A review by notlikethebeer
Pasadena by Sherri L. Smith

3.0

This was okay? It was interesting for sure, and I liked the atmospheric setting. However, I mostly just feel that it was underdeveloped. There's no real getting to know many of the characters - I wanted a lot more from the other friends of Maggie, in particular her other best friend (who's name I've now forgotten!); and even from Maggie herself, who felt very bland, and Jude, who I never really understood. On the plus side,

Spoiler

I was expecting it to be like so many other similar books, where it turns out that the central best friend is holding everyone's secrets and using them as blackmail, and it was really refreshing that that wasn't the case

. As for the 'reveal', whilst the specifics were more interesting, it felt very rushed and unrealistic, leaving the reader behind for the sake of a hasty finish. The specifics were more interesting, but I think could have been explored a lot more, particularly as a bit of a reflection on... well, The American Dream I guess.