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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
I Really enjoyed this book, it kept me up late into the night because I just couldn't put it down!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"Huntin', Shootin', Fishin'."
I genuinely thought I was going to thoroughly enjoy S.T.A.G.S. because I requested in during the same period I was watching this brilliant BBC mini-series called, wait for it, “Stag”. The concept was similar and being me the idiot I am I thought it was a sign from the gods to read it. In “Stag” a group of men go on a hunting trip on a friend's stag night. Then, one after the other, they get killed off. My kind of thing if you know me! In “S.T.A.G.S.” a group of kids who attend a very posh boarding school is invited on a hunting trip by the very elite of this place. Soon they realize somebody is trying to hurt them. What was brilliant in “Stag”, the suspense, the mystery, the splattery murders, the character development and the backstories, was what lacked in “S.T.A.G.S.”. This last one tries too hard to be a thriller and a YA novel and it shows. It feels like it dumbs down the mystery as not to bore the reader but what it achieves is quite the contrary. Every now and then the chapters will end with a foreshadowing that always assures the reader that a murder is about to happen. In its place though we get long descriptions of places and a useless romance, then when we’re ready to deal with the juicy bits they’re rushed and left underdeveloped.
The villains are one-dimensional and unappealing,
Spoiler
they’re mean because they’re too posh and so are their families, hence they kill people and no one asks questionsMaybe I didn’t like this book the way other readers did because I had raised the bar way too high (when it comes to gory murders the BBC is always a cut above us all!) so if the genre appeals to anyone who’s reading this review I’d recommend not to be completely put off by it, give it a chance and see for yourself!
I was kindly sent the ARC of this book by Netgalley.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I’m going to be honest I bought this book because I watched a book tuber who said it was honestly a pretty bad book. When I found it for a cheap price I bought it purely for shits and giggles.
Now I’m knee deep and trying to find the sequels and internally screaming about the cover changes and the fact that the others aren’t in hardback like my copy.
I will say the first 20-40 pages I was really thrown off by the way our characters talked and how things were described and thought I was going to DNF it. But I haven’t been able to put this book down on every time I pick it up. It reminds me of that story I read in English about the guy who hunted down all his guests at his establishment.
I will say I would get frustrated with Greer on how she handled Henry but oh did I love it when he suddenly changed on her real quickly there at the end. I don’t know what it is about this series but it’s weirdly addictive and I need more asap.
3.5* This was a decent kind of thriller/ya, it was just let down by a few things. Mainly the constant references to movies- sooooo many were mentioned, it was like every second page the narrator compared herself to Elizabeth Bennet or Bella from Twilight, or said the house looked like the one in Brideshead Revisited, and that got sort of annoying because there was so much of it. I did like the intrigue and the fact that there was a British boarding school, because I am always inexplicably drawn to boarding school stories (I blame an early love of Mallory Towers). The actual hunt aspect wasn't as exciting as I'd hoped, and the end dragged on a bit, but overall I found this an enjoyable read.
2.5
An interesting premise that got more and more complex and unbelievable as it went along, much to my disappointment. Also the film references started to get annoying after a while. I think if they'd been peppered in a bit more - a lot more lightly it would have been more of an interesting quirk and less just very annoying.
My library doesn't have the other books in the series and I don't care enough to try and find them.
An interesting premise that got more and more complex and unbelievable as it went along, much to my disappointment. Also the film references started to get annoying after a while. I think if they'd been peppered in a bit more - a lot more lightly it would have been more of an interesting quirk and less just very annoying.
My library doesn't have the other books in the series and I don't care enough to try and find them.
This book was better than I expected and I found is book thrilling but I would have like more character development. It is usually not typical book and i enjoy it and fond it a quick read.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes