Reviews

The Things We Don't See by Savannah Brown

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amy_da1sy's review

2.0

It just felt boring to read

I was quite immersed in the first half of the book, I enjoyed the unreliability of the narrator and was quite invested in the main character, Mona. However I feel as though the book lost its momentum half way through and found myself reading the book to finish it rather than wanting to see what happens. Near the end I think Sav did a good job with the forest/trauma flashbacks. I feel like I didn't particularly root for or like any characters other than Ellis, which kind of diminished my investment in the book. Overall okay and I always look forward to what Sav comes out with!

julietthague's review

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mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

2.0

ritajlwang's review

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

addictedtodoctorwho's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

r_skye's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book was good? Definitely YA, very brooding and angsty which was a bit annoying at times, some plot twists were done well, others were predictable, but overall it definitely wasn’t bad

emmieclassix's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

notlikethebeer's review

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3.0

The Things We Don't See is Savannah Brown's second mystery novel: I loved the first so much that I was incredibly eager to read this! It follows Mona, who dedicates her time to exploring missing persons cases. One in particular has always haunted her - that of Roxy Raines, an extraordinary musician who disappeared seemingly without a case. Employing a level of subterfuge, Mona finds a way to escape to the island that was once home to Roxy, in an attempt to discover the answers. However, the island has held tightly to it's secrets - just as Mona has held tightly to hers - and neither of them are willing to face the truth just yet.

This novel started really brilliantly. The 'podcast' genre has been very popular in recent years, and I think that's absolutely justified, as it seems to never fail to produce an excellent read! That being said, I wish this one had utilised the podcast a little more.

I was gripped from the start, there were so many layers to the mystery here, and I raced through to try and get an answer to all of my questions. However, I think it lost momentum, and I was eventually reading not so much out of pleasure, but more to see how far it would go - and it went pretty far, I found the final reveals a little too far-fetched I think. I guess there was a clever mix of foreshadowing and surprise, but it didn't really feel that way.

A really strong element of this book for me was Mona's character - I liked the hardened, almost cold nature she had, and I enjoyed getting to know her background. I also really liked the way she interacted with her room-mate and the boy on the island (I'm hopeless with names!), but I wish there had been more of that. Mostly, I found the way she set about getting her answers pretty ridiculous and very obvious! - she did some rather absurd things, which impacted the realism of the book.

Overall, this was an interesting read, and definitely a unique addition to the world of YA thriller/mystery. It wasn't as good as Brown's first, but I am still looking forwards to what she writes next.

daisyreads14's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

The things we don’t see is your classic ya mystery novel, complete with rambling plot and all.

It follows podcaster Mona as she investigates a disappearance set in a small tight knit island community.
It was an enjoyable enough read- fast paced and a sense of mystery was always kept. However it did spin off into a nonsensical ending which didn’t line up properly with all the previous clues found.

Overall solid mystery novel 3/5 ⭐️