The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
merlesstorys's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-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
3.5
This YA thriller was kinda great!
The concept was nice and I liked that the main story always stays in present day.Â
The little clues regarding the plot twist were nice too as they weren’t too obvious, though in the final pages I really hoped for some deeper insight how it came to be instead of what we got.Â
And the fact that the chapters often end before the character in charge would tell or discover something made me more curious
A main reason for me to buy this book what the fact that it was quite short. With only 250 pages worth of content, it cut the plot down to the most important and there was nearly no filler chapters in my opinion.
The concept was nice and I liked that the main story always stays in present day.Â
The little clues regarding the plot twist were nice too as they weren’t too obvious, though in the final pages I really hoped for some deeper insight how it came to be instead of what we got.Â
And the fact that the chapters often end before the character in charge would tell or discover something made me more curious
A main reason for me to buy this book what the fact that it was quite short. With only 250 pages worth of content, it cut the plot down to the most important and there was nearly no filler chapters in my opinion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Infidelity, Grief, Bullying, Death, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Medical content, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
polarisbooks's review
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, and Mental illness
hollyk's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I have read Episode stories with a better plot than this.
I genuinely cannot think of one redeeming quality about this book, so I will proceed with criticizing it. Spoilers for spoiler-y bits, you know the drill.
-There were 12 POVs. I'm not exaggerating. I counted. There were maybe 4 POVs that were worth having--Some only had one or two chapters. I wasn't invested in them, and so many of them were similar in voice.
-I think it's fairly common to have a slightly bumbling police force in YA thrillers--if a teenager is out here solving a crime that professionals can't, but the incompetency of this one was so frustrating.
-A good mystery has well placed hints throughout the novel, not just at the 75% mark. It's not bamboozling your audience if you give no indications until you have to have a reveal. Maybe if there were less POVs it'd be more believable.
-If you're going to have a character who committed the crime have a POV, they need to clearly be hiding something.
-Everyone was annoying. The adults were awful. The teenagers sounded like stereotypes of what adults think teenagers sound like, and the adults sounded like what young teenagers think adults sound like
I did look forward to this. My hopes were immediately dashed when I saw that Horror Hotel was advertised on the back. I have a review for that book up on here as well, but suffice it to say this one was just as bad as, if not worse in terms of writing/story, than Horror Hotel
I genuinely cannot think of one redeeming quality about this book, so I will proceed with criticizing it. Spoilers for spoiler-y bits, you know the drill.
-There were 12 POVs. I'm not exaggerating. I counted. There were maybe 4 POVs that were worth having--Some only had one or two chapters. I wasn't invested in them, and so many of them were similar in voice.
-I think it's fairly common to have a slightly bumbling police force in YA thrillers--if a teenager is out here solving a crime that professionals can't, but the incompetency of this one was so frustrating.
-
-
-Everyone was annoying. The adults were awful. The teenagers sounded like stereotypes of what adults think teenagers sound like, and the adults sounded like what young teenagers think adults sound like
I did look forward to this. My hopes were immediately dashed when I saw that Horror Hotel was advertised on the back. I have a review for that book up on here as well, but suffice it to say this one was just as bad as, if not worse in terms of writing/story, than Horror Hotel
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Murder, Mental illness, Chronic illness, and Death
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