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A review by dalmavatai
The Things We Don't See by Savannah Brown
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Sadly, this book did not work for me at all. I had high hopes because I loved the author's previous book, The Truth About Keeping Secrets, and this book seemed to have everything I wanted: a podcast element, an isolated setting, an unsolved mystery on a small island, a complex protagonist with trauma in her own past, the amateur teen sleuth trope, AND a wlw romance!
However, the podcast element did not feature beyond the first 30 pages, and the rest just did not come together in a way that was satisfying to me. This book was extremely slow-paced, not much happened during the course of the investigation, and when something did, it wasn't particularly intriguing. The cast of characters wasn't dynamic enough to keep my interest, they were not especially well-developed or interesting. The setting also lacked development in my opinion.
The flowery writing, which worked for me in The Truth About Keeping Secrets, was very confusing this time. It was beautiful and lyrical a couple of times, but mostly it was just convoluted and did not succeed in explaining the characters' feelings. More often than not I was very confused by what was happening inside characters' minds and Mona's in particular because it felt like the author was trying way too hard to sound lyrical. Mona is supposed to go through some sort of growth in this story but the way it was written was so convoluted that I'm not entirely sure what the point of her growth was supposed to be. Peyton and Mona's interactions were equally incredibly confusing, it could've been a cute hate-to-love type of romance but so little was explained that you were ultimately left to figure out for yourself why they were behaving a particular way.
Convoluted writing and a lack of dynamic characters made this book a huge missed opportunity for me. Hopefully the author's next book will work for me again like her debut novel did.
However, the podcast element did not feature beyond the first 30 pages, and the rest just did not come together in a way that was satisfying to me. This book was extremely slow-paced, not much happened during the course of the investigation, and when something did, it wasn't particularly intriguing. The cast of characters wasn't dynamic enough to keep my interest, they were not especially well-developed or interesting. The setting also lacked development in my opinion.
The flowery writing, which worked for me in The Truth About Keeping Secrets, was very confusing this time. It was beautiful and lyrical a couple of times, but mostly it was just convoluted and did not succeed in explaining the characters' feelings. More often than not I was very confused by what was happening inside characters' minds and Mona's in particular because it felt like the author was trying way too hard to sound lyrical. Mona is supposed to go through some sort of growth in this story but the way it was written was so convoluted that I'm not entirely sure what the point of her growth was supposed to be. Peyton and Mona's interactions were equally incredibly confusing, it could've been a cute hate-to-love type of romance but so little was explained that you were ultimately left to figure out for yourself why they were behaving a particular way.
Convoluted writing and a lack of dynamic characters made this book a huge missed opportunity for me. Hopefully the author's next book will work for me again like her debut novel did.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, and Grief
Minor: Domestic abuse and Death of parent