Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards

109 reviews

annamwallace66's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad 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? Yes

3.75

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shmayjoy's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

This novel reminds me of every awful time I've ever had to sleep under a charging station in an airport. If, like past me and a million other traveling students, you have ever had to face the usual miserable "delayed due to a blizzard" winter break lay overs, you can easily slide into the protagonist's shoes...even if you would never accept the ride she decided on.
Five Perfect Strangers takes an ordinary teen who needs to get home to her mom for the holidays, and the four college students heading the same direction. Richards throws us into the back roads of Pennsylvania to remind us not to trust a person solely by their appearance.
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allisonplus's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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awesome_archaeology's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a tense and fast-paced novel. It presented a beautiful but tense atmosphere that is perfect for a cold winter day.
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moabgirlie's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I think I would have liked it more with a different narrator, but it wasn’t enough for me to stop listening. The story was good, had me guessing the entire time. Finished the audio in about 3 days 
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dlby's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

Major pro: binged it in one sitting. Author definitely has a way with words/early pacing to keep you hooked. Action scenes were really well executed; did a great job of navigating a lot of different characters and actions in the span of breaths without getting convoluted.

Unfortunate cons: Lots of unresolved red herrings and convenient outs. Book abruptly ends without tying any strings. I think the point was that the strangers left her life as quickly as they arrived but still felt far too sudden after the climax (we're talking five pages of resolution). Also the culprit was obvious from the beginning and the protagonist kept taking culprit's word at face value far more than everyone else's without the same level of scrutiny. Honestly a bit disappointing because I was hoping there'd be a last second redirection but no. Was upset the rest of the day after I finished it :(
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jessicastorer's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

3.5

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sianrho's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

It was a bit slow to get going with the suspense, and I wasn’t a huge fan of some of the internal monologue (almost too juvenile and repetitive). But overall, the story was interesting and there were many possibilities for the ending.. made for a good plot twist. 
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wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.0

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amyalwaysbooked's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

After a snowstorm leaves her stranded at the airport on Christmas Eve, high school student Mira decides to join a group of college students in their rental car, but things take a dark turn when she realizes that they are all keeping secrets and no one is exactly what they seem.

This was a perfectly serviceable thriller for teens, especially those just dipping their toes into the genre. The pacing is all over the place. It took forever for things to get started, and then the end wrapped up far too quickly. Richards was very clearly trying to lay out all kinds of threads to trip up the reader but they come off as clumsy and there's plenty that doesn't make much sense when all is revealed. 

The story was interesting enough to keep me going and the narration was well done for the audio. Overall I enjoyed the experience but the book is not memorable.
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