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alexisgarcia's review against another edition
- 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
i felt like the coma chapters were really slow and dragged for me. the twists were okay but some of them seemed so pointless. some of the twists were unnecessary and awful. it brought the book down so far for me. there was no reason for some of the book content to be in there.
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
joisaddler's review against another edition
- 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
2.0
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
magellen's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
The book is a great example of unreliable narration but is likewise tedious in stretches where the mc walks forward and backwards through her thoughts with zero self trust and yes, toxic relationships do instill distrust in one's self, but it just feels like bloat in the narrative when it doesn't stop. Likewise it breaks your trust in all the narratives, breaks the momentum the book has built and becomes a muddle halfway thru. Intentionally done and layered as it is it mostly works but I feel like I only began enjoying the book in the last quarter and prior to that it was simply 'welcome to untreated paranoia'.
Every character is unlikable, no one ever has an honest conversation and yes sure Sometimes I lie, but the inconsistency and internalized body judgement gets in the way of it being a truly satisfying read.
Graphic: Body shaming, Confinement, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Kidnapping
cherrypiejay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
adequateanja'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
3.0
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Gaslighting
savvyrosereads's review against another edition
- 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
Amber Reynolds is in a coma, but she can hear everything going on around her—she just can’t remember how she got there, or figure out how to wake up.
This one was…not for me. In fairness, a plot where the main character is in a coma for 30% of the chapters is naturally going to feel a bit slow, but none of the timelines were particularly entertaining to me. I also had a lot of issues with the plot itself, which I won’t discuss here because spoilers.
As for what I did like—there are some beautiful quotes and the writing is really sophisticated. I also really like a twisty psychological plot, so even though the details of this one weren’t for me, the idea behind it all was fun. And, as always, it was so fun to buddy read with some of my faves!
Recommended if you like: cerebral psychological thrillers; multiple timelines; domestic-ish thrillers
CW (mild spoilers!!!): Sexual assault/rape; infertility/miscarriage/pregnancy loss; cancer/grief/death of loved one/death of parents; OCD/mental illness.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer and Terminal illness
rharris86dc's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
rosie_valadez's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Fatphobia, Miscarriage, Rape, Stalking, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Alcoholism and Car accident
hmserm's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Gaslighting
alysereadsbooks's review against another edition
- 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
1.5
The main action is really the last 20 pages or so, and while the twist with Claire/Taylor/Amber was gripping, it was very hard to keep track of who was who and who did what. Maybe this was intentional to mirror Amber’s confusion, but it was jarring and difficult to read. It felt like the author was trying hard to make the ending surprising. I had a hard time finishing this. I didn’t find the character of Amber likable, so I didn’t feel invested in her story. Part of that was intentional with the diary entries, but really overall was not my favorite.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Violence, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment