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lgilbert44's review
2.0
Thanks to netgalley for this early read.
This was a quick read. The story moved at a fast pace but I don’t think it really helped the story. It could have benefited from more details.
For example, I had an easy time believing Diane’s evil side but had the author spent more time developing the friendship between she and Neve, it would have been easier to see her manipulation.
The story was easy enough to follow until the introduction of the Boston characters and then the story got muddied.
Overall, this was a quick and easy read but nothing more than another book to add to my end of the year reading goal. I’ve read other books by Gretchen McNeill and this was not one of my favorites.
This was a quick read. The story moved at a fast pace but I don’t think it really helped the story. It could have benefited from more details.
For example, I had an easy time believing Diane’s evil side but had the author spent more time developing the friendship between she and Neve, it would have been easier to see her manipulation.
The story was easy enough to follow until the introduction of the Boston characters and then the story got muddied.
Overall, this was a quick and easy read but nothing more than another book to add to my end of the year reading goal. I’ve read other books by Gretchen McNeill and this was not one of my favorites.
sararose013's review
3.0
I received an ARC of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and were not affected by the free copy.
Our main character is Neve, film noir buff and outcast extraordinaire. We meet her on the day her life falls apart. Skip ahead, her best friend Yasmin has betrayed her, so her mom and grandmother send her off to a girl's empowerment camp. Enter, Diane. Seemingly perfect, beautiful and charismatic, Neve gets sucked into Diane's plot, and jokingly agrees to murder Diane's stepbrother in ex. At least, she thought it was a joke; at least, until Yasmin is found dead. And everyone believes that Neve killed her.
Gretchen McNeil's #murdertrending series is one of my favorite YA mystery thriller series, so I was so excited to see she had a new book coming up. The book blurb includes this line: "In this twisted game of cat and mouse, the reader never quite knows who’s telling the truth, who’s playing games, and who is going to end up dead." Sadly, this book did not live up to my expectations. I saw all of the twists coming. The pacing was a little awkward, but was not a deal breaker. The plot was a bit cheesy, but I honestly expected that. Our villains are truly unlikeable and Neve is mostly likeable (I did get a little annoyed by her constant whining about not having friends and her thoughts about her forced independence).
As someone who has never watched any of the films that were mentioned in the book, they felt like odd interjections that added nothing to the book. It might mean more to others, but for me, it just felt awkward.
I absolutely love the cover! I may not have loved the book, but I will be recommending it to YA mystery thriller lovers.
Our main character is Neve, film noir buff and outcast extraordinaire. We meet her on the day her life falls apart. Skip ahead, her best friend Yasmin has betrayed her, so her mom and grandmother send her off to a girl's empowerment camp. Enter, Diane. Seemingly perfect, beautiful and charismatic, Neve gets sucked into Diane's plot, and jokingly agrees to murder Diane's stepbrother in ex. At least, she thought it was a joke; at least, until Yasmin is found dead. And everyone believes that Neve killed her.
Gretchen McNeil's #murdertrending series is one of my favorite YA mystery thriller series, so I was so excited to see she had a new book coming up. The book blurb includes this line: "In this twisted game of cat and mouse, the reader never quite knows who’s telling the truth, who’s playing games, and who is going to end up dead." Sadly, this book did not live up to my expectations. I saw all of the twists coming. The pacing was a little awkward, but was not a deal breaker. The plot was a bit cheesy, but I honestly expected that. Our villains are truly unlikeable and Neve is mostly likeable (I did get a little annoyed by her constant whining about not having friends and her thoughts about her forced independence).
As someone who has never watched any of the films that were mentioned in the book, they felt like odd interjections that added nothing to the book. It might mean more to others, but for me, it just felt awkward.
I absolutely love the cover! I may not have loved the book, but I will be recommending it to YA mystery thriller lovers.
lisaluvsliterature's review
5.0
I am a huge fan of Gretchen McNeil. I feel like she is an often overlooked or not as well-known author as she should be because all of her books have blown me away! (I feel like I say that every time I read her books, so sorry if I'm repeating that too much.) So I was really excited for this next one from her, and I was not let down at all! There were twists and turns all the way through, leaving me wondering exactly who we could trust and who was in on it, and who might actually be help for Neve.
While Neve likened the “deal” with Diane to the movie Strangers on a Train, in my head, from growing up in the 80s, I likened it to the movie, Throw Momma From the Train, which I’m sure also came from that movie. While this wasn’t humorous like the movie I was thinking of it had the same basic idea. But being a YA book, this was laced with all the different things teens deal with, bullying, wanting to be popular, but also wanting to be your own person.
It had great representation of a teen questioning her own sexuality and attraction to boys or girls. And maybe discovering it could be both that she was attracted to. The final reveal was really good, had like I mentioned a twist or two I didn’t expect. In fact this story also reminded me a bit of some of the twists in the movie Scream, with her dad getting blamed or set up to take the fall.
Another good read from McNeil that I will be sharing with my high school students.
Review first posted on Lisa Loves Literature.
While Neve likened the “deal” with Diane to the movie Strangers on a Train, in my head, from growing up in the 80s, I likened it to the movie, Throw Momma From the Train, which I’m sure also came from that movie. While this wasn’t humorous like the movie I was thinking of it had the same basic idea. But being a YA book, this was laced with all the different things teens deal with, bullying, wanting to be popular, but also wanting to be your own person.
It had great representation of a teen questioning her own sexuality and attraction to boys or girls. And maybe discovering it could be both that she was attracted to. The final reveal was really good, had like I mentioned a twist or two I didn’t expect. In fact this story also reminded me a bit of some of the twists in the movie Scream, with her dad getting blamed or set up to take the fall.
Another good read from McNeil that I will be sharing with my high school students.
Review first posted on Lisa Loves Literature.
merlin_reads's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Well this was a story.
Social outcast Neve gets herself wrapped up in a murder scheme all because she wanted a friend. That's it, that's the premise of this story. Having been betrayed by her ex-best friend, Neve finds herself at a 2 week summer camp of sorts. It's there she meets sunny Diane and her world is flipped upside down. Because Diane is not all she seems to be. In fact, she's someone capable of murder and now expects Neve to be the same.
I did feel bad for Neve. High school is horrendous and one rumor can make 4 years last a lifetime. I don't blame Neve for wanting a place to belong, but perhaps her wanting made me blind to the fakeness of Diane. Luckily, she had a real friend in Inara, who I absolutely adored.
This book kind of pushed the realm of believability in a murder case. Especially the twist at the end - which sadly I saw coming. I definitely didn't enjoy this one as much as McNeil's #Murdertrending series but it did have it's moments and it did keep me interested until the end - because I needed to know how this was going to play out. A quick read and one that I'm sure a lot of YA thriller fans will just eat up, but for me, it was just okay.
Social outcast Neve gets herself wrapped up in a murder scheme all because she wanted a friend. That's it, that's the premise of this story. Having been betrayed by her ex-best friend, Neve finds herself at a 2 week summer camp of sorts. It's there she meets sunny Diane and her world is flipped upside down. Because Diane is not all she seems to be. In fact, she's someone capable of murder and now expects Neve to be the same.
I did feel bad for Neve. High school is horrendous and one rumor can make 4 years last a lifetime. I don't blame Neve for wanting a place to belong, but perhaps her wanting made me blind to the fakeness of Diane. Luckily, she had a real friend in Inara, who I absolutely adored.
This book kind of pushed the realm of believability in a murder case. Especially the twist at the end - which sadly I saw coming. I definitely didn't enjoy this one as much as McNeil's #Murdertrending series but it did have it's moments and it did keep me interested until the end - because I needed to know how this was going to play out. A quick read and one that I'm sure a lot of YA thriller fans will just eat up, but for me, it was just okay.
lazygal's review
3.0
Definitely Strangers on a Train for the YA set, but the twist is that only one half actually wants the deal. The other was blowing off steam. Annnnd... go. There are some other twists that don't fall into the usual SoaT genre, so this will feel fresh for all readers.
The whole girls empowerment camp idea sounded interesting but only two weeks? That felt wrong, too short a time to really integrate the message that supposedly being sent. And that this inspires real change in Neve was less realistic. There are other questions that should have been explored based on the camp alone, so two weeks? Sorry.
eARC provided by publisher via Netgalley.
The whole girls empowerment camp idea sounded interesting but only two weeks? That felt wrong, too short a time to really integrate the message that supposedly being sent. And that this inspires real change in Neve was less realistic. There are other questions that should have been explored based on the camp alone, so two weeks? Sorry.
eARC provided by publisher via Netgalley.
addicted_to_books's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
anxiousdaydreamer's review
4.0
I received a copy of this book from my library as part of their advance reader copy program in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to the publisher and my library for Dig Two Graves. All opinions are my own.
I will admit, the first time I picked up Dig Two Graves, the premise sounded really interesting. But the story wasn't what I wanted at that moment, and I got a little confused. I set it down for a month.
Then, the second time I read it, I got sucked in. Things that weren't clear the first time I read the prologue were now very clear, and I was really drawn in to Neve's story and Diane's charm. Even though I knew what Diane would do because I read the back cover summary, it was still like "whoa!" And once I passed 25% of the book, I could not put it down until I finished it.
I'd recommend this for much older teens and adults because of the subject matter. While there is some language, it was written in a believable way and not overused. I appreciated that.
All in all, I'm glad I stepped out of my comfort genre and read Dig Two Graves by Gretchen McNeil. I look forward to reading more from her. 4 out of 5 stars!
I will admit, the first time I picked up Dig Two Graves, the premise sounded really interesting. But the story wasn't what I wanted at that moment, and I got a little confused. I set it down for a month.
Then, the second time I read it, I got sucked in. Things that weren't clear the first time I read the prologue were now very clear, and I was really drawn in to Neve's story and Diane's charm. Even though I knew what Diane would do because I read the back cover summary, it was still like "whoa!" And once I passed 25% of the book, I could not put it down until I finished it.
I'd recommend this for much older teens and adults because of the subject matter. While there is some language, it was written in a believable way and not overused. I appreciated that.
All in all, I'm glad I stepped out of my comfort genre and read Dig Two Graves by Gretchen McNeil. I look forward to reading more from her. 4 out of 5 stars!