for the plot or character growth. It was useless, besides pointing out the times in which the book is set.
Here are some TW as well (might get spoilery, so beware): Incest, kidnapping, mental abuse, racial slurs, mention of suicide, mental health. If I'm missing any, my bad.
Overall I found it a fast read, a page turner. But the horror of this book came not from the creepy town, and the following eyes, but from the bad plot and just overall vibe of this story.
Most of the plot was used to create shock value, but besides the plot holes and the naive journalist MC this had so many problems. For example - overused untrustworthy narrator. Eventually it is all forced into "mental health" issue. And I hate that. Besides trying to be patronizing due to the times, do we really need to use that trope?
I also found the use of racial slurs unnecessary for the plot or character growth. It was useless, besides pointing out the times in which the book is set.
Here are some TW as well (might get spoilery, so beware): Incest, kidnapping, mental abuse, racial slurs, mention of suicide, mental health. If I'm missing any, my bad.
Overall I found it a fast read, a page turner. But the horror of this book came not from the creepy town, and the following eyes, but from the bad plot and just overall vibe of this story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest and Racial slurs
Minor: Kidnapping, Suicide, and Mental illness
I kept thinking on this review for a while. But here it is. This one was underwhelming and I found it problematic. Most of the plot was used to create shock value, but besides the plot holes and the naive journalist MC this had so many problems. For example - overused untrustworthy narrator. Eventually it is all forced into "mental health" issue. And I hate that. Besides trying to be patronizing due to the times, do we really need to use that trope? I also found the use of racial slurs unnecessary for the plot or character growth. It was useless, besides pointing out the times in which the book is set. Here are some TW as well (might get spoilery, so beware): Incest, kidnapping, mental abuse, racial slurs, mention of suicide, mental health. If I'm missing any, my bad. Overall I found it a fast read, a page turner. But the horror of this book came not from the creepy town, and the following eyes, but from the bad plot and just overall vibe of this story.
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