Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Cousins by Karen M. McManus

17 reviews

emily_mh's review against another edition

mysterious slow-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

3.25

This had a great premise and resolution but was told incredibly poorly with no sense of urgency and thrill in the present, no sense of tragedy and intrigue in the past, and no sense of atmosphere in either. The characters and romance were an improvement from Two Can Keep A Secret, however (though the romance was still a bit pointless in this one). Also,

I liked how the ending echoed Jonas' story so much in terms of the imposter and financial fraud elements

.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, and Gun violence

Moderate: Blood, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

Minor: Abortion, Animal death, Cancer, Car accident, Colonisation, Dementia, Grief, Incest, Racism, Sexism, and Sexual content

toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Buddy read with my friend Ale!!

Everything about this book was dramatic as hell, which as someone who has the tendency to also be dramatic as hell, I appreciated. "The Cousins" is a YA mystery about three cousins finally meeting their mysterious, wealthy grandmother over the summer while uncovering the reasons behind their parents being disinherited and cut off completely. Chaos ensues.

There isn't a lot I can say without dropping spoilers, but what I will say in the book's favor is that no matter what you think is coming next in this narrative, you're probably wrong. It is much more ridiculous than I ever imagined. I can't quite decide on whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. I also appreciated that it was fast paced and easy to get through even when I was really frustrated with it. There was something I can't quite figure out that didn't hit for me when it came to this book, but I did like it, so it's a solid 3 star for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Car accident, Racism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, and Dementia

Minor: Gore, Incest, Medical content, and Vomit

kathkas's review against another edition

mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Incest, and Violence

greciamj1958's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional lighthearted mysterious tense fast-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Murder, Violence, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, and Infidelity

junefish's review against another edition

mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism and Infidelity

Moderate: Violence, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Murder, Dementia, and Death of parent

Minor: Miscarriage, Vomit, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Car accident

read_al_about_it's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Karen McManus' writing hits me in a few literary places that aren't touched upon often. On one hand as an adult reading YA I need a certain level of writing to keep me entertained. But on the other I am usually reading YA to enjoy a quickly evolving plot and lighter subject matter. Somehow McManus is able to hit both every single time for me. I love the setting of this story being on an island, as the other pieces I have read of hers are set in a high school, but also enjoy that they are working within this affluent family that owns basically everything on the island. I feel as if there were many tropes that could have been used that would've really flattened the storyline but every single time I expected one I was met with more fun character analysis and backstory instead. One of the characters we are experiencing through the novel is from a flashback, and their story added so much depth and was a very necessary part of understanding the family dynamic. 

All in all a really fast and fun summer read for me! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage and Death of parent

Minor: Violence

beca125's review against another edition

dark 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism and Violence