house_of_hannah's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Unfortunately, this really didn't feel like a thriller until the last 50 pages. Up until then it was a boring romance with a lot of teen drama thrown in. A good chunk of the book was just the two MCs, Makani and Ollie, trying to be alone to get into each other's pants. Pass.
The very first chapter is the first murder, so it starts off promising, but quickly tapers off. In this first chapter we get to see what is probably the best part of this book: the way the killer toys with the victim's minds. They are constantly doing things like opening drawers/cabinents, moving mundane objects, rearranging furniture, and other things like that to make the person second-guess themselves. I thought this was a really interesting aspect to the murders.
One thing that took me by surprise is that we discover the identity of the killer about half way through the story. It felt way too soon, and made the book feel longer than what it is. This combined with the abrupt ending, and Makani's "secret", just left the whole book feeling very unsatisfying.
The very first chapter is the first murder, so it starts off promising, but quickly tapers off. In this first chapter we get to see what is probably the best part of this book: the way the killer toys with the victim's minds. They are constantly doing things like opening drawers/cabinents, moving mundane objects, rearranging furniture, and other things like that to make the person second-guess themselves. I thought this was a really interesting aspect to the murders.
One thing that took me by surprise is that we discover the identity of the killer about half way through the story. It felt way too soon, and made the book feel longer than what it is. This combined with the abrupt ending, and Makani's "secret", just left the whole book feeling very unsatisfying.
Spoiler
But seriously, wtf was up with her secret ? They were being fucking hazed, and everyone was drunk/exhausted/pissed. Cutting someone's hair with a knife is pretty tame compared to everything else that was happening that night, and better some hair than someone's arm or something.Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Violence, Stalking, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Alcohol, Sexual content, and Bullying
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide attempt, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, Drug use, and Vomit
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