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tatyanavogt's review
4.0
Rating 4.5 - I very much enjoyed this book. I was captivated by the mystery, liked the character development, and enjoyed the overall feel of the book. I don't read a lot of mystery books and this one made me want to change that.
I would highly recommend :)
I would highly recommend :)
gillianalice's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I have some mixed feelings about this book. I listened to it rather than reading it, so did I not like it because I didn't get any of the interactive elements? I feel like I missed something.
I would have sworn this book was written by a man. McGrath was way too convincing as a mediocre male protagonist who somehow manages to convince people to talk to him without actually doing any convincing, or break the law with literally no consequences. Seriously, how did he get away with doing any of the stuff he did? Also, the bit where the nineteen-year-old decides she's in love with him and throws herself at him? Classic male author nonsense. Same with the general disdain McGrath seems to have towards women in general. There were far too many "lol ex-wife bad" jokes. I could write that off as something that is very in character for McGrath, but I just hate those jokes, and I'm tired of books where the protagonist is a man who hates women.
None of these characters were likeable, or particularly fleshed out. Scot McGrath is a dick, but somehow consistently gets away with being awful to everyone around him. How did he bring his kid into those dangerous situations and then not lose custody of her? The ex-wife and daughter felt like they were only introduced as a Tragic Backstory and to make McGrath seem more...likeable, I guess? It didn't work. Nora and Hopper were fine, I guess, but they were so one-dimensional that I didn't really care about them. And the "big reveal" with Hopper's relationship to Ashley was so...meh.
The plot was confusing and moved way too slowly. I never really knew what McGrath was trying to do. What was the purpose? There was no real mystery to be solved, just McGrath's weird obsession with Cordova. All of the clues that they found didn't seem to actually lead to anything. And again, none of the clues seemed particularly hard to find since people would just magically lose their bad attitude and talk to him when he asked questions.
The suspense at the end was good, but by then I was so tired of McGrath that I couldn't really appreciate it. The only reason this is 2 stars is that I couldn't quite bring myself to DNF it.
I would have sworn this book was written by a man. McGrath was way too convincing as a mediocre male protagonist who somehow manages to convince people to talk to him without actually doing any convincing, or break the law with literally no consequences. Seriously, how did he get away with doing any of the stuff he did? Also, the bit where the nineteen-year-old decides she's in love with him and throws herself at him? Classic male author nonsense. Same with the general disdain McGrath seems to have towards women in general. There were far too many "lol ex-wife bad" jokes. I could write that off as something that is very in character for McGrath, but I just hate those jokes, and I'm tired of books where the protagonist is a man who hates women.
None of these characters were likeable, or particularly fleshed out. Scot McGrath is a dick, but somehow consistently gets away with being awful to everyone around him. How did he bring his kid into those dangerous situations and then not lose custody of her? The ex-wife and daughter felt like they were only introduced as a Tragic Backstory and to make McGrath seem more...likeable, I guess? It didn't work. Nora and Hopper were fine, I guess, but they were so one-dimensional that I didn't really care about them. And the "big reveal" with Hopper's relationship to Ashley was so...meh.
The plot was confusing and moved way too slowly. I never really knew what McGrath was trying to do. What was the purpose? There was no real mystery to be solved, just McGrath's weird obsession with Cordova. All of the clues that they found didn't seem to actually lead to anything. And again, none of the clues seemed particularly hard to find since people would just magically lose their bad attitude and talk to him when he asked questions.
The suspense at the end was good, but by then I was so tired of McGrath that I couldn't really appreciate it. The only reason this is 2 stars is that I couldn't quite bring myself to DNF it.
alyfany's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mair_mcc's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
buzzman23's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The ending of this book fell flat on its face. Somehow it picked itself back up and threw a knockout haymaker.
monkeyfeet2's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
kdickerson38's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Interactive/multimedia; dark, mysterious, deep, thought-provoking, gripping, and immersive; supernatural/dark magic themes; loved the writing style; great imagery and descriptive writing; such a roller coaster- kept me on the edge of my seat wondering wtf would happen next; lost my mind right alongside the MC; the plot, experience, and conclusion are all such a mind fuck
astheplotthickens24's review
5.0
Mind fucking blown. I'm suppose to be at school by 6 am but it's already 7am and I hadn't had any sleep because of this awesome, mind boggling, emotionally rattling book. I'll probably skip school today and yes that's bad but I need rest. Lol
PS: I look like a panda and I've been awake for 26 hours
----
Never in my seventeen years of life have I ever read a book that made me freaking catatonic. I’ve never felt this way before, even when I finished reading Angels and Demons by Dan Brown but holy guacamole Night Film is one of the best books I’ve read this year.
The plot sounds simple, Scott McGrath is a disgraced reporter who decided to investigate the mysterious suicide case of Ashley Cordova, the beautiful daughter of a famous horror film director and creator Stanislas Cordova. During the chase he met two individuals Nora and Hooper who helped him figure his way out through the case. A lot of plotwists happened and a lot of them are so freaking unexpected.
Night Film turned from a factual and logical investigaton into a bizarre, voodoo related case and it was not the direction that I’m expecting the author to go through --but then anything that happened in this book are not to my expectations-- which is so freaking good by the way.
I’ve felt a lot of emotions while reading this novel and I stayed up for 26 hours to just finish it, not to mention skipped school (huh, bad girl, yeah). The author’s writing is suspenseful, hilarous and powerful. The back stories of the supporting characters are so well written and they have the power to make you feel a lot, especially what the characters felt at that moment.
This book ended Cordova style and it was mind boggling and maddening. I love it.
PS: I look like a panda and I've been awake for 26 hours
----
”Do I dare?”
Never in my seventeen years of life have I ever read a book that made me freaking catatonic. I’ve never felt this way before, even when I finished reading Angels and Demons by Dan Brown but holy guacamole Night Film is one of the best books I’ve read this year.
The plot sounds simple, Scott McGrath is a disgraced reporter who decided to investigate the mysterious suicide case of Ashley Cordova, the beautiful daughter of a famous horror film director and creator Stanislas Cordova. During the chase he met two individuals Nora and Hooper who helped him figure his way out through the case. A lot of plotwists happened and a lot of them are so freaking unexpected.
Night Film turned from a factual and logical investigaton into a bizarre, voodoo related case and it was not the direction that I’m expecting the author to go through --but then anything that happened in this book are not to my expectations-- which is so freaking good by the way.
I’ve felt a lot of emotions while reading this novel and I stayed up for 26 hours to just finish it, not to mention skipped school (huh, bad girl, yeah). The author’s writing is suspenseful, hilarous and powerful. The back stories of the supporting characters are so well written and they have the power to make you feel a lot, especially what the characters felt at that moment.
This book ended Cordova style and it was mind boggling and maddening. I love it.
suzyq436's review
3.0
This started off well and then supernatural elements came into it and I switched off a bit after that but still accepted the direction this was going in. Then it switched direction again but not in a whiplash kind of way more like, "Haha, got you!"
I feel this book wanted to push envelope but did not succeed. It also felt like the book didn't know which direction it wanted to go in - the super scary route with supernatural vibes or the thriller/mystery route.
Quite an underwhelming experience overall.
I feel this book wanted to push envelope but did not succeed. It also felt like the book didn't know which direction it wanted to go in - the super scary route with supernatural vibes or the thriller/mystery route.
Quite an underwhelming experience overall.
rachlmrie's review
4.0
A truly solid 4 star read. I loved it, was sucked in from the opening and needed to know how it resolved. The mystery, the dark themes, the characters, the vivid and immersive settings throughout New York, the multimedia — ALL delightful, if you’re into that.
I have to deduct a star though because, as other reviews mention, it was unnecessarily long. I enjoyed how detailed the book was as it really immersed me — I could picture everything. BUT there were times I was annoyed by the ongoing and way too in depth details that added nothing to the story.
Overall, definitely recommend!
I have to deduct a star though because, as other reviews mention, it was unnecessarily long. I enjoyed how detailed the book was as it really immersed me — I could picture everything. BUT there were times I was annoyed by the ongoing and way too in depth details that added nothing to the story.
Overall, definitely recommend!