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alexisgarcia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
daybreakreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It’s unfortunately hard to follow - chapters rotate between narrators and first and third person. Somehow all of the characters felt like the same person, and it didn’t help that the investigation involved multiple family trees to keep mental tabs on (in addition to family members being removed, and people changing their names multiple times while also having various nicknames). The audiobook was a nightmare to try to follow along to because of this, but I’d imagine following a physical book would also be annoying and you’d likely spend time flipping backwards to try to remember who is who.
On top of that, the storytelling felt like it was trying too hard to be deep and meaningful, but just ended up feeling bland and unmemorable.
I did think the ghosts being haunted by the living thing was a unique twist I hadn’t seen before; I wouldn’t mind seeing that concept used in another novel. The idea that ghosts can be afraid of someone dying and haunting them eternally was an interesting thought that could definitely be fleshed out more in a different tale.
I do have to tip my hat to the way they handled the darkest concepts of child s*xual abuse, drug addiction, cancer, and domestic violence without going into detail or getting graphic, something many books in this genre struggle with. The setting is given, but the reader connects the dots on the events without being given the gorey details.
Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, and Murder
Minor: Child death
erinmg's review against another edition
5.0
Minor: Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Dementia, Murder, and Pregnancy
hail_archangel'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
2.5
Graphic: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny
Moderate: Child death, Violence, Murder, and Gaslighting
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Vomit, Kidnapping, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
kccool12255's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
AND OH MY GOSH. WOW. This book is REALLY good.
The story itself is SO well-crafted, with the shifting perspectives of Laura and Jean, but then we also get perspectives FROM THE GHOSTS THEMSELVES, and that's VERY creative and insightful. It's also very interesting to follow Laura through her constant cancer treatments, since it makes you really feel for her and even relate to her a lot as a character, and it helps to understand her motivation in uncovering the case. Jean's not as relatable, but she's well-enough to follow
This book was honestly just a fun time. It was a nice read, not my favorite, but still pretty good.
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy
annajoyreed93's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Rape, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse
cryfest'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria
jayisreading's review against another edition
2.0
I felt as though Herchenroether was just constantly feeding me information, to the point where I wasn't sure what to do with all of it, other than hope that it all comes together at the end without it being too muddled. Laura and Jean read as characters with random traits and back stories slapped onto blank figures, crafted in a way that made them seem more complex than they actually were. I think what made their characterizations fail was that they felt disconnected from the plot and even their motives.
Herchenroether isn't a bad writer by any means, but I think there was a lot left to be desired in this novel with the way it was executed.
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Medical content, and Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Rape
Minor: Drug abuse
laurenbookwitchbitch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail