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gremlin_with_a_biscuit's review
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical trauma and Death
Minor: Child death
rgerlach's review
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
the_m_lor's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
misty_vistas's review
3.0
Did take a while to build to excitement and there many moments I felt could have been greater fleshed out twice the climax scene just ended leaving me feeling unsatisfied
figgy_pudding's review
a load of rubbish. Was promised sci fi horror but only got horribly over-written insta-love with flat characters I did not care about. This book is the first time I genuinely did not think it is worth the moeny I paid for it. I really tried but did not get past the first chapter
vickybrewster's review
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
betyplush's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
In Exposure by Louis Greenberg, Petra bumps into a man named Vincent, who invites her to join him in attending a series of mysterious and exclusive interactive shows. The shows are immersive and engaging, but disturbing, and she begins to have nightmares, as well as the eerie feeling that her life is imitating the art. As her relationship with Vincent deepens, Petra learns more about his past, and worries about how the show may be manipulating him into doing something terrible.
While it took me a couple chapters to get into this book, I was thrilled once I dove in. The way current and past 'Metamuse' shows were described made me long to attend one. It was similar to how I felt reading about the various tents in The Night Circus. Meanwhile, the dark and invasive nature of the shows does evoke the Black Mirror vibe suggested by the book's description. It made for an interesting tension between the desire for such a show to really exist and the disappointment that I would never get tickets, along with the knowledge it's not actually real and the relief that it isn't.
The plot and settings were the highlights of this book to be sure. The characters were fine, and sufficiently relatable where I vaguely wanted good things for them and was worried about their fates. I related to Petra and her returning to a hobby of drawing she had long ago abandoned, and I felt for Vincent and his desperate yearning for lost family. But I didn't consider these characters particularly likeable, and beyond these bullet points, there's not much else to say about them. They were good vehicles to carry the story, and I'm not certain that focusing more on them wouldn't have detracted from where this book shines.
I think that the vibes of this book will stick with me for a long time. Heck, it gave me such vivid mental images that I almost called it a show multiple times in my review. If you are interested in a Black Mirror meets The Night Circus reading experience, look no further than Exposure.
While it took me a couple chapters to get into this book, I was thrilled once I dove in. The way current and past 'Metamuse' shows were described made me long to attend one. It was similar to how I felt reading about the various tents in The Night Circus. Meanwhile, the dark and invasive nature of the shows does evoke the Black Mirror vibe suggested by the book's description. It made for an interesting tension between the desire for such a show to really exist and the disappointment that I would never get tickets, along with the knowledge it's not actually real and the relief that it isn't.
The plot and settings were the highlights of this book to be sure. The characters were fine, and sufficiently relatable where I vaguely wanted good things for them and was worried about their fates. I related to Petra and her returning to a hobby of drawing she had long ago abandoned, and I felt for Vincent and his desperate yearning for lost family. But I didn't consider these characters particularly likeable, and beyond these bullet points, there's not much else to say about them. They were good vehicles to carry the story, and I'm not certain that focusing more on them wouldn't have detracted from where this book shines.
I think that the vibes of this book will stick with me for a long time. Heck, it gave me such vivid mental images that I almost called it a show multiple times in my review. If you are interested in a Black Mirror meets The Night Circus reading experience, look no further than Exposure.
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