Disclaimer: I received this e-book from the author. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: Madness
Author: Paitlyn Parque
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 2/5
Recommended For…: horror, dystopian
Publication Date: August 10, 2021
Genre: Horror Dystopian
Recommended Age: 17+ (TW suicide, violence, death, gore, PTSD)
Explanation of CWs: Suicide is shown and mentioned and is a main plot point to the read. Violence and gore and death are also shown. PTSD is shown.
Publisher: Self Published
Pages: 301
Synopsis: Death is not an escape.
One night Ezra Adkins is brutally murdered in her own home. As she was dying, she expects to wake up in the afterworld.
She was wrong.
She loses consciousness and awakens into a horrific game of kill or be killed. Players can be killed an infinite number of times, but the only permanent way out of the game is their actual death by suicide.
Players in the game ruthlessly hunt each other for points, while others kill for fun. Most players have given up on finding an escape from the game and spiral into insanity, killing without reason.
It’s mayhem.
Ezra soon learns who to trust and who to hunt down. But as she falls deeper into the game, she starts to lose herself as the bodies pile up. The line blurs between what she’s always known to be right and wrong.
Metal will clash. Blood will spill. Minds will break. And before it’s too late, Ezra must find an escape from the game before she becomes the real enemy.
Review: For the most part this book was ok. It was an interesting premise and I thought it was well paced and the plot was intriguing. I also thought the character development was fairly well done.
However, you really have to be in the mood for this book. The subject matter is very mature and can be triggering. The book’s characters also felt a little flat for me and I struggled to get through this book. I also feel like the title and some of the subject matter about characters being “driven to madness” can be a bit triggering and discriminatory to people who do have mental health issues.
Verdict: It was ok.
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