chloep29's review against another edition
2.0
This started off with some promise but unfortunately fell quite flat for me. The dialogue felt quite unnatural, it dragged a bit and was quite repetitive. I listened to the audiobook and the different voices didn't feel consistent. Also the way the narrator pronounced "bagel"...nope.
jessicadnguyen's review against another edition
3.0
Shout out to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
This is the first time I've read a book by Kelley Armstrong. I'm a big fan of books like One of Us is Lying and when I read the synopsis for this one, I felt like it totally gave off that vibe. I was in the mood for a good, quick YA thriller and this one hit the spot. I think the premise of the story is really interesting and not something I've come across before. At times, I felt like the plot got a little convoluted with the characters and there were so many different players in the game, I had a hard time connecting much with any of them. The beginning really hooks you in and then towards the middle it kind of gets lost but by then, you're already so deep in, you just have to finish to at least get an explanation for WHY and HOW all of this is happening. Which I guess in a sense, is the hallmark of a good YA thriller. All in all, a fast and easy read. Nothing that changed my life but it definitely got my thriller fix in.
This is the first time I've read a book by Kelley Armstrong. I'm a big fan of books like One of Us is Lying and when I read the synopsis for this one, I felt like it totally gave off that vibe. I was in the mood for a good, quick YA thriller and this one hit the spot. I think the premise of the story is really interesting and not something I've come across before. At times, I felt like the plot got a little convoluted with the characters and there were so many different players in the game, I had a hard time connecting much with any of them. The beginning really hooks you in and then towards the middle it kind of gets lost but by then, you're already so deep in, you just have to finish to at least get an explanation for WHY and HOW all of this is happening. Which I guess in a sense, is the hallmark of a good YA thriller. All in all, a fast and easy read. Nothing that changed my life but it definitely got my thriller fix in.
alykat_reads's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
The premise for this was really interesting. I didn't read the full synopsis, ofc, and I'm glad I didn't because it gives a lot of information out. Things fall into place fully by about halfway through for most of the mystery, so if that's going to bother you then I'd pass on this one. I also felt like there were a few things left open at the end or things that got closure but it was lazy and didn't make much sense. For example, Great premise, and the entire idea is thought provoking. But it just didn't work as well for me as it could have.
Spoiler
the parents just didn't make sense. If they were scientists working for CMT and their kids were the experiments, which had apparently been going on for at least 10 years since the memories were replaced when they were little kids and now they're around 16, they seemed very blasé. And the hatred towards Tucker for 'being a bad kid' when they were literally all bad kids and they would have known that, didn't make any sense. It was obvious from the get-go that Tanya still had that bad-girl attitude, so how no adults saw that didn't check out.emp15's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
4.0
rinne77's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.25
libraryofabibliotaph's review against another edition
3.0
EDIT: in the meantime, the Goodreads synopsis has been altered to the one displayed on Bookbub, hence not giving away the entire plot anymore.
~~~
Promising novel, intriguing plot, makes you think about what's right and what's wrong, the nature-nurture debate, ... But you have to make it halfway through before you arrive at what's described in the synopsis on Goodreads (and you won't read much that isn't yet described in the synopsis). So don't read the one on Goodreads but head over to Bookbub for the synopsis (as shown below).
~~~
Synopsis :
Their lives are a lie. Their memories may not be real. A new psychological thriller by #1 NYT bestselling author, Kelley Armstrong.
Blythe and her friends—Gabrielle, and brother and sister Tucker and Tanya—have always been a tight friend group, attending a local high school and falling in and out of love with each other. But an act of violence has caused a rift between Blythe and Tucker . . . and unexpected bursts of aggression and disturbing nightmares have started to become more frequent in their lives.
The strange happenings culminate in a shocking event at school: Gabrielle is found covered in blood in front of their deceased principal, with no memory of what happened.
Cracks in their friendship, as well as in their own memories, start appearing, threatening to expose long-forgotten secrets which could change the group’s lives forever. How can Blythe and her friends trust each other when they can’t even trust their own memories?
~~~
Now a bit more into detail. When I saw Kelley Armstrong was going to publish a new book, I really wanted to give it a try because 1 I've enjoyed reading her books when I was younger and 2 the (Goodreads) synopsis sounds absolutely promising. The synopsis immediately brings me to the thing that annoyed me the most: it takes the main characters way to much time to start figuring everything out. As a reader, you basically know what will happen in 75% of the book just because of the Goodreads synopsis, but the main characters need the entire book to figure it all out. Only the details and the ending are new for the reader, all that happens in between is basically nothing new. Nevertheless the small plotwists are well written, the search of the main characters to figure everything out too. The plot is original and really appealed to me as a criminologist (the way CMT tries to rehabilitate the kids, the nature nurture debate, whether you could do all this in a deontological correct way, ... But don't worry, this book isn't an in depth analysis of all this, it just skims the surface very quickly). Once you get past 50% the pacing is good as well. You also empathise with the characters. The ending could have used a little more retaliation in my opinion, everyone still seems to get away with everything quite easily (plus the last two chapters felt a little bit rushed), but nevertheless all pieces of the puzzle fit together perfectly at the end.
There was just one other thing that felt a bit strange to me. In the beginning, the context of the school is sketched, but soon that fades into the background. Along with the daily lives of the main characters, that also disappears. Suddenly, all that matters is unravelling what is going on with CMT. That there are only 24 hours in a day, that there are other obligations, all that falls away. This makes the story feel somewhat detached from reality at times. By this I do not mean that every time the characters have to eat or go to the bathroom, it has to be described. But a slightly better balance between the two extremes would benefit the story.
So overall I did enjoy the story, it offered some food for thought, is well written and sometimes keeps you on the edge of your seat. I also really liked the main characters. But I think a more limited synopsis that still reflects the gist of the story but without giving so much away from the beginning would benefit the reading experience. For example by using the one on Bookbub everywhere, that one would be a lot better, instead of the one on Goodreads spoiling everything. Hence 3,5/5 ⭐, because most of the story had already been spoiled before it even started, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless.
Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.
~~~
Promising novel, intriguing plot, makes you think about what's right and what's wrong, the nature-nurture debate, ... But you have to make it halfway through before you arrive at what's described in the synopsis on Goodreads (and you won't read much that isn't yet described in the synopsis). So don't read the one on Goodreads but head over to Bookbub for the synopsis (as shown below).
~~~
Synopsis :
Their lives are a lie. Their memories may not be real. A new psychological thriller by #1 NYT bestselling author, Kelley Armstrong.
Blythe and her friends—Gabrielle, and brother and sister Tucker and Tanya—have always been a tight friend group, attending a local high school and falling in and out of love with each other. But an act of violence has caused a rift between Blythe and Tucker . . . and unexpected bursts of aggression and disturbing nightmares have started to become more frequent in their lives.
The strange happenings culminate in a shocking event at school: Gabrielle is found covered in blood in front of their deceased principal, with no memory of what happened.
Cracks in their friendship, as well as in their own memories, start appearing, threatening to expose long-forgotten secrets which could change the group’s lives forever. How can Blythe and her friends trust each other when they can’t even trust their own memories?
~~~
Now a bit more into detail. When I saw Kelley Armstrong was going to publish a new book, I really wanted to give it a try because 1 I've enjoyed reading her books when I was younger and 2 the (Goodreads) synopsis sounds absolutely promising. The synopsis immediately brings me to the thing that annoyed me the most: it takes the main characters way to much time to start figuring everything out. As a reader, you basically know what will happen in 75% of the book just because of the Goodreads synopsis, but the main characters need the entire book to figure it all out. Only the details and the ending are new for the reader, all that happens in between is basically nothing new. Nevertheless the small plotwists are well written, the search of the main characters to figure everything out too. The plot is original and really appealed to me as a criminologist (the way CMT tries to rehabilitate the kids, the nature nurture debate, whether you could do all this in a deontological correct way, ... But don't worry, this book isn't an in depth analysis of all this, it just skims the surface very quickly). Once you get past 50% the pacing is good as well. You also empathise with the characters. The ending could have used a little more retaliation in my opinion, everyone still seems to get away with everything quite easily (plus the last two chapters felt a little bit rushed), but nevertheless all pieces of the puzzle fit together perfectly at the end.
There was just one other thing that felt a bit strange to me. In the beginning, the context of the school is sketched, but soon that fades into the background. Along with the daily lives of the main characters, that also disappears. Suddenly, all that matters is unravelling what is going on with CMT. That there are only 24 hours in a day, that there are other obligations, all that falls away. This makes the story feel somewhat detached from reality at times. By this I do not mean that every time the characters have to eat or go to the bathroom, it has to be described. But a slightly better balance between the two extremes would benefit the story.
So overall I did enjoy the story, it offered some food for thought, is well written and sometimes keeps you on the edge of your seat. I also really liked the main characters. But I think a more limited synopsis that still reflects the gist of the story but without giving so much away from the beginning would benefit the reading experience. For example by using the one on Bookbub everywhere, that one would be a lot better, instead of the one on Goodreads spoiling everything. Hence 3,5/5 ⭐, because most of the story had already been spoiled before it even started, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless.
Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.
mariahgayleschultz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
egypt_nerd06's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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
4.25
saranwrap18's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
4.5
hollyk's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Some of the twists here were obvious, but others were actually really well done. I think there's definitely a discussion that could happen around but I'm not paid enough to get into that