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torturedreadersdept'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
5.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Cursing, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Body horror, Violence, Bullying, Child death, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, Suicide, Dysphoria, and Addiction
imds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.75
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Classism, Death, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Vomit, and Pregnancy
Minor: Suicide and Abortion
minimicropup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
- An author feeling like a one-hit wonder. They had a best seller, but can't figure out how to follow-up in a meaningful way. They come across as self-pitying, desperate, pathetic, hopeful, entitled, ignorant, and vain, with a touch of covert narcissism.
- THE plot. The plot that was stolen. We get to read it in bits over the course of the story and it's pretty good. Semi-predictable but good.
Atmosphere π: Accusatory, impassioned, pretentious
We follow our MC over time from being a teacher at a small college in small town Vermont to fame in Manhattan, NY.
Cred Rating π: Suspend that belief
Without being OTT, this story is so OTT. THE plot isn't ground breaking, but admittedly new (I think) and quite interesting as a lit fic/thriller. As far as the plot outside of THE plot, it's a bit watered down with lots of OTT moments.
Growls and Howls πΊ:
- Long-con villain monolog. Lots of scheming, plotting, rearranging an entire life to get 'revenge' that can only be successful if multiple coincidental/convenient events occur...broke the story for me. Somehow the villain monolog worked though, because it didn't rely on someone just listening intently instead of trying to escape.
- Confusing ending requiring re-reading. The plot and THE plot eventually come together in a way where minor elements are changed (thank villain monolog for the heads-up) and ultimately I wish we had just read THE plot?
Reading Journey π: Tour of a local college. Some interesting bits, potential, sparks of talent, but also a lot of polite nodding b/c not planning on applying.
Mood Reading Match-Up:
- Meta reads (book within a book and plot within a plot)
- Red herrings and amateur sleuthing
- Family secrets investigation
- Brief touches of OTT lit fic
- Unlikeable characters
- Stolen artistic IP
Vibes: ππ€π£
Content Heads-Up: Drug use (unintentional), Blackmail
Format: Hardcover
Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Murder, Pregnancy, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Vomit, Abortion, and Suicide
Drug use refers tokrystalframe's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Abortion
isabelfaith's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Abortion and Emotional abuse
sibertooth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
What's so fun about this book is that it starts out as a bog-standard MFA Dramedy β you know, with the stalled next novel and the awful student stories and all that β and then turns into a thriller while, to all appearances, keeping the MFA Dramedy scope and stakes. It is genuinely tense and gripping to read about this guy worrying that he's bargained away his self-respect and is about to lose his career.
It gets more conventional later on, and I guessed both big twists (the one in the main story and the one in the within-a-story) somewhat in advance, but that's an expected part of the thriller-reading experience, right?
Tone-wise (as opposed to plot-wise), the ending did seem to come out of left field, and that soured things a tiny bit for me. But this is still a heck of a ride.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Stalking, Vomit, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, and Suicide
Minor: Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Pregnancy
ben_jammin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Minor: Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, and Child death
keijiwolf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Vomit
Moderate: Abortion, Pregnancy, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, and Fire/Fire injury
mh2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction
Minor: Abortion
hazelgirl21's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Addiction
Moderate: Drug abuse
Minor: Abortion, Suicide, and Adult/minor relationship