Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

You're Invited by Amanda Jayatissa

37 reviews

iamnita's review against another edition

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

4.0

This was an absolute banger. If you’re in a reading slump this is for you. It moves steady and I love the way the chapters are built. The story is very involved but told in a way that didn’t feel overwhelming. It had a lot of reference to Sri Lankan culture but does so in an educational way that left me feeling included. It is an absolutely solid read.
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mariahkindareads's review against another edition

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

3.75

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amobrien's review against another edition

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

4.25

This book ended up really surprising me, not only with the clever plot and ability to tie up all loose ends but also with the way it completely dragged me in. When I first started this book, I felt like I was just trying to push through it - the characters are so unlikeable and it seemed like it was setting itself up to be too predictable. I was definitely too quick to judge, and I'm very thankful I  kept going. If you love mysteries that always have you second-guessing, this one's definitely for you! 
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blackcatkai's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

4.0

CW: casual ableism, self-harm (on page), violence, death, blood, gun violence, mental illness, trauma, alcohol use, sex, slut/body shaming, domestic abuse, gaslighting/catfishing, misogyny, brief mentions of drug addiction and pedophilia (not graphic)

this was quite the ride with a bunch of twists & turns, especially in the end. love me a book with rich people drama, even if it's not the entire focus in a story. will definitely pick up more from Jayatissa in the future, this was so easy to get into.
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theoceanrose's review against another edition

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

4.5

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lbsalas's review against another edition

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

3.5

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mdonn20's review against another edition

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

3.0

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cassielaj's review against another edition

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

2.75

I liked this until I didn’t… that’s the best way to explain it. It was definitely twisty and I wanted to know what happened, but there was no real sense of urgency or high-stakes situation, partly because I didn’t like the characters. I also thought that the book was reallyyyy front heavy, with a lot of time dedicated to the rising action and very little time spent on explaining the “big twists”
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amandagrzski's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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bree_of_the_woods's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

0.75

Truly a bizarre read. 
Very slow going, with disturbed MC who has very dark, violent thoughts about others and engages in self-harm. 
All of the characters are unpleasant in varying degrees. Towards the end, Jayatissa begins throwing in so many plot twists/fact reveals that feel like a few too many. Ending was an abrupt, bizarre wrap-up, that left one major line of facts out of the final “whodunnit story” and none of the characters ask about it, and then you get more layers of unpleasant characters that by the last page I was left with a very “what the heck did I just read” sort of bad taste in my mouth. 

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