Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

80 reviews

synkdive's review

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Outing, Homophobia, Bullying, Vomit, and Suicide

Minor: Cursing

pink_princess_24's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5

I loved this book it took me 2 months to read even with being busy. The book seems really long but it's not. I liked how the book would change in different perspectives.  The book kind of gives it away on how Simon died in the middle of the book and then you end up just reading the rest of the book for the romance. It also leaves you on a cliff hanger. I liked the book so much I got the second one so i'm not left wondering what else happens.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Addiction, Blood, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Suicide, Drug use, Grief, and Suicide attempt

confessionsofabibliophile's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? No

4.0

🔴Might contain spoilers.🔴

Upon reading the first few chapters of this book, I was sucked in. It gave me Pretty Little Liars vibes with a splash of The Breakfast Club thrown in. Unsure if in the future when the "Bayview Four" are named the Murder Club if this was McManus paying homage to the 80s classic, even if it wasn't a little Easter Egg it made me laugh. 

The book takes place in an area of California, I know all too well. Which gave me the ability to immerse myself more into the read. We follow in the first few chapters 5 students: Bronwyn Rojas; very girl next door, top of the class and squeaky clean or so we think, she reminded me of Molly Ringwalds character in The Breakfast Club. Adelaide "Addy" Prentiss; miss popularity dating star athlete the perfect pair, everyone knows who she is by name and by who she is dating but not who ADDY is which let me tell you at the start I really didn't care too much for her she seemed like filler until her story and personal development begins to unfold. She gave me a mix of Hannah from PLL. Cooper Clay; all American golden boy, with the perfect life, grades, MLB scouts pick and the perfect girl, but Coop is hiding a secret that he is worried might end his perfect facade. He is the male counterpart to Emily from PLL. Next, we have Nathaniel "Nate"' Macauley; is the bad boy, down on his luck, guy from the other side of the tracks the only one without a squeaky clean past. He screams a hybrid of Caleb Rivers (PLL) and John Bender (TBC)! Lastly we have Simon Kelleher, he is the school gossip app specialist, secret digger and lie detector. The homecoming court prince that no one seems to think much of. Simon screams A from PLL!!! We start with 5 then someone dies and then the Bayview Four is born and our Murder Club strangers become the unlikely friends that solve the mystery behind the murder.

The characters were well written and I felt connected to them. I think Addy was one of the best character development progressions I have seen for a character set up like Addy. The plot flowed well with no holes that I could find. The story had a good pace, it felt smooth and effortless as it progressed and you begin to unravel the truth about the murder and the Bayview Four. With that being said the ending that was supposed to be a twist and shock, it was to an extent but I had thought about the possibility earlier on in the story, though it didn't change my Oh My God moment. 

All in all it was a great quick read that took about a day. Definitely going to read her other books in the series and absolutely will watch the tv show! I totally recommend this YA murder mystery/thriller with a slice of life setting!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Murder, Death, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Physical abuse

Minor: Cancer, Mass/school shootings, Homophobia, Abandonment, Addiction, Classism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Alcoholism, and Domestic abuse

ev3lin's review

funny mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Death, Cursing, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Bullying, Abandonment, Death of parent, Drug use, Homophobia, and Gaslighting

emmahop3's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Cursing, and Bullying

violetbentbackwards1036's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Abandonment, Alcohol, Cancer, Death, Alcoholism, Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Grief, Outing, Gaslighting, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Suicide, Death of parent, Homophobia, Violence, Bullying, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Addiction, Infidelity, Medical content, Racism, and Toxic relationship

olive_lol's review

mysterious tense medium-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? No

3.0

Overall, this book was decent, but not my thing. I only really got invested in the final third, where the mystery started picking up. I wasn't a fan of how the POV characters were all high school steryotypes, though those were defied later. I liked the end of the book much more than I liked the begining. An alright read, but I think someone else could enjoy it more than I did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing and Suicide

Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Death, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Vomit, Cursing, Cancer, Drug abuse, and Mass/school shootings

selahbeth's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Cursing

Moderate: Homophobia, Addiction, Bullying, Outing, and Grief

Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Car accident

divi_reads's review

adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Cursing, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Drug use, and Cancer

koala595's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Self harm, and Suicide

Minor: Cursing, Death, Cancer, and Homophobia