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moonfromearth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It contains pretty much all of McManus's usual tropes that you're likely to recognize if you've read her books before, but this one felt less tied down to the teen drama cheesiness because many of the characters are now halfway through college or about to graduate high school. I found that made the characters seem to have a lot more depth in this installment, and I think that McManus's writing could benefit from writing some more of these older perspective characters. It was very cool to see what characters were chosen to be the perspective characters since the cast has grown so much since the first book, and I was really glad to see more of Addie since she was one of my favorites in the first two books.
Overall, One of Us is Back isn't the most thrilling of mystery novels, as it serves more as an extended epilogue to the stories of the characters in One of Us is Lying and One of Us is Next. It takes on a much slower pace, once in a while remembering that there's a mystery going on between moments that work towards wrapping up the crew's plotlines. Despite that, I still enjoyed the book, and would recommend the series as a whole. The One of Us is Lying series is a guilty pleasure for me. I've been following it for around seven years now and, despite its flaws, was a reading experience I'll always hold dear.
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Addiction, and Alcohol
margaretwaltemath09's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Torture, Murder, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Death, and Pregnancy
Minor: Toxic relationship, Child death, Death of parent, Car accident, and Toxic friendship
saretta02's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Gun violence
Minor: Rape, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, and Drug use
luananki's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
although some of the characters felt a little off, i had so much fun with the mystery and the characters’ development and i’m going to miss their little group
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Gun violence, Stalking, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Alcohol and Infidelity
beckyyreadss's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Kidnapping, and Death
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Gun violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Drug use, Cancer, Alcohol, and Addiction
greatexpectations77's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, and Infidelity
Moderate: Death, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Murder, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, and Kidnapping
Minor: Alcohol, Grief, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Blood, and Death of parent
bo0ks_are_cool91's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Homophobia
dramagirl2003's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
p8: oh never mind, ofc it's jake
p10: *cough* murderer
p18: oh right, never mind. it's been a few months since i read one of us is next, and i clearly forgot the ending. poor owen, I was wrongly remembering him as a villain. also I forgot he was so young
p136: totally fair, I would also wanna punch that guy even at the risk of losing my job
p137: oh now I really would punch that arrogant smirk off his stupid frickin face
p144: IF THAT DEVIL SPAWN HAS DONE ANYTHING I'LL PLOT HIS MURDER WITH NATE
p148: stab the snow 🤣
p205: it really, really better not actually be owen this time. i'm gonna scream if it is
p210: mr alton is 100% the reason mrs riordan was so excited about work six years ago
p282:
p284: no but like i'm confused. does nate work at the construction site as well or just the bar? i mean they might have told us at the start of the book and i could've just forgotten
p288: no come on cause nate told phoebe he was at work until 3, but he's still at the bar at 7, so where's the consistency here??
wait, did he mean 3am?? ughh can we just have a little more clarity here
p292:
p297: I FREAKING KNEW IT!! OH SHOOT
p317:
p323: oh shoot, what now??
p327: dear gosh, he really was a murdering psyopath right from the start wasn't he
p331:
p332: what did I say
p344: aw knox, my hearttt that was so cute
p347: AHHHH i forgot about that!! thank goodness for addy!
p351: stoppp 🥺 i'm actually about to start crying 😭
p356:
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Cursing, Death, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Gun violence, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
itzbrianna's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The mystery in this particular novel was woven into the plots from the first and second book. And the new characters added a nice touch of humor and/or angst when needed.
In this third installment we get the POVs from Nate, Phoebe, and Addy while getting backstory pov from Simon and Jake on occasion. I loved Nate’s personal development throughout this book and how it highlighted his friendship with Addy.
This story really completed the trilogy with a nice bow. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Still, the 2nd installment is still my favorite. But I do love the climax of this one. Let me tell you, it’s a doozy! If you enjoyed the first two I think you’ll like this one almost as much.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Classism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Infidelity, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Confinement and Car accident
lochnessvhs's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Confinement, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Murder