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alittlegreenbean's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
3.5
a bit too similar to a secret history, unfortunately. most of the characters felt almost cookie cutter in similarity. however i did enjoy the new topic of theatre and shakespeare, it was very dramatic and fun with lots of foreshadowing which is exactly what i love in dark academia books. the second half of the book felt more unique and the ending was heartbreaking!!
the gasp i gasped when we found out james was alive😠desperate to know if oliver decided to abandon meredith yet again or go find his first lover ugh i was rooting for james x oliver the entire book
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Eating disorder, Suicide, and Addiction
torij2000's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Mental illness and Toxic relationship
Minor: Eating disorder and Vomit
mazzoccatoadele's review
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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
3.5
throughout the whole book oliver is like "i'm fighting demons" and the demons are just bisexuality only for him to have no chemistry with either of his love interests
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Vomit, Drug abuse, and Eating disorder
Minor: Suicide
emradzie's review
dark
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Suicide, Drug abuse, and Violence
kit_kove's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Drug use, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Alcohol
nikenacs's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Addiction, Murder, Gore, Violence, Death, and Suicide
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Eating disorder
annakh16's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was a fast, easy and intriguing read.
The crime/thriller aspect and the unlikeable characters (I thought) were a bit out of my reading comfort zone and it turns out that I was right those things are not my favourite, so quality aside, this partly informed my personal rating. It sure was fascinating though and I especially enjoyed the book‘s take on the intense (cult-like, as Oliver would have it) nature of Dellecher school and how it impacts the obsessive emotions of its students. There was less focus on the mystery as such, but because it made space for those kind of elaborations, I only half minded.
A lot of the Shakespeare quotes and references flew right over my head, which is a shame cause there are a lot of them. You can enjoy the book without knowing much Shakespeare or being very good at understanding him - I did - but for me, the quotes that hit, they hit hard, so I assume it adds a lot to the story.
The major plot point - the characters deciding to just leave Richard for dead - felt somewhat unearned, partly because the key events leading up to this had happened in the space of only a few months. The more you get to know the characters, the more their decision makes sense (from their pov), but I still thought it was extreme and hence somewhat unbelievable.
Re the other major plot point - James and Oliver: this really only developed for me in the second half of the book. I really want to go back now and see if I was just incredibly oblivious for the first half of the book. But it means the final twist of Oliver actually being in prison for James, and them potentially getting together again at the very end (?), was an interesting surprise .
The writing was vivid. There were some great lines (they won’t make much sense without context but I‘ll hide them just in case): “There is no comfort like complicity“. ; “He was handsome the way you think of the devil as handsome - forbiddingly so.“ ; “Eighteen and vulnerable, I‘d felt for the first time the extraordinary dread of wanting something desperately and watching it slip through my fingers.“ ; “But that is how a tragedy like ours or King Lear breaks your heart - by making you believe that the ending might still be happy, until the very last minute.“ (among others).
Ultimately, it‘s a story I won’t forget for a while and it makes me excited to explore more dark academia, though books less focused on crime maybe.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Violence, Drug use, Drug abuse, Addiction, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Gore, Eating disorder, Sexual content, and Suicide
nhelregel's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
4.25
Listened to the audiobook for this one - the only thing with that was that at the beginning it was hard keeping so many primary characters straight. Happily they fall into archetypes (that the play, and then be extension who they are off-stage) so I had everyone down fairly quickly. Overall: this was very interesting and moody and despite there being several mysteries I didn't really feel the need to solve them (because of the frame narrative you know you'll get some answers anyways). At first I felt like one of the major plot points was unearned - it seemed unrealistic that so many people would all agree on a mind-boggling decision. However over the course of the book I felt like it became more earned, sort of? The teasing out of everyone's secrets and the dynamics between the characters were the most interesting and well-written parts, to me. The ending was... annoying in some ways. But overall I very much enjoyed the book, and would recommend! (Sorry if this review is vague - trying not to spoil anything)!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Toxic relationship, Murder, Grief, Physical abuse, Bullying, Violence, Addiction, and Alcohol
Moderate: Suicide, Mental illness, Sexual content, Blood, Eating disorder, Cursing, Drug use, Homophobia, Biphobia, and Drug abuse
errie's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Alcohol, Bullying, Grief, Mental illness, Drug abuse, and Drug use
noella19's review
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Satisfactory ending to a tense story. An interesting read for sure but not as impactful as I wanted.
Oliver’s lack of self awareness or the privileges he’s friends had from simply being in a different tax bracket (implied) is insane
Oliver’s lack of self awareness or the privileges he’s friends had from simply being in a different tax bracket (implied) is insane
I’m not expecting them to be this incredibly unintelligent for people who agreed to conceal a death that didn’t need to be concealed. If they actually committed the crime I would feel better
James my love you deserved better but i fear you’ve been drowning for much longer than you realise. Alex was cold but he was right and Fillipa I’m so glad you came out of this unscathed.
Not a single functional brain cell is working between past Oliver and Merideth . Also knowing how their ended up in the prologue of some chapters made reading about them trying to have a relationship quite hard to swallow. But at least they’re together in the end.
I really don’t like you Oliver and your martyrdom was incredibly ridiculous and disrespectful honestly.
For the writing style the writer is good. I can’t deny them that. The choice to really lean into the whole Shakespearean theme was an interesting choice that paid off most times than not. I would definitely love to read more of their work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Addiction