marik0n's reviews
521 reviews

Sidetracked by S.T. Abby

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adventurous challenging dark inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Risk by S.T. Abby

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes

2.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings
The Wife Upstairs by Freida McFadden

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dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Perfect Son by Freida McFadden

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dark tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

Oh my God, she did it again. It only took me a couple of hours to devour this book! I started it right after finishing The Inmate .

Now that I have (more than) a couple of McFadden's books under my belt, I am always prepared for the plot twist. I know that there is going to be one and I am just trying my best to guess it (with noteably little success).

However, this one really puzzled me. The twist left me SPEECHLESS. I was just looking at the wall thinking "what...???!?".

There aren't many things to say, another masterpiece. 
The Inmate by Freida McFadden

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challenging dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

 With McFadden, when the first plot twist comes the audio "and they don't stop coming, and don't stop coming" plays on mind in repeat.

Of course I read this book in one sitting. Although I wasn't really sitting; more like balancing on the edge of my sit while fuzzing over it.

From the very start until the last chapter this book had me guessing and much like Brooke I didn't know what to believe. I changed my guesses over whats's going on so many times that in the end I simply gave up and waited.

I had seen what was coming in the epilogue and it was simply *chef's kiss*.
The only reason I revomed half a star from this book was that I didn't really get how one specific individual escaped the farmhouse THAT night. Other than that, it was immaculate.
If you haven't guesses it yet I'm going through all of McFadden's books. Lots of reviews to come. 
The Housemaid's Secret by Freida McFadden

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slow-paced

1.5

I was so excited for this book, but it didn't live up to my expectations.
The plot is unravelling tormenting slowly. I was already at 40% and not really interested.

This whole Brock thing annoys me. She obviously does not like him enough but keeps staying in that situation. Why?

Also, as I finished it, I couldn't stop thinking that it could be much much shorter, with more suspense.
The Girl in 6E by A.R. Torre

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I don't know what went wrong with this book...
A.R. Torre is one of my favourite authors and I usually adore her books.
However, this one threw me into a reading slump. I really tried getting out of it, but no matter how much I pushed myself I couldn't do it. To be honest, I was so persistent only because Torre was the author. If things were different I would have given up on it a long time ago.
Never Lie by Freida McFadden

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dark mysterious sad 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

5.0

 Okay, at this point I'm seriously contemplating whether Freida McFadden puts crack in her books. This is the second book I am reading by her, and let me tell you, I am about to binge through the rest of them!

I read this book in one sitting (expect from a break to sleep, which believe me when I say, was hard). I was so hooked at the plot and it kept me at the end of my sit until the very end. The whole thing so unravelling so quickly and I was eager to figure out what had happened to Dr. Hale.

The ending, of course, blew me away. When everything was out in the light, it felt like the book ad thrown me at the floor and it was kicking my brain repeatedly.

This very much gave me Rock Paper Scissors vibes from the very start, which was just a bonus!

Overall, it was simply IMMACULATE and I absolutely recommend it to the fans of this genre. Especially if you're in the mood for a story unfolding in forced close proximity, this is it *chef's kiss* 

 
Κορίτσι Α by Abigail Dean

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dark slow-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.0

 
Είχα τόσο υψηλές προσδοκίες για αυτό το βιβλίο και εντέλει με απογοήτευσε βαθύτατα. Ήθελα πολλές φορές να σταματήσω να το διαβάζω, αλλά αποφάσισα να το τελειώσω μόνο και μόνο επειδή ήταν δώρο.

Στην ουσία είναι μία απόδοση της ιστορίας της οικογένειας Turnip, που (δικαίως) αναστάτωσε τον κόσμο το 2018. Ωστόσο, το λογοτεχνικό προϊόν δεν ήταν σε καμία περίπτωση αντάξιο. Θα μπορούσε να προσεγγίσει την ιστορία με τόσους διαφορετικούς τρόπους και να γράψει ένα εξαιρετικό βιβλίο, αλλά προφανώς δεν έγιναν έτσι τα πράγματα.

Η Λεξ με εκνεύριζε απίστευτα σαν χαρακτήρας από την αρχή του βιβλίου και γενικά οι χαρακτήρες ήταν πιο επίπεδοι και από σανίδα. Δεν ήταν καθόλου ενδιαφέροντες και ήταν αδύνατο να νοιαστείς για αυτούς.

Επίσης, τι ακριβώς γίνεται με το γράψιμο; Πέραν του ότι ο χρόνος της αφήγησης άλλαζε χωρίς δομή και ξεκάθαρη μετάβαση -κυριολεκτικά από την μία παράγραφο στην άλλη-, υπήρχαν τόσα κενά στο τέλος. Καταλαβαίνω ότι ίσως η συγγραφέας δεν ήθελε να είναι γλαφυρή, αλλά είναι τόσο αόριστη που από ένα σημείο και έπειτα δεν καταλαβαίνεις τι υποτίθεται ότι συμβαίνει. Αν δεν είσαι σε θέση να δώσεις ούτε μία γενική περιγραφή του τι συμβαίνει, ίσως να μην είναι η κλίση του να γράφεις βιβλία εγκλημάτων. Όταν δίνεις τόση έμφαση στο "σπίτι του τρόμου", ίσως ο αναγνώστης πρέπει να μπορεί να αντιληφθεί την κατάσταση, κάτι που συνέβη και δεν συνέβη με αυτό το βιβλίο. Ότι έμαθα για αυτήν την υπόθεση, το έμαθα με έρευνα στο Ίντερνετ και κατάλαβα περί τίνος πρόκειται η όλη ιστορία.

Συμπερασματικά, μισώ με πάθος και ένταση αυτό το βιβλίο, γιατί ήταν κακογραμμένο σε τόσα πολλά επίπεδα. Όταν φτάνεις να μαθαίνεις δύο τραγικές αποκαλύψεις στο τέλος και σε αφήνουν κάτι λιγότερο από αδιάφορα, κάτι δεν έχει γίνει σωστά.

Σχόλια που ίσως θεωρηθούν spoiler:
1. Οι γείτονες, η ευρύτερη οικογένεια και το σχολείο τι ακριβώς κάνανε; Η κατάσταση -από ό,τι διάβασα- είχα ξεφύγει τελείως. Επί τόσα χρόνια, τόσο πια κανείς δεν έλβλεπε τίποτα;
2. Όταν η οικογένεια μετακόμισε άφησε ένα σπίτι ρημαδιό, με μούχλα, νεκρά ζώα κ.λπ. Αυτό δεν ήταν αρκετό για να ενημερωθούν οι αρχές ότι κάτι δεν πάει καλά με αυτήν την οικογένεια;
3. Με την μητέρα και τον Ίθαν τι ακριβώς συμβαίνει; Ποτέ δεν μπορείς να καταλάβεις σε τι βαθμό ήταν θύματα και σε τι θύτες;
4. Επίσης, οι γονείς πώς έφτασαν σε αυτήν την κατάσταση; Κάτι δεν πήγαινε πολύ καλά με αυτούς χρόνια για να φτάσουν σε αυτήν την κατάσταση. Αλλά τι;

Αυτά και άλλα πολλά ερωτήματα αφήνει αναπάντητα αυτό το βιβλίο. Ήταν μία τεράστια σπατάλη του χρόνου μου.

 
A Familiar Stranger by A.R. Torre

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

By now I can safely say that I have read through most of A.R. Torre's books (there are only two that I haven't read yet).

I loved each and every one of them, and i really enjoyed this one as well.

The writing was impeccable much like always. The only problem was that (for me) the plot twist was painfully visible long before the ending and I lost some of my interest.

Nevertheless, it remains a very well-written book, that is surely a page turner.