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candisreads's review against another edition
4.0
This was an interesting book, but a little hard to follow at times due to the amount of characters introduced.
normallyashley's review against another edition
4.0
Wow !!! This is the first book I ever read out of my comfort zone and I was not disappointed in the beginning is a little slow, but then it picks up so fast, and I was just drawn into this world of mystery
kathleen_gillies's review against another edition
3.0
This is a YA book and reads like one-- it is engrossing but unsatisfying and provide kind of a brain fog, kind of like potato chips. I read all three books that have been written so far over the weekend and I think they could have fit it all into one book-- there is a lot of fluff and repetition. Why did I read all these? 1. I have a little OCD on being a completist (I know, I need therapy) and 2. I told my friend I would read them with her so we could talk about them like a mini book club. Understand I have a list of authors I won't ever read again: Veronica Roth, Stephanie Meyer, Suzanne Colins, Colleen Hoover, and now... Jennifer Lynn Barnes. I wish them all success and happiness but don't make me read their garbage. Granted, I am older than their target audience.
lw10falala's review against another edition
5.0
HOLY FUCK! I loved it, the characters, plot, and writing was
lolanatalie's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
ironavi99's review against another edition
3.0
I’ll try to write this without any major spoilers but like the plot of this book, it’s pretty easy to tell what’s going on as you’re reading it.
I wish the description had let there be a little more mystery. The whole beginning with the conversation with a random man in the park is so obviously a set up for a plot twist I questioned it within the first interaction. Besides that, the book is decent with the brothers being interesting, but very locked into personality tropes, characters that the main character interacts with in the same way every time. I’m currently struggling through the second book. It’s frustrating bc I was very excited to read this given the high reviews but it’s a bit repetitive. Also I’ve never been a fan of books that try hard for the main character to seem smart and good at solving mysteries, and instead of showing the character is smart, she answers a number of ridiculous riddles/clues immediately. Not a huge riddle fan, but it also might just be a me thing.
Overall it’s a good read but I think it could have been more powerful as a standalone.
I wish the description had let there be a little more mystery. The whole beginning with the conversation with a random man in the park is so obviously a set up for a plot twist I questioned it within the first interaction. Besides that, the book is decent with the brothers being interesting, but very locked into personality tropes, characters that the main character interacts with in the same way every time. I’m currently struggling through the second book. It’s frustrating bc I was very excited to read this given the high reviews but it’s a bit repetitive. Also I’ve never been a fan of books that try hard for the main character to seem smart and good at solving mysteries, and instead of showing the character is smart, she answers a number of ridiculous riddles/clues immediately. Not a huge riddle fan, but it also might just be a me thing.
Overall it’s a good read but I think it could have been more powerful as a standalone.
clairegraham0712's review against another edition
1.0
I'm considering this book to be my official divorce from YA lit. For the past few years I've been reading new releases to try to stay current with my students' interests, but I have been majorly struggling with stale plot lines, predictable characters, poor writing, and cliches amok. We are a long way from the YA heyday of "The Fault in Our Stars" and "The Hunger Games," which I consider to be works of literature that can stand on their own outside of the YA arena. I tried really hard to like this book, but everything from the protagonist's name (Avery, which is as ubiquitous in a high school setting as tardies and vape pens) to the description of the house (It has a basketball court! It has a bowling alley! There's a state of the art gym!) is so pandering. I could forgive these things if the book was clever on other levels, but it's not. Maybe the rest of the books in the series are better, but the objective of being the first episode is that you have to entice the readers to come back. I couldn't find anything that I cared enough about to keep going.
confessions_of_a_reader's review against another edition
4.0
The kind of book where I started with one question and finished it with a dozen more.
I would say I liked Oren the most, the guilt and the trauma that the Hawthorn brothers went through made it difficult for me to not feel indifferent about them.
I would say I liked Oren the most, the guilt and the trauma that the Hawthorn brothers went through made it difficult for me to not feel indifferent about them.
sreilly726's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. I love the puzzles and being taken along for the ride. I love learning the family’s secrets, I can’t wait to learn more and solve more puzzles.
Wasn’t a fan of the friend making up words for curse words. I get it’s YA and for some reason you can’t curse even though most of us have been saying curse words since we were 12, but come on. Just say anything else that a 16 year old would say.
Wasn’t a fan of the friend making up words for curse words. I get it’s YA and for some reason you can’t curse even though most of us have been saying curse words since we were 12, but come on. Just say anything else that a 16 year old would say.
lindscatherine's review against another edition
5.0
This book was everything I needed!! I love a book that keeps me on my toes and makes me want to stay up just a little bit later to keep reading more and more.
Visual of me headed to download the next book:
Visual of me headed to download the next book: