You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

A review by sergeantrayne
Little Stranger by Leigh Rivers

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Olivia Vize is a very flat and apathetic character and my disdain for her grew more and more as I read through her POV. There was no character development on her part and the only redeeming quality of this novel comes from Malachi when we're finally introduced to his POV. There was light, depth and emotion in Malachi's world. I was able to explore his mind and feel something. Something that Olivia never gave us. Her POV was very limited and very restricted in contrast to Malachi's, but I understand the literary element the author was trying to implement, if that's what she was aiming for. Even though Malachi had a host of issues, he was a lovable character and you could feel his yearning and longing to be loved.

The only two characters that showed any semblance of character development were the MMC and the father. Everyone else was a walking cliche. Olivia is selfish and lacks a backbone.

The writing was boring (Olivia's POV), cliche and repetitive in some areas. I really wish authors knew how to use a thesaurus or use more descriptive imagery. The second novel won't be worth a read.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings