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sidratul's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
maddiemo's review against another edition
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
lilythebibliophile's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
3.5 stars
Emma Rosenblum shows a lot of promise with this debut. She cleverly depicts her characters and their interpersonal quirks, their meaningless meaningful conversations with each other.
However, her writing falls into the trap of revealing the same thing over and over to compensate for a slow plot. Just because I'm reading about an event from another person's perspective doesn't mean I'm going to be shocked twice!
I do applaud Rosenblum for her witty turns of phrase and her apt way of describing characters; she can nail a character's essence in one quick, memorable line. I also appreciate how easy it is to laugh at all the absurdity she drew up here, and I did not see that final twist coming!
My favorite parts of this book were the moments with heart: Susan, Micah, and Paul's chapters were the most interesting to me. Maybe they had the most redeeming qualities as characters, or maybe they seemed the most vulnerable and sincere in their inner monologues, I don't know.
I'm looking forward to seeing where this author goes!
Emma Rosenblum shows a lot of promise with this debut. She cleverly depicts her characters and their interpersonal quirks, their meaningless meaningful conversations with each other.
However, her writing falls into the trap of revealing the same thing over and over to compensate for a slow plot. Just because I'm reading about an event from another person's perspective doesn't mean I'm going to be shocked twice!
I do applaud Rosenblum for her witty turns of phrase and her apt way of describing characters; she can nail a character's essence in one quick, memorable line. I also appreciate how easy it is to laugh at all the absurdity she drew up here, and I did not see that final twist coming!
My favorite parts of this book were the moments with heart: Susan, Micah, and Paul's chapters were the most interesting to me. Maybe they had the most redeeming qualities as characters, or maybe they seemed the most vulnerable and sincere in their inner monologues, I don't know.
I'm looking forward to seeing where this author goes!
mel_bee_421's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Murder
salyarmor's review against another edition
1.0
These bad summer people are MESSY. The drama, secrets and betrayal is insane. For the life of me I could not figure out who the “dead body” was or the killer. Which is always a win in my opinion. But once the person and cause of death was revealed I was disappointed. Especially disappointing with the adrenaline the specific chapter is building. There’s also so many character POV’s to keep track of, it’s exhausting and confusing. The worst part was a lot of these characters did not add much to the plot. The amount of detailed tennis tournaments was unnecessary and boring. I honestly feel the last 6+ chapters were not needed at all. The story should have ended a lot sooner. The ending I made up in my head would’ve been perfect. There were a lot of unanswered plot holes. Overall, the plot was giving real housewives meets murder but overall just domestic drama.
d3neely's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
It wasn’t a fast read for a short book. I didn’t find the characters enjoyable. It’s a meh from me.
princesswincess's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
mrsclicquot's review against another edition
3.0
Salacious a la The Hunting Wives and add a bit of Lucy Foley-like storytelling and you’ve got Bad Summer People.
There are zero likable characters but it was still fun.
There are zero likable characters but it was still fun.