Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Conviction

I'm not always a big fan of media that focuses on unlikable characters and how their past trauma makes them make stupid mistakes that makes the reader want to scream at them...but this book made it all work. The first person perspective made it relatable. The fast-pace was welcome. The miscommunication trope was not frustrating. I really enjoyed this book and how self-aware and smart it was!

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crystalleighwrites's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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gracepf's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

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kerrianne10's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

2.75

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jdesk's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny medium-paced

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

4.0

can’t decide between a 3.75 and 4.0…

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jesscoast's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.75

The premise of this book was so exciting and promising, and the first half really delivered. I loved the format of the narration with episodes of the podcast interjected throughout. The journey through Europe was delightful and immersive. The podcast script was exactly something I'd love to listen to, though it ends poorly and abruptly in my opinion so perhaps I should have noticed Mina's issues finding a satisfying ending earlier than I did.

The set up is mysterious and set my expectations high, maybe a little too high, which led to disappointment as the story dragged on in what felt like was a sloppy, confusing, too convenient wrap up. I also found the character's personalities, decisions, and dialogue unrealistic to the point of being silly and eye-roll inducing. Her attempt at making a quirky, diverse set of characters made them unrelatable and impossible to predict (and not in a fun mysterious way, in a frustrating way where everyone felt disconnected and forced). The problem was that I found Mina really couldn't deliver on all she promised.

<Spoiler>I have many unanswered questions that I'm still annoyed by. I feel like there was never a clear answer about why Anna was so intrigued by Leon's story she felt she had to pause her life and put her children at risk to investigate. No further details about their relationship ever emerge, and Lillys character seemed like a pointless throw away. The climax at Gretchen's compound in Paris was far too fast and impossible to imagine in any realistic sense. The big twist wasnt fully explained and left a lot of doubt about whether Gretchen was the mastermind she was described as. Fin was unrealistically stupid, and his podcast made no sense to listeners who didn't know what was going on. I find it hard to believe he'd compromise everyone's safety without thinking twice over and over and over. He only made good decisions when it saved the day and they had no other escape, which I find lazy and undeveloped writing. Overall the second half of the book needed a much better edit, a more thought through plot, and less pages wasted on logistics with more pages dedicated to logical decisions and explaining motivations and intentions.

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sawyer_reads_stuff's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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