A review by lara_ayrolla
The Ivies by Alexa Donne

dark 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? It's complicated

3.75

This book was a 5-star read for me until around the 80% mark. After that, things were rushed and some pivotal reveals were anticlimactic.

Regardless, this read was fun and I couldn't put the book down until I finished it. I read it at record speed for my usual reading habits.

I would highly recommend this book and definitely want to pick up another Alexa Donne.

Pros:
  • I love Alexa Donne's writing style, with beautiful descriptions, long enough to visualize in detail, but short enough to keep a nice pacing.
  • Foreshadowing death in the first chapters, with exaggerated remarks about things that don't relate to death, is genius and funny.
  • The book is very quotable, and I absolutely love it. The more quotes I highlight in a book, the more I appreciate the writing.
  • Olivia is a moral grey character. It's very interesting to follow her as she learns to accept it.
  • Many good points were made about important subjects such as highly competitive college admissions, classism, the privilege of the rich, racism, and creepy men in positions of power.

Cons:
  • As good as the points made by this book were, they were sometimes too on the nose, just present for the sake of it, and the issues weren't touched upon with much depth.
  • Some descriptions were too succinct or even inexistent. I hardly knew what anyone looked like throughout the entire book.
  • Olivia's constant jabs at her appearance and her obsession with not being thin enough are annoying. I wouldn't have a problem with those things if they were used to make a point and dealt with care, but they weren't even acknowledged.
  • Making a scene with a gun low-stake and dragging is hard, but this book achieved it.
  • The way the killer was revealed was odd and felt forced and illogical. Also, the motive was weak at best.
  • The last chapter was nothing and so much at the same time. It's very infodumpy and not the best way to end a book, in my opinion.
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