I picked this up hoping for a chilling read, something unsettling. While this did not hit the mark for me, it may for others.

It's a slow build. And by slow I mean that halfway in I still struggled to stay invested and wanted to put it down. I feel that this disinterest comes down to a few factors:

1) I didn't find the main character compelling or, at times, likeable. She could be grating, and often times her thoughts and actions were scarier than any of the pictures.

2) The build to a climax was nonexistent for most of the book. It was hard to understand what was happening, where the plot was leading, or what was trying to be accomplished. And this wasn't in the fun "keep ya guessing" way, it was just in the poorly written way.

3) The writing style wasn't my favorite. Writing in first-person was a stylistic choice that I don't think paid off, and choosing to do "reveals" about the main character's background 75% of the way in was a disservice to the character.

I will say that the most compelling character was Caroline - who is not the main character - and that was only at the end. Otherwise, it's hard to say if this is a ghost story, a treatise on addiction, or a grimm's fairytale about liberals gone bad.

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spooderman's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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maggiefaerie's review against another edition

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DNF @29% This book bounces from microaggressions to flat out racism, transphobia, fat shaming, and it's laced with right wing values. These elements don't provide any societal commentary. They're unnecessary and I found reading this book to be extremely uncomfortable.

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avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

While the mystery kept me guessing! Which is good but it just wasn't as enjoyable as I'd hoped it would be. I got annoyed with the MC a lot. She was too impulsive and way too trusting for someone who'd lived that type of life. But it was still a good book.

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magellen's review

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hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

As an ex-nanny, there are certain parts of this book that ring very true. Then there's portions where woof this female mc is written by a man.
The book was also oddly dated - the first Harry Potter mention was surprising, but by the point the mc was praising its author's talent (😒) I thought I'd picked up a much older book but nope. 2022 publish date. Also the 'oh my god you like star warrrrs what a nerd!' bit was like...buddy, no one has thought that in decades.

Much of the book is a red herring - like literally the book takes some sharp turns in the back quarter that peel it entirely away from the first mystery. And like...yeah? I guess the bread crumbs are there, amongst the weird disdain lacing nearly every character.

Like...its not terrible? But it squicked me out more than once with author choices that like Mmmmm frankly, make me feel his bad vibes, much like a largely abandoned plot point from the beginning of the novel.
I wouldn't recommend it to a friend or read it again, but if you're shooting for a reading goal eh, it is a book.

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