Daijah
actual rating: 2/5 stars
i originally gave this 3 stars but after discussing it on the literally dead book club & the troop liveshows i realized how literally nothing in this book connected. also this tried to make this toxic, crazy romance and they barely did anything crazy. like baby this is nothing
i originally gave this 3 stars but after discussing it on the literally dead book club & the troop liveshows i realized how literally nothing in this book connected. also this tried to make this toxic, crazy romance and they barely did anything crazy. like baby this is nothing 😭 i will say it kept me engaged and interested the entire time tho
catherine ryan howard's “the trap” starts off with an intriguing idea—a mystery inspired by real disappearances that had me hooked from the beginning. i was hoping for a real page-turner, but things didn't quite pan out that way by the end.
the story takes us through different viewpoints, which i thought would be exciting, but honestly, it didn't really grab me. i was often confused on who's perspective i was reading from especially in the beginning of the story. i think if you read synopsis more in-depth before you start a book, you'd be fine but i like to go in only knowing a view buzzwords specificlaly for thrillers.
lucy and nicki, the main characters, didn't come across as real as i hoped they would. lucy's hunt for her missing sister felt kinda weak, and nicki's character just left me puzzled.
at first, i was curious to see where everything was headed, but the excitement sort of fell off during the first half. the writing was nice and all, but the story just didn't come to life. the potential i saw at the start seemed just fizzled out. just when things seemed like they were picking up, it was too late to reignite my interest in the story.
i'm still kinda stuck on the big twist at the end, i could see it being a good ending but i think just with the rest of the story being so slow and boring, the ending didn't really impact me. the journey to get there was a bit of a letdown. it felt like the twist was tossed in without much connection to the slow build-up. there were parts of the story that seemed important but ended up not really mattering at all. it overall just left me with a sour taste in my mouth.
looking back, “the trap” had potential but sadly it stumbled when it came to putting it all together in a way that worked. while i give props to the author for trying something ambitious, i was really hoping for a more exciting and well-crafted story. this one could've been a real rollercoaster, but instead, it left me wanting more.
ahhhhhhhhhh! i absoutely adored this book. this review is a bit hard for me to write just because i relate to the content of this book so much but it truly is a masterfully written book. this is the type of thriller that mean something to me. the normal domestic thriller doesn't do much for me anymore but a thriller that is profound and says something like this one are the types of stories i want to be consuming
starting with shay, the main character, i love how unreliable she became throughout the course of the story and the fact i didn't trust her at some parts, makes the messages of this story even more profound. her desire and need to avenge her college friends and not only find out the truth behind their deaths but to also get revenge for the trauma they've experienced in their past was amazing.
i loved the mixed media elements of this story and how a podcast was incorporated. the way that ashley winstead wove the podcast into the story was expertly done and it didn't seem like some ploy to be able to slap that buzzword onto her book. it made sense with the plot and made the experience more immersive. there is also some flashbacks that occur later on in the story and the contents of this book plus the flashbacks made it feel like a way way way better version of the show cruel summer.
i also really enjoy cult books and media. i've never quite read a cult like this but it was just mind-blowing. this book was really cathartic for me personally as someone who has experienced grooming and emotional abuse. i feel personally nobody truly understands the impact that grooming and abuse can have on people unless they've been through it but this book was perfect in how it shows it always lingers
the ending was literal perfection but won't work for all readers
thank you to SOURCEBOOKS, ashley winstead, and netgalley for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review
after reading them by this same author i was highly looking foward to this book because i devoured them and it's most likely going to be on my favorites of the year. i cannot say the same for broken dolls. this one actually has a premise that is more up my alley because home invasions are one of my greatest fears.
i honestly find it very difficult to discuss this book so i'm going to start off positive. the writing in this is absoutely impeccable just like them. mique knows how to write and it shows. there were some slight errors but that doesn't really ever bother me.
now to me this story had no character development, no depth, no nuance which is the exact opposite of them. for me extreme horror needs those things or else it feels like torture porn for the sake of torture porn which is not why i read extreme horror. i read this genre to explore the darker sides of humanity which is a cathertic experience for me and don't get me wrong i love a gory, slasher, time but this didn't feel like that. this book made me feel actually icky and not in a fun way. i have never felt any shame around reading this genre and will openly talk about it with almost everybody in my life going into extreme detail but i honestly don't want to tell anybody the content i read in this because i feel shame. i've been starting to have conversation with others in the community who also read this genre about where lines should be and i'm not saying censorship or anything like that but what should be acceptable for the genre and this was crossing the line for me personally.
i did not have a good time reading this at all and i love to feel uncomfortable when reading extreme horror. i love to feel my stomach twist. hell when i read them i literally vomitted and loved it. this was not that.
