Reviews

Sweetpea by C.J. Skuse

chloexx's review against another edition

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

4.0

feline_spo0ky's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny lighthearted tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Rhiannon is ridiculous and I continuously questioned her motives, but that made her interesting. I enjoyed the idea of an actual psychopathic killer within a psychotic girlfriend circle and seeing what she got up to, she has no human logic so the results were interesting. I did not enjoy the cliffhanger however, so I'm not sure if I will continue the series. 

hjb_128's review against another edition

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

3.5

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aimless's review against another edition

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dark funny fast-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

4.75

keri_mccafferty'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? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

bethersjayne's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

entropia9's review against another edition

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funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

monkeyspams's review against another edition

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I'm very bored. It's just a laundry list of things this series killer is up to, and since we're in her head only, none of it matters much. 

I could see some people feeling squeamish with some of the blunt and direct language about the murder and sex scenes, but I felt nothing. Rhiannon felt nothing either, so it wasn't worth finishing it.

I also didn't realize it was a series. That surprises me. Barely anything happens in the first 40%. I can't imagine how there is enough material to fill a second book!

izypup's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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

4.5

If you watched the show first, the book is almost an entirely different story. Rhi is a wannabe reporter, there is an AJ, there is a Julia, and her dad is dead. Character names are the same but that's almost it. I'm pleased to report that Tink
doesn't die in this one
 
AJ is a teenager in this version but legally an adult so while iffy not technically anything wrong with it. 

Rhi, to me, is both more and less likable in the book. And her actions make remotely more sense. Neither are better or worse, just different. 

Focusing only on the book now: 

Rhi obviously
has a TBI and PTSD
that makes her 'unsettling' but as a neurodivergent woman I also relate to the aspect of trying to mimic social behaviors and fit in but still having something innately 'off' about you. Also the love of Sylvanian families. 

Her killing the cab driver was really where we see that she uses killing predators as a way to justify and because it's what her dad taught her but she is not an anti-hero or vigilante at her core. The cab driver repeatedly denies her drunken advances and just wants to take her home but she 'sees' the smile of other men in him and kills him anyway. 


There's no doubt that Rhi is an unreliable narrator. We hear only her side and the snippets of what characters say to her. 
I didn't realize this was a series getting into it and I probably won't be reading them since I thought the snippets were a 'jokey' Rhi gets published after all and it's her fictionalized exploits. But I guess it was real. 
I might have been too generous with the rating but it was overall a fun and interesting enough read. 
There is a character who has self-harm scars and threatens/attempts suicide throughout the book and is generally referred to as crazy 
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vivjm's review against another edition

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dark funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5