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meagm's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
2.0
Annoyed I had to invest so much just to get that weak of an ending, but interesting idea nonetheless.
laurenkara's review against another edition
4.0
uhhh i read this bc i saw heaps of people on booktube say it was a very disturbing horror which it was bUT why did no one tell me it was gonna make me cry ???? holy shit
mariannabnk's review against another edition
2.0
Plot was a bit boring and the writing and atmosphere weren’t good enough to save it.
nika_nix's review against another edition
dark
sad
fast-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
3.0
Not as bad as I had expected it to be. It was fine, but overall nothing too exciting, original or interesting. I did fly through it in basically one sitting, since it's so short, but I still didn't particularly care for either the plot or the main character. It wasn't really scary, mostly just unbelievable that a woman would spend her entire life wrapped up in a stupid game with a pedophile because he may or may not know where the dead body of her boyfriend from when she was thirteen is.
erikbergstrom's review against another edition
4.0
Read this in 3 lunch break sittings (which is good, for me!) Kept wanting to go back to it. Gemma Amor has a confident voice that's easy & addictive to read. Me being a lover of forests, I found her descriptions of the wild are the best parts.
A rather original tale, told in a unique way. The entire tragic, tortured life of a woman told in just 100 pages or so. Sometimes those horrors, the prolonged ones that never leave you, are worse than the short, impactful, traumatic ones. The ones where you could live a year or 5 thinking you're safe, but always have a burning itch to turn around and look. Amor captures that torment wonderfully here (is that an oxymoron?)
As it all goes by rather quickly, there were a few questions I was left with that I felt not enough time was taken to answer. The way the story is told might've been hampered by lingering on these details, however there may have been a clever way to incorporate them. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I've got White Pines on my to read list, and now I'm more excited than ever to read it. Spending more time in the worlds constructed by Ms. Amor can't be a bad thing at all!
A rather original tale, told in a unique way. The entire tragic, tortured life of a woman told in just 100 pages or so. Sometimes those horrors, the prolonged ones that never leave you, are worse than the short, impactful, traumatic ones. The ones where you could live a year or 5 thinking you're safe, but always have a burning itch to turn around and look. Amor captures that torment wonderfully here (is that an oxymoron?)
As it all goes by rather quickly, there were a few questions I was left with that I felt not enough time was taken to answer. The way the story is told might've been hampered by lingering on these details, however there may have been a clever way to incorporate them. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I've got White Pines on my to read list, and now I'm more excited than ever to read it. Spending more time in the worlds constructed by Ms. Amor can't be a bad thing at all!
frogggyyyyy's review against another edition
4.0
simplified version of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke mixed with Penpal
sea_caummisar's review against another edition
4.0
I'm doing 3.5 stars rounded up. I'm reading these five star reviews and scratching my head. I do think the story was interesting, but I felt like half the book was nothing but whining, which doesn't interest me. A murderer playing mail games with her, very cool. Sending him a tooth,used maxi pads, etc, was fun.the back and forth of her walking in the woods to past flashbacks, not so fun.
I also have so many unanswered questions. Why did he play with her for so long? Why did her friend willingly leave with a pedophile? There's wasn't a struggle or anything. Her witnessing him getting into the car was silly.
I'm not gonna think so hard about it and move on to the next one
I also have so many unanswered questions. Why did he play with her for so long? Why did her friend willingly leave with a pedophile? There's wasn't a struggle or anything. Her witnessing him getting into the car was silly.
I'm not gonna think so hard about it and move on to the next one
donahuebn's review against another edition
4.0
Beautifully written. I loved this from beginning to end. I love how trauma is illustrated in this book. At first with the the then/now structure, you see older Laura as a crazy lunatic. However, as you see what leads up to that point, you really start to understand how a person could reach that level of not insanity but desperation.
magyklyxdelish's review
5.0
Wow. What to say about this.
First of all I will say Trigger Warning before anyone reads this book: it deals with kidnapping, assault, death and alludes to pedophilia
This took me on quite an emotional ride. This is a dark and tangled journey you go on with Laura over the course of 30 years of her life. Her desperation for answers and then her desperation to just make the game end.
It shows how this sick and twisted game she was manipulated into changed her and shaped her existence. It detailed how it emotionally impacted her and mentally. Gemma masterfully captures the utter feeling of despair Laura felt and expertly detailed her panic attacks and paranoia.
After reading Till the Score Is Paid, I was immediately impressed how carefully Gemma talked about assault and post natal depression, both very tough subjects. I come away from this book feeling the exact same way. Never once did this come across as exploitive and told just for the sake of horror and creeps. She delicately and brutally approaches these topics with finesse.
Gemma has a lifelong fan in me and I eagerly await anything else she has in her mind.
5/5 ⭐️
First of all I will say Trigger Warning before anyone reads this book: it deals with kidnapping, assault, death and alludes to pedophilia
This took me on quite an emotional ride. This is a dark and tangled journey you go on with Laura over the course of 30 years of her life. Her desperation for answers and then her desperation to just make the game end.
It shows how this sick and twisted game she was manipulated into changed her and shaped her existence. It detailed how it emotionally impacted her and mentally. Gemma masterfully captures the utter feeling of despair Laura felt and expertly detailed her panic attacks and paranoia.
After reading Till the Score Is Paid, I was immediately impressed how carefully Gemma talked about assault and post natal depression, both very tough subjects. I come away from this book feeling the exact same way. Never once did this come across as exploitive and told just for the sake of horror and creeps. She delicately and brutally approaches these topics with finesse.
Gemma has a lifelong fan in me and I eagerly await anything else she has in her mind.
5/5 ⭐️