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mrsalexisrjones's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book is old money, it’s rags to to riches, it’s a non frustrating love triangle, it’s will they/won’t they, it’s twists and tricks and puzzles, it’s a guessing game, it’s strategic, it’s un-put-down-able. It’s a need to read for any YA mystery lover.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Violence, and Alcohol
maeveh's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Gun violence and Murder
rafaelabossoni's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
healingtothemax's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, and Abandonment
storieswithbee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I LOVED THIS BOOK!
I have no idea why it’s not a five star read for me, but I just don’t have that attachment that I normally feel to the book that I have given 5 stars to. I think that might be because it’s a YA read. Don’t get me wrong. This is a great book but it was an easy and enjoyable read.
I have no idea why it’s not a five star read for me, but I just don’t have that attachment that I normally feel to the book that I have given 5 stars to. I think that might be because it’s a YA read. Don’t get me wrong. This is a great book but it was an easy and enjoyable read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Death, Blood, and Alcohol
nerdysread's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Est-ce le meilleur livre que j’ai lu? Non mais merde qu’est-ce que c’était bien en vrai. J’étais en mode WoW et cette fin. On se prend vite au jeu (sans mauvais jeux de mots). Bref, je lirai clairement la suite. Je ne pense pas l’acheter mais l’emprunter à la bibliothèque. Bref on verra ce que ça donne.
Merci à NetGalley France et Lizzie pour m’avoir permis d’écouter une version audio du livre contre une review honnête
Merci à NetGalley France et Lizzie pour m’avoir permis d’écouter une version audio du livre contre une review honnête
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism and Child death
foxo_cube's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
The writing style was good and I mostly liked the main character (bar the way her brain just turns off when she thinks a guy is hot - more on that in a bit, though!). At first, I thought the puzzles were a little bit too basic, but the way the ends tied up together was immaculate. The ending of this book is great: questions are answered in a satisfying way and a new plotline is teased, so you aren't forced to read the next one, but there's definitely a reason to.
Most of my qualms with the book are more down to personal taste. There are four Hawthorne brothers - the grandsons of the billionaire who left his property to our main character, Avery. Three of them are of an age range to make them romanceable options for her.
Nash, the oldest, is a cowboy. Why? I do not know. I like him and I was actually really rooting for him and Libby, Avery's older sister, to get together - I felt like they'd be cute together. Yeehaw.
Grayson is an arrogant twat for most of the book . He wears suits and has silver eyes and he's very nasty to Avery a lot of the time, but because he wears suits and has silver eyes, Avery can't help but swoon. Come on! He acts like such a pathetic little man. "Ooh, I've got money. I can sort things out because I have money." The most silver eyes in the world don't make up for that. He does get a redemption arc and I actually ended up liking him. He had reason to be suspicious and standoffish (not excusing him, but explaining his actions) and he seems to acknowledge it was a him problem. He seems to be a decent-hearted guy.
Jameson is... I don't know. He has a personality. I just don't really get what it is. He starts out being drunk and speaking weirdly cryptically like he thinks he's the Sphinx who tells riddles. I was severely put off him when he used a secret passage to go to Avery's room and go "I am in your walls, let me in, let me in" in the middle of the night, and then, when she let him in, he was like "it would be a shame if we were related [with euphemistic intent]". That's nightmare fuel, and she's just like "he's kinda hot, though". What?! Although he becomes more likeable, I never really felt any real chemistry between them beyond her swooning over him occasionally. I just couldn't feel invested in them getting together even though that's clearly what the book's getting at.
Xander is a good boy, a sweet boy, and a boy of many talents. For some reason, despite acknowledging he is tall and attractive (both traits commonly deemed attractive by straight female protagonists in YA novels), he is never swooned over. To be fair, this goes both ways. Xander is much more concerned with eating scones. That, and facilitating the game his grandfather set up to get his brothers to work together to solve a puzzle, occasionally prodding Avery in the right direction when she hits a wall. Silly younger-brother-esque characters always activate the crumb of maternal instinct within me and Xander is no exception. He's my favourite of the boys both because I want to protect him and because we get to know him better than we do Nash.
Avery is definitely a little bit of a blank slate in the YA protagonist kind of way where you're meant to project yourself onto her, but she experiences her own character development and she feels believable.
I feel as though I'd have enjoyed this more if it weren't for the romance elements, which felt a little forced. That said, I liked how the parallel was drawn between Avery and Emily in that respect. I don't know if I'll read the other books in the series, but this was an engaging book that made me want to know what happened next, and if you're more inclined towards this sort of premise than I am, you'll probably love it.
Most of my qualms with the book are more down to personal taste. There are four Hawthorne brothers - the grandsons of the billionaire who left his property to our main character, Avery. Three of them are of an age range to make them romanceable options for her.
Nash, the oldest, is a cowboy. Why? I do not know. I like him and I was actually really rooting for him and Libby, Avery's older sister, to get together - I felt like they'd be cute together. Yeehaw.
Grayson is an arrogant twat
Jameson is... I don't know. He has a personality. I just don't really get what it is. He starts out being drunk and speaking weirdly cryptically like he thinks he's the Sphinx who tells riddles. I was severely put off him when he used a secret passage to go to Avery's room and go "I am in your walls, let me in, let me in" in the middle of the night, and then, when she let him in, he was like "it would be a shame if we were related [with euphemistic intent]". That's nightmare fuel, and she's just like "he's kinda hot, though". What?! Although he becomes more likeable, I never really felt any real chemistry between them beyond her swooning over him occasionally. I just couldn't feel invested in them getting together even though that's clearly what the book's getting at.
Xander is a good boy, a sweet boy, and a boy of many talents. For some reason, despite acknowledging he is tall and attractive (both traits commonly deemed attractive by straight female protagonists in YA novels), he is never swooned over. To be fair, this goes both ways. Xander is much more concerned with eating scones.
Avery is definitely a little bit of a blank slate in the YA protagonist kind of way where you're meant to project yourself onto her, but she experiences her own character development and she feels believable.
I feel as though I'd have enjoyed this more if it weren't for the romance elements, which felt a little forced.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Biphobia, Homophobia, and Infidelity
zoeelora's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
book_becca's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
literally such a good book wtf i finished it in two days after like 6 months of reading slump...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Emotional abuse, Incest, Racism, Sexual content, Medical content, Car accident, and Classism
booknerddd's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
i really actually liked this one. this is a book i couldn’t put down and i haven’t had that in a while so that was a nice surprise. characters are very basic and predictable, yet the boys are still loveable. the heroine is honestly dull. i didn’t realize it as i was reading but girly is supposed to have this incredible brain and can solve any puzzle or whatever, YET she isn’t like witty or even that sarcastic. her background is built to house this witty, sarcastic, take-no-shit girl, but she is literally boring. like you all of a sudden go from NOTHING to EVERYTHING and all you can worry about is your older sister/guardian and cute boys?? BRUH. but otherwise i really liked the twists and turns it’s an entertaining read i just wish the heroine provided more to the dialogue. you can tell the author wanted some badass mf as the heroine (again, re: her backstory), but she did not deliver. hope in the next book she actually finds her voice.
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism and Domestic abuse