ps_a22's review against another edition
3.0
The mystery of this book was awesome. From the tension in the family to the compromising circumstances of the plot, I loved reading this novel. I found the chapter title's very clever, and the whole affiliation with chemistry gave the novel another dimension. The plot-twist at the end was mind-boggling even though it made perfect sense. Who knew that the true criminal was standing in the background the whole time?
All in all, Grace and Adrien's story was awesome
All in all, Grace and Adrien's story was awesome
housedesignerking's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I'm gonna start by saying that I have been a fan of Z Brewer's since 2009, and I have never finished one of his books and felt that it sucked in a bad way. The Chronicles Of Vladimir Tod has been one of my fave book series since I first met Vladimir Tod in a 'Books & Company' store in Ohio. This was a completely different story. No vampires.
Brewer stepped out of the realm of that kind of Fantasy and delivered a story about human emotion and the ties that bind us. Adrien and Grace share parents despite not being biologically related. They have never really gotten along that well, and when their parents are in a tragic science lab explosion, it separates them both figuratively and literally. Adrien requests to be transferred to a different private school, and his and Grace's new guardian, Viktor, obliges reluctantly. To California he goes. However, Viktor sends him a letter requesting a phone call which ultimately changes everything, and Adrien finds himself back home.
Adrien never wanted to return, but he finds himself doing so, and being flung back into life with Grace not being hundreds of miles away from him. He also will be re-enrolled at the school that Grace never left, but the one he did. Coming home means seeing a lot of people he hasn't seen in years, including his best friend Josh. He had once been decently popular at the school, but came back to being a pariah. There's also a mystery to solve when even before he left Cali, he starts getting text messages about his parents' deaths and Grace which makes him wonder if there's any truth to them. Did Grace have something to do with the explosion?
The way Brewer wrote this kept me turning the pages, and on that, I wasn't surprised. This is the eighth book of theirs that I've read, and he has more than earned the rank of being my favorite author. everything considered, I'm going to give this one 4 out 5 stars.
Just a last note, I ship Adrien and Josh so hard.
Brewer stepped out of the realm of that kind of Fantasy and delivered a story about human emotion and the ties that bind us. Adrien and Grace share parents despite not being biologically related. They have never really gotten along that well, and when their parents are in a tragic science lab explosion, it separates them both figuratively and literally. Adrien requests to be transferred to a different private school, and his and Grace's new guardian, Viktor, obliges reluctantly. To California he goes. However, Viktor sends him a letter requesting a phone call which ultimately changes everything, and Adrien finds himself back home.
Adrien never wanted to return, but he finds himself doing so, and being flung back into life with Grace not being hundreds of miles away from him. He also will be re-enrolled at the school that Grace never left, but the one he did. Coming home means seeing a lot of people he hasn't seen in years, including his best friend Josh. He had once been decently popular at the school, but came back to being a pariah. There's also a mystery to solve when even before he left Cali, he starts getting text messages about his parents' deaths and Grace which makes him wonder if there's any truth to them. Did Grace have something to do with the explosion?
The way Brewer wrote this kept me turning the pages, and on that, I wasn't surprised. This is the eighth book of theirs that I've read, and he has more than earned the rank of being my favorite author. everything considered, I'm going to give this one 4 out 5 stars.
Just a last note, I ship Adrien and Josh so hard.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
liralen's review against another edition
3.0
I like what The Blood Between Us was trying to do, but it felt like too many elements and not enough space. Adrien's been on the outs with his sister Grace for years—because he's adopted, she doesn't acknowledge him as a full member of the family—but since their parents died, they've lived on opposite sides of the country. Now Adrien's back, at the request of their guardian, at the boarding school where their parents taught...but he has an ulterior motive: to find out if Grace had a hand in their parents' deaths and whether she's passing off their father's research as her own.
Or, ostensibly that's why he's back. It hit me midway through the book that Adrien only really gets to the school halfway in, which doesn't leave a whole lot of room for plot development at the school. There are a lot of hints of Evil Grace Is Evil, but they're by and large not really followed up on; instead we get a fair amount of Adrien figuring out who he's interested in dating and so on. I like how sexuality is treated here: casually, in that Adrien doesn't get worked up about whether he's interested in boys or girls or both (or neither or other or...) but just gets on with it...but I was markedly less interested in the romance end of things than I was in the premise.
This is presented as a story about family, but when it comes down to it, it's...mostly not. There's a moment when Adrien and Grace are paired together for an extended class project, and I thought something might come of that—but it doesn't. It's just hard to care about whether or not they reunite as siblings when we really learn very little about Grace that doesn't come from Adrien's cynical commentary. (I did, however, find it amusing that Adrien—who's supposed to be the slacker who doesn't care about grades—is in all sorts of advanced classes, some at a higher level than Grace, who's supposed to be the super driven one.)
Aaaand then the plot twist...what to say about that? It belonged in a different book, maybe. I'm not a huge fan of big twists at the end anyway, but this just felt...random.
Glad the library had it, glad I read it, aaaaand moving on now. Two and a half stars.
Or, ostensibly that's why he's back. It hit me midway through the book that Adrien only really gets to the school halfway in, which doesn't leave a whole lot of room for plot development at the school. There are a lot of hints of Evil Grace Is Evil, but they're by and large not really followed up on; instead we get a fair amount of Adrien figuring out who he's interested in dating and so on. I like how sexuality is treated here: casually, in that Adrien doesn't get worked up about whether he's interested in boys or girls or both (or neither or other or...) but just gets on with it...but I was markedly less interested in the romance end of things than I was in the premise.
This is presented as a story about family, but when it comes down to it, it's...mostly not. There's a moment when Adrien and Grace are paired together for an extended class project, and I thought something might come of that—but it doesn't. It's just hard to care about whether or not they reunite as siblings when we really learn very little about Grace that doesn't come from Adrien's cynical commentary. (I did, however, find it amusing that Adrien—who's supposed to be the slacker who doesn't care about grades—is in all sorts of advanced classes, some at a higher level than Grace, who's supposed to be the super driven one.)
Aaaand then the plot twist...what to say about that? It belonged in a different book, maybe. I'm not a huge fan of big twists at the end anyway, but this just felt...random.
Spoiler
Boring side character turns out to be a crazed killer? Adrien and Grace, after a lifetime of hatred, magically become loving and supportive somewhere between the penultimate chapter and the final chapter? Hmmm.Glad the library had it, glad I read it, aaaaand moving on now. Two and a half stars.
procrastinating_pigeon's review against another edition
3.0
not gonna lie, I was confused as to why this book had a mediocre rating but after i finished it I understood. It had potential to be a great book, but I feel like the characters were very flat and didn’t change much. I also feel like the plot twist was definitely not something I would have guessed, but also didn’t feel believable. It really felt like the author just rushed an ending without much thought. It also bothered me how the siblings were written, with the classic “hey sis” “what’s up bro” vibe. like seriously who calls their sister “sis”. that’s mostly just a pet peeve of mine though.
TLDR: Pretty good book, ending is unbelievable though.
TLDR: Pretty good book, ending is unbelievable though.
bookcaptivated's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent
Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Death, Homophobia, and Violence
Minor: Cancer, Murder, and Suicide
annalovelace's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed this book, good mystery and all but the ending was abrupt
jenn_3's review against another edition
4.0
3.5-4⭐️ based on other reviews I don't know what I was expecting. It wasn't awesome, it wasn't terrible. The last 2 chapters were a whirlwind and I guess made the book better. All in all decent quick read.