lenorayoder's reviews
146 reviews

This book probably deserves a higher rating but my ratings are subjectively about how much I like a book and this one was tough to enjoy. 

The perspective character is so unpleasant that this book is hard to read, especially the first 50% or 70% in which not a lot is happening. Once we get towards the end and everything really starts to move the book gets a lot more enjoyable. The main character is still deeply unpleasant, but it becomes more interesting and because more is happening I wasn’t just marinating in that awful personality with nothing else to think about. 

It was an easy read, but it just felt so generic. Nothing about the setting or characters really drew me in, and there’s a big chunk of the book where barely anything happens. I also didn’t really believe the love between

Lei and Wren

. Probably because neither felt like enough of a real person to me, and there were so many time skips. Just very meh, won’t be reading the next book. 

Ugh. They’re so cute. Ending felt a little rushed and cliche. Don’t like the new art style. Still recommend, still worth the read. 

Clearly a response to current events and literacy rates in the U.S. Literally mentions deepfakes and is a lot less subtle than the other Hunger Games books, especially the original trilogy. Loved all the new characters, I wish we got more of them. Started sobbing at the ending when

Katniss brought Haymitch the goose eggs

and never recovered. Ugh. 

I really liked this at first, but as we left her childhood the nonlinear style of the book felt more and more like a hindrance. It also felt like there was very little self-reflection or -analysis. Blair will just tell the story of something shocking or strange and often move on without examining (or even mentioning) how it affected her, and we’re unable to connect those dots ourselves because the next story she tells will have happened years earlier. There are so few dates or other specifics mentioned that even if I wanted to I couldn’t put these stories in order. I understand the choice, it relates to how her memory works now with her MS, but in a memoir context is pretty important. If it’s not provided by the order of the stories, it should be mentioned within them. 

Some of the essays are well-written, interesting, and provide unique insight. Some are random and confusing. 

Again, the lack of analysis and reflection was frustrating for me. For example, there is a LOT going on with her relationship with her parents. But a lot of it is told in a vague way, and important events and context feel excluded. I doubt she’s even really examined those relationships herself, let alone written about it for us. The denial is just really weird for a memoir. 

So good. Interesting characters, vividly descriptive writing, and so much suspense. I love a gothic but even if I didn’t this would get 5 stars. Definitely recommend and will be keeping an eye out for a copy to own. 

A few things haven’t aged well but luckily they’re a small part of the narrative. 

Loved the main character, wish we got to sit a little more with the rest. Maybe the hazard of having a POV character who doesn’t like socializing, although even with that I think Daphne could have had more dimension. Something about the pacing felt weird to me but I can’t pinpoint it. Maybe that this kind of feels like it should have been a trilogy? Solid ending, wish

the groundskeeper

was a part of it because I loved

him

. Some fun world-building, again wish I saw a little more of it. 

things i didn’t like from the first book were amplified, and the plot wasn’t compelling enough to make up for it this time. i liked carrie’s story and that all the siblings react differently to their trauma, but everything else is a bit of a mess. so much is frustrating about this book that i can’t stand to list it all right now 

Like the idea, love a gothic, don’t love the execution. The story is told from a future Cathy’s perspective in a way that doesn’t let us marinate in the siblings’ situation. There are both fantastical and realistic elements at play, but because neither are leaned into enough I felt trapped in an unsatisfying middle ground. 

The

incest

is interesting in concept but the weakness of both Cathy and Chris’ character writing makes the whole development of

their relationship from platonic to romantic

feel almost boring. The way Cathy is written in general when it comes to anything sexual or romantic is very frustrating. 

I won’t get into it more, but overall it just feels like the book doesn’t delve deep enough into the characters and their changing selves and relationships. Very cool premise, I’m compelled to read more of the series and want to know what happens. I just think it could be so much better. 

A book with a lot of promise that fell a little flat for me. I liked the setup of the book, and also really enjoyed the ending. The middle's a little muddy. Even the author seems to lose interest in the main plot of the scavenger hunt, and the only interesting B-plot (Georgia's) is, by nature, barely doing anything in the middle of the book. 

I think the big problem with this book is its side characters and plots, although Chloe's character isn't fabulously written either. Other than Georgia, they all feel very token. Everything we know about them is surface-level and/or vague, and everyone who isn't a straight up villain has some sort of queer identity by the end of the book. That wouldn't be a problem, except that even Chloe's other close friends feel like token characters. We know as much about Ash as we do the student body president, even though one is Chloe's close friend and the other is just a classmate she's friendly with. Ash's only significant dialogue is when they're talking about their queer identity, and that feels more like a pattern in this book than an isolated incident. That's a problem. 

My other big problem is Shara herself. Chloe and Shara have the bones of a really interesting dynamic

and relationship

, but the book only alludes to or tells us about the most interesting parts of it, instead of letting us see for ourselves.

They barely interact.

We get all this build up of

Shara as a villain

, and then it turns out she's never even

done anything mean

. The closest she gets is

turning on her dad

, and that's more

heroic than villainous

. Like the Chloe herself says,

the potential villain side of Shara is more interesting than her being nice and innocent

. Unfortunately, McQuiston teases and then refuses to deliver on exploring

a relationship between two people who are kind of mean but work romantically anyway

, and I think that's a shame.