siglerbooknook's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
The dialog was top tier. I truly enjoyed the quippy back and forths throughout the story.
The mystery aspect is entertaining, but you the reader are definitely just along for the ride. You aren't given enough pieces to solve it in advance.
The ending is a cliffhanger, so I'm glad I already have book 2. It is a great ending that leaves me wanting to dive into the next book. All the little puzzles are tied up nicely by the final pages and a new one has just begun.
I can't wait to see what the next book brings.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Classism, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Medical content, Terminal illness, and Homophobia
siennaflynn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Death of parent, Stalking, Death, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Bullying
pich's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
i’ll still read the rest of the series, but i just felt like this book was quite lackluster. I definitely would’ve liked more detail with each of the brothers, and while I understand that this is the first book, a little more dimension to them wouldn’t hurt. The riddles and puzzles weren’t crazy—as I thought they would be—but this was an easy read so I didn’t worry about those too much.
Spoiler
the romance between Avery and the boys grew kind of uninteresting after a hot second, especially after it was revealed they both loved Emily. I think had romance been introduced in the second book, I would be rooting for one of the other more—right now, I really don’t have a preference.Graphic: Death and Gun violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Alcohol
passionatereader78's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Death and Child death
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Physical abuse and Domestic abuse
dev921's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Murder, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Child death, Pregnancy, and Physical abuse
eule's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Oren and Alisa are kinda sus.
Want to read the whole series as so much is left unsolved and there is mysterious stuff going on. The question is: who can you trust?
Graphic: Death of parent, Physical abuse, Child death, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Medical content, Toxic relationship, and Medical trauma
katherinek's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Violence, Toxic relationship, and Physical abuse
meat_muffin's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Moderate: Death and Toxic relationship
Minor: Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
giulianalb99's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
⚠️THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS⚠️
(and I swear a lot, sorry not sorry)
First and foremost, why THE ACTUAL fffffffuck is this book so freaking overhyped????? I decided to give this book a try because my entire fyp on tiktok was full of people recommending this “mind-blowing, you won’t see it coming” book, but I. WAS. BORED.
The premise was SO good and the first chapters were really interesting but in the middle of it I was so mother freaking fucking bored that I thought about dnfing it a few times. I actually forced myself to read this and it took me like a whole week to finish it when that never happens to me and I almost got into a reading block AND I DIDN’T WANT THAT, so all I’m asking is WHY??
The characters are so bland, Avery is just meh; there are 4 brothers but Nash is there for moral support because HE DOES NOTHING and Xander is the cool one who appears like the fucking Aladdin’s genie when you need help like ????????? make me understand this please.
The entire family hates Avery but none of them appears, and when they do is to tell her that “this family is fucked up”: thanks, I didn’t notice🙄
And what about Libby? Another character who’s there for moral support because, again, she does NOTHING. And the Emily thing? It had so much potential and when I read what happened to her I was like “really? That’s it?”
THE SUPPOSED LOVE TRIANGLE between Avery, Jameson and Grayson it’s so bad like wtffffff I have more chemistry with my best friend than them and he’s gay like WAKE UP. I don’t like love triangles and maybe it’s just my opinion but it was so plain with no coherence🤷🏻♀️ and WHY do they get angry at Avery all of a sudden with no explanation whatsoever? I’m just going to laugh😂😂😂 and don’t get me started when Avery almost got shot and Jameson KISSES HER WITHOUT HER CONSENT WHEN SHE’S STILL IN SHOCK AND HE DOESN’T EVEN CARE, no no no no no no no and NO. Oh and, “your mom just tried to kill me Grayson, and you will choose your family over everything but I don’t care” CAN WE STOP GIVING TOXIC PEOPLE OPPORTUNITIES??? All Grayson did throughout the entire book was criticize Avery and at the end he was all like “I will always protect you” BE FOR REAL DUDE WTFFFFFFFFF.
The riddles? The puzzles? The whatever those were, were 100% predictable and I wasn’t surprised with the plot twists because I had it all already figured it out 🤷🏻♀️ I expected the Harry thing since the very beginning but I still thought it was stupid. Also, you’re telling me that Avery is there for the most stupid reason EVER? Nope, I refuse to believe this book had so much potential and it was totally wasted.
Good things about this book: short chapters, good writing (but not perfect), great level of english (if english is not your first language but you’re thinking about giving this book a try, you can totally do it because it’s really easy to read) and I learned new words that I didn’t know the meaning of.
Bad things about the book: I thought I was going to love this considering the hype it has but that was partly my fault too. I even thought about buying this book but a voice in my mind told me “don’t buy it just yet, wait to read it on your kindle first” and THANK whatever is in the universe that I listened to my subconscious because I would’ve gotten so freaking angry at myself if I had bought it.
Conclusion: 2⭐️ stars and I’m being generous. I don’t think I will keep on reading this series because I just don’t care what happens next and I’m not intrigued at all🤷🏻♀️ life’s too short to waste my time in books I’m not interested in.
(English is not my first language, if you find any mistakes please let me know😊).
(This is MY opinion, if you like this book then good for you but please be respectful, not all of us can like the same books).
Graphic: Terminal illness, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
berry21's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
This definitely isn't a bad book, and it's great that it has really appealed to others, I think it just isn't for me personally.
Graphic: Physical abuse and Death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Alcohol, Gun violence, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Death of parent