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juanat77's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Stalking, Animal death, Cursing, Vomit, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Murder, Death, Infidelity, Rape, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Violence, Bullying, Car accident, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Child death, Drug use, Gaslighting, and Grief
fkshg8465's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Really enjoyed A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things. Expected to like this one as much, but it disappointed. It felt amateur compared to the other two.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Stalking, Gaslighting, Murder, Rape, Animal death, Child death, and Grief
kerrygetsliterary's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Grief, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Death, Child death, Drug use, Cursing, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Vomit, and Bullying
bringmybooks's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.75
Thank you to Edelweiss, Minotaur Books, & Macmillan for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.
✨ 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 ✨ B̷O̷R̷R̷O̷W̷ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷
WOOF THIS WAS NO JOKE but in the absolute best way.
If you could take the entire ethos of the saying, “What’s your damage, Heather?” and then make it even more twisted and then put the girls into a college setting living in an unauthorized off campus housing right next to a v questionable frat house, then you’d have this book.
Willingham takes all the worst parts of female friendships and ratchets up the tension in disturbingly believable ways - I loved (hated) watching all of the drama unfold and genuinely was blown away by how everything came together at the end.
This makes 3 wins for Stacy Willingham (also really liked All the Dangerous Things and Flicker in the Dark) and I can’t wait to see what she writes next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Infidelity, Child death, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Animal death, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Stalking, Drug use, Murder, Blood, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
_thelitlibrarian's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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
3.25
3.25 stars
-
Grief, Child death, Death, Murder, Violence, Vomit, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape
-
For as long as everyone remembers, Margot and Eliza have been the closest of friends. That is until Eliza tragically passes away three weeks after graduation. Having planned their entire lives together, Margot finds herself alone at Rutledge College. Although Margot vows to herself to live the life Eliza deserves she can't help but isolate herself during her first semester. That is...until she meets Lucy Sharpe. The two of them are polar opposites, Lucy stands out in a crowd and draws people in.
When Lucy offers Margot a room in her off-campus house, she can't seem to figure out why. Suddenly Margot is pulled into a lifestyle that isn't hers, it's the life that Eliza would have wanted. It doesn't take long before Margot's past starts catching up to her and forces her to come to terms with reality. This one was such a slow burn to me, but I think it's what the plot needed. I loved trying to piece everything together and figure out what was going on.
The book flashes between the past and the present, and we find out that a college frat boy next door has turned up dead, and Lucy is missing. Immediately we start to wonder how the two are connected, I would say that this book really starts to pick up at the 75% mark and becomes really thrilling, it seems that the end is filled with twists and turns that you don't see coming! From the start, we know that Lucy isn't what she seems and Margot has been told multiple times to not trust her (coming from Lucy's friends) but uncovering the truth was truly shocking.
-
Grief, Child death, Death, Murder, Violence, Vomit, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape
-
For as long as everyone remembers, Margot and Eliza have been the closest of friends. That is until Eliza tragically passes away three weeks after graduation. Having planned their entire lives together, Margot finds herself alone at Rutledge College. Although Margot vows to herself to live the life Eliza deserves she can't help but isolate herself during her first semester. That is...until she meets Lucy Sharpe. The two of them are polar opposites, Lucy stands out in a crowd and draws people in.
When Lucy offers Margot a room in her off-campus house, she can't seem to figure out why. Suddenly Margot is pulled into a lifestyle that isn't hers, it's the life that Eliza would have wanted. It doesn't take long before Margot's past starts catching up to her and forces her to come to terms with reality. This one was such a slow burn to me, but I think it's what the plot needed. I loved trying to piece everything together and figure out what was going on.
The book flashes between the past and the present, and we find out that a college frat boy next door has turned up dead, and Lucy is missing. Immediately we start to wonder how the two are connected, I would say that this book really starts to pick up at the 75% mark and becomes really thrilling, it seems that the end is filled with twists and turns that you don't see coming! From the start, we know that Lucy isn't what she seems and Margot has been told multiple times to not trust her (coming from Lucy's friends) but uncovering the truth was truly shocking.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Vomit, Grief, Child death, Murder, Violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, and Rape
booksbytheglass's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
this book is completely different than stacy willingham’s other novels, and let me tell you, it completely satisfied my dark academia, campus thriller loving heart! 🖤
I went in expecting a plot twist heavy, shocking thrillers like her last two novels were, so it took me a minute to adjust to the slow-paced, dual timeline writing style. however, the suspense was absolutely worth it! I think I would have loved it even more if the twists were more out of left field than spoon fed, but it was still SO bingeable!
the four main characters, living together in an old frat house, are 100% unlikable, but that’s honestly the best part of it all! I was desperate to see what happened to these friends to make them so unhinged 😅
overall, I think the reasoning behind the mystery and the unaliving wasn’t that strong, leaving me a bit disappointed in the end. but besties, stacy’s writing style is like crack and I would read absolutely anything she writes!!!! I’m a super fan pls
thank you times a million to netgalley and minotaur books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!! next year cannot come soon enough!!
rating: 4 stars
wine pairing: dry creek zinfandel
I went in expecting a plot twist heavy, shocking thrillers like her last two novels were, so it took me a minute to adjust to the slow-paced, dual timeline writing style. however, the suspense was absolutely worth it! I think I would have loved it even more if the twists were more out of left field than spoon fed, but it was still SO bingeable!
the four main characters, living together in an old frat house, are 100% unlikable, but that’s honestly the best part of it all! I was desperate to see what happened to these friends to make them so unhinged 😅
overall, I think the reasoning behind the mystery and the unaliving wasn’t that strong, leaving me a bit disappointed in the end. but besties, stacy’s writing style is like crack and I would read absolutely anything she writes!!!! I’m a super fan pls
thank you times a million to netgalley and minotaur books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!! next year cannot come soon enough!!
rating: 4 stars
wine pairing: dry creek zinfandel
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Child death, and Toxic friendship
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