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lisettemarie's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
hailey_alexis's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
The ending felt rushed. The nonsensical court scenes really took away from the overall narrative. So much time was spent on things that didn’t actually end up being relevant, and not enough on things that were important.
Overall interesting concept but sloppy execution
Overall interesting concept but sloppy execution
twinpharmer's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
literary__mary's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kirstra's review against another edition
3.0
I think I would have actually preferred this as a literary fiction about Elijah and Nakita. The mystery part of the plot was the weakest point, and ultimately felt both rushed and shoehorned in at the end.
cyborgcinderella's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I have no idea why this book is called a "gripping and intensely atmospheric debut" because this is mostly a slice of life story, not a mystery novel.
Truthfully, I was bored for the majority of this book. I kept waiting for the story to turn to something thrilling or suspenseful, but the story kept focusing on Elijah's uninteresting daily activities and the abysmal romance between him and Nakita.
Even when I finally found out about the "mystery" of the story (which seemed totally implausible btw, so it lacked any real oomph), I no longer cared because it took so long to get there. The story didn't get to the actual mystery part of the novel until about 75% of the story, so at that point, I was so bored and just wanted to finish the book that I didn't even care about what happened anymore. And the story from then on wasn't even that exciting, so it didn't matter anyway.
I'm surprised this was considered a mystery/thriller because this definitely read more like a fiction novel with some light mystery elements. Just because it starts with a dead body doesn't automatically make it a mystery novel to me. The majority of the story doesn't even deal with the crime or anything related to it, so I can't see how this is supposed to have been considered a mystery/thriller.
Overall, I was seriously underwhelmed by this book. I only read it because it was a monthly pick from Barnes & Noble. Would not recommend it to anyone.
Truthfully, I was bored for the majority of this book. I kept waiting for the story to turn to something thrilling or suspenseful, but the story kept focusing on Elijah's uninteresting daily activities and the abysmal romance between him and Nakita.
Even when I finally found out about the "mystery" of the story (which seemed totally implausible btw, so it lacked any real oomph), I no longer cared because it took so long to get there. The story didn't get to the actual mystery part of the novel until about 75% of the story, so at that point, I was so bored and just wanted to finish the book that I didn't even care about what happened anymore. And the story from then on wasn't even that exciting, so it didn't matter anyway.
I'm surprised this was considered a mystery/thriller because this definitely read more like a fiction novel with some light mystery elements. Just because it starts with a dead body doesn't automatically make it a mystery novel to me. The majority of the story doesn't even deal with the crime or anything related to it, so I can't see how this is supposed to have been considered a mystery/thriller.
Overall, I was seriously underwhelmed by this book. I only read it because it was a monthly pick from Barnes & Noble. Would not recommend it to anyone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder
gmm1966's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Many many flaws.