Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

65 reviews

amberinbookland's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.5

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

heather_harrison's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

mellifluousmemos's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Sometimes I Lie is full of twists and the reveals in the story are revealed in a very unique and interesting way. However, the story had a couple of twists and turns that were confusing, and did not always paint a clear picture. The ending is the most confusing part of the overall story, so it left me slightly underwhelmed. I think this would have been a 5 star book if the ending had a clear and concise twist.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

aoliv__25's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • 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

4.0

First time in a while I've not anticipated the twists in a thriller. I was very happy when the initial tropes started to fall away. I get that some people don't like how complicated the plot gets but I much prefer a thriller that verges on unbelievable than something mundane! 
Not sure it needed such graphic depictions of SA, and personally didn't love a little cliffhanger ending for a stand alone. Otherwise, very strong 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

frances_frances's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • 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

3.0

This book had a ton of flaws and at times was laughably over the top. The Madeline plot felt haphazardly thrown in and Jo felt totally unnecessary. And there's a rape scene that I found gratuitous (especially after the ending was revealed). This book was also fast-paced and the prose flowed easily. I do appreciate Alice Feeney's writing style. Once I surrendered to the ridiculous/over the top aspects of the book, I actually enjoyed the ride. Far from perfect, but certainly engaging and entertaining. (Although I still feel icky about the way sexual violence was used)
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

17kmcollins's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

alekz's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Insaaaaaaaane!!! Sharp objects kind of twists, kept me on my toes the whole time, and the narration was stellar. 
TW: abt ¾ the way through, there is an explicit depiction of r*pe. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

pageafter_paige's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was a super quick read that kept me on my toes! I loved how the chapters jumped between diary entries from childhood, present time, and the week leading up to her coma. Even though the title is called Sometimes I Lie I was still fooled a few times hahaha but overall I felt the ending was predictable once a certain big secret was revealed. I do love Alice’s writing and I find it super engaging. I’m not a huge fan of how it all ended in the last chapter but overall I enjoyed the story! 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

vibingandy's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

surprised at how intense some scenes were, definitely look at the content warnings! otherwise was a bit predictable in parts, and the big twist made the plot more confusing (though it was interesting for sure)
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

siobhanward's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was a decent read - Feeney is good at writing twists, and while I saw some of the twist coming, I didn't see all of it, which was cool. I liked that while Amber was an unreliable narrator, she was just outright admitting that sometimes she lied, unlike some unreliable narrator tropes that rely on the narrator either being some form of addict or just withholding info from the reader without telling them.

The plot was kind of mediocre and it felt like the current-day plot should not have taken up as much time as it did - I get why it did, but it took so long to get there that it really dragged at points. Still a decent enough read that I'm looking forward to reading more from Feeney.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings