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maggieparedesauthor's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I don’t know why this book is. 3.67 on Goodreads, because it was SO GOOD! The author, Rachel Koller Croft, did a FABULOUS job of painting the characters in the most detailed way. In addition, the twists had my heart nearly leaping out of my chest with beats faster than a bullet train. I thought Rachel wrapped the story up nicely, also. If you’re a fan of the tv show Imposters, YOU MUST read this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Child abuse, Body shaming, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, and Murder
religiousmom666's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
This book is a roller coaster, very captivating from the beginning but as the book went on the game of cat and mouse grew tired some. I enjoyed the reflection of flashback chapters to help develop the main character. But the “surprises” in the plot were not as thrilling as I think they were suppose to be. The ending of this book completely fell flat. It seemed like the most abrupt ending and truly made me unsatisfied. I would have rated this book higher but the last chapter alone made me stop reading as I didn’t even want to finish the book. I truly threw the book when I was finished due to the disappointment in the ending.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Vomit, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexism
kelseyreads94's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Classism, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Child death
hopebrasfield's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Think Otessa Moshfegh's Death in Her Hands--but it's a prequel, and it's bad.
Reading this felt like reading the Sweet Valley High mystery-type novels back in middle school. Those books felt so potentially mind-expanding at the time (they were so much BIGGER than the original Sweet Valley books, and all the cool smart girls were reading them), if only I could get past them being not so good, actually.
It felt like watching Lost as it aired, dissecting what might happen next each week, only to find out the creators arguably never had a plan* for where the show was going story-wise.
I'm disappointed because this came so highly recommended by somebody whose content I otherwise very much enjoy over on BookTok. Goes to show you can have super interesting cultural takes while also having not so great taste in books! People are complicated! (Unlike the characters in this book.)
* https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/a/doug-sibor/the-lost-writers-had-no-plan-whatsoever
Reading this felt like reading the Sweet Valley High mystery-type novels back in middle school. Those books felt so potentially mind-expanding at the time (they were so much BIGGER than the original Sweet Valley books, and all the cool smart girls were reading them), if only I could get past them being not so good, actually.
It felt like watching Lost as it aired, dissecting what might happen next each week, only to find out the creators arguably never had a plan* for where the show was going story-wise.
I'm disappointed because this came so highly recommended by somebody whose content I otherwise very much enjoy over on BookTok. Goes to show you can have super interesting cultural takes while also having not so great taste in books! People are complicated! (Unlike the characters in this book.)
* https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/a/doug-sibor/the-lost-writers-had-no-plan-whatsoever
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Death, Death of parent, and Murder
amanda_reads13's review against another edition
tense
fast-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
4.0
Bea is a femme fatale who targets rich men just like her mother taught her. She's on track marry Colin, a man from a very rich and influential family. She's so close to achieving everything she wants, but Colin's best friend Gale could ruin everything.
This book immediately hooked me. It is so dramatic, over the top, and chaotic. There a few good twists in this book, some that I saw coming, but a few that caught me by surprise.
You shouldn't like Bea, she's not a good person. Yet, I found myself rooting for her throughout the book. She's literally telling you all the horrible things she has done in the past and what she plans to do in the future, but you want her to succeed. I like the way that it jumped between Bea's present and her past. I think seeing what she went through in her childhood and her messed up relationship with her mother, made me more empathetic towards her and helped me to understand the person she became.
She truly wanted to be different from her mother, but she knew no other way to do that than to scam and manipulate her way to the top.
The ending was a let down for me, I was really hoping for some kind of showdown between her and her mother, but it was pretty lackluster. I get that the author is trying to put us in the headspace of Bea, on edge never knowing when her mother will strike in the future. But the ending is unsatisfactory for the reader. I wonder if it's being left open-ended for a sequel? A book from her sisters point of view about hunting down the mother could be interesting.
I really enjoyed the audio version of this book.
This book immediately hooked me. It is so dramatic, over the top, and chaotic. There a few good twists in this book, some that I saw coming, but a few that caught me by surprise.
You shouldn't like Bea, she's not a good person. Yet, I found myself rooting for her throughout the book. She's literally telling you all the horrible things she has done in the past and what she plans to do in the future, but you want her to succeed. I like the way that it jumped between Bea's present and her past. I think seeing what she went through in her childhood and her messed up relationship with her mother, made me more empathetic towards her and helped me to understand the person she became.
She truly wanted to be different from her mother, but she knew no other way to do that than to scam and manipulate her way to the top.
The ending was a let down for me,
I really enjoyed the audio version of this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic relationship
sunbearbeam's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Child abuse
ekclar's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
faduma's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Alcohol, Physical abuse, and Child abuse
Minor: Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
ynadavis's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- 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
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual assault
ciwanski's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.0
The writing in this book was air tight. I felt like the plausibility of circumstances fell a little bit in the last chunk of the book, but crazy, manic women always need deniable plausibility, right?
Definitely a book with morally grey characters, and killer dialogue.
A favorite line of mine from the book goes, “The afternoon tea was in full swing with canapés and caviar and cunty behavior.” Like so true bestie.
Fans of Gone Girl and other “good for her” media should definitely pick this book up.
Definitely a book with morally grey characters, and killer dialogue.
A favorite line of mine from the book goes, “The afternoon tea was in full swing with canapés and caviar and cunty behavior.” Like so true bestie.
Fans of Gone Girl and other “good for her” media should definitely pick this book up.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Alcohol, Drug use, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Classism