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mxharriet's review
5.0
Eerie, thrilling and rather unnerving at times, Follow Me is a brilliantly crafted murder mystery that will make you want to sleep with one eye open.
Brilliantly matched together, the characters all have a distinct and individual voice allowing one to hear from all their perspectives. Shepard differentiates and transitions between all the characters seamlessly, providing individual voices and not like copy-and-pasted people. As characters they are realistic and determined, they have realistic emotions one would expect and as the reader you feel rather connected to them, making you feel like you are on this journey with them.
What I found really put this sequel above the first novel is that we get to read from Brett's perspective, which made for an interesting sequel and having finished the first novel, I was incredibly intrigued as to how Shepard was going to write this; spoiler ahead if you have not read the first book yet, but I was most intrigued by this sequel due to the fact that at the end of the first novel the reader and characters find out that Brett is the killer. He is an incredibly chilling and disturbing character, yet intriguing. You get to see his point of view on everything as this sequel also tackle some serious topics, in particular Brett's intense misogyny. This is a serious talking point in the novel, for Brett believes these women should be punished for the things they have done like cheating, going against societies prejudice expectations, but also the fact that he believes a women should not love nor be confident about themselves and show it to others. Brett believes this is wrong and that women who display these characteristics are simply being self-absorbed, even though male characters throughout also exhibit the same characteristics he hates so much in women. I am really intrigued to see how this is explored and tackled further in the sequel.
The plot was terrifying and chilling. Shepard is one of my favourite writers for mysteries. She writes them perfectly and every time it is something new, she never follows a similar pattern; I am always left shocked, surprised and holding on to the edge of my seat. The plot was fast pace, with never a dull moment. I love how you are sort of reading from all of their perspectives at the same time, as this really amplifies the imagery in this novel making you truly feel like you are right there beside them. Now, having read many horror and thriller novels, I am now not very easily unnerved nor scared when reading this genre anymore. Yet one particular scene in this sequel left a lasting impression. Shepard is just an amazing writer of murder mystery that I was left rather unnerved and disjointed after reading this.
How this sequel was wrapped up, was perfect. I knew from the beginning there was going to be a third novel, and so this did make me nervous as to how Shepard would play out the ending to this, but it really did surpass my exceptions. I never saw the last ten percent coming and was so pleased with this, as I was left shocked and grasping for more! I am incredibly excited for the sequel.
Once again, Shepard has surpassed my expectations and left me itching for more.
*Received in exchange for an honest review*
Brilliantly matched together, the characters all have a distinct and individual voice allowing one to hear from all their perspectives. Shepard differentiates and transitions between all the characters seamlessly, providing individual voices and not like copy-and-pasted people. As characters they are realistic and determined, they have realistic emotions one would expect and as the reader you feel rather connected to them, making you feel like you are on this journey with them.
What I found really put this sequel above the first novel is that we get to read from Brett's perspective, which made for an interesting sequel and having finished the first novel, I was incredibly intrigued as to how Shepard was going to write this; spoiler ahead if you have not read the first book yet, but I was most intrigued by this sequel due to the fact that at the end of the first novel the reader and characters find out that Brett is the killer. He is an incredibly chilling and disturbing character, yet intriguing. You get to see his point of view on everything as this sequel also tackle some serious topics, in particular Brett's intense misogyny. This is a serious talking point in the novel, for Brett believes these women should be punished for the things they have done like cheating, going against societies prejudice expectations, but also the fact that he believes a women should not love nor be confident about themselves and show it to others. Brett believes this is wrong and that women who display these characteristics are simply being self-absorbed, even though male characters throughout also exhibit the same characteristics he hates so much in women. I am really intrigued to see how this is explored and tackled further in the sequel.
The plot was terrifying and chilling. Shepard is one of my favourite writers for mysteries. She writes them perfectly and every time it is something new, she never follows a similar pattern; I am always left shocked, surprised and holding on to the edge of my seat. The plot was fast pace, with never a dull moment. I love how you are sort of reading from all of their perspectives at the same time, as this really amplifies the imagery in this novel making you truly feel like you are right there beside them. Now, having read many horror and thriller novels, I am now not very easily unnerved nor scared when reading this genre anymore. Yet one particular scene in this sequel left a lasting impression. Shepard is just an amazing writer of murder mystery that I was left rather unnerved and disjointed after reading this.
How this sequel was wrapped up, was perfect. I knew from the beginning there was going to be a third novel, and so this did make me nervous as to how Shepard would play out the ending to this, but it really did surpass my exceptions. I never saw the last ten percent coming and was so pleased with this, as I was left shocked and grasping for more! I am incredibly excited for the sequel.
Once again, Shepard has surpassed my expectations and left me itching for more.
*Received in exchange for an honest review*
ihateprozac's review
4.0
Put simply, this was equal parts fun and filler. While it’s a fun mystery in and of itself, it didn’t quite pack the punch of the first novel and felt like a stepping stone on the way to Brett’s big showdown.
Follow Me picks up after the events of The Amateurs, with our titular gang still on the hunt for Brett. The disappearance of an Instagram-famous girl from a seaside holiday town sparks their interest, and the Amateurs roll into town to see if Brett might be responsible for the disappearance of the girl who looks remaaaaarkably similar to Helena and Seneca’s mother.
If you enjoyed the television show Revenge (in its first season, at least) you’ll enjoy this. It’s a fun, trashy teen thriller and a solid effort for Sara Shepard - though don’t expect any crazy big showdown and climax. It’s clearly a stepping stone on the way to a big showdown with Brett, but provides enough enjoyment as a mystery in and of itself.
Shepard’s writing style goes down like butter as per usual, and you’ll fly through this in the better part of three hours (I just happen to look like I spent weeks reading it due to an epic reading slump!) The seaside town setting was delightful, and a much needed change from Shepard's usual setting of small-idyllic-upper-class-town-somewhere-in-the-vicinity-of-Connecticut.
I'm enjoying this series and the mystery has me hooked enough to keep reading - so long as we don't get strung along for 8 books!
Follow Me picks up after the events of The Amateurs, with our titular gang still on the hunt for Brett. The disappearance of an Instagram-famous girl from a seaside holiday town sparks their interest, and the Amateurs roll into town to see if Brett might be responsible for the disappearance of the girl who looks remaaaaarkably similar to Helena and Seneca’s mother.
If you enjoyed the television show Revenge (in its first season, at least) you’ll enjoy this. It’s a fun, trashy teen thriller and a solid effort for Sara Shepard - though don’t expect any crazy big showdown and climax. It’s clearly a stepping stone on the way to a big showdown with Brett, but provides enough enjoyment as a mystery in and of itself.
Shepard’s writing style goes down like butter as per usual, and you’ll fly through this in the better part of three hours (I just happen to look like I spent weeks reading it due to an epic reading slump!) The seaside town setting was delightful, and a much needed change from Shepard's usual setting of small-idyllic-upper-class-town-somewhere-in-the-vicinity-of-Connecticut.
I'm enjoying this series and the mystery has me hooked enough to keep reading - so long as we don't get strung along for 8 books!
talltaya's review against another edition
1.0
A really easy read, but that’s not always a good thing. I got this book in a mystery box collection, and hadn’t read the first in the series but didn’t need to. Average writing, ridiculous plot (the main characters have met the killer in the first book, and come face to face with him in the second but don’t recognize him because his hair is different and he has sunglasses on?!)
Won’t be reading the last book and this has put me off reading pretty little liars too.
Won’t be reading the last book and this has put me off reading pretty little liars too.
juliaaa111's review against another edition
3.0
"The Amateurs - Wenn drei sich streiten" von Sara Shepard ist der zweite Band einer Reihe. Der erste Teil war echt toll, er war spannend und konnte mich fesseln und es war auf einer Weise auch etwas besonderes. Der zweite Teil war ganz okay. Es war auch gut und spannend, jedoch habe ich mich an manchen Stellen etwas gelangweilt und ich habe Angst, dass die nächsten Teile auch langweiliger werden, da es irgendwie immer das gleiche ist. Da wir nun dank dem Ende des ersten Bandes wissen wer der Mörder ist, ist das ganze nicht mehr so spannend und das Buch besteht eigentlich nur aus einer Verfolgungsjagd. Ob ich die anderen Teile noch lesen werde, muss ich mal schauen. Das Buch hat von mir 3 von 5 Sternen bekommen.
nicreads420's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. Not as gripping as the first. Still a really fun read though. Sometimes I really dig easy, fast, fun, light reads like these.
catbookpurr's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
hermoonreads's review against another edition
4.0
So I wasn't too impressed with book 1 (each character did not need 2-3 love interests that took away from the case) but the ending had enough of a cliff hanger that I picked this one up.
Thankfully this was a lot better. There was a good balance between character moments and case/investigation moments. It also felt like the author had a better sense of what they wanted to do with the characters and the goals for the story arc in general.
I had a lot of questions after book 1 and while this answered some, I now have new ones too. I actually enjoyed reading and not once had to force myself to keep going. Book 3 will be the next on my list and hopefully it keeps up the good tone
Thankfully this was a lot better. There was a good balance between character moments and case/investigation moments. It also felt like the author had a better sense of what they wanted to do with the characters and the goals for the story arc in general.
I had a lot of questions after book 1 and while this answered some, I now have new ones too. I actually enjoyed reading and not once had to force myself to keep going. Book 3 will be the next on my list and hopefully it keeps up the good tone
hornedvampire's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
I think I liked this one better then the first in the series. The cat and mouse dynamic between the main characters and the killer is so good and I love Sara Shepard's descriptive writing style.
carryonamelia's review against another edition
5.0
I just finished this in public and I AM SCREAMING WHEN DOES THE NEXT BOOK COME OUT WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?