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isabellesuurland'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
alqmort123's review against another edition
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
johnaespo's review
3.0
I finished it but it was probably too intense for me. But I stayed up late to get to the end so it held my attention. It was unique. Not a formulaic teen novel.
akookieforyou's review against another edition
4.0
I'll be perfectly honest, my expectations for this book were extremely low. That's mostly because YA mystery/thrillers are so divisive, sometimes they're really amazing, but most of the time they're boring and predictable, and this book has been making rounds on BookTube and BookTok for awhile, and usually nothing lives up to the hype. However, I finally decided to give in (just like when I finally read Colleen Hoover), and wanted to see whether or not this was even kind of good. Obviously I liked it given my rating.
The mystery was interesting enough all on it's own, but the characters are really what sold me. So many books in this genre have uninteresting or unbearable protagonists that absolutely ruin any semblance of a good story, because here's the thing, if I don't like a character then I don't care about them or what happens to them. Karen M. McManus really stepped up though. All four of the accused felt fully fleshed out, and were all likable (but never too perfect). I especially loved the addition of strong friendships and even a sweet romance.
I'll definitely read more of her books in the future, but probably not in this series, I'm never a fan of sequels focusing on a completely new cast or side characters. Now maybe I'll give the TV series a chance....
The mystery was interesting enough all on it's own, but the characters are really what sold me. So many books in this genre have uninteresting or unbearable protagonists that absolutely ruin any semblance of a good story, because here's the thing, if I don't like a character then I don't care about them or what happens to them. Karen M. McManus really stepped up though. All four of the accused felt fully fleshed out, and were all likable (but never too perfect). I especially loved the addition of strong friendships and even a sweet romance.
I'll definitely read more of her books in the future, but probably not in this series, I'm never a fan of sequels focusing on a completely new cast or side characters. Now maybe I'll give the TV series a chance....
eline_booklover's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
helloclarisse's review against another edition
3.0
after finishing “the house of hollow”, this was another quick and easy read. i finished it in just a few days.
i liked the concept of the book and i was interested in solving the mystery. i was unable to guess who ended up being the killer so the big reveal was interesting to me.
however, i felt like the character romances dominated the book (which i really did not care about) and the plot twists were… in poor taste.
i think this book would be much better has a movie/tv series (which it is!!) but i would still recommend it to others, since it’s such a quick and easy read.
i know there are 2 other books in this series, but i’m not really interested in continuing reading the series.
i liked the concept of the book and i was interested in solving the mystery. i was unable to guess who ended up being the killer so the big reveal was interesting to me.
however, i felt like the character romances dominated the book (which i really did not care about) and the plot twists were… in poor taste.
i think this book would be much better has a movie/tv series (which it is!!) but i would still recommend it to others, since it’s such a quick and easy read.
i know there are 2 other books in this series, but i’m not really interested in continuing reading the series.
chloereadsbooksyt's review against another edition
3.5
RE-READ (06.05.24)
3.5 STARS
I've knocked this rating down a little, because I didn't quite care as much on re-read. I did forget the reveal, and actually thought something different was happening, but I wasn't wow-ed.
09.05.20: 4 STARS
Right, so this was a good thriller. I can't deny that - hence the 4 stars. But something about it really bugged me and annoyed me. I struggled through the first 100 pages. The "big reveal" definitely wasn't what I was expecting, which was great! But I can't quite give it 5 stars because it was missing something special for me. It may have been that the writing style didn't quite gel with me, but I have McManus' next book, Two Can Keep A Secret, ready to read - so we will see!
3.5 STARS
I've knocked this rating down a little, because I didn't quite care as much on re-read. I did forget the reveal, and actually thought something different was happening, but I wasn't wow-ed.
09.05.20: 4 STARS
Right, so this was a good thriller. I can't deny that - hence the 4 stars. But something about it really bugged me and annoyed me. I struggled through the first 100 pages. The "big reveal" definitely wasn't what I was expecting, which was great! But I can't quite give it 5 stars because it was missing something special for me. It may have been that the writing style didn't quite gel with me, but I have McManus' next book, Two Can Keep A Secret, ready to read - so we will see!
larinha_08's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
ruusaer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
lisakerd's review against another edition
1.0
Like if the Breakfast Club was an agonizing slow murder mystery with no likable characters. Granted I’m not the target demographic for a high school book, but I just didn’t care about anyone in the book, found the pacing slow, and the end anticlimactic.