Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Listen For The Lie by Amy Tintera

135 reviews

camille_caterpillar's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • 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

4.5

I'm always a bit sceptical of thrillers that get a blockbuster success. Oftentimes, they are very okay books, 'correctly' constructed, with an engaging if rarely original premise. They steer clear of controversial or heavy themes, and don't delve too deeply into character work and fraught emotion. The narrative is the goal, the suspense, the tension. There is nothing wrong with such books, with 'popcorn thrillers' and I enjoy them a lot.

But if Listen for the Lie started as one of those -- fun, entertaining, engaging but neutral, accessible, light in its darkness - it took a turn at the 39% mark. A turn for the best.

Let me first say that the first third of the book - the more classicly 'popcorny' portion - is masterfully executed, with a wonderfully catchy premise, a funny, engaging voice, and an intriguing main character. It includes some of my favourite thriller tropes: small town crimes, and podcasts.

After the 39% mark however, it starts to include strong feminist themes, not in a forceful, preachy way, but in an organic, extremely realistic way. It talks about strong female friendships and solidarity between women, but also about prejudices, what we conceive as 'good' women, how eager we are to protect men, yet how quick we are to judge women. I was surprised to find myself at times frustrated and at times very touched by the way these things were portrayed.

As for the conclusion, it is very satisfying and surprisingly heartwarming. 
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regnistegra's review against another edition

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

3.25

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devonsonnessa's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book was great! Was into it enough that I read it really fast, but my only complaint that prevented me from giving it a full 5 stars is that I predicted who the killer was, it was pretty obvious. Otherwise, loved this book!
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otterpopstorm's review against another edition

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

3.0

my mom recommended me this as a fast thriller, which it is! the sense of humor was definitely not for me; the millennial sarcasm fell flat for me and the pop culture references just felt out of place. the mystery was interesting enough, though sometimes it was hard to take the narrator’s voice in her head seriously, especially at first. the ending was definitely a surprise! for me, this was mid overall but fun to read
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lavishrebellion's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.0

I completed this book via audiobook. And it was such a great listening experience!! I was wowed. And I’m team physical copies of books! 
A classic thriller and mystery in many ways, dare I say it also had a bit of a beach read vibe to it. (When I tell you, I was all ears!!) 🎧 
“Listen for the Lie” was funny at times, definitely had a handful of sarcastic and petty characters on deck and there’s a scene of overt smut for those of you who love a steamy read or chapter 😏. But the underside of this very entertaining novel was that domestic abuse, infidelity, and male incel behavior were also included and explored. As well as the impact and importance of friendships, past and present.
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alexasolis98's review against another edition

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

3.75

I like Lucy's character for the most part. She is funny and snarky. One of the issues is that sometimes it can be a bit much. All the other characters (not including Paige) are just horrible people. Even our smug with questionable ethics podcaster, Ben. 
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paper_ink_coffeerings's review against another edition

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

4.75

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t0r0_p's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

3.0

A podcast/main character storytelling style that allows you to question what is true as the plot develops. Some romantic (and not so romantic) moments that unravel relationships and explore complicated mixed up feelings. The Texas small town setting perfectly contributed to the covering up of facts and putting on a face when there is rot underneath. 

Overall I found it a page turner although admittedly the ending fell a bit flat for me as there was not full resolution. 
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allieryanreads's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Very interesting read to start off the year!  While I ended up reading most of it, the audio version had a male narrator for the podcast versions, which was a really nice touch.

I thought it was surprisingly funny amid all of the heavy content.  Definitely would read more by the author!
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emily8king's review against another edition

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funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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