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the_berries_books's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Couldn’t tell the difference between any of the nine but the ending….
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism and Fire/Fire injury
yoursparrow's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
grays_opinion's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Would have preferred more understanding as to why the first murder happened, but otherwise it was a good book with a good mystery. That last chapter was wild though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity
rubyl28's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
bella_cavicchi's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I love the Truly Devious series. The books don't always hit the mark, but I don't really mind. Give me teen detectives solving cold cases! Why not! That said, I felt that the murder of the 90s far surpassed the present-day narrative here, and so my one complaint (if big) is that I wanted to spend the whole book in the Nine's company. It may also be my Cambridge/London bias...
A delight to devour all the same.
A delight to devour all the same.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Infidelity, Medical content, and Alcohol
tanvi45's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Drug use and Infidelity
agiraffereads's review against another edition
Okay, so I'm probably gonna get a lot of hate for this. But I'm gonna say it anyway because this is my opinion on the book.
I liked the general idea, the mystery is intriguing.
But I was so annoyed with the details. This is supposed to be a young adult book, but the main people being investigated by the MC, which are the nine liars, are all sleeping around with everyone in their group, which the book clearly states. Also there are multiple gay/lesbian couples, no hate on that in general, just it gets quite a bit of attention (yes I knew there was one lesbian couple from the main series) and then at some point one of the other side characters has this whole talk with the MC that he is asexual and is like explaining it, etc. I just hate that it has to take up so much of the story that the mystery is just on the background. This is a young adult book for petesake. Idk in my opinion a ya book does not need this much attention on stuff like that. It felt like propaganda for the lgtbq+ community and not like the mystery book it claims to be. Hate me all you like for being honest but I was excited for the mystery, and it did not deliver.
I liked the general idea, the mystery is intriguing.
But I was so annoyed with the details. This is supposed to be a young adult book, but the main people being investigated by the MC, which are the nine liars, are all sleeping around with everyone in their group, which the book clearly states. Also there are multiple gay/lesbian couples, no hate on that in general, just it gets quite a bit of attention (yes I knew there was one lesbian couple from the main series) and then at some point one of the other side characters has this whole talk with the MC that he is asexual and is like explaining it, etc. I just hate that it has to take up so much of the story that the mystery is just on the background. This is a young adult book for petesake. Idk in my opinion a ya book does not need this much attention on stuff like that. It felt like propaganda for the lgtbq+ community and not like the mystery book it claims to be. Hate me all you like for being honest but I was excited for the mystery, and it did not deliver.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Alcohol
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Violence, and Murder
lenaricharz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism
pen_to_paper's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Death
Minor: Sexual content
siobhanward's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I'm a little miffed that this series is going to be at least six books long, yet the Shades of London series never got completed (this is not critique aimed at Johnson, mostly just at the publishing world in general). All I know is that I hope this series actually gets an ending, because I've yet to recover from Shades of London.
Anyway, that aside, this was an ok addition to the series. Not as strong as the first few books, honestly. The stories are getting a bit further and further "out there." I get that Johnson can't keep Stevie and her friends in the mountains of Vermont forever, but a group of underage students just being allowed to go abroad alone for no real reason seemed a bit much for me. I'm curious to see if Johnson will continue the series past the end of Stevie's time at Ellington. It's already hard enough to keep the gang together, much less explain how that's possible when they're at different universities. Anyway, that's an aside. I'm curious to see what the next book will hold.
Anyway, that aside, this was an ok addition to the series. Not as strong as the first few books, honestly. The stories are getting a bit further and further "out there." I get that Johnson can't keep Stevie and her friends in the mountains of Vermont forever, but a group of underage students just being allowed to go abroad alone for no real reason seemed a bit much for me. I'm curious to see if Johnson will continue the series past the end of Stevie's time at Ellington. It's already hard enough to keep the gang together, much less explain how that's possible when they're at different universities. Anyway, that's an aside. I'm curious to see what the next book will hold.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder