Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

The Only One Left by Riley Sager

8 reviews

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.75

Finished reading: May 23rd 2024

"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. 

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Content Warnings

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

spiritedfaraway's review

mysterious sad slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

I continue to give Riley Sager's books a chance. And I continue to be disappointed. The descriptions always sound so good and there are almost at least parts of the books I like, but something always ruins it for me. In this one in particular, there were many things that ruined it for me.

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.

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Content Warnings

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 ABLEISM

jessiejonesbentley's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Pregnancy, Death, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Murder, Confinement, Sexual content, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

bringmybooks's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

welp, that's my first Riley Sager book and I think it's safe to say it won't be my last 

✨ 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 ✨ B̷O̷R̷R̷O̷W̷ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷ 

just imagine a meme where the person is saying "mind blown" with the most gobsmacked wtf is even going on expression on their face and that's me at the end of this book

I just .... I mean. I get it, I see where you're going with this, but also, I mean, really? That's what you're going to do? 

Lots of twisty twists and even when you think you know exactly where it's going, you really don't (although you might for the most part but believe me you don't fully) (and it's so worth it)

super atmospheric, super creepy, super near-impossible to put down, super here for this

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Child death, Blood, Confinement, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Grief, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Murder, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Homophobia, Abortion, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

chasingpages1's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Suicide attempt, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Classism, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Death, Death of parent, Confinement, Infidelity, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Blood, Misogyny, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Abortion, Homophobia, Violence, Body shaming, Excrement, War, Gun violence, and Sexual content

lovelymisanthrope's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was one of my most anticipated releases for the year, and I was counting the days until it came out!
"The Only One Left" takes place mostly in 1983, through the perspective of Kit McDeere, a home health aide tasked with caring for Lenora Hope. In 1929, Lenora Hope killed her entire family, or so the town legend goes. Unfortunately, she is unable to speak to clear her name, so the rumors have run rampant for decades. Kit is not thrilled to be taking care of Lenora, but she has no other options, so she tries her best to make this work. But she quickly discovers that secrets do not stay buried, and the legend that inspired the playground rhyme is about to be fully revealed in an explosive way.
I have been a huge fan of Riley Sager since I read "Lock Every Door", however his last few releases have been a bit of a disappointment for me. I just have not felt that Riley Sager magic, until now. I DEVOURED "The Only One Left" and I am so happy declare that I enjoyed a Riley Sager again!
I really enjoyed the premise of this book and I think it is a unique take on a small-town urban legend. I was so invested in the story of Lenora Hope, and I needed to know not only what happened in 1929, but why.
 

There is an aspect of this book that really reminded me of "Verity" by Colleen Hoover, which was fine for me because I loved that book, but it is a plot point that is not entirely original. However, that did not hinder my enjoyment, and I did not see it coming, so I left yelling "what" at my book. 

 
Kit as a character was not my favorite. We need her to get the story of Lenora Hope, but she was not super interesting to me.
I am so happy that I loved this, and I look forward to seeing what Riley Sager writes next! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Murder, Torture, Death, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Sexual content and Pregnancy

gellyreads's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I am a devoted Riley Sager fan, and I was hoping this would be a 5. I feel like my main issue with this novel is the use of “humdinger” randomly though the first ten chapters or so, and then it just died. Why did I have to read that? I know it’s petty, but it really irked me. I also wish we would’ve consistently seen more of the cast of the house, or had a better grasp of their personalities. 

I called that the sister swap, which I don’t mind that. I didn’t call the dad being Ricky, but once I did, I knew he killed the mom. I really loved the ending of this book from Lenora and the dad sacrificing themselves on. I think the only thing I didn’t enjoy once the twists were revealed was that I felt like I knew so little about Jessie and wish I had been given a hint about her identity (which granted, I might have missed) ALSO SORRY, but kinda dumb that she faked it for so long. A but I believable. Too soap-opera.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Death, Blood, Toxic friendship, Chronic illness, Abandonment, Murder, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

amandas_bookshelf's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Classism, Confinement, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Blood, Body shaming, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Homophobia