Scan barcode
inkysplodge's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
when Stevie and Janelle were talking about Vi and Stevie said "she", Janelle corrected her with "they" but the rest of the narration uses she/her for Vi... good job, author /s
anyway the main reason it got a 3(.25)⭐ is because i use CAWPILE and atmosphere and logic got high ratings. the characters were very flat and "trope-y" and i could not tell you a single thing about their personalities except maybe Nate and Ellie. there didn't seem to be an actual plot until about 75% in and i get it's a trilogy but not a single thing was solved which implies to me that book 2 won't give anything to leave it all to be solved in book 3 and i frankly don't care about the characters enough (or at all really) to want to continue
less of a "contemporary mystery" and more "a contemporary with a bit of mystery" which is fine if that's what you want/expect, i just want my mysteries to be happening from the first few chapters or to at least care about the characters. the majority of this book i just had completely neutral feelings for (and when i did feel something, it wasn't enjoyment😅)
anyway the main reason it got a 3(.25)⭐ is because i use CAWPILE and atmosphere and logic got high ratings. the characters were very flat and "trope-y" and i could not tell you a single thing about their personalities except maybe Nate and Ellie. there didn't seem to be an actual plot until about 75% in and i get it's a trilogy but not a single thing was solved which implies to me that book 2 won't give anything to leave it all to be solved in book 3 and i frankly don't care about the characters enough (or at all really) to want to continue
less of a "contemporary mystery" and more "a contemporary with a bit of mystery" which is fine if that's what you want/expect, i just want my mysteries to be happening from the first few chapters or to at least care about the characters. the majority of this book i just had completely neutral feelings for (and when i did feel something, it wasn't enjoyment😅)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Murder, Drug use, and Transphobia
itsheyfay's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Stalking
Minor: Gaslighting, Transphobia, and Infidelity
jamespotterluv's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
YALL this was mad. im so ANNOEYDSAUI like bro. i cant even spoil it for yall bc by the end half the plot twists aint even solved. like cmon. im lowkey addicted to this series. i need to finish it bc what. so there's quite a few plot twists and there's one right at the end, y'all know which one i mean. i guessed most of the plot twists im not gonna lie, most were predictable buT I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING LIEK WHAT. crazy. the writing was sanist a few times. it felt like diverse characters were j included for it to be diverse. like, a sentence was made abt them, maybe about like their pronouns or smth and that was it. u got one sentence. if ur gonna represent someone do it right! like, the author misgendered her own character. bfr. i felt like the author kinda rushed the ending? i mean, great ending, don't get me wrong. this was a medium paced book up until chapter 26. after that i was like "more is happening in these last chapters than the 26 chapters before it" like sm was happening n it was hard to keep track of who did what.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and Murder
Minor: Child death, Misogyny, Death of parent, Grief, Sexism, and Transphobia
myleesimm's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
it was fun! a really good read :)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Cursing, Drug use, and Murder
Minor: Transphobia and Racism
stevie accidentally misgenders a character, idk if that'd be considered transphobia to most but to be safe i added the warning LOLnziam's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
This is one of those situations where I feel like I must have read a different book from everyone else. HOW does this book have such good reviews? It's...not good. The writing is nothing special. The plot moves glacially slowly and is absolutely one of the least thrilling "thrillers" I've ever read. Then there's the real problem - Stevie. She is not a detective. Not even an amateur one. She's an entitled, pretentious brat who goes through her love interest's room for absolutely no reason and throws a hissy fit when he won't accept her completely insincere apology (we know it's insincere because two seconds before she "apologized" she was trying to eavesdrop on him having a private conversation). She's probably one of my least favorite characters from recent memory, she has exactly zero redeeming qualities.
Oh, plus the author has a very minor side character who is specifically stated to use they/them pronouns, but the author uses the wrong pronouns for them even after this is revealed.
I'm slightly curious about the historical mystery but not enough to waste my time on the sequels.
0/5 stars, wasted way too much of my time
Oh, plus the author has a very minor side character who is specifically stated to use they/them pronouns, but the author uses the wrong pronouns for them even after this is revealed.
I'm slightly curious about the historical mystery but not enough to waste my time on the sequels.
0/5 stars, wasted way too much of my time
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia
riffmonkey's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This was such a disappointment. I read through 200 pages of basically nothing happening and two miseries being introduced and no fucking solution. Also, Stevie was supposed to be this super-smart sherlock motherfucker, which is showcased a little in the beginning and then never ever again and she is like super dumb throughout the rest of the book. This is just an extremely bland lead up to book 2. Wtf
Also if you do include a non-binary character maybe don't fucking misgender them for the entirety of the book even in the fucking narration, because that isn't representation that is rude and disrespectful.
Also if you do include a non-binary character maybe don't fucking misgender them for the entirety of the book even in the fucking narration, because that isn't representation that is rude and disrespectful.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia
minor non-binary character is constantly misgendered
More...