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rochelleisreading's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Classism
jillkaarlela's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
3.5
This book was so good, but I hate how she ends on a cliffhanger, right in the middle of the final action. I guess it just leaves the reader to assume what happens next. Her newest book, “The Dare” does NOT do that, thankfully.
I thought the rest of this book was very good, though. I was thoroughly shocked by all of the twists, and my heart was pumping during the tense scenes! I would say this is a good YA thriller, if you don’t mind coming to your own conclusion about how it ends.
I thought the rest of this book was very good, though. I was thoroughly shocked by all of the twists, and my heart was pumping during the tense scenes! I would say this is a good YA thriller, if you don’t mind coming to your own conclusion about how it ends.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
flutelover32's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
tspice24's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
pluff_mud's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
A good middle-grade or YA horror/mystery. Reminded me a lot of being a teen and devouring Fear Street books. But plot holes big enough to drive a boat through, and the last page brought the whole thing down a hald star. It was fine but I don’t think I’ll read any other of her books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
hapalyn's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This book was enjoyable if you're looking for something fast-paced and filled with lots of action. Preston's books are definitely for younger teens, but I enjoyed this as a 19 year old just for a fun mystery.
Would've been maybe a 3.5 or 4 star (based on enjoyment not because the writing and plot and etc. was objectively the next Shakespeare) but the ending was lazy (unnecessary cliffhanger to avoid writing proper resolutions)
by lazy i mean this is the LAST line bro: the fmc finally is getting saved from the murderer and last minute the murderer jumps on her and drags her into the ocean - "The last thing I see before I'm dragged underwater is Reeve's horrified expression" - like Natasha Preston is known for her ridiculous endings (her other books: The Lake, The Lost) or plot twists at the end and leaving you like wtf after finishing the book (The Lake.....), but this felt like a cop out of writing a satisfying ending for a reader. I've been reading her books since I was 13 or 14 and I'm 19 now, so I'm not necessarily the target audience; however, I think this particular ending is maybe the 2nd worst of all her books (Looking at you The Lake or The Twin for #1). Just disappointing because I enjoyed everything (the action was fun) until that last line. Literally CRIMINAL okay.
Would've been maybe a 3.5 or 4 star (based on enjoyment not because the writing and plot and etc. was objectively the next Shakespeare) but the ending was lazy (unnecessary cliffhanger to avoid writing proper resolutions)
by lazy i mean this is the LAST line bro:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
honestlyyours77's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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
4.5
While fluffy, I overall enjoyed the book. Was it a murder mystery where you didn’t know who the murder was by the end, no, not at all. So for that I would have appreciated a bit more intrigue and it not being so obvious. It’s definitely based on tons of cliches but in the same way you like the movie Scream.
So while I would have liked to have a “twist” that wasn’t very apparent for half the book, it still was a good quick read that took only a few hours.
So while I would have liked to have a “twist” that wasn’t very apparent for half the book, it still was a good quick read that took only a few hours.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
whatifem's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Classism
hobbithopeful's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Privileged influencers get invited to an exclusive weekend at an amusement park that caters to the wealthy. What could possibly go wrong?
The ending and a twist was disappointing, and felt cheap. The book was already pretty short, I'm not sure where a sequel would even come from. The twist was so unnecessary. It was like...okay? I didn't feel shocked or angry or even scared, more just let down. I'm not chomping at the bit for a sequel and don't really feel there was enough story there for there to even be one.
It was really odd and telling how often the main character, Paisley, mentioned that she wasn't "born" into money. Like girl. Just admit that you're rich and privileged. Just because your family didn't come into a lot of money when you were 7 doesn't mean you were struggling and in poverty. Rich is rich. (I don't know why rich people always are looking for cards to play, why are you trying to act like you're not super privileged?)
I also felt like it was a missed opportunity to not bring up the exploitation that true crime podcasts have on families and victims of murder. I was surprised no one called Paisley out for making so much money off of people's tragedies.
There were quite a few characters in this book, and I never really felt any true connection to any of them. Paisley had plot armor, and zero flaws in her character. She would've felt more real if she wasn't so perfect. I found it kinda odd how crappy everyone treated the mean girl influencer. (See, I don't even remember her name, that's how forgettable and blendable the characters are) The majority of people are not going to thrive in a murder situation. I for one, would also hide in a cabinet.
I could write a whole monologue about how just by saying a characters race one time doesn't automatically make them read like that. If you take away one single word from a character description and we can't tell that they are coded to be a POC that is extremely telling.
Do I recommend? It was a fine book, if the premise intrigues you, give it a read. A short and tense book. Plus, I did fear for the character's lives which is always a bonus.
The ending and a twist was disappointing, and felt cheap. The book was already pretty short, I'm not sure where a sequel would even come from. The twist was so unnecessary. It was like...okay? I didn't feel shocked or angry or even scared, more just let down. I'm not chomping at the bit for a sequel and don't really feel there was enough story there for there to even be one.
It was really odd and telling how often the main character, Paisley, mentioned that she wasn't "born" into money. Like girl. Just admit that you're rich and privileged. Just because your family didn't come into a lot of money when you were 7 doesn't mean you were struggling and in poverty. Rich is rich. (I don't know why rich people always are looking for cards to play, why are you trying to act like you're not super privileged?)
I also felt like it was a missed opportunity to not bring up the exploitation that true crime podcasts have on families and victims of murder. I was surprised no one called Paisley out for making so much money off of people's tragedies.
There were quite a few characters in this book, and I never really felt any true connection to any of them. Paisley had plot armor, and zero flaws in her character. She would've felt more real if she wasn't so perfect. I found it kinda odd how crappy everyone treated the mean girl influencer. (See, I don't even remember her name, that's how forgettable and blendable the characters are) The majority of people are not going to thrive in a murder situation. I for one, would also hide in a cabinet.
I could write a whole monologue about how just by saying a characters race one time doesn't automatically make them read like that. If you take away one single word from a character description and we can't tell that they are coded to be a POC that is extremely telling.
Do I recommend? It was a fine book, if the premise intrigues you, give it a read. A short and tense book. Plus, I did fear for the character's lives which is always a bonus.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
booksofautumn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail