Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Rules of Arrangement by Maren Mackenzie

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_shannoncarroll's review

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

3.5

It felt almost shockingly easy to slip into this book. From the first chapter, I felt quite the pull to get me to keep reading and not stop, so I did just that and devoured every page. The book is immensely compelling, and the academia vibes in the setting and its atmosphere were wonderful. Give me an ivy-covered school and a high-end art world, and I’m pretty much sold. The plot is fun and engaging, and the pacing was very well-done. I was never bored. 
 
But… I’m not so sure how I felt about the characters. Adelaide was at times fascinating, but, at other times, she felt half-written. She’s an incredibly smart young woman who knows enough about a broad variety of topics to successfully write college papers for other students, but she’s somewhat dull in conversations and lets herself be manipulated by the men around her. I wished she had more agency. And then there were the “I’m-not-like-other-girls,” “I-don’t-know-I’m-beautiful” vibes that occasionally emanated from her. Adelaide also falls prey to the whole “hot-guy-with-nice-abs-is-interested-in-me-so-I-forget-everything-else-that’s-important-to me” trope, neglecting both her schoolwork (which she’s made her priority up until now) and her friends (who are the only people she can open up to). 
 
At times, the romance between Adelaide and Jack — which I didn’t expect to take up so much of the story, but I’m not mad it did — was swoon-worthy and gave all the requisite butterflies. But, then, at other times, I’m not quite sure where their connection was coming from. I never really got a good sense of why Jack actually liked Adelaide. Why did they want to be together? To that end, I also felt like they weren’t given much of an ending together, and Adelaide wasn’t given one on her own; a lot is made about her future, and then the book ends rather abruptly. 
 
I think more depth and understanding of character would have made me like this book a bit more, but I still definitely enjoyed reading it. Maren Mackenzie’s debut novel is richly interesting and well-plotted, it’s glamorous and intriguing. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next from this author. 
 
Special thanks to NetGalley, Marmack Books, and Maren Mackenzie for proving me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. 

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