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booksandbujos's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was a solid, standard thriller. The middle dragged a little at times, but the ending felt like a decently-paced climax. The reveal felt a little out of nowhere. I also don’t know if we really got closure on the sort of main mystery/ initial incident of the death of her mother. Was it actually natural? Was it supposed to be something more like the other deaths? Not entirely sure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Car accident and War
giasbookhaven's review against another edition
The pacing of this book is slow and the repetitive memory recall: Bones snap. Steel crunches. The sick thud of a skull slamming against the dashboard. Screams. A child cries that echos in nearly every chapter is no longer acting as an intriguing hook for the readers but an annoying directionless loop. I do not agree with Annie's mother's choice of words for her granddaughter but I do a agree with her observation that Tabby is spoiled and too American. Her sense of entitlement is normal for a teenager buy she lacks discipline and respect for her parents and authority. IF it was the goal of the author to make the daughter annoying, she succeed.
Annie's character is dealing with a secret trauma, on top of the loss of her mother and the psychological abuse she embedded within Annie throughout her life. Annie--from her Americanize version of her name Anh to her desires to be seen more than a first generation Vietnamese woman and a daughter of an odd, Vietnamese immigrant who made a name for herself at the hands of rich older white women who allowed her to take her art and make it a living. Or as a woman who married off well--both with her husbands looks, his money and status. Whether subconsciously or consciously, Annie is trying to hold on to this identity she has created for herself as a creative, a wife, and a mother.
In the same breath, readers are left to wonder if Annie's guilt over her mother's death is because she died at Annie's hands or if it has anything to do with something else entirely. I mean, I feel like I could go on and this is just 50+ pages into this book.
Annie feels shame for her:
Mother's compulsive hoarding
Her mother's strict views
Not having the same mother daughter relationship as her close friend
Over not wanting to take care of her mother
Over not being able to have a close relationship with her own daughter
I am sure the list goes on.
Annie's character is dealing with a secret trauma, on top of the loss of her mother and the psychological abuse she embedded within Annie throughout her life. Annie--from her Americanize version of her name Anh to her desires to be seen more than a first generation Vietnamese woman and a daughter of an odd, Vietnamese immigrant who made a name for herself at the hands of rich older white women who allowed her to take her art and make it a living. Or as a woman who married off well--both with her husbands looks, his money and status. Whether subconsciously or consciously, Annie is trying to hold on to this identity she has created for herself as a creative, a wife, and a mother.
In the same breath, readers are left to wonder if Annie's guilt over her mother's death is because she died at Annie's hands or if it has anything to do with something else entirely. I mean, I feel like I could go on and this is just 50+ pages into this book.
Annie feels shame for her:
Mother's compulsive hoarding
Her mother's strict views
Not having the same mother daughter relationship as her close friend
Over not wanting to take care of her mother
Over not being able to have a close relationship with her own daughter
I am sure the list goes on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Death of parent
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Car accident
smagzisreading's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent
magyklyxdelish's review
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Car accident
Moderate: Animal death, Infidelity, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
Minor: Racism, Sexual assault, Police brutality, War, and Classism
minimicropup's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
It’s not bad, but it felt unfinished?
Energy: Visceral. Conciliatory. Woeful.
Scene: 🇺🇸 Mount Pleasant, Virginia.
Perspective: We follow an artist with a spouse and 13 yr old daughter in dual timelines (1980s-1990s to current day). Their mother lived in their guesthouse and has recently passed, and they are grappling with grief along with personal stressors. We also get a side story of a character at a hotel.
🐺 Growls: Too many dream/vision sequences. Unnecessary shock-value dog stuff. Awkward villain monologue in the middle of high-stakes ending.
🐕 Howls: Referring to incidents withheld from the reader for far too long. Insufferable characters over-musing. Feeling like we never get to know Annie.
🐩 Tail Wags: The overall idea of the story.
🤔 Random Thoughts:
An “inferring” style read. There’s vagueness and we can infer to create suspense, but it relies so much on that approach that I felt disconnected from the story.
Everyone is insufferable. The only character I was rooting for was the dog (don’t recommend).
Annia being annoying isn’t a hit against the book, because I think there was meaning for why. She’d obsess over non-important tiny details, then her mind wandered at a key point, and she’d miss the obvious. Given her condition, I think that was the point – she isn’t always rational or justified in her approach to crises. But she felt so one-dimensional.
This relied way too much on dream sequences to create spooks and suspense.
I prefer third person, but wish this wasn’t. It felt like it was originally first person, then someone went back and changed it. The narrator was like an annoying middleperson between the story and the character. It was lagging on page.
It’s almost Chapter 25 before ‘something happens’.
The ‘big bad’ describes everything In The Middle of A High Stakes Scene…Why?! And in this case they are screaming the evil plan into the air!
This entire plot felt like it was dipping a toe in multiple genres on a shallow level. Like the same tale told as a contemporary fiction, then literary horror, then popcorn thriller, then magical realism suspense. It felt disjointed, never really went deep (if there was depth or meaningful symbolism, I missed it), but was written like it was trying to be deep. It’s not a bad story, it’s just told in a way that felt like the same story through the same lens with slightly different filters on.
----
🤓 Reader Role: Middleman narrator. Interpreting first and conveying second, so it’s like they’re inserting meaning in the story without context.
🗺️ World-Building: Vapid. Both for the actual settings/atmosphere and for being in the main character’s mind.
🔥 Fuel: What do Annie’s dreams/flashbacks mean? What will happen with her marriage and relationship with her daughter? Driven by withholding, revelatory backstories, and dream sequences of cathartic release and philosophical insights.
📖 Cred: Plausible-ish suspended disbelief-ish
Mood Reading Match-Up:
- Dog barking. Door knocking. Dark bedrooms. Dust. Rice cooker. Bugs. Porch discussions.
- Generational trauma and second-generation immigrant experiences
- Contemporary fiction with flashbacks
- Musing, reflecting, overanalyzing character study at a distance.
Content Heads-Up: Loss of parent (in adulthood). Verbal abuse (from child). Controlling parent. Generational trauma. War (refugee; PTSD; brief mention/recall). Car accident. Alcoholism. Dementia. Racism (bullying, verbal abuse, tokenism, stereotypical assumptions by characters). Intrusive thoughts, losing track of time, rituals, contamination anxiety. Mysophobia. OCD. Loss of pet (dog, misadventure). Grief. Infidelity. Spiders. Toxic femininity/unhealthy gender roles. Hoarding. Alcohol use. Blackmail. Potential false accusation. Domestic abuse (attempted rape, physical assault).
Rep: Vietnamese. African. American. Second-generation American. Heterosexual. Bisexual. Cisgender.
📚 Format: Audible
My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Mental illness, and Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Racism, Dementia, and Car accident
Minor: Domestic abuse and War
mysterymom40's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Car accident, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Bullying, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual assault, Alcohol, and War
bitesizedbeet's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Alcohol and War
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Racism, Blood, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
rachelcoconut's review
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
newcritter's review against another edition
2.5
This was a good read but not a fun one. The immigrant experience, generational trauma, and insect-driven gore were difficult to read at times but not as difficult as reading through the intrusive thoughts the FMC had that were almost triggering. The end felt almost anti-climactic, and the plot dragged in the last 1/3 of the book, but overall, an interesting read that made me viscerally uncomfortable. Please pay attention to the trigger warnings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and War
julessssss's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
this book is complex in the best ways, it is everything I could have asked for. I have been itching for a good horror (or horror-adjacent) book and this was it.
Annie is an unreliable narrator and I found myself both caring deeply for her but also disliking her (which was a perfect balance). I was compelled to know what was going to happen next and what information was being withheld, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.
I did feel like the resolution was a little lackluster though, and if I would tweak anything about this novel, it would be that.I did like, however, that the ending gave her a secret to keep (in the most vague terms possible lol)
I will be back for more of what this author does in the future.
I cannot say I would recommend this to just anyone (if you are interested, consider looking at a list of trigger/content warnings), however, if you are a horror or thriller fan, this might be a great fit.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing team for granting me a free and advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Annie is an unreliable narrator and I found myself both caring deeply for her but also disliking her (which was a perfect balance). I was compelled to know what was going to happen next and what information was being withheld, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.
I did feel like the resolution was a little lackluster though, and if I would tweak anything about this novel, it would be that.
I will be back for more of what this author does in the future.
I cannot say I would recommend this to just anyone (if you are interested, consider looking at a list of trigger/content warnings), however, if you are a horror or thriller fan, this might be a great fit.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing team for granting me a free and advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: War