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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
This is a fast-paced thriller that takes place on a college campus. I had a hard time putting this one down! I enjoyed the dual timelines; they gave lots of juicy details about the characters. The past timeline did jump around quite a bit, so I had to make sure I paid close attention to the chapter titles.
The characters all have secrets they were hiding, which made me want to continue reading. However, I am not a fan of the main character in the story. Her perfectionism drove me crazy even though it reminded me a bit of myself when I was younger.
The characters all have secrets they were hiding, which made me want to continue reading. However, I am not a fan of the main character in the story. Her perfectionism drove me crazy even though it reminded me a bit of myself when I was younger.
This was a very easy, binge-worthy read.
Jess was an interesting protagonist. There were times when I wondered if I even liked her, but her back story made it clear as to why she was so narcissistic and acted the way she did.
In fact, I'm not sure I liked any of the characters! But this was done on purpose of course and they were all written very well, making you question their every move and intention.
I've not read any of Winsteads novels before, but I really enjoyed her descriptive writing. She has a way with words that keeps your eyes glued to the pages while painting a perfect picture in your mind.
I got a little confused with the characters and who was with who at first and I struggled to keep up with the many different timelines and povs at times.
I didn't guess the person who was responsible for the murder of Heather, but I wasn’t excited by it either. I felt a little underwhelmed with the revelation and the ending as a whole.
So this wasn't my favourite thriller ever.
However, it was really entertaining even though it took me a while to get through .
Jess was an interesting protagonist. There were times when I wondered if I even liked her, but her back story made it clear as to why she was so narcissistic and acted the way she did.
In fact, I'm not sure I liked any of the characters! But this was done on purpose of course and they were all written very well, making you question their every move and intention.
I've not read any of Winsteads novels before, but I really enjoyed her descriptive writing. She has a way with words that keeps your eyes glued to the pages while painting a perfect picture in your mind.
I got a little confused with the characters and who was with who at first and I struggled to keep up with the many different timelines and povs at times.
I didn't guess the person who was responsible for the murder of Heather, but I wasn’t excited by it either. I felt a little underwhelmed with the revelation and the ending as a whole.
So this wasn't my favourite thriller ever.
However, it was really entertaining even though it took me a while to get through .
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.5 ⭐️
There are a lot of things that I really liked about this book.
It had a great plot and each character was distinct with a great storyline.
It didn’t read like a typical thriller. Yeah, someone was killed and they’re trying to figure out who but to me this felt wayyy more character driven (which I liked a lot)
It was also surprisingly emotional because the relatability of these characters. There were times were I felt a little raw because I related so much to something said or thought.
The reason it wasn’t a 5 ⭐️ was a couple reasons. I missed the “thrill” in thriller aspect of this. I like to have my heart pumping a little when reading books of this genre.
I also didn’t loveee the ending. Maybe it’s because I’ve been reading so much romance lately, but I wish the ending was left alone without the plot twist. I didn’t think it was needed and pushed me out of the story a bit (mainly because I wanted a true HEA)
*although I did like the counting connection to the beginning of the book.
Either way, it was a great read and i preordered her next book.
There are a lot of things that I really liked about this book.
It had a great plot and each character was distinct with a great storyline.
It didn’t read like a typical thriller. Yeah, someone was killed and they’re trying to figure out who but to me this felt wayyy more character driven (which I liked a lot)
It was also surprisingly emotional because the relatability of these characters. There were times were I felt a little raw because I related so much to something said or thought.
The reason it wasn’t a 5 ⭐️ was a couple reasons. I missed the “thrill” in thriller aspect of this. I like to have my heart pumping a little when reading books of this genre.
I also didn’t loveee the ending. Maybe it’s because I’ve been reading so much romance lately, but I wish the ending was left alone without the plot twist. I didn’t think it was needed and pushed me out of the story a bit (mainly because I wanted a true HEA)
*although I did like the counting connection to the beginning of the book.
Either way, it was a great read and i preordered her next book.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
there was. so fucking much going on in this. holy moley. um i can defo say im wowed by the level of effort that went into this! you can defo tell that this would’ve taken fuckjng eons to storyboard or plan out or whatever. i don’t think it exactly translates into the quality of the story but i also can’t lie and say this was obviously thrown together because it wasn’t.
there are…. many issues i have with this. but this isn’t a 1-star only because i didn’t hate reading this. it just had so many glaring issues that i defo noticed when reading. let me say that i didnt notice any plot holes, so thats at least one win. other than that……
ok lets start with the fucking bisexual cheating trope. hey could we not. are you fucking serious. how CORNYYYYY. this book isn’t from the early 2000s can we fuckjng not. there’s no excuse for this bffr. like can we just make the bisexual closeted and not a cheater???? yes that changes the story significantly but ew ew ew that trope is gross i hate it stop making bisexuals fucking cheaters in media it’s such a tired trope.
speaking of tired tropes…. that’s like this entire fucking group. i remember reading this and thinking “damn this is actually so much like my year 8 mystery story i wrote”. that’s not a good thing to think about a professionally published book. the way the entire story is structured is just trope on top of trope on top of trope and so on. and i can’t even say the tropes are cleverly subverted because they just aren’t. everything felt like a stereotype or lazy and it drove me a bit bonkers.
the way this book divulges information… i fucking hate this style where there will be a massive reveal in one chapter’s last sentence and then the next chapter will be a flashback to said reveal. like for example a chapter might end with a character saying to another character “and so why don’t you tell the group that YOU were the one to crash the car that the cops at the scene found and assumed x character did but really was you!” and then that chapter ends, and the next chapter is a flashback explaining how that character crashed the car and then how x character was blamed for it because idk they left a crack pipe they borrowed that points to someone else (that’s not a spoiler for the book i just made up that car scenario). i just fucking hate this style. and every other piece of info is given by an infodump! and the way characters reveal shit as well as talk to each other in the present whilst reveals emerge is so corny! NOBODY ACTS LIKE THIS IN REAL LIFE!!!!! and the fact i noticed this instantly in the first chapter where jessica is at the cafe… why are you sharing information about your ‘friends’ to your other friend who knows these people. why are you saying information out loud you both clearly know. nobody does that in real life. that is only happening because the author cannot figure out another way to seamlessly tell the reader that a certain character is now a doctor or some shit. nobody fucking talks like this. this entire book is so generic it’s actually painful.
the story did keep me hooked, but honestly it was only because i wanted to find out jessica’s dirty little secret(s). and i mean her secrets were for the most part kinda predictable! most of this book was predictable! but i will say the ending did gag me. i was expecting jessica’s friends to jump her ass a bit more. i kinda wish they bullied her more. she defo deserved it she was insufferable as hell. i was not rooting for her sorry i was rooting for her to get her shit rocked regardless if she was the killer or not. her perfectionist schtick annoyed me.
can you tell i don’t have really anything positive to say about this? gag it but this is the most generic book i can say ive read. this is the epitome of the mystery genre in the worst way. but i can’t lie and say i wasn’t sat. was it literally just because i wanted to see the mc get beat up? Yeah. but i mean i finished it! it wasn’t terrible! but don’t go in expecting anything halfway decent. it’s a below-average book. i learnt nothing and gained nothing except the ability to decrease my tbr by one book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia, Rape
Minor: Suicide, Car accident
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
The characters were extremely unlikable which was definitely the intention of the book- their unlikable aspects weren’t relatable it just felt extreme. I didn’t like how one dimensional they felt.
The tone shifted dramatically towards the end and felt very lighthearted which was jarring considering the events that took place. The plot twist did get me though. I don’t have much to say as it didn’t leave a big impression on me. It wasn’t good but it wasn’t necessarily bad either.
I read this because it was compared to until dawn. However, the only comparison I can make it is that there’s a friend group, one of them passed away and they’re all invited back to a reunion. So, if you’re going to read this because you love the game maybe don’t have that be your only reason -it will leave you disappointed.
The tone shifted dramatically towards the end and felt very lighthearted which was jarring considering the events that took place. The plot twist did get me though. I don’t have much to say as it didn’t leave a big impression on me. It wasn’t good but it wasn’t necessarily bad either.
I read this because it was compared to until dawn. However, the only comparison I can make it is that there’s a friend group, one of them passed away and they’re all invited back to a reunion. So, if you’re going to read this because you love the game maybe don’t have that be your only reason -it will leave you disappointed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Grief, Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
CRACK READ! Ate this up so quickly! Loved the writing style and character plot lines. I had so many moments of shock, cringe, love, and disgust. *Chef’s kiss*
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's probably not a good sign when the killer is revealed and my reaction is just "oh.. okay.. annnnnyway"
I have never been so underwhelmed/bored by a thriller before, and sure, I probably should've just DNF'd it, but I had to see what all of the hype was about (Plus, sunk cost fallacy. I'd already made it [x] of the way through, so may as well just finish it)(except repeat that multiple times throughout the entire book).
All of the characters suck. Even the ones we're meant to root for (I think we were meant to anyway) like Jack or Frankie (Or Eric? Were we meant to root for him?). Jessica sucked, Heather sucked, Caro sucked, and Courtney extra sucked. Mint was one-dimensional and boring, Coop was one-dimensional and also boring. Everyone's problems were just so silly, and I had no interest in caring about any of them (Which then makes me feel like a bad person, but.. I'm only human)
Also the fact that there was legitimate stalking admitted to, and it was just brushed over completely. Like?? No?? That should've been properly addressed??? What???
The ending was also just the final nail in the coffin. I think I genuinely rolled my eyes with the epilogue (Epilogue? Last chapter? I can't remember if it was labelled as an epilogue, but either way, same thing)
I have never been so underwhelmed/bored by a thriller before, and sure, I probably should've just DNF'd it, but I had to see what all of the hype was about (Plus, sunk cost fallacy. I'd already made it [x] of the way through, so may as well just finish it)(except repeat that multiple times throughout the entire book).
All of the characters suck. Even the ones we're meant to root for (I think we were meant to anyway) like Jack or Frankie (Or Eric? Were we meant to root for him?). Jessica sucked, Heather sucked, Caro sucked, and Courtney extra sucked. Mint was one-dimensional and boring, Coop was one-dimensional and also boring. Everyone's problems were just so silly, and I had no interest in caring about any of them (Which then makes me feel like a bad person, but.. I'm only human)
Also the fact that there was legitimate stalking admitted to, and it was just brushed over completely. Like?? No?? That should've been properly addressed??? What???
The ending was also just the final nail in the coffin. I think I genuinely rolled my eyes with the epilogue (Epilogue? Last chapter? I can't remember if it was labelled as an epilogue, but either way, same thing)
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced