Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

You'll Be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus

19 reviews

blankeechats's review against another edition

adventurous challenging medium-paced

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

3.5

My first book by Karen M. McManus, this wasn't a 4 star or higher just because I wasn't totally invested in the story. I feel like if it had been longer I definitely would have liked it better.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Addiction, Drug use, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Violence, Blood, Gun violence, and Alcohol

numipig30's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Murder

Minor: Death of parent and Chronic illness

etmetmetm's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

- Not in the same universe as One Of Us Is Lying or One Of Us Is Next, but has a very similar style
- Fast paced with high stakes

(the plot occurs over a single day)

 
- Conflict between characters without an obvious villain
- Emphasis on family relationships is equal/ more than that of romantic relationships

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Death of parent

deadgirlwalking23's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Cursing, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Death of parent, Drug use, Infidelity, and Violence

readerorwateva'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Kidnapping, Alcohol, Blood, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Infidelity

Minor: Vomit

z_thatsit's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Murder

Moderate: Violence, Addiction, Chronic illness, Death, Pedophilia, Cursing, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, and Racism

Minor: Child death, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Car accident

emily_mh's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

If I was rating this solely based off enjoyment, it would be 5 stars. There were some definite issues with quality that meant I felt I should dock it a full star. But first, the positives! It was incredibly fast-paced and gripping, taking place over just a day (to this end, I thought it lived up to the Ferris Bueller’s Day Off gone wrong premise). Actual investigation took place, and the romance was actually believable (unlike the other two romances I’ve read of McManus). Finally, the situations and subsequent developments of the characters were really strong. 

In terms of negatives, the character personalities (despite their diverse circumstances) were all fairly generic. More significantly, it was a little messy.

For example, it didn’t really tie up who the Coach got to kill Brian.

Finally, while I didn’t hate the resolution, I didn’t love it either. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Murder, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Ableism, Cursing, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Violence, and Drug use

Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Medical content, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Vomit

Minor warnings for gentrification, loss of a loved one, death of a pet, divorce.

itsmeyseniab's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

This was my third experience with a Karen M. McManus novel, and sadly it has been my least favorite so far.

Right off the bat I noticed that McManus follows a pretty clear "recipe" for her novels, which is normally fine (I mean if it isn't broken, don't fix it right?) but one thing I could not overlook was how... juvenile the writing felt. It has been nearly two years since I picked up One of Us Is Next, and since then I've read primarily New Adult and Adult literature (so my reading tastes may have changed), but I truly felt like I was reading from the perspective of 14 year olds and not high school seniors. The character that I had the most issues with in this regard was Ivy - the majority of her plot was her acting out based on petty things and she basically got off scot-free for all the wrongs she committed throughout the novel. Although I didn't necessarily have problems with our other two leads, Mateo and Cal, I just found the trio to be very forgettable, along with all of the supporting characters. Along with the underwhelming characters, I felt the plot to be very lukewarm as well. It was very predictable (specifically the "dramatic" plot points having to deal with Ivy, Mateo and Cal's relationships with one another) and the reveal, albeit fast-paced and exciting, wasn't incredibly shocking to me. The cliffhanger ending didn't really do it for me either - I don't necessarily want to see how to story may continue.

I will say that I read this mostly via audiobook, and I wouldn't recommend it. It was nice that there were several narrators, but I wish each narrator was the voice of their respective character. For example, the individuals reading Mateo and Cal's chapters had really over-the-top voices for and female characters dialogue, and vice versa for the individual reading Ivy's chapters, and it was distracting to say the least.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use

Moderate: Murder and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Death of parent, Animal death, and Car accident

froggybooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Gun violence, Drug use, Drug abuse, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, and Chronic illness

Minor: Car accident

frantically's review

adventurous challenging 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

3.0

An interesting enough story but one that sadly just didn't grip me enough. After not liking "The Cousins" too, I'm thinking this will be it for me and McManus.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Chronic illness, Classism, and Car accident

Minor: Alcohol