Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - One of Us Is Back

Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

One of Us Is Back by Karen M. McManus

35 reviews

bo0ks_are_cool91's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Maybe my expectations were too high after reading the first 2 books, but one of us is back didn’t feel like a complete end to the trilogy for me. The mystery element didn’t start until the 2nd half of the book, and I wish the loose ends were wrapped up more conclusively. The characters are still⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ though.

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dramagirl2003's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

it's so satisfying to finally read the conclusion of the trilogy. it was brilliantly executed, and i loved the revelation of unknown details from the time of the first book

thoughts while reading

p7: I bet it's flipping owen
p8: oh never mind, ofc it's jake
p10: *cough* murderer
p18: oh right, never mind. it's been a few months since i read one of us is next, and i clearly forgot the ending. poor owen, I was wrongly remembering him as a villain. also I forgot he was so young
p136: totally fair, I would also wanna punch that guy even at the risk of losing my job
p137: oh now I really would punch that arrogant smirk off his stupid frickin face
p144: IF THAT DEVIL SPAWN HAS DONE ANYTHING I'LL PLOT HIS MURDER WITH NATE
p148: stab the snow 🤣
p205: it really, really better not actually be owen this time. i'm gonna scream if it is
p210: mr alton is 100% the reason mrs riordan was so excited about work six years ago
p282:

WHAT THE HECK EVIE YOU COW

p284: no but like i'm confused. does nate work at the construction site as well or just the bar? i mean they might have told us at the start of the book and i could've just forgotten
p288: no come on cause nate told phoebe he was at work until 3, but he's still at the bar at 7, so where's the consistency here??
wait, did he mean 3am?? ughh can we just have a little more clarity here
p292:

GAVIN!! SHIT!! AND YOU JUST HANDED ADDY OVER TO HIM NATE!!

p297: I FREAKING KNEW IT!! OH SHOOT
p317:

WHATTT JAKE IS ALTON'S SON???

p323: oh shoot, what now??
p327: dear gosh, he really was a murdering psyopath right from the start wasn't he
p331:

shit she's totally gonna shoot jake before she leaves

p332: what did I say
p344: aw knox, my hearttt that was so cute
p347: AHHHH i forgot about that!! thank goodness for addy!
p351: stoppp 🥺 i'm actually about to start crying 😭
p356:

it's a GIRL!!!

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itzbrianna's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious fast-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? No

4.0

It’s not secret that the One of Us Is Lying series is one of my favorites. And this book brought a lot of nostalgia back from the first two.

The mystery in this particular novel was woven into the plots from the first and second book. And the new characters added a nice touch of humor and/or angst when needed.

In this third installment we get the POVs from Nate, Phoebe, and Addy while getting backstory pov from Simon and Jake on occasion. I loved Nate’s personal development throughout this book and how it highlighted his friendship with Addy.

This story really completed the trilogy with a nice bow. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Still, the 2nd installment is still my favorite. But I do love the climax of this one. Let me tell you, it’s a doozy! If you enjoyed the first two I think you’ll like this one almost as much.

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lochnessvhs's review against another edition

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4.0

I'm not sure if this is truly a 4-star book. I loved the last chapter so much with Addy at the beach. And maybe I'm nostalgic because this was my final book of 2023. Either way, I think it was a great end to my reading year, and I am thankful to Karen McManus for creating this crazy world.

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kirstenpod_'s review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

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melodyseestrees's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-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

3.25

The characters are diverse in that there are LGBTQ+ characters. All characters feel very white, even though some of them may not be. This may just be an error in reading on my part or some sort of internalized stereotype however.
This book starts as possibly the slowest and most boring book of the trilogy. The first forty percent of the book contains a lot of set up and very little suspense. The characters also feel like they should all be in their late twenties, even though two of them are in their late teens. They don't feel old in the way most other traumatized characters do either. They seem mostly unphased by the events of the last two books other than when there is an active threat.
There are several potential antagonists being hinted at throughout the novel. This is often a very nice technique however I felt the technique was a bit fumbled upon the reveal.

It winds up being none of them. It is two characters, one who shares a work place with one of our main characters and another character you lowkey forget exists until the reveal.

The world is also unrealistic in how it handles certain events

Owen being revealed to be complicit in the actions of Jared in book 2. The whole town just seems to shrug and go 'huh. okay.' The town also seems fine with revealed accusations that Jake's legal father killed his biological father.

There was also very unrealistic use of an ankle monitor. This is partially justified by the incompetence of the local police.

You have only a few minutes before the ankle monitor alerts the police of any potential tampering. Jake would have been found before he even had a chance to be missing.

The ending is a happy one with promises at a good future for all of them. Well for everyone who survives. Hooray for therapy!

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