Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

De laatste zomer by Dana Mele

7 reviews

mfrisk's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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

3.0

This book is a cheesy young adult popcorn flick. The comparisons made on the book seem fairly accurate and it definitely blends reality with the supernatural. I struggle with how I feel about this book because it had an interesting premise starting out and then there were a lot of flashbacks and then when it ends you feel confused but can also piece some things together. I had trouble though differentiating the characters at times and felt like the book could have been far shorter to have more impact with its ending. I’m not sure we needed every single detail given. 
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hollyk's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

My brain is spinning, I'm shook to the core, there's not a hero and a villain so much as a group of flawed individuals. Absolutely riveting, jaw dropping, twisty, turny, and hard to put down.
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grichmond's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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simplyammee's review against another edition

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sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The idea is good but unoriginal and this definitely isn't a great, fresh spin on it. The writing itself isn't bad, the twists are probably good if you don't pick up on the obvious hint in the blurb. It wasn’t so in my face obvious that I hated reading it, but it felt like the blurb spoiled any chance I had at actually being surprised. 


The "Haunting of Hill House" bit in the blurb is a bit too on the nose that it makes everything kind of obvious...
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bookstarbri's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

what the hell did i just read
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_courtney's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense fast-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

3.25

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howlinglibraries's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

 
The problem is that the living and the dead aren't meant to mix.
The problem is that I think the line has begun to blur.

Summer's Edge was pitched to me as "The Haunting of Hill House meets I Know What You Did Last Summer", and let me start off by saying that's actually an excellent pair of comps for this title. The book has the same "secret individual seeks revenge for a death with a suspicious story" vibes as the latter, with the bizarre, topsy-turvy feel of the former, all set in a lake house that often feels as though it has a mind of its own. If you're looking for an eerie YA thriller/horror tale this summer, Summer's Edge has you covered, and I think a lot of readers are going to be very enraptured by the twists and turns within these pages.

Unfortunately for me, there were a lot of elements of this story that did not work for me, with most of them boiling down to the writing and editing. I read an eARC of this, so hopefully these issues were fixed by the time the final edits went to print, but I found some glaring continuity errors (such as a character destroying an item on one page, and then having it in his hands, unharmed, two pages later) and there were some unlikely scenarios that I couldn't quite suspend my disbelief for. While some of those scenarios are somewhat explained later, avoiding tying up those loose ends struck me as incomplete and a missed opportunity to make this book a lot more solid than it was.

While I won't give any spoilers for the twists or the ending, I will say that I saw it coming, and while it was a trope I've enjoyed in many other pieces of media, I didn't love its execution here. That said, there were some redeeming qualities in a few of the characters and many quotable, creepy lines that I enjoyed (especially in the "in-between" short chapters in the first half of the book), and the atmosphere of the lake house was immaculate. Overall, Summer's Edge wasn't a story to write home about and I was a little relieved when it was over, as I think it dragged on a bit too long, but I'm still happy I read it and think it will be a big hit with a lot of summer thrill-seekers!

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.

✨ Representation: Chelsea is bi/pan (not specific); Kennedy is sapphic (unknown if lesbian or bi/pan) 
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