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whenmalanereads 's review for:
The Last One at the Wedding
by Jason Rekulak
dark
mysterious
tense
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:
Complicated
I LOVED Hidden Pictures! It is one of my favorite books and I was very very excited for this book. As were many others I assume because it was very difficult to buy in person when it came out. At least in my area.
I was going to give a 3.5 for this, but decided ultimately on 4 stars because the setting and the atmosphere were nice. This was the February pick for a book club I'm a part of and we all had similar thoughts on the book and that's always nice.
Something I really struggled with throughout this story was how much I disliked every single character. The only two I found mildly pleasant were Aiden (the fiance) and Abigail (the foster child). Abigail was a much needed comedic relief for an otherwise darker book. I found Frank, Tammy, and Maggie to be insufferable and the rest of the cast of characters were very "of current times" and just showed that the 1% can do and get away with anything they want with zero consequence for their actions.
There were so many plots of this book that didn't seem necessary or that didn't seem tied up at the end. Why were the spiders so relevant other than being the reason that Abigail and Frank had to switch rooms? Maybe there was a tie up to this and I missed it? I don't know. Another is the Gwendolyn plot. What was the point of that and what purpose was she playing in the book? She dies before she can tell Frank anything so it just didn't make sense. The suicide in the basement was also strange and the ending was odd. Why wait around to see the rest of the inmates go up the stairs when Maggie may never even see Frank standing there? Weird.
I was going to give a 3.5 for this, but decided ultimately on 4 stars because the setting and the atmosphere were nice. This was the February pick for a book club I'm a part of and we all had similar thoughts on the book and that's always nice.
Something I really struggled with throughout this story was how much I disliked every single character. The only two I found mildly pleasant were Aiden (the fiance) and Abigail (the foster child). Abigail was a much needed comedic relief for an otherwise darker book. I found Frank, Tammy, and Maggie to be insufferable and the rest of the cast of characters were very "of current times" and just showed that the 1% can do and get away with anything they want with zero consequence for their actions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Classism