A review by reading_abundantly
Who We Were in the Dark by Jessica Taylor

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

2.75

Grace doesn’t seem very likable. She’s just seems kind of manipulative and controlling but disguises it in a weird whimsy. Like trying to get Rand to overcome his phobia by forcing him to go near ledges or on ski lifts, not cool. And creating this belief in Wesley that he can’t talk to her or really even acknowledge her existence outside of Donner, not cool girl, he’s in love with you. I’m didn’t finding myself super invested in the story and during the winter climax parts I simply detached, like how many things need to go wrong? All of the characters say that they “wronged Grace” but Grace created a world in which none of them felt they could let the uglier parts of their lives be known, a group shielded from the truth. The last 13 pages were very good (crazy, but good), but the rest was fairly lukewarm. Nora is also a very plain character, not overly engaging.