Very mixed feelings on this one (Edging closer and closer to anger by the minute).
A lot of ridiculous twists, and an enActual rating: 1.5 (rounded down)
Very mixed feelings on this one (Edging closer and closer to anger by the minute).
A lot of ridiculous twists, and an ending that wasn’t satisfying.
Did anyone else find this book steeped in misogyny? The female characters were written so freaking poorly. Either unhinged, or panicky, or traumatized, or paranoid, or hysterical. Like (view spoiler)[the hero at the end is the serial killer who brutalized and traumatized this woman, so much so that she, in turn, becomes a serial killer… and yet, she’s caught and put away, and her ORIGINAL ATTACKER, WHO IS STILL A FUCKING SERIAL KILLER, is painted as the savior, and gets away scot free?!?!? (hide spoiler)]… Make it make sense....more
I can’t believe my rating either. It’s been a hot fucking minute since I was this thrilleActual rating: 4.5 (rounded up)
Boys and girls, feys and theys…
I can’t believe my rating either. It’s been a hot fucking minute since I was this thrilled by a thriller. I guess endearing cons, clever heists, and cat-and-mouse suspense are my kink. Not gonna question it further. This was a good one, folks. ...more
It’s 3:26AM. I’m standing in front of my bathroom mirror, and I’m staring at a reflection. But the person staring back is a stranger. We’re both holding aIt’s 3:26AM. I’m standing in front of my bathroom mirror, and I’m staring at a reflection. But the person staring back is a stranger. We’re both holding a copy of Lucy Foley’s The Midnight Feast. “Hello,” I say. “Do I know you?” No response. I heard the words spoken aloud… (Didn’t I?) The eyes gazing back at me are unknown. (“Unknowable”) Didn’t I use to say that? They’re wearing my clothes. And there’s a nick on the chin… (Like from the razor this morning) But it’s still bleeding. I reach towards the mirror, and the reflection matches my movement. I wipe a spot of blood from the mirror’s surface. (“Still bleeding”) My hand moves towards the edge of the frame, and so does the reflection. “Oh, no you don’t!” The voice comes from elsewhere, and everywhere, all at once. My ears ring. I look behind me, but it’s just the same beige wall it always was. The muted glow of the bell sconce, the bubbling in the paint that looks like a little sparrow’s head… nothing else. I snap my eyes forward. (Those eyes!) My pointer and middle finger are just brushing the corner of the frame now, but I feel them slow. (“Why the hesitation, Kyle?”) My fingers start to slip. (“It’s alright. Just let go”) My hand falls back down to my side in a motion that gravity doesn’t recognize as normal. I lift the book I’m white-knuckling in the other hand and stare at the cover. (“You know. I know you know”) It’s a whisper now. Quite soothing, actually. Comforting. The warm light of the sconce starts to flicker. I look back to the mirror, the reflection… It’s smiling. I smile back. The light goes out.
Am I actually giving one of her books a rating that isn’t 1 star? Yup! Have I been possessed by some demon conjured from the darkness by Lucy Foley’s publishers? Undoubtedly. Do I need a literary exorcist? Maybe.
All joking aside, I am rather glad that I liked this one. To be honest, I went in fully expecting to hate it, and I guess my expectations had been bottom-of-the-fucking-barrel low, because they were ultimately exceeded!
Actual rating: 2.5 (rounded down, and subject to change… for better, or for worse)
Listen, folks: This books is amateur hour in the writing department. IActual rating: 2.5 (rounded down, and subject to change… for better, or for worse)
Listen, folks: This books is amateur hour in the writing department. It’s basic. It’s generic. It’s simply… not good. But it’s effective in its stupidity. It roped me in with its dumb, ‘undergraduate takes one online storytelling class, and after snorting several lines of amphetamines off a mirrored coffee table, bangs out a book over the course of three sleepless nights, while hunched over a MacBook Air, as a Riverdale recap podcast whines from Alexa’ kind of ease.
The characters are fucking soap opera-level dramatic, with each new wild situation piling onto the last, to the point where I was ready to throw this book against a goddamn WALL (I didn’t, though, as it’s a library copy).
I rolled my eyes nearly every chapter. Do you know how many chapters there are? Fucking A LOT! My eyeballs hurt, I tell ya!
Millie was somewhat interesting. Her “secrets” weren’t entirely surprising. I liked her snarkiness at times. She could be funny in a snide way. But she was also super passive and/or pathetic for 95% of this, so…
Nina was… infuriating. Cecelia was… infuriating. Andrew was… predictable. Enzo was… predictable. Like, I get it. Alright? I do. But these characters were too easy to pin down! I wanted more nuance to the twists, but the depth of character, for each of them, was about 2-feet deep in a clear fucking kiddie pool.
Every time a character spoke a different language, I cringed. The whole ‘Mistaking Spanish words for Italian’, has been done before. “Hola” “Ciao” “Gracias” “Grazie” (I’m rolling my eyes again, remembering that exchange… Please, make it stop. They hurt so much!)
And the main “twists?” Please. I was wholly unsurprised. Called that shit. All of it.
I did, however, find myself reading long into the night, and well past sunrise. It’s so stupid. So, so cheesy. But I ate that shit up!
The only thing keeping it from a lower rating, is the last few chapters. As annoyingly corny in that PG-13, Lifetime movie thriller way, I was still sort of, kind of, Giddy.
I’ll have to see about the second book, and whether I want to continue with this series. On the one hand: I’ll need a cold compress for the strain done to my eyes. And I’ll have to brace myself for more trashy suspense. But I cannot ignore the fact that I breezed through this mess of cheap literary “thrills.” And that I’m now wondering at *checks time* 3:40AM, what kind of garbaggio I’ll find in Book 2…? Honestly? I’m curious....more
I was not expecting to like this as much as I did. Great story. Great characters.
Only thing a bit off was the ending. Kind of sappy, and those closing I was not expecting to like this as much as I did. Great story. Great characters.
Only thing a bit off was the ending. Kind of sappy, and those closing lines a little too creepy....more
I can count on one hand the number of pages Miss Marple appeared in this story. I am none too pleased at her absence fActual rating: 3.5 (rounded down)
I can count on one hand the number of pages Miss Marple appeared in this story. I am none too pleased at her absence from 75% of this book. It was, however, pretty decent overall....more