The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
xabbeylongx's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Spoilers Ahead:
I can't quite figure out this book. It took me so long to get into, and I'm glad I finally finished it.
A girl called Sadie Loman has passed, and it's ruled a TW suicide. However, Avery, Sadie's best friend, finds it hard to believe she was capable of doing that. Sadie had a sadistic obsession with death, and that, as long as a note and her diary, is left behind after, convincing everyone she drowned herself. However, what they don't know is that the letter and the diary belongs to Avery herself.Â
From then on, things just don't sit right. The police investigate things, and it all boils down to one party, with four suspects. Avery, Parker (Sadie's brother), Luciana and Connor are the suspects, and they all point the fingers at each other.Â
I feel like some context is needed for this situation. Sadie liked to think of Avery as a product of herself. Avery went through a rough stage, after getting over the death of her parents in a car accident, and Sadie brought her into her family. A lot of people didn't like nor trust her, but the Loman's accepted her. They gave her a space to live, a job, and they accepted her into the family, all for Sadie's benefit.Â
Now, with Sadie gone, they've let her go. There was money taken out of the bank, and they blamed her, although Sadie took the fall. With her now gone, she was sacked. She decided to do some digging of her own. Apparently, Sadie was spotted with Connor, Avery's ex. She begs him to take her where they went, and the end up on a boat, travelling to an island, where she finds a USB stick. After digging, she realises that Parker caused her parents' car accident, and the money was there to pay her grandmother to stay quiet. There was, unfortunately, another sum of money unaccounted for, and it turns out Ben Collins, the local police officer that had been following Avery, leading the blame onto her, found Parker after the accident, and was also paid to keep quiet. He killed Sadie, because she found out, and he was going to kill Avery too, until Parker comes in. Upon finding out Collins killed his sister, there is an altercation, but at least they can put Sadie's memory to rest.Â
Originally, I just couldn't get into it. It took me until over halfway through to really be interested in the plot, and I don't exactly know why, because the plot by itself is just fantastic. I think there was a lot of descriptions, a lot of vivid imagery, but sometimes it was too much, and it was overbearing. There was a lot going on at once, and yet, there wasn't too much to the plot at the start. It started off very slowly. However, the pacing of the ending is fantastic, even though I would have liked to have heard more about what happened to everyone after it happened. We touched on Parker briefly, but what about Connor? I kind of shipped him and Avery together, and I desperately want to know if they found their way back together. Also, I had a lot of unanswered questions, which I thought was a bit weird. Like why did Sadie go to Connor and not her? This whole thing could have been solved if she'd brought the evidence to someone sooner, surely?Â
So yeah, not a fabulous read, but the plot is definitely interesting, I just think it wasn't executed the way I had hoped it would be.Â
I can't quite figure out this book. It took me so long to get into, and I'm glad I finally finished it.
A girl called Sadie Loman has passed, and it's ruled a TW suicide. However, Avery, Sadie's best friend, finds it hard to believe she was capable of doing that. Sadie had a sadistic obsession with death, and that, as long as a note and her diary, is left behind after, convincing everyone she drowned herself. However, what they don't know is that the letter and the diary belongs to Avery herself.Â
From then on, things just don't sit right. The police investigate things, and it all boils down to one party, with four suspects. Avery, Parker (Sadie's brother), Luciana and Connor are the suspects, and they all point the fingers at each other.Â
I feel like some context is needed for this situation. Sadie liked to think of Avery as a product of herself. Avery went through a rough stage, after getting over the death of her parents in a car accident, and Sadie brought her into her family. A lot of people didn't like nor trust her, but the Loman's accepted her. They gave her a space to live, a job, and they accepted her into the family, all for Sadie's benefit.Â
Now, with Sadie gone, they've let her go. There was money taken out of the bank, and they blamed her, although Sadie took the fall. With her now gone, she was sacked. She decided to do some digging of her own. Apparently, Sadie was spotted with Connor, Avery's ex. She begs him to take her where they went, and the end up on a boat, travelling to an island, where she finds a USB stick. After digging, she realises that Parker caused her parents' car accident, and the money was there to pay her grandmother to stay quiet. There was, unfortunately, another sum of money unaccounted for, and it turns out Ben Collins, the local police officer that had been following Avery, leading the blame onto her, found Parker after the accident, and was also paid to keep quiet. He killed Sadie, because she found out, and he was going to kill Avery too, until Parker comes in. Upon finding out Collins killed his sister, there is an altercation, but at least they can put Sadie's memory to rest.Â
Originally, I just couldn't get into it. It took me until over halfway through to really be interested in the plot, and I don't exactly know why, because the plot by itself is just fantastic. I think there was a lot of descriptions, a lot of vivid imagery, but sometimes it was too much, and it was overbearing. There was a lot going on at once, and yet, there wasn't too much to the plot at the start. It started off very slowly. However, the pacing of the ending is fantastic, even though I would have liked to have heard more about what happened to everyone after it happened. We touched on Parker briefly, but what about Connor? I kind of shipped him and Avery together, and I desperately want to know if they found their way back together. Also, I had a lot of unanswered questions, which I thought was a bit weird. Like why did Sadie go to Connor and not her? This whole thing could have been solved if she'd brought the evidence to someone sooner, surely?Â
So yeah, not a fabulous read, but the plot is definitely interesting, I just think it wasn't executed the way I had hoped it would be.Â
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide and Self harm
katrinarose's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? Yes
4.0
This is one of the better mystery thriller books I’ve read recently, although it has its flaws. I thought the mystery was interesting, the writing engaging and the plot fast. The ending/reveal wasn’t crazy but I also didn’t predict it. There were a few likable characters but many were unlikable, and I wish the unlikable characters were given a bit more depth. I didn’t love that although we were in first person, Avery (the protagonist) kept revealing new things that she knew about what happened throughout the book. This style kind of annoys me because if it’s first person I believe we should know everything that’s going on in that person’s head. If there are secrets to be kept, stay in third person. That’s just my opinion though. It was a fun mystery with a great setting and atmosphere and it made me interested to try out some of the author’s other work.Â
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Car accident, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Medical content, Mental illness, Blood, Self harm, Violence, and Classism
Minor: Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury
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