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smartie_chan's review
1.0
1.5 / 5 Stars
CW: Homophobia, Racism, Physical Abuse, Graphic Depiction of Violence, Sex, Rape, Necrophilia
I have no words left for what I just read. I've also never felt more cheated in my entire life.
I need to take a break from this book because wow.
Why did I buy this?
Because I love serial killers and evil couples and the book made it sound like I would be getting both. I do enjoy evil, dark storys, if all the dark stuff isn't just a edgy, cringy gore fest without substance or hints of a plot.
I guess I did get my evil couple x Serial killer book, but wow, was this not what I would have wanted and wow do I regret reading this.
So what is this even about?
Erika Lee & Dr. Celeste + two forgetable unimportant side characters, get the chance to interview a famous serial killer. They don't call the police and meet the killer at a location of their (as in the killers) choosing, because who wouldn't trust a mass murderer, am I right?
That's all of the plot by the way. We don't do anything else but the interview.
The Good
I've read a book about a serial killer and his boyfriend that did EVERYTHING better than this book and that did managed to not alienate the LGBT community like this one did. But I guess I can still give it credit for featering a bi(or pan?) & lesbian MC. We also never really talk about it, but the name Lee does give me asian vibes, so yeay asian rep, I guess (?).
The good doctor has also tackeled racism, which is one of the more believable and good parts of the book.
I also loved the dynamic between the Dr Celeste & Caroline (the killer). I had a great time watching them flirt and admire each other.
So when both of them managed to get under each others skin, not just because the Dr was a Psychologist, but because they both seemed to share trauma and could therefore relate to each other. Yeah, that was nice.
Some of the reveals were also nicely done, BECAUSE of said dynamic between Caroline & Celeste. I felt like we didn't really forshadow a lot of them, but they still felt like they made sense so I had a good time with them.
Until ... I hadn't because Fordham pulled the biggest 'Fuck You' I've ever seen and my rating went from 3 Stars to 1 Star so quickly, like wow.
The bad
Every character talked the same - in my opinion - felt the same - in my opinion -and was one dimensional - in my opinion. The story was told, not shown an the writing felt flat.
I also hated the beginning of the story. I HATE when a book spends 15% of its time introducing a character just so that character could be killed of FOR SHOCK. There was NO! OTHER! REASON!
Oh, wait there was one :) We later imply that our killer had sex with that corpse. :)
If you want me to take you seriously, you have to stop insisting that Caroline KNEW with 100% certainty that she was the biggest lesbian that ever lesbianed at age 5! And you have to stop telling me that her dad knew that she was the biggest lesbian that ever lesbianed at age 5 and therefore abused and hurt her BECAUSE of that.
I am the biggest ace that ever aced (and I'm also bi) and I did NOT know that at age 5. I pinky promise you so. Especially since the book didn't even try to make it believable as to why she knew all that at such a young age.
There is a lot of confusing info-backstory-dump happening but from what I recall, she didn't have friends, she only had bullies and I don't see why she should start feeling ANY positive emotions towards ANYONE where she would know that 'yep, sure as hell a lesbo'.
I'm not saying she can't be a lesbian but really, that plot point should not have been thrown onto a 5 year old. Believe me, all the trauma she went through was enough already. You didn't need to make her dad look like an even bigger ass. He already was.
It was just really unbelievable.
Like I said, the characters were not interesting.
And I don't just mean out two throw-away lesbians at the start. We don't learn anything about anyone besides Caroline. (Well, we do learn stuff about Celeste which makes her a - if not the only - good character, but she still isn't safing this story) And everything we do learn about Caroline feels very forced. Like, the book wants this to be a theraphy session between our Dr. & the killer but boy, is Dr. Celeste a bad theraphist. The excuse "her patient is a serial killer" doesn't count.
You could throw away anyone besides Caroline & Celeste and nothing would change. EVEN ERIKA who I'll get to in a second. Her I hated the most.
There is no development, no depth, not soul, no heart.
Caroline seems to activly find Erika annoying, and the way she is pushed into the background by Caroline, Celeste & the book itself, makes you sometimes forget she's even there. There are other spoiler reasons for as to why I hate her, but I won't get into those. I just don't like her as a person or as a character.
#TeamDr.Celeste
I cought myself thinking: Why. Why any of this. Why did I do this to myself. I don't dnf books and my bff told me I really shouldn't do this to myself - shoutout to Naomi - but I did and I wonder, why. What was even the point of this book. Because honestly? I don't know.
Especially after the ending.
There was no forshadowing - yes it helps solve some plot wholes but that still. It came out of nowhere, there was no build up, no nothing. It happend just to shock the reader. Just for a twist that feels hollow, cheep and like a big fuck you. Because everything that happened in there, all the relationship development, all the actual build up, was thrown away just because the book felt like doing it.
Why did you build up this relationship between Caroline x Celeste, why make them understand each other, care for each other, admire other, if you only ever ment to troll and laugh at us?
Final thoughts
I'm dissapointed. I'm mad. And I don't reccomand this.
CW: Homophobia, Racism, Physical Abuse, Graphic Depiction of Violence, Sex, Rape, Necrophilia
I have no words left for what I just read. I've also never felt more cheated in my entire life.
I need to take a break from this book because wow.
Why did I buy this?
Because I love serial killers and evil couples and the book made it sound like I would be getting both. I do enjoy evil, dark storys, if all the dark stuff isn't just a edgy, cringy gore fest without substance or hints of a plot.
I guess I did get my evil couple x Serial killer book, but wow, was this not what I would have wanted and wow do I regret reading this.
So what is this even about?
Erika Lee & Dr. Celeste + two forgetable unimportant side characters, get the chance to interview a famous serial killer. They don't call the police and meet the killer at a location of their (as in the killers) choosing, because who wouldn't trust a mass murderer, am I right?
That's all of the plot by the way. We don't do anything else but the interview.
The Good
I've read a book about a serial killer and his boyfriend that did EVERYTHING better than this book and that did managed to not alienate the LGBT community like this one did. But I guess I can still give it credit for featering a bi(or pan?) & lesbian MC. We also never really talk about it, but the name Lee does give me asian vibes, so yeay asian rep, I guess (?).
The good doctor has also tackeled racism, which is one of the more believable and good parts of the book.
I also loved the dynamic between the Dr Celeste & Caroline (the killer). I had a great time watching them flirt and admire each other.
So when both of them managed to get under each others skin, not just because the Dr was a Psychologist, but because they both seemed to share trauma and could therefore relate to each other. Yeah, that was nice.
Some of the reveals were also nicely done, BECAUSE of said dynamic between Caroline & Celeste. I felt like we didn't really forshadow a lot of them, but they still felt like they made sense so I had a good time with them.
Until ... I hadn't because Fordham pulled the biggest 'Fuck You' I've ever seen and my rating went from 3 Stars to 1 Star so quickly, like wow.
The bad
Every character talked the same - in my opinion - felt the same - in my opinion -and was one dimensional - in my opinion. The story was told, not shown an the writing felt flat.
I also hated the beginning of the story. I HATE when a book spends 15% of its time introducing a character just so that character could be killed of FOR SHOCK. There was NO! OTHER! REASON!
Oh, wait there was one :) We later imply that our killer had sex with that corpse. :)
If you want me to take you seriously, you have to stop insisting that Caroline KNEW with 100% certainty that she was the biggest lesbian that ever lesbianed at age 5! And you have to stop telling me that her dad knew that she was the biggest lesbian that ever lesbianed at age 5 and therefore abused and hurt her BECAUSE of that.
I am the biggest ace that ever aced (and I'm also bi) and I did NOT know that at age 5. I pinky promise you so. Especially since the book didn't even try to make it believable as to why she knew all that at such a young age.
There is a lot of confusing info-backstory-dump happening but from what I recall, she didn't have friends, she only had bullies and I don't see why she should start feeling ANY positive emotions towards ANYONE where she would know that 'yep, sure as hell a lesbo'.
I'm not saying she can't be a lesbian but really, that plot point should not have been thrown onto a 5 year old. Believe me, all the trauma she went through was enough already. You didn't need to make her dad look like an even bigger ass. He already was.
It was just really unbelievable.
Like I said, the characters were not interesting.
And I don't just mean out two throw-away lesbians at the start. We don't learn anything about anyone besides Caroline. (Well, we do learn stuff about Celeste which makes her a - if not the only - good character, but she still isn't safing this story) And everything we do learn about Caroline feels very forced. Like, the book wants this to be a theraphy session between our Dr. & the killer but boy, is Dr. Celeste a bad theraphist. The excuse "her patient is a serial killer" doesn't count.
You could throw away anyone besides Caroline & Celeste and nothing would change. EVEN ERIKA who I'll get to in a second. Her I hated the most.
There is no development, no depth, not soul, no heart.
Caroline seems to activly find Erika annoying, and the way she is pushed into the background by Caroline, Celeste & the book itself, makes you sometimes forget she's even there. There are other spoiler reasons for as to why I hate her, but I won't get into those. I just don't like her as a person or as a character.
#TeamDr.Celeste
I cought myself thinking: Why. Why any of this. Why did I do this to myself. I don't dnf books and my bff told me I really shouldn't do this to myself - shoutout to Naomi - but I did and I wonder, why. What was even the point of this book. Because honestly? I don't know.
Especially after the ending.
There was no forshadowing - yes it helps solve some plot wholes but that still. It came out of nowhere, there was no build up, no nothing. It happend just to shock the reader. Just for a twist that feels hollow, cheep and like a big fuck you. Because everything that happened in there, all the relationship development, all the actual build up, was thrown away just because the book felt like doing it.
Why did you build up this relationship between Caroline x Celeste, why make them understand each other, care for each other, admire other, if you only ever ment to troll and laugh at us?
Final thoughts
I'm dissapointed. I'm mad. And I don't reccomand this.
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