vctrlysn's review
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
_willow_'s review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-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
1.0
Horrible literally horrible. Think about reading a whole book then on the last page you find out the whole book lead up to NOTHING. I know some books do this but not a single good thing even happend in this book. It was also pretty cringy. DO NOT READ!
lilyst's review
adventurous
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
katiewaits's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
outsmartyourshelf's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
For as long as Millie can remember, the three families have holidayed at Creek House & the kids, Matt, Charlie, Jem, Kat, & Millie called themselves The Creekers. Now that they are teenagers things are changing, & the last holiday in 2018 goes horribly wrong when Kat goes missing during a game of Hide & Seek, Despite a media campaign & police involvement, a year later Kat still hasn't been found - in fact there has been no trace of her at all. Millie asks the three remaining Creekers to revisit the holiday home for closure but really she wants to get the bottom of what happened to Kat once & for all.
The narrative is from Millie's point of view & we get present-day Millie, Millie's diary entries since Kat's disappearance, & Millie from a year ago (2018). The reader slowly learns about what happened that week & watches as Millie starts to realise that Kat wasn't the person she thought she was & was far from being the best friend she remembers. Everyone seems to have their own reasons for wanting Kat gone & secrets & lies abound including local boy, Noah, who was hauled in for questioning over the disappearance.
I'm really torn about this book. On the one hand, it's well-written & I flew through it in under 24 hours, but I have one or two issues with it, the main one being that Millie seems far too young for her actual age. Also there's supposed to be just a year between Millie (15) & Kat (16), but the way the others treat Millie, it's as if she is a ten year old running after them. When you can have almost a year in age difference between the oldest & the youngest pupils in the same school year, it felt really weird that it was portrayed this way. The ending had me going "NOooo" - I had to read it twice just to make sure. If you like YA thrillers that don't tie everything up neatly in a bow at the end, then you may enjoy this one.
Thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Little Tiger Group/Stripes Publishing, for the opportunity to read an ARC. I am voluntarily giving an honest review.
The narrative is from Millie's point of view & we get present-day Millie, Millie's diary entries since Kat's disappearance, & Millie from a year ago (2018). The reader slowly learns about what happened that week & watches as Millie starts to realise that Kat wasn't the person she thought she was & was far from being the best friend she remembers. Everyone seems to have their own reasons for wanting Kat gone & secrets & lies abound including local boy, Noah, who was hauled in for questioning over the disappearance.
I'm really torn about this book. On the one hand, it's well-written & I flew through it in under 24 hours, but I have one or two issues with it, the main one being that Millie seems far too young for her actual age. Also there's supposed to be just a year between Millie (15) & Kat (16), but the way the others treat Millie, it's as if she is a ten year old running after them. When you can have almost a year in age difference between the oldest & the youngest pupils in the same school year, it felt really weird that it was portrayed this way. The ending had me going "NOooo" - I had to read it twice just to make sure. If you like YA thrillers that don't tie everything up neatly in a bow at the end, then you may enjoy this one.
Thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Little Tiger Group/Stripes Publishing, for the opportunity to read an ARC. I am voluntarily giving an honest review.
aimeehaldron's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
wortfluesterin's review
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Thank you to Netgalley and Tiny Tiger Group for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in return for an honest review!
“People don’t just disappear,” I say. “There’s always something.”
One thing I’m always looking for is a murder mystery that keeps me on my toes, waiting for the next twist, and keeps me reading.
I just finished this book in a day, which should tell you enough about the fast-paced, well-flowing story “Ready or not” tells.
The chapters are short and quick to read, with Millie’s letters to get distributed evenly throughout the book without becoming annoying.
Only the police records seemed a little unnecessary, especially about Noah, as it took away from the actual plot for a character that is a little flat and never captured my attention.
Millie is a much more interesting protagonist than most “murder-mystery” – girlies that always fall on the same spectrum of very smart, nerdy main characters, that also find love during their journey. While Millie clearly has the “smart-girl that is awkward and everyone kind of rolls their eyes at them” vibes, her relationship to Kat makes her stand out. Because, while she wants to find out what happened to Kat it is also, very clearly, always about her (Millie) and her need for closure? Vengeance? Understanding? Instead of Kat’s actual well-being.
I enjoyed the mystery, it flowed with the plot without being too overbearing or irrelevant, but at the same time it did feel a little cheap in the middle section of the book. Characters, who were introduced as smart and acted the same way otherwise, seemed to look over obvious details in Kats's case. Especially Noah, with his research should’ve pinned down a lot more even without Millie’s help.
Noah’s a whole different story altogether, but I can’t say much without spoiling his part in the story. What I can say is that one-dimensional characters shouldn’t be part of your suspect in a murder mystery.
I loved the ending of ready or not, and without giving too much away, I think it perfectly encapsulates not only the way the book presents games and stories but also fits Kats & Millie’s characters and their relationship to one another beautifully. And you bet I was silently screaming while I followed the last chapters, making up my own end in my head before the solution was found.
If you enjoy any of Karen M. McManus’ YA Murder mysteries like me, you will probably also enjoy this book and its characters!
eniahreads's review
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
|| Thank you to NetGalley and Little Tiger Group for providing me this arc in exchange for an honest review ! ||
This book is honestly worth a 4 stars but I have no choice to lower it to 3.5 stars because I just don't really like such open ending especially in thrillers, so frustrating!
We clearly have a very quick read here, all about Kat's disappearing, and we get to have two different timelines: one in 2018 days of the disappearing, and 2019 back to Creek House for the anniversary. Once you get used to switching back and forth, it's not bothering at all and I really liked slowly picking up infos and discovering more stuff here and there. It's not the best ever read but we really get a good time reading it and trying to understand what happened and how it happened, other character's little secrets and mostly Millie's (our MC). I also liked the little investigation we had with Noah.
However I really don't like such open endings, where we're left wondering what happened to the missing person, then and now, and being left with so many unanswered questions. This book is clearly made that way so it's not a /bad/ ending it was really well done ! But for people like me who loves to get to know everything from A to Z of what happened, it's super frustrating lol
Also thumbs up for showing of how a toxic relationship works between "friends" but also siblings, we get to see all the manipulation, guilt-tripping, mockery, blackmail possibilities, etc. I also really liked to see how Millie realising made her change in her letters to Kat!
This book is honestly worth a 4 stars but I have no choice to lower it to 3.5 stars because I just don't really like such open ending especially in thrillers, so frustrating!
We clearly have a very quick read here, all about Kat's disappearing, and we get to have two different timelines: one in 2018 days of the disappearing, and 2019 back to Creek House for the anniversary. Once you get used to switching back and forth, it's not bothering at all and I really liked slowly picking up infos and discovering more stuff here and there. It's not the best ever read but we really get a good time reading it and trying to understand what happened and how it happened, other character's little secrets and mostly Millie's (our MC). I also liked the little investigation we had with Noah.
However I really don't like such open endings, where we're left wondering what happened to the missing person, then and now, and being left with so many unanswered questions. This book is clearly made that way so it's not a /bad/ ending it was really well done ! But for people like me who loves to get to know everything from A to Z of what happened, it's super frustrating lol
Also thumbs up for showing of how a toxic relationship works between "friends" but also siblings, we get to see all the manipulation, guilt-tripping, mockery, blackmail possibilities, etc. I also really liked to see how Millie realising made her change in her letters to Kat!
natashaleighton_'s review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5