Reviews

Ethan has a slight gambling addiction that takes him straight into the debt valley when he decides to play just a little. Faced with telling his wife what he's done and accepting that he's a loser, he's suddenly offered a brilliant opportunity. He can win back more, without investing any money, by playing a little game. The cost? Only 1% chance of losing and if he loses, the house gets to break his arm badly. But that's just the tip of the iceberg and there are more prizes and more penalties on the horizon and all of a sudden, Ethan discovers he's ready to turn his life around and swear off gambling for good.

The writing was well done with enough detail to be cringy and tense, but doesn't once dip into the extreme so this can be read by the general audience. It's a heart-pounding ride that rushes you from one desperate situation to another, giving a well-rounded view of our players and what's at stake.

Despite how well-written it is and how likeable our characters are (loved Jenny and how she understood her husband, being both his support and his reprimand), this feels like something I have read before or watched before. As someone who picks up on patterns and trends, I recognized early on how the novel would end and waited for something else to change the course but the odds were very well placed in my favor of being right.

This is a very well-done book and quite enjoyable, just feels overly familiar and was predictable. Would recommend for a quick, fun read.

littlespookysmut's review against another edition

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4.0

This reminded me of squid games a bit and I really enjoyed it! The ending was to be expected I guess like if he wasn’t gonna die, he would probably join their demented game.

hobbitselevenses's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

sea_caummisar's review against another edition

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4.0

This book had a super fun start.
A man loses too much money in a casino, but gets an offer too good to be true.
It was exactly that. Too good to be true. The man gets caught up in a game.
All over money.
It was fun, but some parts were over the top. Dark humor, I guess.
The ending was too much action for my taste, but it was left open for a sequel, which I would probably read if there was one.

joanneburns's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

scottmh's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

4.0

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