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greatexpectations77's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The book Rebecca has been floating near my TBR for years, but this book made me really want to read it. I thought this was so much fun, and I was definitely kept guessing until the end. Everyone is kind of a garbage person, but I was cool with it. I did suspect pretty early on about the fate of the friend who was "in Florida." Just a fun ride.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship and Classism
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Minor: Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Police brutality
ruthypoo2's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This a complex mystery with a somewhat unreliable narrator. The teen characters were written as intelligent young people, even if they suffered from slightly impaired and immature judgment at times, but hey, that’s how we all learned about the world and ourselves while growing up!
The mystery story was interesting and never followed a straight path. I liked the twists and turns throughout - they popped up all the way through up till the end. I didn’t anticipate all the reveals before the truth was shared, but that might be because I don’t try too hard to guess what’s going on. I like being caught off guard!
I listened to the audiobook and thought the large cast of voices were excellent, especially the primary narrator who represented the main character, Anna.
The mystery story was interesting and never followed a straight path. I liked the twists and turns throughout - they popped up all the way through up till the end. I didn’t anticipate all the reveals before the truth was shared, but that might be because I don’t try too hard to guess what’s going on. I like being caught off guard!
I listened to the audiobook and thought the large cast of voices were excellent, especially the primary narrator who represented the main character, Anna.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Grief, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
annamwallace66's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
ackq's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
2.0
I really liked this book at first but then I couldn't finish 200 pages in, started skimming through and eventually looked up spoilers. I like the idea but it felt like there was too much buildup and it didn't go anywhere for a quarter of the book. This book should've been 100 pages shorter, I felt like it was just a story about Anna and her troubled life with her summer babysitting job. Maybe thrillers just aren't for me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Death and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
bookrecsplease's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
calamitywindpetal's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
karapillar's review
dark
emotional
lighthearted
tense
slow-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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Mental illness, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
david_slack110507's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I think this is like 3.5 or 3.75 stars rounded up to a 4 but I really enjoyed this much more than what I would consider to be a 3-star book. I really liked the premise of the book and I feel it mostly stuck to it and delivered on what it promised even if I'm somewhat torn with the ending.
The story kept me engaged throughout and there was never really a moment where I felt bored, I think a lot of that came down to the dual timelines/perspectives as well as one of those perspectives in Anna being an unreliable narrator as we are unsure in what she is saying is accurate whilst also learning that she has confessed to the murders. It really kept me engaged as well as wanting to learn how and why Anna knew the things that she did about Zoe, a girl she had supposedly never met yet not only looked nearly identical to her but also had a connection to her. The reason as to how and why both Anna and Zoe were connected and looked similar was something that I guessed a little after halfway through the book and then only became more certain of near the end of the book but that doesn't make the plot twist of them being half-sisters any less impactful or good as it felt like something that you needed to focus on the background details (e.g Mr and Mrs Spanos having a history of taking breaks, Anna's father not being in the picture etc) for if you wanted to guess it as it took a lesser focus in comparison to finding out what happened to Zoe.
I experienced this book through audiobook on Audible so I liked the fact that there was a cast of characters even if none really stood out besides Martina and Anna aka the two leads/lead perspectives of the book and to a certain extent Zoe too but sadly it was missing a developed background and supporting cast of characters to act as the Heron Mills community which meant that it was less impactful when they were placed under suspicion for being involved in Zoe's disappearance but I do think that Anna, in particular, sort of makes up for this. Anna being a sort of unreliable narrator means that everything she says happens unless corroborated by others must be taken with a pinch of salt and near the end of the book it really does do a good job of potentially making it be Anna as the killer of Zoe Spanos reinforced by her shady past with her friends before taking this summer nanny job. I found the unexplained fate of her friend Star to be a good representation of how a lot of missing cases, unlike the main case in this book, aren't ever really closed due to it never being discovered what happened to the missing person and how that can affect people.
The reveal at the end was somewhat of a mixed bag though, I do contribute my feelings towards it to being slightly hindered by confusion as I was doing something else at the time that was the focus and at the forefront of my mind so that may have been why I didn't see it coming that Aster was Zoe's unintended killer. I don't mind the reveal and I'm not opposed to the fact that it was accidental but even if in hindsight some of Aster's reluctance to support the podcast that Martina was making was evidence that she may have done it, the reveal did feel somewhat anti-climactic and the events leading up to what caused it all to happen felt somewhat rushed. However, I do really appreciate the penultimate chapter of the book being dedicated to explaining the timeline of events and making them more coherent.
Overall, I really enjoyed this even if the main reveal was slightly disappointing and the cast of characters besides from the main ones were just... there, I still enjoyed my time with the book particularly with the unreliable narrator aspect as well as the dual perspectives and timelines which helped develop the unreliable narrator aspect of the book and vice versa.
The story kept me engaged throughout and there was never really a moment where I felt bored, I think a lot of that came down to the dual timelines/perspectives as well as one of those perspectives in Anna being an unreliable narrator as we are unsure in what she is saying is accurate whilst also learning that she has confessed to the murders. It really kept me engaged as well as wanting to learn how and why Anna knew the things that she did about Zoe, a girl she had supposedly never met yet not only looked nearly identical to her but also had a connection to her. The reason as to how and why both Anna and Zoe were connected and looked similar was something that I guessed a little after halfway through the book and then only became more certain of near the end of the book but that doesn't make the plot twist of them being half-sisters any less impactful or good as it felt like something that you needed to focus on the background details (e.g Mr and Mrs Spanos having a history of taking breaks, Anna's father not being in the picture etc) for if you wanted to guess it as it took a lesser focus in comparison to finding out what happened to Zoe.
I experienced this book through audiobook on Audible so I liked the fact that there was a cast of characters even if none really stood out besides Martina and Anna aka the two leads/lead perspectives of the book and to a certain extent Zoe too but sadly it was missing a developed background and supporting cast of characters to act as the Heron Mills community which meant that it was less impactful when they were placed under suspicion for being involved in Zoe's disappearance but I do think that Anna, in particular, sort of makes up for this. Anna being a sort of unreliable narrator means that everything she says happens unless corroborated by others must be taken with a pinch of salt and near the end of the book it really does do a good job of potentially making it be Anna as the killer of Zoe Spanos reinforced by her shady past with her friends before taking this summer nanny job. I found the unexplained fate of her friend Star to be a good representation of how a lot of missing cases, unlike the main case in this book, aren't ever really closed due to it never being discovered what happened to the missing person and how that can affect people.
The reveal at the end was somewhat of a mixed bag though, I do contribute my feelings towards it to being slightly hindered by confusion as I was doing something else at the time that was the focus and at the forefront of my mind so that may have been why I didn't see it coming that Aster was Zoe's unintended killer. I don't mind the reveal and I'm not opposed to the fact that it was accidental but even if in hindsight some of Aster's reluctance to support the podcast that Martina was making was evidence that she may have done it, the reveal did feel somewhat anti-climactic and the events leading up to what caused it all to happen felt somewhat rushed. However, I do really appreciate the penultimate chapter of the book being dedicated to explaining the timeline of events and making them more coherent.
Overall, I really enjoyed this even if the main reveal was slightly disappointing and the cast of characters besides from the main ones were just... there, I still enjoyed my time with the book particularly with the unreliable narrator aspect as well as the dual perspectives and timelines which helped develop the unreliable narrator aspect of the book and vice versa.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
Minor: Cursing, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual harassment
thewoodlandbookshelf's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Well, this was quite a wild ride. For a good portion of it, it's kind of difficult to figure out what's going on, but I think that's purposeful for the mystery. There are quite a few twists and turns and red herrings, and every time you think you have it figured out, you probably don't.
This actually would be a great read-a-like for [book:A Good Girl's Guide to Murder|40916679], with the podcast and just the way the story is formatted. I am curious how the audiobook deals with the audiobook aspect, because there is a lot of potential there!
The resolution feels a little quick at points, but overall, the plot moved quickly and it was difficult to put down towards the end. I had to know what happened next!
This actually would be a great read-a-like for [book:A Good Girl's Guide to Murder|40916679], with the podcast and just the way the story is formatted. I am curious how the audiobook deals with the audiobook aspect, because there is a lot of potential there!
The resolution feels a little quick at points, but overall, the plot moved quickly and it was difficult to put down towards the end. I had to know what happened next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Infidelity, and Mental illness