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sarjmorg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Murder, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Cancer, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Car accident, Death, Infertility, Domestic abuse, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, and Miscarriage
opplecopter's review against another edition
- 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
Let me start off by saying this whole concept is creepy in itself because I can completely see this, along with the absolute chaos that ensues, being a possibility in the future. This is a modern day Twilight Zone tale or I suppose Black Mirror would be a better fitting comparison. We’ve got some psychological thriller/suspense with a dash of sci-fi thrown in. The story follows five people who have been “Matched.” Mandy, a divorcée who just wants to find love after heartbreak, Jade, who is angry and disappointed in her life as a whole, Nick, a man who is planning a wedding with his fiancée, Ellie, a woman of wealth and power, and Christopher, who is a serial killer (not a spoiler, you find this out immediately when he is introduced).
We cycle back and forth between the lives of each of these people, so if you prefer a book with one straightforward storyline and don’t like jumping around, then you probably won’t enjoy this. The chapters are numerous, but very short since each one focuses on one of the five people. Personally, I enjoy the short chapters, some of which are only 2-3 pages, because it helps me remember everything still going on with the other characters. I feel like if they were longer, I would’ve been constantly flipping back to reread so I could keep up. I will be honest and say a couple of the storylines started out boring while a couple seemed to grab my attention much sooner (like Christopher’s), but they all deepen and get better as you go on. Starting off, we get to know their lives and backgrounds before we watch their worlds get shaken up and flipped upside down. There were so many layers, twists, lies, secrets, and betrayals. The ending was so unexpected and changed the entire atmosphere of the book and made you question everything.
I’ve been looking for another 5 star for months, and every time I thought I found one, I was disappointed. I have zero complaints on this one.
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Torture, Murder, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Sexual content, Alcohol, Medical content, and Cursing
Minor: Pedophilia, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt
rae_bookmarkchronicles's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I've also watched the Netflix adaptation and it's completely different, didn't enjoy it as much
Graphic: Murder and Gore
Minor: Domestic abuse
chrisdennismyers's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Stalking, Violence, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Child death
Moderate: Miscarriage, Suicide attempt, and Infertility
Minor: Pregnancy
chloestansifer's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death, Cancer, and Mental illness
Moderate: Cancer and Kidnapping
Minor: Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Stalking, and Domestic abuse
cady_sass's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Edited to add: this is sci-fi, and the science written here is obviously not sound. If you’ll be bothered by the scientific inaccuracies of the central element here then skip this, otherwise have fun pretending it’s real :)
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Blood, Death, Grief, Terminal illness, Cancer, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Cursing, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Infidelity, Homophobia, Abortion, Infertility, Miscarriage, Car accident, Biphobia, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Vomit, Medical content, and Medical trauma
megelizabeth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
This is twisty, pacy, and incredibly thought-provoking. There's an interesting mix of characters and plotlines - some stronger than others, and I personally would've much preferred not to read from Christopher's perspective, but it was fascinating to see the myriad of ways in which a scientific discovery can affect lives and relationships and, essentially, social order and humanity. I predicted some things but not others, and I definitely found myself invested and eager to find out what was going to happen next and how things were going to develop and intersect.
I did, unfortunately, have a few issues with this book, mostly towards the end. The writing of some of the female characters feels a bit dodgy at times, and the only brown characters end up being pretty much just a plot device, which is incredibly frustrating and really something we should have moved beyond. There's also another thing that happens with the plot towards the end which to me felt like a huge cop-out and which I really wish had been handled differently. On a different note, there are also quite a lot of editing errors, which always takes me out of a story a bit.
As well as all of this, I was also somehow expecting just a bit more from this book? It's definitely dark and twisted and has some interesting things to say, but I wasn't as shocked or thrilled as I expected to be. It's been on my radar for years, so I'm glad I finally got around to reading it, and I did enjoy it, but just not quite as much as I would have liked to.
Definitely check content warnings, as this book is extremely graphic in places. Also be warned if, like me, you're at all squeamish with anything to do with eyes - there's one particular scene which I'm sure will haunt me for the rest of my life!
Graphic: Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Murder, Miscarriage, Violence, Blood, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Terminal illness
Minor: Miscarriage
jessicohen15's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Moderate: Biphobia, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Murder
theklutzybibliophile's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Vomit, Cancer, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Torture
Minor: Abortion, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Death of parent, Miscarriage, and Alcoholism
ducklingh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Torture
Minor: Abandonment, Abortion, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Gore
One of the main POVs is a psychopathic serial killer who preys on young, single women that live alone and kills them via strangulation. An unrelated main character (not a POV) has terminal cancer