Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Kolme pahan perii by Karen M. McManus

22 reviews

jbabbm's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Did some of the phrases/thoughts of the characters felt right out of an early 2000s teen movies? Yes.
Was the story actually interesting and completely sucked me in as the mystery developed? Completely.
Will check other Karen M. McManus books in the future? Totally, she certainly knows how to write a good mystery plot. I did see some of the things coming but she completely side-blinded me with the big reveal.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Gun violence, Miscarriage, Grief, and Pregnancy

mollyhood's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Incest, Miscarriage, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

cbbyles07's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

If you’ve read One of Us Is Lying by her you will like this one.  If you like stories that include family drama and disinherited children this one is for you.  It is not as faced paced as other books I’ve read lately but the ending was still a worthy payoff for sticking with it.  This is YA and could be read by older teens.  They do delve back and forth between the current situation and the past to help the reader piece together what secrets have haunted the family for so long. 

TW: miscarriage, drugs, alcohol abuse, death, and violence (most discriptions are not graphic and yield to expectations of a YA book)

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Violence, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

emily_mh's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

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

3.25

This had a great premise and resolution but was told incredibly poorly with no sense of urgency and thrill in the present, no sense of tragedy and intrigue in the past, and no sense of atmosphere in either. The characters and romance were an improvement from Two Can Keep A Secret, however (though the romance was still a bit pointless in this one). Also,

I liked how the ending echoed Jonas' story so much in terms of the imposter and financial fraud elements

.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Death, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Incest, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, and Colonisation

gamora_zen1's review against another edition

funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Miscarriage, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Rape, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Grief, and Pregnancy

toofondofbooks_'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Buddy read with my friend Ale!!

Everything about this book was dramatic as hell, which as someone who has the tendency to also be dramatic as hell, I appreciated. "The Cousins" is a YA mystery about three cousins finally meeting their mysterious, wealthy grandmother over the summer while uncovering the reasons behind their parents being disinherited and cut off completely. Chaos ensues.

There isn't a lot I can say without dropping spoilers, but what I will say in the book's favor is that no matter what you think is coming next in this narrative, you're probably wrong. It is much more ridiculous than I ever imagined. I can't quite decide on whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. I also appreciated that it was fast paced and easy to get through even when I was really frustrated with it. There was something I can't quite figure out that didn't hit for me when it came to this book, but I did like it, so it's a solid 3 star for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Racism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Dementia, Car accident, and Alcohol

Minor: Gore, Incest, Vomit, and Medical content

starrygoldeneyes's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, and Murder

bi_bibliophile's review against another edition

I was bored. There's so much focus on "old money" which I cannot remotely relate to. Plus the characters are just annoying and petty, I really didn't like them and I'm not sure I could through the entire book having to read from their perspectives.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Dementia, and Grief

gingerkathrynreads's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Cursing and Car accident

leahsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

 Even though I’ve only read one of Karen M. McManus’s mystery/thrillers, I was very impressed by her style, and this book solidified her status as one of my favorites in the genre. 

 

In The Cousins, she crafts a story with realistic and flawed characters, and then places them into a compelling setting full of dark, long-hidden family secrets and simmering resentment. The younger generation of the Story family is characterized by difficult relationships with their parents and a lack of relationships with other family members. So when the opportunity arises to visit their grandmother, they hope to make connections and learn more about their family history. But of course, things don’t quite work out as planned. 

 

“The longer Mildred goes without contacting us, the more convinced I am that there’s something off about this entire summer.” 

 

There’s a gothic feel to the island, and I really liked each of the cousins, who were so different in their own ways. Jonah was a jerk at first, but driven and focused with a good heart. Aubrey was sweet and seemingly well-adjusted, but a bit of a doormat. Milly was outspoken but closed off while simultaneously seeking approval from her mother. 

 

“Because surely, one of them has to know what happened twenty-four years ago to make Mildred Story sever ties with all four of her children and never look back. And maybe if I know that, I’ll finally be able to understand my mother.” 

 

I loved seeing the cousins really grow over the course of the book, and realize that just because family secrets have persisted, doesn’t mean that they have to keep things going the way they always have. Despite growing up the way they have, they learn a lot about their family, themselves, and each other. 

 

“There’s something dangerously seductive about Story secrets; they snake their way into your heart and soul, burrowing so deep that the very idea of exposing them feels like losing a part of yourself.” 

 

While a few of the plot twists were predictable, the majority were a total surprise. I quickly got sucked into the story, and read it in a day. I loved the story as much as One of Us is Lying, but I think the characters were even more well-crafted in this book. This was one of those hyped books that was on the nose. My only issue was that sometimes the voice sounded the same from character to character, and I’d have to flip back to the beginning of the chapter to see which POV I was reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Dementia, and Grief

Minor: Racism