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wynplus1's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
1.0
I'm writing this review with about 18 minutes left in the audiobook. It was... not good. I was hopeful at first - but then it reached the halfway point and things started to spiral down hill.
I think it began after Alicia died. Before, the vibe was creepy in that psychological horror way. It was slow, but it felt like a slow crawling monster - the scene where Jen met Alicia again in the store and Alicia was copying her mannerisms and name was REALLY creepy. I expected it to keep up with that. But then after Alicia died, it started to spiral into supernatural territory. And then it just felt like the author had no idea what kind of story she wanted to tell.
Overall, it felt very lazy and messy and SO slow. I can accept slow reads if it ends up amounting to something - with this, I feel like I just wasted an Audible credit.
Overall, it felt very lazy and messy and SO slow. I can accept slow reads if it ends up amounting to something - with this, I feel like I just wasted an Audible credit.
haleyshaver's review
2.0
2.5
Really enjoyed the beginning and how fucked parasocial relationships can be but completely lost me at the end bc what the hell was going on it felt so random and I just have so SO many questions
Really enjoyed the beginning and how fucked parasocial relationships can be but completely lost me at the end bc what the hell was going on it felt so random and I just have so SO many questions
callypeeso's review
1.0
Warning to Beth Morgan: Don’t read any further because I was in a blind rage after finishing this book.
This may be one of the worst books I’ve ever laid my eyes upon. The only way I can explain the writing in this book is if they accidentally published the first draft instead of the finishing product. It had the bare bones of the story and that was it.
One of the first things they teach you in a creative writing class is the difference between showing vs telling. This is the prime example of telling. I could not see the story. I barely knew what the main characters even look like. This couple is obsessed with this girl named Jen yet I don’t know what she looks like? Wouldn’t you think the reader should know every little detail about this Jen character because the main characters supposedly do?
This book lacks basic description. Towards the end I would tell the writing was getting better, but it still could not convince me I was actually holding a published book in my hands.
50pgs in I knew it was not for me. Giving it the benefit of the doubt was no longer an option. I stopped reading for entertainment and kept reading purely to study what not to do. It pisses me off because the concept of the book felt right in my wheelhouse and I spent $20 to own it physically. Before this book I hadn’t ever thrown a book at a wall on purpose. I truly can’t fathom how this book came to be. I’m mad at the editor just as much as the author. How did this get passed you?
The last 100pgs of this book took such a turn that it mostly just felt lazy. None of it felt remotely plausible and the characters did not act like real people. I was held against my will during the info dump to attempt to make the ending make any sense. It had so much potential! The story could’ve been so good.
If I was in hell, the devil would make me read this book on repeat as a punishment.
This may be one of the worst books I’ve ever laid my eyes upon. The only way I can explain the writing in this book is if they accidentally published the first draft instead of the finishing product. It had the bare bones of the story and that was it.
One of the first things they teach you in a creative writing class is the difference between showing vs telling. This is the prime example of telling. I could not see the story. I barely knew what the main characters even look like. This couple is obsessed with this girl named Jen yet I don’t know what she looks like? Wouldn’t you think the reader should know every little detail about this Jen character because the main characters supposedly do?
This book lacks basic description. Towards the end I would tell the writing was getting better, but it still could not convince me I was actually holding a published book in my hands.
50pgs in I knew it was not for me. Giving it the benefit of the doubt was no longer an option. I stopped reading for entertainment and kept reading purely to study what not to do. It pisses me off because the concept of the book felt right in my wheelhouse and I spent $20 to own it physically. Before this book I hadn’t ever thrown a book at a wall on purpose. I truly can’t fathom how this book came to be. I’m mad at the editor just as much as the author. How did this get passed you?
The last 100pgs of this book took such a turn that it mostly just felt lazy. None of it felt remotely plausible and the characters did not act like real people. I was held against my will during the info dump to attempt to make the ending make any sense. It had so much potential! The story could’ve been so good.
If I was in hell, the devil would make me read this book on repeat as a punishment.
vivienneornelas's review
3.0
my biggest critique of this book is the execution— it’s got really interesting themes and a promising premise, but the plot falls a bit short. it feels like the author took a very compelling first half of one book and a very compelling last half of another book and poorly sewed them together. the complaints about it being too weird don’t really resonate with me; i love weird! i love a good twist! i just think more could’ve been done and certain aspects could’ve been weaved in earlier so that the book was more cohesive. overall, an entertaining read nonetheless. also, all these characters suck, and i’d jump at the chance to 1v1 remy and jen.
ivymae1's review
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ailishsreads's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
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
3.5
lameeya_'s review
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
3.25
I'm honestly not sure how I feel about this one. I wanted something light and distracting after my last read and it definitely delivered on that. With this book, I feel like I almost grasp it and then it slips out of my understanding once again. I loved the first part, which is what I thought the book was gonna be - a commentary on parasocial relationships told through two extremely unlikeable people (tbh I felt really bad for Alicia but Remy was downright hateable) but the book changes tone and genre midway and becomes an absurd surrealist horrifying tale in the veins of Kafkaesque literature and I had to look up the genre of the book to check if I'm reading right. I'm not sure I like it or not at the end tbh, I read it quickly but Remy was just such an annoying protagonist to even care about what's happening in the story.
stacyconsty's review
5.0
What the actual fuck did I just read? I was going to rate this 4 stars since the ending was so weird and I kinda hated it, but the more I’ve sat with it, the more I get it. If A24 doesn’t get their hands on this, someone else will and they will mess it up completely. Justice for Jake.
fake_gyllen's review
3.0
I really enjoyed the first half of this book—it was funny and weird and tense—but it went completely off the rails in the second half.
rosarium's review
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5