swim559's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
djinnia's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillian Children's for allowing me to read an Arc of this book.
Bridget is a normal teenager that happens to work for a famous author.
Derrick is a fan of the books.
Bob is the writer and is suffering from horrible writer's block and has an idea to cure it.
Suddenly, that idea turns horribly real.
The book is written with the three different points of view. There may have been a chapter or two with a fourth character. Thankfully, each chapter is headed by who's pov it is.
I enjoyed the later half of the book much better than the first because I kept confusing a real life author with a long-awaited fantasy novel with the fictional author. The second half of the book was action and drama while the first half was a build up of the tension.
I found that reading segments of Bob's story was fun. I always love a good book-within-a-book.
I don't know if any police or detective would act as they did in the book, but if they do, then I feel sad about it.
I'm not sure what the point of Bridget's friend was though. He felt superfluous a lot of the time. I wish he would cook for me though. A lot of his food sounded so dang yummy.
I liked many elements of this book and found it enjoyable for the most part.
Again thank you for the arc.
Bridget is a normal teenager that happens to work for a famous author.
Derrick is a fan of the books.
Bob is the writer and is suffering from horrible writer's block and has an idea to cure it.
Suddenly, that idea turns horribly real.
The book is written with the three different points of view. There may have been a chapter or two with a fourth character. Thankfully, each chapter is headed by who's pov it is.
I enjoyed the later half of the book much better than the first because I kept confusing a real life author with a long-awaited fantasy novel with the fictional author. The second half of the book was action and drama while the first half was a build up of the tension.
I found that reading segments of Bob's story was fun. I always love a good book-within-a-book.
I don't know if any police or detective would act as they did in the book, but if they do, then I feel sad about it.
I'm not sure what the point of Bridget's friend was though. He felt superfluous a lot of the time. I wish he would cook for me though. A lot of his food sounded so dang yummy.
I liked many elements of this book and found it enjoyable for the most part.
Again thank you for the arc.
labsandlattes313's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
janinereader's review against another edition
4.0
What a thriller! A clever teen heroine and an author who goes missing seem like plots I've heard before, by Henry's story is original. There's a mix of the famous "Misery" feel to this with the mystery, suspense, and thrills of less gruesome novels! What I like a lot about this book is its ability to reach multiple age ranges. While this may stifle older readers at times, I overall am pleased with the ability of this book to appeal to teens, young adults, and those older (I personally fall into the middle category and very much enjoyed this one).
kaydowning's review against another edition
5.0
Haldon has writer's block and is overdue for his last book in his wildly popular series. To help him overcome his writer's block, he hatches a plan with Derrick, his housekeeper's son, to kidnap him and hold him in their cabin until he finishes the book. Haldon's plan does not go that simply. He is kidnapped, but he is shackled to a treadmill desk. Not part of the plan.
Bridget, a fan of Haldon's work, corrects him at one of his book signings. He was impressed and offers her a job as his researcher. She creates a database with all of the characters to help him with the accuracy of his books. She realizes something is wrong with Bob and no one believes her.
Bridget, a fan of Haldon's work, corrects him at one of his book signings. He was impressed and offers her a job as his researcher. She creates a database with all of the characters to help him with the accuracy of his books. She realizes something is wrong with Bob and no one believes her.
rainb0wreads's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Unfortunate. I really wanted to like this book because I’ve liked the April Henry books I’ve read in the past, but this really didn’t do it for me.
The writing style felt juvenile. The concept felt like some off brand version of the book Misery (which, ok, if that was the goal, I understand. The actual book Misery might be a bit too much. But even then…it’s YA. Not middle grade.) not to mention, there were so many things that felt over explained. Like I’m pretty sure we know what the dark web is.
This book would have benefited from being entirely in Bridget’s point of view. The multiple point of views destroyed the mystery/thriller component of this book entirely.
Again, it’s too bad, cause I really have like other April Henry books. Maybe I’m getting old.
The writing style felt juvenile. The concept felt like some off brand version of the book Misery (which, ok, if that was the goal, I understand. The actual book Misery might be a bit too much. But even then…it’s YA. Not middle grade.) not to mention, there were so many things that felt over explained. Like I’m pretty sure we know what the dark web is.
This book would have benefited from being entirely in Bridget’s point of view. The multiple point of views destroyed the mystery/thriller component of this book entirely.
Again, it’s too bad, cause I really have like other April Henry books. Maybe I’m getting old.
rally_reviews's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.0
reminded me of a teen "misery" but with the story being fantasy.
melbsreads's review against another edition
challenging
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Trigger warnings: kidnapping, death of a parent (in the past), body shaming, confinement, fire, abuse, cancer (in the past), emotional abuse.
I've really liked April Henry's books in the past, and the premise of this one - teenage girl is the assistant to a best selling fantasy author who's supposed to be working on the final book in his series, then he gets kidnapped and she's the only one who realises something's wrong - sounded like a lot of fun.
But the thinly veiled George R.R. Martin vibe really didn't work for me, I didn't care about Bob's perspective, and the crime aspect of the story showed up far too late for my liking. Ultimately, it was FINE but definitely not what I wanted from this when I read the blurb. Sigh.
I've really liked April Henry's books in the past, and the premise of this one - teenage girl is the assistant to a best selling fantasy author who's supposed to be working on the final book in his series, then he gets kidnapped and she's the only one who realises something's wrong - sounded like a lot of fun.
But the thinly veiled George R.R. Martin vibe really didn't work for me, I didn't care about Bob's perspective, and the crime aspect of the story showed up far too late for my liking. Ultimately, it was FINE but definitely not what I wanted from this when I read the blurb. Sigh.
kaylacreviews's review against another edition
4.0
Eyes of the Forest by April Henry delivered a disturbing examination of how far some people will go to get what they want. Though the plot didn't feel entirely original to me, Eyes of the Forest had many unique aspects. I related so well with Bridget that she was easy to root for throughout the novel. I loved RM Haldon's characterization, as well. Through him, April Henry raised a lot of awareness about the pressures and struggles many authors face from those who work with them and from fans, which I appreciated. I also admired all the research April Henry put into Eyes of the Forest, and I loved the fantasy excerpts she shared of Haldon's novels. She expertly shifted from thriller mode to fantasy mode to do so, which impressed me. Those excerpts made the whole story especially distinctive.
It took a while for the pace to pick up after the shocking first chapter, but once it did, it didn't let up. There were a few scenes that felt extraneous to me, which slowed the pacing. However, everything came together at the end wonderfully. I liked that Bridget didn't immediately become suspicious of Haldon's absence. Instead, a well-structured, logical series of events led up to her investigation. Even so, I thought it would have even been more interesting if April Henry had allowed room for the reader to doubt Bridget's honesty and mental state. While I felt it could have been tightened up more and that it had untapped potential, Eyes of the Forest by April Henry was a nail-biting Young Adult thriller that I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend to other thriller lovers.
(Disclaimer: I received a free digital review copy of this book through NetGalley to participate in an Xpresso Book Tours event. All opinions in this review are my own and are honest and unbiased.)
Trigger Warning: Some violence and abduction.
It took a while for the pace to pick up after the shocking first chapter, but once it did, it didn't let up. There were a few scenes that felt extraneous to me, which slowed the pacing. However, everything came together at the end wonderfully. I liked that Bridget didn't immediately become suspicious of Haldon's absence. Instead, a well-structured, logical series of events led up to her investigation. Even so, I thought it would have even been more interesting if April Henry had allowed room for the reader to doubt Bridget's honesty and mental state. While I felt it could have been tightened up more and that it had untapped potential, Eyes of the Forest by April Henry was a nail-biting Young Adult thriller that I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend to other thriller lovers.
(Disclaimer: I received a free digital review copy of this book through NetGalley to participate in an Xpresso Book Tours event. All opinions in this review are my own and are honest and unbiased.)
Trigger Warning: Some violence and abduction.
thebookishgamerr's review against another edition
3.0
3.5! I enjoyed this. It was a good read and kept me wondering how it would all wrap together.