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yvo_about_books's review against another edition
4.75
"You want to know if I’m as evil as everyone says I am. The answer is no. And yes."
It's true that I seem to be having a bit of a love-hate relationship with Riley Sager's writing, and his books can go either way for me. Some I absolutely loved (Home In The Dark), while others somehow didn't work at all (Survive The Night). That said, I can never resist a good gothic thriller and I had a good feeling about The Only One Left. The blurb is nothing but enticing, that's for sure! And I'm now happy to announce that this particular book falls firm into the first category. I basically knew I was going to love this story almost immediately, and I loved every single minute spent with this book. The crumbling Hope's End mansion makes for such a perfect setting for a gothic story; the unresolved multiple murder back in 1929 and rumors about the only surviving family member Lenora Hope only adding to this ominous atmosphere. The main story is set in 1983, and Kit makes for the perfect character to help us tell the story of Lenora in past and present. Why? Well, her story is similar to Lenora with her being accused of murder/assisted suicide, but no real proof to have her convicted... In other words: guilty by public opinion. The great thing about how this story is written is that you honestly don't know for sure if both women are guilty or innocent until the very end, and it only made me want to turn those pages even faster. I also loved the flashbacks to 1929 with Lenora typing her story with Kit's help... The plot structure is clever, and there were a couple big twists I never saw coming. I had such a fantastic time reading The Only One Left, and I can recommend it to anyone who enjoys atmospheric and creepy gothic thrillers where nothing is as it seems.
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Suicide, Chronic illness, Cancer, Grief, Infidelity, Sexism, Classism, Medical content, Death, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Murder, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Violence, Abortion, Addiction, Confinement, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Drug use, Domestic abuse, and Medical trauma
madisonjordan5693's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Addiction, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Confinement, Death of parent, and Chronic illness
felofhe's review
- 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? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Child abuse, Classism, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Ableism, Alcohol, Violence, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Fatphobia, Grief, Kidnapping, Sexism, and Medical content
chantejames's review
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
I gave this book a perfect 5 stars. I've heard great things about Riley Sager and I can say, they were true.
The writing is incredible! Easy to follow but very immersive. The writing was so intense, which is a plus because it is a thriller book, that I had to stop reading and breathe before continuing. This book was hard to put down and hard to pick back up because of the intensity and emersion. The world building was perfect. The descriptions were perfect. It was like watching a movie.
The characters were very diverse and when they were on the page you saw their personalities, their flaws and their trauma not just their appearance.
The TWISTS and TURNS almost gave me a heartattck. Just when you think you finally understand... You don't. There was something new at every single turn. At times I had to put down the book, scream, freak out and it have me anxiety - the kind you want from a thriller book. I normally read cozy books because my anxiety can't handle suspense and this book had a LOT of it but it was worth it so I kept reading.
This is the type of book you can't tell someone about, they need to read it and experience it for themselves and I'd recommend it to any Thriller reader.
Amazing author. Amazing concept. Amazing book. An easy 5 stars.
Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Chronic illness, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Addiction, Mental illness, Alcohol, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Child death, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Blood, Terminal illness, Violence, Domestic abuse, and Drug abuse
kambell00's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Blood, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Child abuse
Minor: Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Drug abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Death of parent, and Grief
journeywithrosie's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The chapters are short and there were so many revelations and twists throughout that it was so easy to keep reading. I loved the gothic vibes, the paranormal implications, the setting, and all of the characters. Even though the FMC at times made some bad decisions, I was still routing for her.
I have one plot point that doesn’t make sense to me that I can’t go into without spoilers. But it’s bugging me! For that reason and the slowness of the start I reduced the rating.
Above all, the ending was so satisfying and unexpected. I was able to guess a few aspects of it, but not nearly everything.
I don't know if I will go back and read Sager's backlog since it seems like his past books are different from this one, but I would be curious to check out his future publications.
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Cancer, Drug use, and Infidelity
spiritedfaraway's review
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Being it Kit's head was irritating and her not doing her job (she's a home-health aide) was infuriating. Kit's patient is in her seventies and uses a wheelchair and yet Kit would forget to do Lenora's exercises. In another instance Kit put a pair of headphones over Lenora's head because she wanted to have a private conversation. Nevermind the fact that she didn't ask, nevermind that Lenora couldn't take them of even if she wanted to. YOU DON'T DO THAT. To be honest there were just so many ableist things in this book.
There were also glaring plot holes everywhere, and almost all of the characters' motivations were confusing and made absolutely no sense. And do not even get me started on that horrible ending.
I have two more books of Sager's that I haven't tried before, but I'm not sure if I'll actually get to them because the more I think about this book the more upset I get and there is just not enough time in the world to read at best mediocre and at worst abysmal books. There are just too many other books I'd rather get to.
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Violence, Infidelity, Medical content, Blood, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Death, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Suicide
SO MUCH ABLEISMmcirish02's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Body horror
the_true_monroe's review against another edition
- 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? No
5.0
This was just phenomenal and mindblowing. This is probably the first book that truly brought me to understand what to be mindblown means.
The only thing I can think of that I wanted clarified is what was up with Detective Vick- he worked there at the same time Kit’s dad did but I do not recall any part where we heard more after Kit said that he should be called right before the confrontation with her dad
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Classism, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Murder, Suicide attempt, Violence, Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Alcohol, Kidnapping, Blood, Grief, and Bullying
Minor: Abortion, Child death, Ableism, Homophobia, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, and Sexual content
wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Homophobia, Medical content, Police brutality, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Body shaming, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Cursing, Mental illness, Alcohol, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Terminal illness, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Abandonment, Addiction, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Sexism, Alcoholism, Gore, Infidelity, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit