krystaldiane's review against another edition
0.25
It’s meh. I’ll probably just forget about this book but I’ll definitely remember my wasted time.
alexperc_92's review against another edition
5.0
I received an e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Review can be found on *Milky Way of Books*
This story was a mystery from page one. Cobain and Molly and their not-so-honest relationship were mindblowing in ways I didn't anticipate. I honestly didn't know the truth as I read two POVs moving from past to present but weaving masterfully a web of secrets, lies, and romance. Victoria Scott knows how to keep you trapped in the insecurities of her characters, how they try to weave through the mysteries and comes out stronger despite how damaged they become.
A very good and highly anticipated book!
This story was a mystery from page one. Cobain and Molly and their not-so-honest relationship were mindblowing in ways I didn't anticipate. I honestly didn't know the truth as I read two POVs moving from past to present but weaving masterfully a web of secrets, lies, and romance. Victoria Scott knows how to keep you trapped in the insecurities of her characters, how they try to weave through the mysteries and comes out stronger despite how damaged they become.
A very good and highly anticipated book!
notlikethebeer's review against another edition
4.0
This was wonderfully compelling!! The two major plot twists (at the end) were so incredibly well-foreshadowed, they had the perfect blend of 'OH MY GOD' and 'THIS MAKES PERFECT SENSE'.
Feel slightly iffy about the representations of mental illness & codependency, but equally there were some really good reps of mental illness, so I don't know!
Feel slightly iffy about the representations of mental illness & codependency, but equally there were some really good reps of mental illness, so I don't know!
southernbellebooks's review against another edition
2.0
This book kind of rubbed me the wrong way. I didn’t appreciate the way it was written and I didn’t connect with the characters in any way, shape, or form.
illbefinealone's review against another edition
4.0
I have a confession to make. I almost DNFed this book about 20% in.
The plot didn't hook me from the beginning, and the mystery at hand only got me interested maybe 30% into the book. But I kept reading because of one, Victoria Scott wrote one of my favorite books of 2017 and I thought that the least I could do is give this one a chance, and two, I really enjoyed the writing style of this book and the jumping from one style to another depending on the chapter made it dynamic enough to keep it entertaining. Right now, I'm glad that I finished the book, cause it was better than I expected.
In my opinion, the writing style is the best part of this book. The plot is decent too, it's not very predictable, and it's well paced. I do take some issue with the characters, however, they all seemed to be deceiving and it wasn't exactly easy for me to rely on their statements or connect to any of them. I guess that that was kind of the point, but I think that is why it took me a while to get into this book.
I also have a bit of a problem with the ending. While I enjoyed that things got resolved positively, there were still a few questions left unanswered floating between the characters, which I feel like a single line here and there would've answered.
Besides all this, I did like the book. Victoria Scott writes in a style that I really enjoy reading, and the twist at the end was great. I think it's a decent YA thriller, and if you're interested in this genre, you should give this book a shot.
*Copy received through NetGalley
*Actual rating: 3.75
The plot didn't hook me from the beginning, and the mystery at hand only got me interested maybe 30% into the book. But I kept reading because of one, Victoria Scott wrote one of my favorite books of 2017 and I thought that the least I could do is give this one a chance, and two, I really enjoyed the writing style of this book and the jumping from one style to another depending on the chapter made it dynamic enough to keep it entertaining. Right now, I'm glad that I finished the book, cause it was better than I expected.
In my opinion, the writing style is the best part of this book. The plot is decent too, it's not very predictable, and it's well paced. I do take some issue with the characters, however, they all seemed to be deceiving and it wasn't exactly easy for me to rely on their statements or connect to any of them. I guess that that was kind of the point, but I think that is why it took me a while to get into this book.
I also have a bit of a problem with the ending. While I enjoyed that things got resolved positively, there were still a few questions left unanswered floating between the characters, which I feel like a single line here and there would've answered.
Besides all this, I did like the book. Victoria Scott writes in a style that I really enjoy reading, and the twist at the end was great. I think it's a decent YA thriller, and if you're interested in this genre, you should give this book a shot.
*Copy received through NetGalley
*Actual rating: 3.75
linde99's review against another edition
2.0
I listened to the audio book for this, and I did not like the narrator. The book itself is also boring in my opinion. Not much happened in this book until the very end. Then it really got going, and it was the only time I was invested. It’s also the reason the book gets 2 stars instead of 1. The plot twists were good though. The characters were meh. I did not feel connected to any of them. I could not care less if someone died ( it sounds horrible, but that’s how much I disliked them). And the names. Who names their kid Cobain? Where do you get that name from anyway?
kristy_k's review against another edition
2.0
Another mystery, another unreliable narrator. When the first twist came (long into the story) it surprised me. Then the second one came. Again, nice twist. And then they kept coming, kept coming, kept coming and I’d had enough. I think a good mystery uses twists sparingly and at the right time. When you throw a bunch in at the end of the book it discounts them and makes for some eye-rolling.
Cobain, our first person narrator for most of the story, weaves a tale of an alluring, unique girl, Molly, who is he just lucky enough to date. But when Molly disappears and foul play is expected, eyes turn to him and he turns desperate to learn the truth. While Cobain did annoy me some I didn’t mind his narrative too much.
Molly’s, on the other hand, I could have done without. I didn’t like her perspective at all. She wasn’t a sympathetic character to me, and as our kidnap victim, I think that’s kind of important.
This is the second book by Scott I’ve read and both times I’ve been left underwhelm. Her writing isn’t bad, I think her stories just aren’t for me.
I received an advanced copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.
Cobain, our first person narrator for most of the story, weaves a tale of an alluring, unique girl, Molly, who is he just lucky enough to date. But when Molly disappears and foul play is expected, eyes turn to him and he turns desperate to learn the truth. While Cobain did annoy me some I didn’t mind his narrative too much.
Molly’s, on the other hand, I could have done without. I didn’t like her perspective at all. She wasn’t a sympathetic character to me, and as our kidnap victim, I think that’s kind of important.
This is the second book by Scott I’ve read and both times I’ve been left underwhelm. Her writing isn’t bad, I think her stories just aren’t for me.
I received an advanced copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.
angelicasreads's review against another edition
2.0
**I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.**
Well, that was quite a strange little book I just read.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I am not one for mystery novels, especially YA mystery novels. And yet, I constantly find myself reading them. Why? I have no idea. I don't necessarily like them. Maybe I'm secretly holding hope that I'll find one to blow me away. Sadly, this one wasn't it.
This novel was a ride. It was like watching a horrible car crash on the freeway, all going up in flames. I couldn't look away!
This book is, as you guessed, a mystery. Molly has gone missing and her boyfriend, Cobain, with whom she had previously planned to run away, is the main suspect. The story is told in three different POVs/ time periods. We get to see the past, before Molly went missing, told from Cobain's pov. Then, we see the present from both Cobain's pov, as he tries to find his girlfriend and Molly's pov, as she tries to escape the masked man who has abducted her.
Throughout it all, everyone becomes a suspect. Molly wasn't exactly a saint, and Cobain isn't exactly the hero he likes to think he is.
The entire novel is full of twist and turns, leaving me unsure of who truly was to blame for all of it. There was so much happening and yet, I have to admit, I didn't much care for the mystery. The chapters in which we saw Cobain trying to solve the mystery weren't as interesting to me as seeing Molly's manipulations as she tried to escape, or as seeing the origin of their relationship.
The reason I kept reading was because of the charcters. The main characters were the true car crash in this novel. They were a tragic, disturbing mess and I wanted to know more about them! Their relationship is borderline abusive, going both ways. It's toxic and manipulative. It's something that I would not wish upon anyone, and yet, it was so interesting!
Molly is a manipulator. She uses Cobain's emotions to get what she wants, and constantly refers to him as her wolf, a beast to which she alone holds the leash. Cobain is obsessed with Molly, constantly following her home and forcing her to admit she loves him. They are wicked, horrible people, their relationship was all types of wrong, and I wanted to keep reading about them if only to see how far they would go before they destroyed each other.
Also, a lot of people complained about the characters and their abusive relationship. Do I agree that it's toxic? Yes, it's an extremely messed up romance between two seriously messed up people. But I don't think the book necessarily glorifies it. Not all books need to have nice, lovable characters in good and happy relationships. That's not the reality of the world. Some relationships are like this, and as long as authors aren't praising them and telling young, impressionable people that this is the norm, I see nothing wrong with writing them.
In the end, this was entertaining for the time being. Will I remember much of this in a few months? Probably not. Do I recommend it? I don't know. If you like mysteries and you won't be bothered by these characters, you might like it. Otherwise, I don't think this might be the one for you.
Well, that was quite a strange little book I just read.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I am not one for mystery novels, especially YA mystery novels. And yet, I constantly find myself reading them. Why? I have no idea. I don't necessarily like them. Maybe I'm secretly holding hope that I'll find one to blow me away. Sadly, this one wasn't it.
This novel was a ride. It was like watching a horrible car crash on the freeway, all going up in flames. I couldn't look away!
This book is, as you guessed, a mystery. Molly has gone missing and her boyfriend, Cobain, with whom she had previously planned to run away, is the main suspect. The story is told in three different POVs/ time periods. We get to see the past, before Molly went missing, told from Cobain's pov. Then, we see the present from both Cobain's pov, as he tries to find his girlfriend and Molly's pov, as she tries to escape the masked man who has abducted her.
Throughout it all, everyone becomes a suspect. Molly wasn't exactly a saint, and Cobain isn't exactly the hero he likes to think he is.
The entire novel is full of twist and turns, leaving me unsure of who truly was to blame for all of it. There was so much happening and yet, I have to admit, I didn't much care for the mystery. The chapters in which we saw Cobain trying to solve the mystery weren't as interesting to me as seeing Molly's manipulations as she tried to escape, or as seeing the origin of their relationship.
The reason I kept reading was because of the charcters. The main characters were the true car crash in this novel. They were a tragic, disturbing mess and I wanted to know more about them! Their relationship is borderline abusive, going both ways. It's toxic and manipulative. It's something that I would not wish upon anyone, and yet, it was so interesting!
Molly is a manipulator. She uses Cobain's emotions to get what she wants, and constantly refers to him as her wolf, a beast to which she alone holds the leash. Cobain is obsessed with Molly, constantly following her home and forcing her to admit she loves him. They are wicked, horrible people, their relationship was all types of wrong, and I wanted to keep reading about them if only to see how far they would go before they destroyed each other.
Also, a lot of people complained about the characters and their abusive relationship. Do I agree that it's toxic? Yes, it's an extremely messed up romance between two seriously messed up people. But I don't think the book necessarily glorifies it. Not all books need to have nice, lovable characters in good and happy relationships. That's not the reality of the world. Some relationships are like this, and as long as authors aren't praising them and telling young, impressionable people that this is the norm, I see nothing wrong with writing them.
In the end, this was entertaining for the time being. Will I remember much of this in a few months? Probably not. Do I recommend it? I don't know. If you like mysteries and you won't be bothered by these characters, you might like it. Otherwise, I don't think this might be the one for you.
annesreads's review against another edition
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? Yes
2.5