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ameserole's review against another edition
4.0
Wow.
This Is Our Story has been on my TBR for over 2 years. No idea why 2020 was the year for me to dive into books on my TBR but I'm not mad one freaking bit. It's high time I take on that massive beast and defeat multiple books that need to be read/reviewed!
Now this book was so addicting. I loved the whole idea of 5 guys going into the woods and only 4 are coming back. Obviously someone was murdered.. and someone was the murderer... BUT WHO? It's no surprise that I'm an awful detective when it comes to listening to or reading books. So, when Kate - who is a senior at the same public high school the 4 boys now attend - is an intern at the DA office.. well, it wasn't a surprise to me that she wanted to figure it all out.
This book had it's fair share of drama, twists, and tons of turns. It definitely kept me on the edge of my seat up to the very last word. People weren't you initially thought they were and so many things weren't adding up until the very last chapter.
It's safe to say that I loved this book so much.
This Is Our Story has been on my TBR for over 2 years. No idea why 2020 was the year for me to dive into books on my TBR but I'm not mad one freaking bit. It's high time I take on that massive beast and defeat multiple books that need to be read/reviewed!
Now this book was so addicting. I loved the whole idea of 5 guys going into the woods and only 4 are coming back. Obviously someone was murdered.. and someone was the murderer... BUT WHO? It's no surprise that I'm an awful detective when it comes to listening to or reading books. So, when Kate - who is a senior at the same public high school the 4 boys now attend - is an intern at the DA office.. well, it wasn't a surprise to me that she wanted to figure it all out.
This book had it's fair share of drama, twists, and tons of turns. It definitely kept me on the edge of my seat up to the very last word. People weren't you initially thought they were and so many things weren't adding up until the very last chapter.
It's safe to say that I loved this book so much.
rowananne's review against another edition
3.0
3,5e ster.
Wat was dit spannend! Ik kon niet stoppen met lezen. Hoofdpersonage Kate is heel leuk, en het mysterie wat zij op te lossen heeft kon alle kanten op gaan. Ik vond de uitkomst niet zo schokkend als ik had gehoopt, maar desondanks was het een heerlijk boek voor op vakantie dat ik binnen een paar uur uit had.
Wat was dit spannend! Ik kon niet stoppen met lezen. Hoofdpersonage Kate is heel leuk, en het mysterie wat zij op te lossen heeft kon alle kanten op gaan. Ik vond de uitkomst niet zo schokkend als ik had gehoopt, maar desondanks was het een heerlijk boek voor op vakantie dat ik binnen een paar uur uit had.
kelsey3's review against another edition
3.0
I love Ashley Elston's work. I started with her book "Rules for Disappearing" and was instantly hooked. Thus, I could not wait for her to publish more but I think "This Is Our Story" fell short of my expectations. I'm not quite sure if it was because my expectations for Elston's novel was so high or if I simply wasn't the biggest fan of the book. Perhaps it was a bit of both.
First of all, I liked the story as a whole even though I found Kate's choices to be reckless and a giant legal liability. The reason I was able to move past her reckless decisions is simply because without them, the story wouldn't have had an interesting plot.
Something that bothered me though was the fact that I had a very hard time distinguishing between the River Point Boys. In my head they all blended together. Finally, I had to take four separate post it notes and write out their physical and mental/ emotional characteristics so I could tell who was who whenever Kate talked about them. Shep and Grant stood out the most in the group of boys. The reason I was able to distinguish those two among the "pack" was because as the story went on their characters really took form and developed while John-Michael, Logan, and Henry's characters seemed to fall flat all the way to the very end. All in all I barely knew anything about John-Michael and Logan. Even now that I've finished the book I couldn't tell you more than two things about their characters.
I also felt like her best friend wasn't in the book that often. Though, this complaint is minor in the grand scheme of things. She wasn't a part of the story often, but when she was, she was a solid character. I guess I felt like she was underused, and could have been a more valuable component of the book.
With that being said, I did quite enjoy Kate's photography. I thought that quality in her personality made her seem more realistic and relatable. It also furthered her relationship with her boss as her camera acted as his eyes.
In addition, I loved the way the book was written. Certain chapters were told from Kate's perspective, some were told from the killers perspective, and some were just transcripts of the interviews/ videos. It was a unique twist on a played-out plot. Plus it kept me guessing as to who committed the murder. I suppose as a whole I would recommend the book.
First of all, I liked the story as a whole even though I found Kate's choices to be reckless and a giant legal liability. The reason I was able to move past her reckless decisions is simply because without them, the story wouldn't have had an interesting plot.
Something that bothered me though was the fact that I had a very hard time distinguishing between the River Point Boys. In my head they all blended together. Finally, I had to take four separate post it notes and write out their physical and mental/ emotional characteristics so I could tell who was who whenever Kate talked about them. Shep and Grant stood out the most in the group of boys. The reason I was able to distinguish those two among the "pack" was because as the story went on their characters really took form and developed while John-Michael, Logan, and Henry's characters seemed to fall flat all the way to the very end. All in all I barely knew anything about John-Michael and Logan. Even now that I've finished the book I couldn't tell you more than two things about their characters.
I also felt like her best friend wasn't in the book that often. Though, this complaint is minor in the grand scheme of things. She wasn't a part of the story often, but when she was, she was a solid character. I guess I felt like she was underused, and could have been a more valuable component of the book.
With that being said, I did quite enjoy Kate's photography. I thought that quality in her personality made her seem more realistic and relatable. It also furthered her relationship with her boss as her camera acted as his eyes.
In addition, I loved the way the book was written. Certain chapters were told from Kate's perspective, some were told from the killers perspective, and some were just transcripts of the interviews/ videos. It was a unique twist on a played-out plot. Plus it kept me guessing as to who committed the murder. I suppose as a whole I would recommend the book.
acram1341's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.5
kassidyreads's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Drug use, Alcohol, and Violence
eliathereader's review against another edition
3.0
Ortalama bir kitaptı. Çok fazla karakter vardı ve Kate karakteri biraz salaktı ama konu ilginçti. Biraz polisiyevari olmasa daha çok sevebilirdim.
is4ndroide's review against another edition
3.0
3,5 estrellas.
This is Our Story fue una historia interesante que me hizo volver a leer un libro después de varios meses sin leer. Es atrapante, se pasa volando, y me recuerda un poco a Dangerous Girls, libro que me encantó. Lamentablemente, a diferencia de este, tiene un final bastante decepcionante.
Es una historia policial/de misterio en la que Kate, la protagonista, es una joven (of course) que busca descubrir la verdad sobre la muerte de uno de los integrantes de un popular grupo de amigos.
Es un libro más que interesante que te mantiene haciendo teorías sobre qué fue lo que realmente pasó, pero a medida que la historia se acerca al final, parece como si la autora se hubiera quedado sin ideas sobre cómo cerrar la historia. Aparece el típico villano muy villano, y el típico héroe muy héroe, sin demasiada profundidad. Parece como que todo se cierra de manera muy rápida y hay varios momentos en que la conveniencia de los hechos era demasiada para ignorar.
De cualquier forma, no puedo decir que no me gustó. Me mantuvo atrapado hasta el final, se lee rapidísimo, y logra ser emocionante. Como defectos: una historia de amor innecesaria (pero al parecer obligatoria para el género Young Adult), algunas situaciones convenientes, y un final que no le hace justicia al misterio que mantiene el resto del libro.
This is Our Story fue una historia interesante que me hizo volver a leer un libro después de varios meses sin leer. Es atrapante, se pasa volando, y me recuerda un poco a Dangerous Girls, libro que me encantó. Lamentablemente, a diferencia de este, tiene un final bastante decepcionante.
Es una historia policial/de misterio en la que Kate, la protagonista, es una joven (of course) que busca descubrir la verdad sobre la muerte de uno de los integrantes de un popular grupo de amigos.
Es un libro más que interesante que te mantiene haciendo teorías sobre qué fue lo que realmente pasó, pero a medida que la historia se acerca al final, parece como si la autora se hubiera quedado sin ideas sobre cómo cerrar la historia. Aparece el típico villano muy villano, y el típico héroe muy héroe, sin demasiada profundidad. Parece como que todo se cierra de manera muy rápida y hay varios momentos en que la conveniencia de los hechos era demasiada para ignorar.
De cualquier forma, no puedo decir que no me gustó. Me mantuvo atrapado hasta el final, se lee rapidísimo, y logra ser emocionante. Como defectos: una historia de amor innecesaria (pero al parecer obligatoria para el género Young Adult), algunas situaciones convenientes, y un final que no le hace justicia al misterio que mantiene el resto del libro.
melg14's review against another edition
5.0
4.5-4.75 stars
Yo this book took me on a wild who-done-it spin. When I thought it was someone I second guessed and thought it was another with other motives and evidence and it kept going til the very end. Yes, some of the things Kate did was so freaking stupid but she was determined.
There’s still just one thing I want to know!
Yo this book took me on a wild who-done-it spin. When I thought it was someone I second guessed and thought it was another with other motives and evidence and it kept going til the very end. Yes, some of the things Kate did was so freaking stupid but she was determined.
There’s still just one thing I want to know!
Spoiler
What about the missing watch and ring!?truequeenofchaos's review against another edition
5.0
A ten-point buck and a dead body make the same sound when they hit the forest floor.
A group of five extremely close boys, known as The River Point Boys, go on a hunting trip one weekend in their home state of Louisiana. What's the problem? Only four come back alive. None of the boys are talking, there's no DNA evidence, and the boys' wealthy fathers have the local judge in their pockets. With nothing to go on, the police have practically given up. But the case lands on the desk of an old district attorney, aka Kate's boss, and they start to dig deep to uncover the truth.
The mystery itself was so freaking well done, that for the first time in my life, I truly couldn't figure out who the bad guy was. I kept switching back and forth and coming up with all these different theories, so I was definitely full of suspense the whole time trying to figure it out. I was truly shocked by the ending, although it totally makes sense.
“If one of us goes down for this, it’ll be as bad as all of us going down for this,” I say. “We can’t let that happen.”
The characters were all so complex and layered that they felt very realistic. Every one of The River Point Boys had ulterior motives and seemed extremely sketchy and I am so here for that. I love morally grey or just "bad" characters in general plus it made the mystery that much harder to figure out. But even the MC, Kate, and the rest of the cast were all great as well.
This was my first time reading a novel by Ashley Elston but I absolutely loved her writing style. The writing itself really set the eerie mood and made the plot creepier than it already was. And my favorite thing about the entire novel was how it was narrated. Of course the majority of it was told from Kate's POV, and her perspective was highly enjoyable. But we also got to see video surveillance of the initial interrogations from the police of The River Point Boys. (Basically this part was done similarly to The Illuminae Files) But the absolute best thing about the narration is that we get a POV from the murderer!!!! But we don't know who he is. It was FANTASTIC.
Honestly the only issue I had with This Is Our Story was the romance, and even that was only minor. It flowed with the storyline well, but it seemed a little cliché. But that's my ONLY complaint.
“We’re in this together. We stick together.”
I lean forward and the other three do the same. Hovering over poor, dead Grant, I say, “Okay, this is our story…”
Characters - 17/20
Plot line - 16/16
Originality - 16/16
Writing Style - 15/16
Pace - 15/16
Ending - 15/16
94/100
5/5 stars
I'd highly recommend this novel to anyone! It's a highly enchanting thriller that definitely keeps you on your toes. I think anyone would like it.
A group of five extremely close boys, known as The River Point Boys, go on a hunting trip one weekend in their home state of Louisiana. What's the problem? Only four come back alive. None of the boys are talking, there's no DNA evidence, and the boys' wealthy fathers have the local judge in their pockets. With nothing to go on, the police have practically given up. But the case lands on the desk of an old district attorney, aka Kate's boss, and they start to dig deep to uncover the truth.
The mystery itself was so freaking well done, that for the first time in my life, I truly couldn't figure out who the bad guy was. I kept switching back and forth and coming up with all these different theories, so I was definitely full of suspense the whole time trying to figure it out. I was truly shocked by the ending, although it totally makes sense.
“If one of us goes down for this, it’ll be as bad as all of us going down for this,” I say. “We can’t let that happen.”
The characters were all so complex and layered that they felt very realistic. Every one of The River Point Boys had ulterior motives and seemed extremely sketchy and I am so here for that. I love morally grey or just "bad" characters in general plus it made the mystery that much harder to figure out. But even the MC, Kate, and the rest of the cast were all great as well.
This was my first time reading a novel by Ashley Elston but I absolutely loved her writing style. The writing itself really set the eerie mood and made the plot creepier than it already was. And my favorite thing about the entire novel was how it was narrated. Of course the majority of it was told from Kate's POV, and her perspective was highly enjoyable. But we also got to see video surveillance of the initial interrogations from the police of The River Point Boys. (Basically this part was done similarly to The Illuminae Files) But the absolute best thing about the narration is that we get a POV from the murderer!!!! But we don't know who he is. It was FANTASTIC.
Honestly the only issue I had with This Is Our Story was the romance, and even that was only minor. It flowed with the storyline well, but it seemed a little cliché. But that's my ONLY complaint.
“We’re in this together. We stick together.”
I lean forward and the other three do the same. Hovering over poor, dead Grant, I say, “Okay, this is our story…”
Characters - 17/20
Plot line - 16/16
Originality - 16/16
Writing Style - 15/16
Pace - 15/16
Ending - 15/16
94/100
5/5 stars
I'd highly recommend this novel to anyone! It's a highly enchanting thriller that definitely keeps you on your toes. I think anyone would like it.