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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
Fun little spin on the “Most Dangerous Game” trope (if you didn’t pick that up from the description, sorry to spoil that. You should’ve seen it coming).
Dragged on a bit after the big reveal. Ending got a bit harebrained, but it was fun. Don’t think too hard and enjoy it.
Dragged on a bit after the big reveal. Ending got a bit harebrained, but it was fun. Don’t think too hard and enjoy it.
adventurous
dark
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:
No
I’m usually so protective of female main characters but holy shit Greer MacDonald truly was the DUMBEST bitch I’ve ever read in YA and I read the entire Twilight saga.
Before we get into THAT, let’s discuss the clusterfuck that was the plot of this book.
We got Greer setting up for this “murder” at the end of the novel in between pointless pop culture references that I assume were an attempt to make her likeable, introduction to the Medievals and them being dicks except for Henry, glorious Henry!, an immediate acceptance of an incredibly suspicious invitation (and she has canonically seen Carrie?), Greer falling in love with Henry, Greer being openly jealous towards any girl who so much as breathes in his direction while ALSO being jealous of anyone being interested in Shafeen, Greer being so sucked into the Medieval’s bullshit that she just comments on how “weird” everything is every five minutes and needs to see something written down “in black and white!!1!” before it clicks that this shit is suss, Greer finally being a smart bitch and making a plan, Greer falling immediately back into Henry’s charm despite knowing he’s trying to kill them, Greer almost getting murdered which is exactly what she deserves for being a Dumb Bitch, then Henry committing SUICIDE and Greer INSISTING that they /murdered/ him when they... didn’t. Like not even manslaughter they didn’t do anything to him. Then a whole mess of cult stuff that was honestly the most compelling part of the whole book.
Now characters.
The Medievals were a missed opportunity. I went into this expecting them to be the lovechild of the Hunger Games Career pack and the Greek class from The Secret History. I didn’t get it. I got their tepid attempts at hurting the people they were supposed to be hunting and killing, no personalities, and classroom bullying. They did basically nothing for the entire book. Every time the kill of the day didn’t go immediately and perfectly to plan they gave up & continued on like they didn’t care either way. They sucked.
Shafeen was the only good character and you may fight me about it. Rich hot smart prince boy has my heart.
Chanel had no personality and was just there to humanise Greer.
Henry was the world’s most boring wannabe murderer.
And GREER. Yes, hi, I loathe this Pick Me idiot. Her entire arc was “I like Henry!! But Shafeen is also handsome?! But Henry called me beautiful!! But Henry’s a murderer?! And Shafeen also called me beautiful?! I like Shafeen!! Fuck Henry!! Wait no Henry is being nice to me he clearly loves me so I like Henry again!! Henry is trying to kill me fuck Henry!! Henry is dead I love Shafeen now!!”
Anyway. I’m out of rage those are my thoughts I’m very annoyed but I will say that this book was extremely compelling because I spent the entire thing waiting for something to happen.
Before we get into THAT, let’s discuss the clusterfuck that was the plot of this book.
We got Greer setting up for this “murder” at the end of the novel in between pointless pop culture references that I assume were an attempt to make her likeable, introduction to the Medievals and them being dicks except for Henry, glorious Henry!, an immediate acceptance of an incredibly suspicious invitation (and she has canonically seen Carrie?), Greer falling in love with Henry, Greer being openly jealous towards any girl who so much as breathes in his direction while ALSO being jealous of anyone being interested in Shafeen, Greer being so sucked into the Medieval’s bullshit that she just comments on how “weird” everything is every five minutes and needs to see something written down “in black and white!!1!” before it clicks that this shit is suss, Greer finally being a smart bitch and making a plan, Greer falling immediately back into Henry’s charm despite knowing he’s trying to kill them, Greer almost getting murdered which is exactly what she deserves for being a Dumb Bitch, then Henry committing SUICIDE and Greer INSISTING that they /murdered/ him when they... didn’t. Like not even manslaughter they didn’t do anything to him. Then a whole mess of cult stuff that was honestly the most compelling part of the whole book.
Now characters.
The Medievals were a missed opportunity. I went into this expecting them to be the lovechild of the Hunger Games Career pack and the Greek class from The Secret History. I didn’t get it. I got their tepid attempts at hurting the people they were supposed to be hunting and killing, no personalities, and classroom bullying. They did basically nothing for the entire book. Every time the kill of the day didn’t go immediately and perfectly to plan they gave up & continued on like they didn’t care either way. They sucked.
Shafeen was the only good character and you may fight me about it. Rich hot smart prince boy has my heart.
Chanel had no personality and was just there to humanise Greer.
Henry was the world’s most boring wannabe murderer.
And GREER. Yes, hi, I loathe this Pick Me idiot. Her entire arc was “I like Henry!! But Shafeen is also handsome?! But Henry called me beautiful!! But Henry’s a murderer?! And Shafeen also called me beautiful?! I like Shafeen!! Fuck Henry!! Wait no Henry is being nice to me he clearly loves me so I like Henry again!! Henry is trying to kill me fuck Henry!! Henry is dead I love Shafeen now!!”
Anyway. I’m out of rage those are my thoughts I’m very annoyed but I will say that this book was extremely compelling because I spent the entire thing waiting for something to happen.
Promising premise, horrible beginning, mediocre middle, cliched ending.
There were a couple of points in this book where I almost started to enjoy it; Ms. Bennett isn't a terrible writer its just that the whole thing is structured so badly I could never get into it. I kept getting distracted by things like a newly-introduced character's accent not being described until two entire pages later. The first third of the book suffers from tell-itis to such a horrifying degree that even our narrator comments on it; sadly, such clever self-reference does not advance the plot in a useful way. And I'm quite charmed by the narrative voice but it could have been love if only the rest of the book didn't make me so mad I could spit. Save your money, kids, maybe her next book will be better.
I received this book free from Penguin Random House for review.
There were a couple of points in this book where I almost started to enjoy it; Ms. Bennett isn't a terrible writer its just that the whole thing is structured so badly I could never get into it. I kept getting distracted by things like a newly-introduced character's accent not being described until two entire pages later. The first third of the book suffers from tell-itis to such a horrifying degree that even our narrator comments on it; sadly, such clever self-reference does not advance the plot in a useful way. And I'm quite charmed by the narrative voice but it could have been love if only the rest of the book didn't make me so mad I could spit. Save your money, kids, maybe her next book will be better.
I received this book free from Penguin Random House for review.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
"Misadventure. It was a good way to describe the whole weekend at Longcross. An adventure gone wrong."
This book has solidified the fact that the thing I am frightened of the most is privileged white boys with bucketloads of old money. I genuinely found it haunting and uncomfortable at times, and I am not often affected by thrillers in that way. Yeah I was scared and I'm not even gonna pretend I wasn't, bloodsports are no joke, and that's coming from someone in the animal industry.
The atmosphere was really quite astounding, the complex contrast between the beauty and alluring nature of this beautiful house, its grounds, and its simplistic lifestyle, alongside the sinister themes you are told from the very beginning that is so present really take you on a wild ride. You know these people are villains but just like our main character, you cannot seem to get past the beautiful image on the surface to see what's rotting underneath. It is what makes it so unnerving by the end.
Whilst the characters are not the main focus of this book I can definitely see their motives and emotions as being truly believable, even if some of the other characters are more caricatures than others. However once again I don't think they are meant to be the focus of the story.
The intrigue and overwhelming thrilling nature are rooted in facts which is what makes you continue reading. These events do happen, and whilst this is taken to the extreme, it really does feel totally plausible which makes it even grimmer. I would say that this book is not for the faint of heart, I knew a reasonable amount of information about bloodsports and hunting, shooting, and fishing going into this book (I do not partake in any but they frequently make appearances in my field of study) but I even gagged and gasped out loud at certain parts of this..
The writing is fast-paced and easy to get through, and although nothing particularly groundbreaking, does definitely set up some clues and things early on only to be noticed later which I did appreciate.
I also appreciated the additional discussions in the book, particularly those around new vs old money, race, background, and even those sprinkled in about conservation. I was not particularly expecting these but they did flow in the narrative quite well in my opinion.
Overall it definitely gripped me, the fact that I got it for approximately £1.70 too (All my UK babes get down to the Works website and bag yourself a steal of a deal) is an added bonus, and I will be keeping my eye out for the second and third books which I imagine will be making their way into my collection at some point too.
Rated: 4.5 Stars
This book has solidified the fact that the thing I am frightened of the most is privileged white boys with bucketloads of old money. I genuinely found it haunting and uncomfortable at times, and I am not often affected by thrillers in that way. Yeah I was scared and I'm not even gonna pretend I wasn't, bloodsports are no joke, and that's coming from someone in the animal industry.
The atmosphere was really quite astounding, the complex contrast between the beauty and alluring nature of this beautiful house, its grounds, and its simplistic lifestyle, alongside the sinister themes you are told from the very beginning that is so present really take you on a wild ride. You know these people are villains but just like our main character, you cannot seem to get past the beautiful image on the surface to see what's rotting underneath. It is what makes it so unnerving by the end.
Whilst the characters are not the main focus of this book I can definitely see their motives and emotions as being truly believable, even if some of the other characters are more caricatures than others. However once again I don't think they are meant to be the focus of the story.
The intrigue and overwhelming thrilling nature are rooted in facts which is what makes you continue reading. These events do happen, and whilst this is taken to the extreme, it really does feel totally plausible which makes it even grimmer. I would say that this book is not for the faint of heart, I knew a reasonable amount of information about bloodsports and hunting, shooting, and fishing going into this book (I do not partake in any but they frequently make appearances in my field of study) but I even gagged and gasped out loud at certain parts of this..
The writing is fast-paced and easy to get through, and although nothing particularly groundbreaking, does definitely set up some clues and things early on only to be noticed later which I did appreciate.
I also appreciated the additional discussions in the book, particularly those around new vs old money, race, background, and even those sprinkled in about conservation. I was not particularly expecting these but they did flow in the narrative quite well in my opinion.
Overall it definitely gripped me, the fact that I got it for approximately £1.70 too (All my UK babes get down to the Works website and bag yourself a steal of a deal) is an added bonus, and I will be keeping my eye out for the second and third books which I imagine will be making their way into my collection at some point too.
Rated: 4.5 Stars
Actually, 3.5 stars because it was a good read!
I enjoyed the suspense, but I thought at times the portrayal of the us vs. them could have done with more nuance.
I enjoyed the suspense, but I thought at times the portrayal of the us vs. them could have done with more nuance.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
had to dnf this, couldn’t handle Greer’s quirkiness for another second smh.
I felt so disappointed with this book, I had read a lot of reviews once I had bought this and I felt so excited to read it because I always find that I like a lot of texts that have had so many good reviews, but this one was not what I was expecting. I wanted more from it and it never gave me what I wanted.
In books like this I wanted a lot of suspense, which is why I wanted to read it in the first place because it sounded like that's what it had but it didn't, I felt like where was the action? The drive that made my heart stop wondering what was going to happen next? For me there was none, which was why it took me so long, I felt like I was struggling at times just to get through it. I kind of felt disappointed by Henry's end too, I felt like it was a bit of an anti-climax, I knew what was going to happen from the minute the situation ended up in the setting it occurred in.
Don't get me wrong there was certain parts that got me interested and excited, and I felt like it was finally starting to heat up, but then it went back to being quite slow, I didn't feel on edge.
I quite liked the character developments, it was nice to see the characters progress despite the disappointing storyline and it was so nice that they situation brought them all together in the end.
Obviously this is just my personal opinion, but for me I don't think I will be picking up and trying this book again anytime soon. :))
In books like this I wanted a lot of suspense, which is why I wanted to read it in the first place because it sounded like that's what it had but it didn't, I felt like where was the action? The drive that made my heart stop wondering what was going to happen next? For me there was none, which was why it took me so long, I felt like I was struggling at times just to get through it. I kind of felt disappointed by Henry's end too, I felt like it was a bit of an anti-climax, I knew what was going to happen from the minute the situation ended up in the setting it occurred in.
Don't get me wrong there was certain parts that got me interested and excited, and I felt like it was finally starting to heat up, but then it went back to being quite slow, I didn't feel on edge.
I quite liked the character developments, it was nice to see the characters progress despite the disappointing storyline and it was so nice that they situation brought them all together in the end.
Obviously this is just my personal opinion, but for me I don't think I will be picking up and trying this book again anytime soon. :))