siglerbooknook's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- 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
I truly enjoyed this book. The plot was good, not overly complicated, and moved at a nice pace. The characters didn't grow or change much in the story, but are very loveable from the start.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Classism, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Medical content, Terminal illness, and Homophobia
emmajh91's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Child death, Grief, Domestic abuse, Death, Toxic relationship, and Blood
maxyne21's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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? It's complicated
3.75
Extremely enjoyable! I think putting the intended age range in perspective really helps you understand the writing style. It is a YA and about a teenager so some of the more juvenile themes & easily digestible writing makes more sense if you keep that in mind. I feel like plenty of people judge it for the style without accounting for the age range. I think that’s also why some of it was indeed predictable. But a lot of the twists were still surprising which I enjoyed. However I still gave it a 3.75 instead of 4 because I think some of the relationships could’ve been developed better, and the emotions felt a little rushed for certain characters. Hopefully that’s more flushed out in the sequel books.
Spoiler
I totally predicted the Toby/Harry thing. The whole book I knew he had to be more than just an intro character. For a while I wasn’t sure if he was the grandfather who just faked his death, or the son, but still. Maybe it was predictable but idc it’s still a clever way to leave a cliff hanger. I also think Rebecca’s involvement was predicable, but I’m surprised she wasn’t MORE involved. I feel like we didn’t learn enough about her or her relationship with Thea and Emily. Or her obvious mental health issues. Hopefully we get more on that in future books. Also I’m sorry but Tobias Hawthorne is creepy as FUCK for all of this. Keeping track of a 6 year old he met once??? And she just happened to have the same birthday as the girl who died, so she orchestrated his whole damn will around it?? Like Jesus what a weirdo. The epilogue with cancer made me feel bad for him cuz he wasn’t sure he truly mattered to his grandfather too.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Gun violence
Minor: Homophobia, Domestic abuse, and Stalking
purplepenning's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
A fast-paced mystery with an intriguing premise, secret passages and scavenger-hunt-style puzzles, and a whole lot of pheromones and angst. The relationship drama is a little too messy and the puzzles a little too elementary and spelled out for my tastes, but you better believe I'm reading on!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Abandonment, Gun violence, Violence, Alcohol, and Car accident
Minor: Biphobia, Racism, Homophobia, Sexism, and Chronic illness
Underage drinking and drunkennesssome_froggish_lad's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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? N/A
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Lesbophobia, Grief, Car accident, Gun violence, Chronic illness, and Homophobia
terrik_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Loved loved loved this book. I wasn’t expecting to especially since the writing style seemed too simple (-0.25 stars for that). However, I blazed through this book so quickly. I just couldn’t stop reading it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Homophobia
foxo_cube's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
The writing style was good and I mostly liked the main character (bar the way her brain just turns off when she thinks a guy is hot - more on that in a bit, though!). At first, I thought the puzzles were a little bit too basic, but the way the ends tied up together was immaculate. The ending of this book is great: questions are answered in a satisfying way and a new plotline is teased, so you aren't forced to read the next one, but there's definitely a reason to.
Most of my qualms with the book are more down to personal taste. There are four Hawthorne brothers - the grandsons of the billionaire who left his property to our main character, Avery. Three of them are of an age range to make them romanceable options for her.
Nash, the oldest, is a cowboy. Why? I do not know. I like him and I was actually really rooting for him and Libby, Avery's older sister, to get together - I felt like they'd be cute together. Yeehaw.
Grayson is an arrogant twat. He wears suits and has silver eyes and he's very nasty to Avery a lot of the time, but because he wears suits and has silver eyes, Avery can't help but swoon. Come on! He acts like such a pathetic little man. "Ooh, I've got money. I can sort things out because I have money." The most silver eyes in the world don't make up for that.
Jameson is... I don't know. He has a personality. I just don't really get what it is. He starts out being drunk and speaking weirdly cryptically like he thinks he's the Sphinx who tells riddles. I was severely put off him when he used a secret passage to go to Avery's room and go "I am in your walls, let me in, let me in" in the middle of the night, and then, when she let him in, he was like "it would be a shame if we were related [with euphemistic intent]". That's nightmare fuel, and she's just like "he's kinda hot, though". What?! Although he becomes more likeable, I never really felt any real chemistry between them beyond her swooning over him occasionally. I just couldn't feel invested in them getting together even though that's clearly what the book's getting at.
Xander is a good boy, a sweet boy, and a boy of many talents. For some reason, despite acknowledging he is tall and attractive (both traits commonly deemed attractive by straight female protagonists in YA novels), he is never swooned over. To be fair, this goes both ways. Xander is much more concerned with eating scones. Silly younger-brother-esque characters always activate the crumb of maternal instinct within me and Xander is no exception. He's my favourite of the boys both because I want to protect him and because we get to know him better than we do Nash.
Avery is definitely a little bit of a blank slate in the YA protagonist kind of way where you're meant to project yourself onto her, but she experiences her own character development and she feels believable.
I feel as though I'd have enjoyed this more if it weren't for the romance elements, which felt a little forced. I don't know if I'll read the other books in the series, but this was an engaging book that made me want to know what happened next, and if you're more inclined towards this sort of premise than I am, you'll probably love it.
Most of my qualms with the book are more down to personal taste. There are four Hawthorne brothers - the grandsons of the billionaire who left his property to our main character, Avery. Three of them are of an age range to make them romanceable options for her.
Nash, the oldest, is a cowboy. Why? I do not know. I like him and I was actually really rooting for him and Libby, Avery's older sister, to get together - I felt like they'd be cute together. Yeehaw.
Grayson is an arrogant twat
Spoiler
for most of the bookSpoiler
He does get a redemption arc and I actually ended up liking him. He had reason to be suspicious and standoffish (not excusing him, but explaining his actions) and he seems to acknowledge it was a him problem. He seems to be a decent-hearted guy.Jameson is... I don't know. He has a personality. I just don't really get what it is. He starts out being drunk and speaking weirdly cryptically like he thinks he's the Sphinx who tells riddles. I was severely put off him when he used a secret passage to go to Avery's room and go "I am in your walls, let me in, let me in" in the middle of the night, and then, when she let him in, he was like "it would be a shame if we were related [with euphemistic intent]". That's nightmare fuel, and she's just like "he's kinda hot, though". What?! Although he becomes more likeable, I never really felt any real chemistry between them beyond her swooning over him occasionally. I just couldn't feel invested in them getting together even though that's clearly what the book's getting at.
Xander is a good boy, a sweet boy, and a boy of many talents. For some reason, despite acknowledging he is tall and attractive (both traits commonly deemed attractive by straight female protagonists in YA novels), he is never swooned over. To be fair, this goes both ways. Xander is much more concerned with eating scones.
Spoiler
That, and facilitating the game his grandfather set up to get his brothers to work together to solve a puzzle, occasionally prodding Avery in the right direction when she hits a wall.Avery is definitely a little bit of a blank slate in the YA protagonist kind of way where you're meant to project yourself onto her, but she experiences her own character development and she feels believable.
I feel as though I'd have enjoyed this more if it weren't for the romance elements, which felt a little forced.
Spoiler
That said, I liked how the parallel was drawn between Avery and Emily in that respect.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Alcoholism, and Physical abuse
Minor: Homophobia, Infidelity, and Biphobia
_gabi_'s review against another edition
adventurous
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, and Death
ashybear02's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Cancer, Death, and Death of parent
karapillar's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Oh my god. Wow. Wow wow wow! I regret not reading this book sooner. It is so. Stinking. Good. I like to think I’m pretty good at predicting endings, but this one through me for a loop! I had nooooo idea what was going to happen throughout the entire book. Twists, mysteries, and suspense kept me turning up until literally the very last page. I’m obsessed. I’m starting book two immediately. Good bye, sleep!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Violence, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Classism, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Blood, Stalking, Infidelity, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Child death, Chronic illness, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia