Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

The Scapegracers by H.A. Clarke

23 reviews

xeniba's review against another edition

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

2.5

I really wanted to like this, but it was such a slog. It felt overwritten, often taking pages to convey what could have been said in a couple of paragraphs. I wanted more about Sideways’ dads and the Delacroix House, really.  

The plot was nonsensical. ESPECIALLY
the part where she was kidnapped and injured. The fact that nothing really happened about that was so odd to me. Her dads didn’t really follow up. And I kept thinking the Chantry boys would track her down, but nope. It was so odd to me. Same with when they got pulled over.


I wanted to DNF multiple times, but kept hoping it would get better. It got marginally better, but not enough to make it worth the read, imo.
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ankonyx's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted 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? It's complicated

3.75

An absolute vibe. The first 2/3 were kind of boring but I kept up for the vibes and fun characters. Last third really picked up and I’m now so excited for the sequel ! Good characters, very queer :)
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sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

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

4.75

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thecourtofreading's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-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

5.0

"fresh scapegracers, making their own little band. doesn't happen much anymore."
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madebypeaches's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? Yes

3.0

Girls. Are. Magic.

  For my first book out of a slump and first review on StoryGraph, Scapegracers was a magical return to the joys of reading. It’s best parts are found in its interesting cast of ladies and their dynamics, centering around the strength of female friendship. The dialogue between our main cast was lighthearted and entertaining, and I appreciated the platonic touching that was featured frequently.

 As for it’s biggest flaw, it held some very noticeable pacing issues. The story itself felt rather rushed and condensed at times when there seemed to be room for further embellishment or even just allowing a bit more in-book time to pass before going into the next event. I felt there were several moments I was waiting for the protagonist to catch her breath in between beats of action that didn’t necessarily ever come. The latter quarter of the book in particular sped by in a hurricane, which was a bit jarring considering the slow opening. 

But all in all I smiled constantly with this read and was particularly joyed to see such casual queer representation and conversations thrown around without fanfare. I’ve already preordered the second book and eagerly await it’s release, I can’t wait to see how the author will grow in their later works.

small note: I really have to minus points for the betrayal. I understood that the plot was set in that direction from the beginning , but it sucks to see so many wlw romances or potential romances be tragic in some form or another.
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frantic_vampire's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • 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

4.5

Holy crap, The Scapegracers was such a good book! I was a little unsure going into it, but it grabbed my attention almost immediately. It’s got a gritty neon hazed weirdness to it, reminiscent of teen horror movies. And weirdness is something that I absolutely love in a book.

I loved Sideways and the rest of this magical girl gang! Daisy is absolutely unhinged and I loved that about her. Yates is the sweetest person ever and she deserves all the hugs she could ever want. Jing isn’t quite what I expected. She’s a little cold, but loves her friends and would do literally anything for them. And Sideways... damn, I really loved her. She’s so freaking relatable and she’s a huge bundle of contradictions. She’s a social outcast, she doesn’t take shit from anyone and will start a fight, she’s soft and sweet, she’s anxious. And she will do anything for her new friends. I just can’t get enough of these girls and their magic!

Another thing that I loved about this book was that Sideways’ parents were actually involved in her life. Their interactions were so loving and sweet. They gave me hope for other YA books to actually have good parental figures.

If I’m being honest, I don’t think there was anything that I didn’t like about this book. It was such a fun ride all the way through. I loved the blatant lesbian rep, the sapphic rep, the queer rep, the bisexual rep, the gay rep. All of it was so nice to see explicitly stated and not have it floating in some nebulous “are they, aren’t they” space. The Scapegracers is getting a solid four and a half stars from me and I can’t wait for the next book!
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yvonne_cl's review against another edition

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

4.25

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ramunepocky's review against another edition

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  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

OH MY GOD I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH AND IM SO SO SO HAPPY ABOUT IT
THE MAGIC !!! THE FOUND FAMILY !!! THEIR COVEN !!! MR SCRATCH !!! YATES !!! SIDEWAYS !!! JING !!! DAISY !!! I LOVE THEM ALL SO SO SO MUCH
I LIKED HOW IT HAD A TOUCH OF LIKE DARKNESS AND EERIENESS TOO, IM SO HYPED TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT, IMPATIENT FOR THE SCRATCH DAUGHTER
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eslsilver's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

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stevie's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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