Reviews

The Things We Don't See by Savannah Brown

sophie_harcourrrrt's review

adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

ophelialarue's review

5.0

Honestly I, too, would dive off a ferry in the middle of a storm for Ellis.

brownylea's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

butter_brie's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

crykea's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.75

The characters were unlikeable and the character development came out of no where. it was beautifully written but left me a little bit off kilter.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Death, Grief, Eating disorder, and Murder

jebinator's review

funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

aoifeagh's review

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

curledcontemplation's review

emotional mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

3.5

lizor's review

emotional reflective fast-paced

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

3.5

holsarmstrong's review

3.0

2.75 stars
I was curious when I received an ARC of this book because I ended up DNFing Savannah's other book The Truth About Keeping Secrets. However, this book was miles better than the other one of hers I tried to read and I will say, I think the beginning was a lot better than the ending. I overall have mixed feelings about this book and I guess it's better to explain them...

Mona, first of all, was a really unlikeable character. Although I didn't hate this for the story, it made some of her decisions seem ridiculous and to be honest, stupid and what grated me most was that she was honestly horrible to almost everyone she met besides Ellis - wait, is that even his name, lol? There was no reason for it and she honestly would have been the type of girl I'd hate if she was real.
In terms of the mystery of Roxy, I did find it a bit eye-rolling. I couldn't understand for the life of me first of all why Mona was so intent on figuring out what happened. I'm not saying Roxy didn't deserve to be found but she seemed just as unlikable as Mona did so maybe she related to her. I don't know. I found the whole small-town hides secrets thing very overdone and in this case, there didn't really feel like there was any reason for it. Once we finally got to know what actually happened, I felt a bit let down, as if I'd climbed a mountain only to get a shitty view on the top.
However, I did like the podcast aspect and anything that involves a different form of media - especially in mystery/thrillers - always enhances the story for me. I think the podcast transcripts could have been included more as we got some snippets initially but those seemed to completely disappear at around 40%. Sorry, where have you gone? That was honestly one of the better bits of the book.
I do like Savannah's writing and her use of diversity with her characters. I also liked how this book wasn't romance based and was solely focused on the mystery. I will say, Mona's own battles were predictable, but the reveal for this was done better than the reveal for the mystery the book was about.

This book is hard for me to review because it wasn't like I didn't find it enjoyable, it just fell flat in the places I expected more.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.