majority of people absolutely LOVED this book, and a fair few in between hated it, and to be honest I fell around the middle.

don’t get me wrong, it’s a 4⭐️ and I enjoyed it (despite my lack of knowledge of greek mythology), but I have to say, it did feel like it was missing something…

I loved the relationship between achilles and patroclus and, whilst achilles’ decisions became more and more questionable throughout, I liked how patroclus stood his ground and the dynamic they had together.

I’m not sure there was enough characterisation though, or even plot. I made it to the end but somehow I couldn’t really tell you much of what happened except achilles really cared about fame and patroclus thought he was a bit silly for it tbh 🤔

the ending was sad (those last 2 lines are written beautifully ❤️), but it didn’t quite make me cry. I felt a little too distanced from their love story, after all the fighting three quarters in where I honestly got confused with the sheer amount of greek names thrown about

the book mostly feels disappointing only because I’ve heard so many great things about it, and I do like the writing style overall

expectations aside, I’m glad I read it, and it’s interesting to read all the wildly different reviews on it 👀

I read this in a day because it was SO addictive

it’s a unique, chilling read with diagrams of house floor plans that make you question why the layout could be so utterly strange… there’s rooms trapped in the middle of the house with no windows and tiny rooms/closets with no way inside them. I felt kinda freaked out from the first few pages 👀

the rest of the book reads like an interview as multiple characters discuss what they think could possibly be going on in this insane house, and secrets begin to unravel that I didn’t expect…

overall this book was like nothing I’ve read before. I think the fact that a house is such a comforting and familiar thing to us, that having this warped and distorted reality is quite horrific psychologically. more so than your typical horror books.

I did find that the reveals at the end were a bit too fast and convoluted for my liking - to the point where my brain was like huh what’s happening 🤨 as a LOT of characters were introduced at once.

but I still enjoyed it a lot, so an easy 4⭐️ from me

my favourite part of this book? christmas movie bingo!

I liked that each chapter was named after a popular cheistmas movie trope, and as you went through the book, each one was ticked off by the main character. it was unique and brought the cosyness and comfort of those films to the page 🤗 and I liked that this was tied closely to the journey of grief and learning to move through it 🤍

the book as a whole? I felt slightly let down. whilst I liked the whole go-back-to-your-small-hometown vibes, it was missing some more unique features to make the characters really stand out. the dialogue of mally (the main character) confused me with her actual age because a lot of the time I read her like she was younger.

also her best friend elle? the fact that mally never pushed back on how self centred she was being, didn’t feel like a resolution to me. I understood her want to remain friends, but the lack of boundaries here meant mally was still not recognising her own self worth and what she deserves in a friend 🤷‍♀️

a decent 3⭐️ read if you’re looking for a cosy christmas book, but I’m kind of looking forward to moving away from christmas books now to some different genres ☺️

addictive, slightly crazy, very very readable but also kinda average?!

I’m not usually a thriller reader but I had to add this one to the list, after recommendations from book club and the upcoming film adaptation.

I was expecting lots of twists, and to be honest nothing was really very shocking. I kind of saw the main twist coming a mile off 👀

but despite that, it was entertaining. I felt like I barely knew the characters or really cared about them but at the same time the plot was exciting enough for me to be invested 🤷‍♀️

definitely the kind of book to get you out of a reading slump! or if you want an easy read with simple writing

I’m intrigued to see what the film will be like… I reckon better than the book!

I wanted to love this book more than I did 😬

it’s essentially the world inside the head of a troubled teenager - his thought process, his discussions with his parents, his headteacher and those around him. he’s struggling with his mental health and how to find himself in the world.

I can appreciate the abstract writing - the way the dialogues of different people filter into one another is a clever way to make you feel as chaotic as he feels inside himself. but it also didn’t fully work for me 🫣

it was hard to get into at first - which could just be because I don’t identify with a teenage boy - and I found that it was so clever it almost lost its plot. there were no parts to really cling onto and feel connected to.

it’s disappointing because I do feel like max porter is a good writer. I’m kind of more interested in watching the film adaptation on netflix now 😅