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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Find this review and more on my blog at Worlds Unlike Our Own.
3.5 stars
Thank you to the publisher, Penguin Teen Canada, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A meme on social media goes viral in the town of Rock Bay, where people share their worst way to die, and initially, it seems like just another silly meme. But when students actually start to die in the same manner they described in their posts, it quickly becomes clear that something more sinister is afoot. Izzy, who discovers the body of a classmate, is determined to find the truth as everyone who reposted could be a target, including her best friend and cousin. Each murder hits closer, and somehow Izzy seems to end up at the center. Will she be able to unmask the killer in time?
“The truth is, when death comes, no matter how it comes, it’s always scary.”
After reading a slew of heavy historical fiction novels, this fast paced thriller was exactly what I needed. It was an engrossing read right from page one, and I was completely caught up in the story, trying to figure out who was behind it all. I did manage to predict the culprit by around the 60% mark, but there are plenty of twists that will make you doubt and redoubt your theories. Basing the story around a meme on social media was something that made it very relevant to today, especially as the killer begins to take advantage of how much information people share with the world through these mediums, inadvertently giving away details that could be dangerous in the wrong hands.
Characters…to be honest, I didn’t like Izzy much. I know there wouldn’t be a story if the main character didn’t get involved and do a little sleuthing, but I felt like Izzy didn’t really have a strong enough reason to not just leave it up to the police. She kept running off to investigate and made some rather stupid and reckless decisions without regard for her own safety and is also irritatingly indecisive when it comes to her suspects. Luckily, that didn’t affect my enjoyment of the story too much, as the mystery itself was intriguing enough to keep my attention. Having the killer’s perspective along with Izzy’s was a great touch, and it helped maintain the tension very well throughout as you also begin to wonder about the killer’s motives.
This was a solid 4 star rating for me despite a few things being predictable, right until the ending, which just ruined it. Last minute twists can be amazing, but leaving it unresolved like that is just not cool. From what I can see, there doesn’t seem to be a sequel planned for this book, which means I have to lower the rating by half a star because I can’t stand unfinished endings. Despite that, this was a good thriller, well paced and exciting, and I would definitely recommend it for fans of the genre. I’m looking forward to checking out some of the other books by this author.
3.5 stars
Thank you to the publisher, Penguin Teen Canada, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A meme on social media goes viral in the town of Rock Bay, where people share their worst way to die, and initially, it seems like just another silly meme. But when students actually start to die in the same manner they described in their posts, it quickly becomes clear that something more sinister is afoot. Izzy, who discovers the body of a classmate, is determined to find the truth as everyone who reposted could be a target, including her best friend and cousin. Each murder hits closer, and somehow Izzy seems to end up at the center. Will she be able to unmask the killer in time?
“The truth is, when death comes, no matter how it comes, it’s always scary.”
After reading a slew of heavy historical fiction novels, this fast paced thriller was exactly what I needed. It was an engrossing read right from page one, and I was completely caught up in the story, trying to figure out who was behind it all. I did manage to predict the culprit by around the 60% mark, but there are plenty of twists that will make you doubt and redoubt your theories. Basing the story around a meme on social media was something that made it very relevant to today, especially as the killer begins to take advantage of how much information people share with the world through these mediums, inadvertently giving away details that could be dangerous in the wrong hands.
Characters…to be honest, I didn’t like Izzy much. I know there wouldn’t be a story if the main character didn’t get involved and do a little sleuthing, but I felt like Izzy didn’t really have a strong enough reason to not just leave it up to the police. She kept running off to investigate and made some rather stupid and reckless decisions without regard for her own safety and is also irritatingly indecisive when it comes to her suspects. Luckily, that didn’t affect my enjoyment of the story too much, as the mystery itself was intriguing enough to keep my attention. Having the killer’s perspective along with Izzy’s was a great touch, and it helped maintain the tension very well throughout as you also begin to wonder about the killer’s motives.
This was a solid 4 star rating for me despite a few things being predictable, right until the ending, which just ruined it. Last minute twists can be amazing, but leaving it unresolved like that is just not cool. From what I can see, there doesn’t seem to be a sequel planned for this book, which means I have to lower the rating by half a star because I can’t stand unfinished endings. Despite that, this was a good thriller, well paced and exciting, and I would definitely recommend it for fans of the genre. I’m looking forward to checking out some of the other books by this author.
Okay. Wow. I read this book in a day and have been struggling to figure out what I want to rate it. There were certain sections that I felt weren’t necessary and the overwhelming obsession with Axel throughout the story was interesting and somewhat annoying to read. I really liked the premise and I think it was face paced. The ending though. What the actual fuck. I think DIDNT fully bring the story to a close and some of it doesn’t make very much sense. I don’t know how to feel about it but there’s one thing for sure: it shook me to my core. I honestly don’t even know what to stay. I’m utterly confused and completely dumbfounded. Holy shit.
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
medium-paced
I was definitely a big fan of this book and how the plot played out. I sort of started to figure out it was Tristan who was the murderer but it wasn’t totally clear to me up until right before she started acting like a typical person in a horror movie. When she happen to run into him when she was getting texts from the murderer I thought that was pretty obvious. Then when they were driving to the barn where Axel happened to be she decided to be stupid and run in there rather than call the police which Tristan anticipated her doing since she’s a stupid teen. I was definitely thrown off at the end when Axel trapped Izzy and stated that Murder runs in the family. Also what was the point of him faking the injury? Unless Tristan and Axel were plotting together but it didn’t seem like it if he was tied out and hit over the head. I also didn’t understand Axel decided to take Izzy at the end. I mean yeah Axel may have murdered his aunt but he didn’t do any of the murders throughout the book. Tristan was the one that had the vendetta again everyone and even had his own rules on who to kill. I would definitely be interested in a second one unless it is implied that Axel decided to murder Izzy and what reason does he have? Because she accused him of being the murderer and then was trying to get him away from the actual murderer? I mean Tristan was literally trying to pin it on him anyways so that he could get away with it. I don’t know I don’t think I was a fan of how that last part ended. Overall the book was good but I don’t think the ending fit very well.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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