Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Before We Were Innocent

Ten years ago, Bess and Joni were cleared of having caused the death of their best friend, Evangeline, during a summer trip to Greece. The fallout from Evangeline’s tragic death sent Bess and Joni’s lives in completely different directions - Joni, a successful public speaker and influencer, and Bess a recluse, still struggling with the guilt and trauma of that summer. When Joni’s fiancée, Willa, goes missing, Joni shows up on Bess’ doorstep to call in a favor on a ten-year-old debt; but there’s more to the story of Willa’s disappearance than Joni is letting on, just like there’s more to that fateful night in Mykonos than Bess remembers.

I wanted to like this book more than I did… but, man, for something mystery-esque, it just felt so predictable. Furthermore, I didn’t find any of the characters very likable, other than poor Theo. It was also both somehow longer than it needed to be and also didn’t really resolve? I hated the ending. After all of the lead up, the lies, the shadiness, I wanted something shocking - some big twist where no body gets a happy ending. I think the ending is meant to give some peace, like those still standing can finally move on from everything… but I personally thought it was boring.

I will say, the writing overall is good. Though I didn’t LIKE the characters, there were some points where I couldn’t put the book down because I was just entranced by their bullshit. Teenage girls are awful! But in the end, the disappointment at where the story went outweighed the enjoyment of watching their train wreck of a trip unfold.

Content Warnings

jcgirl1032's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Content Warnings

la_lune's review

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emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I feel like nothing got solved in this book.

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kimveach's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The pace was excruciatingly slow for me. It took away from the mystery and became more literary, which I did not expect. The reviews range from five to one star, so this book wasn't for me, but someone else obviously liked it.

Content Warnings

minimicropup's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Tragic, energetic, resentful

Three high school friends go on a graduation trip to the Greek islands before beginning their new adult life.
We're following one of the friends in present day after a surprise visit from the past, and reading back to ~10 years ago when their family moved to California from England, how they found their friend group, the Greek island vacation where they stayed at one of their rustic family homes to celebrate graduation.
Set in various regions of California, USA and a few islands in Greece.

Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags 🐺🐕:

👍 These characters are all mostly unlikeable, almost insufferable at times, but they also can have sympathetic moments and the drama/tea kept me hanging on.
🤷‍♀️ Ambiguous/open-ended ending wasn't terrible or lazy, but felt a bit vapid.

Cred Rating: Realistic/Plausible. Amanda Knox true crime realism.

Mood Reading Match Up:

Destination/vacation plots with summer vibes
Coming of age "besties" verging on "frenemies" drama and romance
Contemporary fiction with true crime energy (deaths and disappearances)
Rich teens behaving badly

Content Head-Up: Unhealthy friendships. Drugs and alcohol (partying).

Format: Library Digital via Libby

Content Warnings

albon's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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