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stella_june21's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
kateslattery's review against another edition
3.0
The book was ok but the fact that all of her figure only lasted 4 second and then she made up with them for on my nerves
mrsstrickland's review against another edition
4.0
My 6th grade daughter read this book then asked me to read it. It’s a good story, even thought it’s not told in the style that I enjoy. I had to remind myself it’s a young adult book several times. That said, my daughter loved this book and I think it was a good story
charlottereidsma's review against another edition
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
2.5
kthornette's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 ⭐️ rounded
I fell down a Goodreads hole of YA murder mysteries so I decided to start this one that’s been on my lovely TBR for a while.
James Patterson’s foreword said that the best characters, good or bad, must be human first. Flora was amazing and interesting to read. Very complex and morally grey with the classic tragic backstory. She and Valentine had so much sexual tension and chemistry that I was very into while they were solving the mystery together. (They remind me of Scarlet and Wolf whom I love to death).
Everyone in this book was so, so sketchy and it was so much fun to reads. Small town murder mystery and political corruption? Sign me up. I was theorizing as I read, as I always do, and I was thrilled to get it right. My only critique is that some parts in the middle could’ve been cut or condensed in exchange for more in the ending.
BUT WHAT WAS THAT ENDING? Someone get me a sequel.
I fell down a Goodreads hole of YA murder mysteries so I decided to start this one that’s been on my lovely TBR for a while.
James Patterson’s foreword said that the best characters, good or bad, must be human first. Flora was amazing and interesting to read. Very complex and morally grey with the classic tragic backstory. She and Valentine had so much sexual tension and chemistry that I was very into while they were solving the mystery together. (They remind me of Scarlet and Wolf whom I love to death).
Everyone in this book was so, so sketchy and it was so much fun to reads. Small town murder mystery and political corruption? Sign me up. I was theorizing as I read, as I always do, and I was thrilled to get it right. My only critique is that some parts in the middle could’ve been cut or condensed in exchange for more in the ending.
BUT WHAT WAS THAT ENDING? Someone get me a sequel.
lauren_reidxoxo's review against another edition
5.0
Ya know that random piece of writing advice that’s like “start a book like it’s the middle of a story and finish it as if it’s the beginning” or something like that?
Ms. Author took that way too far.
ANYWAY, aside from me dying, it was a really good book. Debated giving it 4 stars, but honestly— it deserves 5.
The most notable part that stands out to me is the character development of Flora. You see her at the beginning: reckless, driven, but she has a definite goal— that’s not finding the person that murdered her ex-girlfriend. She’s sad that they’ve broken up, and the repeated “7 mouths and 4 days”, along with going through her Instagram really show how broken up she is.
Wow how quickly that changes. All of a sudden she’s on a mission, pushing aside her grief, focusing on her goal. And with good reason!
The pendulum swing between the two is so important to the story, but also adds a feeling of human to Flora, something that is usually lost in murder mysteries when authors favor a more Sherlock Holmes character (which there is nothing wrong with, but with this being a person she knew, if it was disconnected detective work, it would’ve get off)
The characters are what really made this— the sense of human-ness in them while they all are making bad decisions and not telling the whole truth. And it’s not in a psychology way, it’s presented really well so you just see them as they are: flawed people that are learning.
The mystery itself is predictable… well, not one I would be surprised someone predicted. Did I predict it? …well, no. But I was focused on the characters, sooo.
Moving on, I would most certainly recommend this to people who want to get into murder mysteries or people that liked One of Us is Lying and Good Girls Guide to Murder (I liked this more than both of those, but that’s just my personal preference), or anyone for that matter! I would consider rereading, but I’ll need to recover from that ending.
Overall, great character development with the pendulum swing of Flora’s personality before and after Ava’s murder, and the human-ness of Flora was refreshing. All of the characters had their own flaws and all were expressed so humanly it was great! Would recommend and possible reread.
Ms. Author took that way too far.
ANYWAY, aside from me dying, it was a really good book. Debated giving it 4 stars, but honestly— it deserves 5.
The most notable part that stands out to me is the character development of Flora. You see her at the beginning: reckless, driven, but she has a definite goal— that’s not finding the person that murdered her ex-girlfriend. She’s sad that they’ve broken up, and the repeated “7 mouths and 4 days”, along with going through her Instagram really show how broken up she is.
Wow how quickly that changes. All of a sudden she’s on a mission, pushing aside her grief, focusing on her goal. And with good reason!
The pendulum swing between the two is so important to the story, but also adds a feeling of human to Flora, something that is usually lost in murder mysteries when authors favor a more Sherlock Holmes character (which there is nothing wrong with, but with this being a person she knew, if it was disconnected detective work, it would’ve get off)
The characters are what really made this— the sense of human-ness in them while they all are making bad decisions and not telling the whole truth. And it’s not in a psychology way, it’s presented really well so you just see them as they are: flawed people that are learning.
The mystery itself is predictable… well, not one I would be surprised someone predicted. Did I predict it? …well, no. But I was focused on the characters, sooo.
Moving on, I would most certainly recommend this to people who want to get into murder mysteries or people that liked One of Us is Lying and Good Girls Guide to Murder (I liked this more than both of those, but that’s just my personal preference), or anyone for that matter! I would consider rereading, but I’ll need to recover from that ending.
Overall, great character development with the pendulum swing of Flora’s personality before and after Ava’s murder, and the human-ness of Flora was refreshing. All of the characters had their own flaws and all were expressed so humanly it was great! Would recommend and possible reread.
bofrazer's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent debut. YA-ish but not cozy. Great writing, def want to see what she does next.
vschultheis1's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.25