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wdianasheppard's review
3.0
"No Beauties or Monsters" is a YA science fiction thriller that hinges on missing memories and an unreliable narrator. Rylie moves back to a military base in the desert with her family, and is disheartened to learn that an old friend of hers has been missing, and a serial killer is out on the loose. Rylie's determination to find out what happened to her friend drives the narrative, which owes a lot to spooky desert vistas and shows like "Stranger Things" as she starts to hallucinate and lose chunks of time.
I was really excited to read this one, but I found it very difficult to follow because of the sheer number of characters. There were so many! While I appreciate that Rylie had multiple friends, I had to frequently turn back to their introductions to reference who was who and who knew who. Add in all the dangling threads (because of course Rylie's investigation turns up even more characters) and Rylie's own hallucinations as to what's real and what's not, and I was struggling through this one. I think if I read this one a second time I'd do much better with it, but for a first pass it wasn't easy.
Other reviewers have mentioned this book's killer twists, and I do agree - the ending is a lot of fun - but by the time I got there, I was exhausted from trying to keep up with the breakneck pace and all the plot threads. I think a tighter edit on this one might have saved it for me - in particular the love story is underbaked and unnecessary - but as it is, I'd recommend this to people interested in conspiracies and a protagonist slowly losing her mind.
I was really excited to read this one, but I found it very difficult to follow because of the sheer number of characters. There were so many! While I appreciate that Rylie had multiple friends, I had to frequently turn back to their introductions to reference who was who and who knew who. Add in all the dangling threads (because of course Rylie's investigation turns up even more characters) and Rylie's own hallucinations as to what's real and what's not, and I was struggling through this one. I think if I read this one a second time I'd do much better with it, but for a first pass it wasn't easy.
Other reviewers have mentioned this book's killer twists, and I do agree - the ending is a lot of fun - but by the time I got there, I was exhausted from trying to keep up with the breakneck pace and all the plot threads. I think a tighter edit on this one might have saved it for me - in particular the love story is underbaked and unnecessary - but as it is, I'd recommend this to people interested in conspiracies and a protagonist slowly losing her mind.
uranium_92's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.75
novelheartbeat's review
3.0
3.5/5
This book is very atmospheric, and I enjoyed the setting. There's an air of mystery surrounding it because you don't now what the heck is going on. I enjoyed the journey in discovering the clues and trying to figure things out, but sadly I didn't connect to the characters at all and didn't care what happened to them. My feels were low on this one even though I was intrigued by the story.
The conclusion wasn't what I was expecting, but I liked it!
Spoiler
The alternate dimension part was really cool!This review was originally posted on Novel Heartbeat. To see a breakdown of my assessment, please visit the full review here.
kanaan's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
ash_the_cryptid02's review
4.0
I love this authors writing style! I don't think I really understood parts of this book, but it was so beautifully written, I didn't care. I also really liked the heroine.
taramoonzz's review
4.0
A thrilling and dark book that I got through in less than a week!! I mean just wow! It was so exciting and the mystery was plotted out very well, and the horror was good too
kaat_stas's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
roxierai's review
4.0
I love a good twist, but gosh, I hated this. I really enjoyed the book besides that fact, hence my rating.
senugent's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
beccainabook's review
4.0
Thank you so much to MTMC Tours, the authors, NetGalley, and Delacorte Press for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book took me on an insane and confusing journey with characters traveling in familiar territory to me.
Being from California, I am VERY familiar with the scenery of the setting of this book so I was so excited to see what this book had in store. I went into this book completely blind. I mean I knew the genre and I read the short synopsis, but I honestly didn’t know what to expect. However, with what little knowledge I did have... I never expected this!
Things I enjoyed about the book:
The Mystery!
OMG the twists and turns that took place in this book! I was shook, shocked, and surprised at every turn. The characters were also VERY unreliable, you didn’t know who did what and if what the narrator was telling you was actually true.
The plot always kept you guessing and it was so fun because of how unpredictable it all turned out to be. I used to think I knew everything, but I apparently don't. This plot proved me wrong on more than one occasion!
The Setting!
This is one I’ve hiked and camped around so the setting gave me such a happiness I cannot contain. It also added such a creep factor to the plot that I never expected and I might have a hard time camping in the desert next time because I will be too busy with the creepy elements of this book.
The Concept!
This book had such a unique element that it almost took me a while to truly absorb it all. I was shocked so much by how the story turned out and I just loved how it all came together.
This book took me on such a wonderful ride and I am so happy to have read it!
Being from California, I am VERY familiar with the scenery of the setting of this book so I was so excited to see what this book had in store. I went into this book completely blind. I mean I knew the genre and I read the short synopsis, but I honestly didn’t know what to expect. However, with what little knowledge I did have... I never expected this!
Things I enjoyed about the book:
The Mystery!
OMG the twists and turns that took place in this book! I was shook, shocked, and surprised at every turn. The characters were also VERY unreliable, you didn’t know who did what and if what the narrator was telling you was actually true.
The plot always kept you guessing and it was so fun because of how unpredictable it all turned out to be. I used to think I knew everything, but I apparently don't. This plot proved me wrong on more than one occasion!
The Setting!
This is one I’ve hiked and camped around so the setting gave me such a happiness I cannot contain. It also added such a creep factor to the plot that I never expected and I might have a hard time camping in the desert next time because I will be too busy with the creepy elements of this book.
The Concept!
This book had such a unique element that it almost took me a while to truly absorb it all. I was shocked so much by how the story turned out and I just loved how it all came together.
This book took me on such a wonderful ride and I am so happy to have read it!