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A review by siobhanward
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Holy disappointment, Batman. This was not good...
I was really excited to read this, because I really enjoyed The Broken Girls by the same author, but man was this a let-down. The premise seemed decent, although kind of basic. However, I was pretty much struck right away by how ~unique~ Carly was, which really pulled me out of the story. Like, ok, when you're 17 and writing fanfiction for the first time, having a clear self-insert character who is super attractive (but doesn't know it), nerdy and "odd" is one thing. But being a best-selling author and doing it is... less ok...
The only person more annoying than Carly was Heather, who didn't really play a role other than occasionally finding information on the internet... Why was her being on medication mentioned so many times?? Again, she just seemed like a //quirky// friend for Carly, and a way of pointing out that the weird girls you make fun of for being obsessed with true crime have a purpose?? idk man, there were also a LOT of descriptions of outfits for some reason?? Including one character who was wearing a button down, a hoodie and a jacket because he "really knew how to layer" ???????
(here be some spoilers, so you've been warned) I really, really hated the weird, unnecessary demonization of Borderline Personality Disorder. As an illness, BPD is already portrayed as scary, and St. James does nothing but help that by having a character who is obsessive about his (murderous) grandfather's death and then tries to kill Carly. Really?? His diagnosis of BPD served no purpose other than serving as a "reason" for him being obsessive and murderous
Anyway, the long and short of it is, this wasn't worth my time. Go listen to some true crime podcasts while wearing a sassy graphic tee and you'll basically get the gist of the book.
I was really excited to read this, because I really enjoyed The Broken Girls by the same author, but man was this a let-down. The premise seemed decent, although kind of basic. However, I was pretty much struck right away by how ~unique~ Carly was, which really pulled me out of the story. Like, ok, when you're 17 and writing fanfiction for the first time, having a clear self-insert character who is super attractive (but doesn't know it), nerdy and "odd" is one thing. But being a best-selling author and doing it is... less ok...
The only person more annoying than Carly was Heather, who didn't really play a role other than occasionally finding information on the internet... Why was her being on medication mentioned so many times?? Again, she just seemed like a //quirky// friend for Carly, and a way of pointing out that the weird girls you make fun of for being obsessed with true crime have a purpose?? idk man, there were also a LOT of descriptions of outfits for some reason?? Including one character who was wearing a button down, a hoodie and a jacket because he "really knew how to layer" ???????
(here be some spoilers, so you've been warned)
Anyway, the long and short of it is, this wasn't worth my time. Go listen to some true crime podcasts while wearing a sassy graphic tee and you'll basically get the gist of the book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Mental illness