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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
This is one of those books that after finishing, I still can't quite decide how I feel about it...
It took a little bit of time for me to get into the story. I think in part, I just couldn't connect with the characters as well and that kept me from engaging with the story right away. About 30% or so in, it picked up for me more. The characters were complex and well-written, though I still found I didn't quite connect as much as I would have liked... perhaps this in part because this is a YA book and I'm obviously not the target age group. (Though in many ways, this really didn't read like a YA book to me.) I'm not sure. The plot was great and kept me wondering what was going to happen next--- it's most certainly a page turner with lots of twists and turns I didn't see coming. I think I've gotten a little too used to reading romances with their guaranteed happy ending, so I will say that the ending disappointed me a bit... but that was definitely a me thing. It was actually very well written, just not how I'd hoped things would go. There were many things I really loved about this book and several lines that really stuck out to me that were really thought provoking... but I just didn't enjoy it quite as much as I wished I would have. That said, if you enjoy YA suspense, this is definitely worth checking out for yourself.
While this is from a Christian publisher, there was just a handful of minor language used. It does also deal with some heavier topics like abuse, murder and suicide, so may not be ideal for more sensitive readers.
**I received a complimentary copy for consideration. All opinions are my own.
It took a little bit of time for me to get into the story. I think in part, I just couldn't connect with the characters as well and that kept me from engaging with the story right away. About 30% or so in, it picked up for me more. The characters were complex and well-written, though I still found I didn't quite connect as much as I would have liked... perhaps this in part because this is a YA book and I'm obviously not the target age group. (Though in many ways, this really didn't read like a YA book to me.) I'm not sure. The plot was great and kept me wondering what was going to happen next--- it's most certainly a page turner with lots of twists and turns I didn't see coming. I think I've gotten a little too used to reading romances with their guaranteed happy ending, so I will say that the ending disappointed me a bit... but that was definitely a me thing. It was actually very well written, just not how I'd hoped things would go. There were many things I really loved about this book and several lines that really stuck out to me that were really thought provoking... but I just didn't enjoy it quite as much as I wished I would have. That said, if you enjoy YA suspense, this is definitely worth checking out for yourself.
While this is from a Christian publisher, there was just a handful of minor language used. It does also deal with some heavier topics like abuse, murder and suicide, so may not be ideal for more sensitive readers.
**I received a complimentary copy for consideration. All opinions are my own.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
This was such well done thriller! I questioned everyone because everyone seemed guilty in some way.
it's a very emotionally packed book, there's a lot of trauma, with the current time line as well as the past timeline from when the flood happened.
I liked the audiobook a lot! the narrator did a good job bringing the story to life.
thank you Netgalley, Court Stevens as well as HarperCollins for a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!
it's a very emotionally packed book, there's a lot of trauma, with the current time line as well as the past timeline from when the flood happened.
I liked the audiobook a lot! the narrator did a good job bringing the story to life.
thank you Netgalley, Court Stevens as well as HarperCollins for a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
This book was more than I anticipated! Not quite a thriller, I would classify it more as a drama/mystery. I felt like the characters and setting were really well fleshed out. I don’t have a great imagination but I could really get a sense for the people and places we were lead through. The tragedy of losing such a young child felt so raw and heartbreaking. It was made so clear how drastically impacted the town was by the disaster. I loved how complicated several relationships became in the aftermath. There isn’t just one way to grieve and survive and I love the variation in how characters coped, whether they crumbled or became stone facades. The mystery of the murders and how it tied into the dam break was quite captivating. I really had no ideas of who or what to suspect and enjoyed being able to discover things along with Lucy rather than feeling like I needed her to catch up to my ideas. The reveals all felt satisfying and believable and terribly disappointing on an interpersonal level. There were a few moments that seems to drag and feel a bit repetitive but overall I really enjoyed this story - much more than I anticipated.
Thanks so much to Netgalley and Harper Collins for an audio arc of this book!
Thanks so much to Netgalley and Harper Collins for an audio arc of this book!
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book is the epitome of "lightning never strikes the same place twice"--which is a false statement, and instead of lightning, it's tragedy.
8 years ago, the town of Grand Junction suffered a tragedy-a dam broke and killed fourteen boy scouts and one other boy, Lucy Michaels' younger brother. Now, Lucy is 17, her mother is remarried and she has a stepbrother. But when her stepbrother and another friend turn up murdered, and all the evidence points to Lucy's ex-boyfriend, she starts to uncover a conspiracy that could change the entire perspective of the dam flooding and consequential rebuilding. Some people will kill to protect their secrets, and Lucy may be next.
Ow. Pain. Sad. This was more gut-wrenching than "We Were Kings." It takes place in three parts, with the second part being almost negligible, but it can be divided into the Before Before, the Before, and the After.
The Before Before: details the day of the flood and how Lucy came to lose her brother. She blames herself, while others find her to be a hero. Barack Obama makes an appearance????? I'm surprised you can include a living person in a book but okay.
The Before: Martin (Lucy's stepbrother) and Deuce start as teens reported missing who are found to be dead. The initial evidence points directly to Neil, Lucy's ex-boyfriend. Martin was investigating the flooding of the dam before he died, but Lucy didn't believe him. Now, with her (semi) ex=boyfriend's future on the line, she starts to look into it more fervently.
The After: I can't get into too much here because of spoilers, but Lucy is older and working for a freelance private investigator. She's done her best to put the past behind her, but with new evidence resurfacing, Lucy ends up more dedicated than ever to finding the truth.
Lucy is great. Very flawed, homegirl needs some therapy, but she's smart, resourceful, and dedicated, not to mention loyal. I ached for her throughout the book and especially at the end. I liked seeing her grow and change throughout the novel, it felt like keeping in touch with someone you know, but like reaaallllllly closely considering we're in her head the entire time.
Now for some complaints:
There's a weird section where Astrid fervently discusses what "...The Supreme Court is doing to "ruin her life"..." (reminder that this is from an uncorrected e-arc copy). and then proceeds to "...make wild, psychotic suggestions about what should happen to certain politicians who disagree with her beliefs." This isn't cool. This takes place in 2023ish, and the only major Supreme Court ruling as of late has been the overturning of Roe v. Wade. That's a valid thing to be upset/angry/impassioned about. It's really weird to have subliminal messaging about how teenage girls are blowing the LITERAL repeal of their rights to bodily autonomy out of proportion. And to then suggest she's making deranged statements about what should happen to politicians? I don't think I've ever seen a democrat/leftist/liberal suggest anything other than the removal of certain politicians/justices from office due to not upholding their job/duties. This book takes place in Kentucky, but the fact that this is just a throwaway statement made my blood boil. Reducing a very hot-button, nuanced issue down to "angry teenage [social justice warrior] (my take)" is really problematic.
Why are we supporting the TERF Queen J.K. Rowling in the year of our Lord 2023?? Harry Potter makes multiple appearances in the book, and I'm so, so tired of dealing with her and her books. Major yikes.
I would give this a four, but I'm sticking to my guns (pun intended) and giving this a three.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review!:)
8 years ago, the town of Grand Junction suffered a tragedy-a dam broke and killed fourteen boy scouts and one other boy, Lucy Michaels' younger brother. Now, Lucy is 17, her mother is remarried and she has a stepbrother. But when her stepbrother and another friend turn up murdered, and all the evidence points to Lucy's ex-boyfriend, she starts to uncover a conspiracy that could change the entire perspective of the dam flooding and consequential rebuilding. Some people will kill to protect their secrets, and Lucy may be next.
Ow. Pain. Sad. This was more gut-wrenching than "We Were Kings." It takes place in three parts, with the second part being almost negligible, but it can be divided into the Before Before, the Before, and the After.
The Before Before: details the day of the flood and how Lucy came to lose her brother. She blames herself, while others find her to be a hero. Barack Obama makes an appearance????? I'm surprised you can include a living person in a book but okay.
The Before: Martin (Lucy's stepbrother) and Deuce start as teens reported missing who are found to be dead. The initial evidence points directly to Neil, Lucy's ex-boyfriend. Martin was investigating the flooding of the dam before he died, but Lucy didn't believe him. Now, with her (semi) ex=boyfriend's future on the line, she starts to look into it more fervently.
The After: I can't get into too much here because of spoilers, but Lucy is older and working for a freelance private investigator. She's done her best to put the past behind her, but with new evidence resurfacing, Lucy ends up more dedicated than ever to finding the truth.
Lucy is great. Very flawed, homegirl needs some therapy, but she's smart, resourceful, and dedicated, not to mention loyal. I ached for her throughout the book and especially at the end. I liked seeing her grow and change throughout the novel, it felt like keeping in touch with someone you know, but like reaaallllllly closely considering we're in her head the entire time.
Now for some complaints:
There's a weird section where Astrid fervently discusses what "...The Supreme Court is doing to "ruin her life"..." (reminder that this is from an uncorrected e-arc copy). and then proceeds to "...make wild, psychotic suggestions about what should happen to certain politicians who disagree with her beliefs." This isn't cool. This takes place in 2023ish, and the only major Supreme Court ruling as of late has been the overturning of Roe v. Wade. That's a valid thing to be upset/angry/impassioned about. It's really weird to have subliminal messaging about how teenage girls are blowing the LITERAL repeal of their rights to bodily autonomy out of proportion. And to then suggest she's making deranged statements about what should happen to politicians? I don't think I've ever seen a democrat/leftist/liberal suggest anything other than the removal of certain politicians/justices from office due to not upholding their job/duties. This book takes place in Kentucky, but the fact that this is just a throwaway statement made my blood boil. Reducing a very hot-button, nuanced issue down to "angry teenage [social justice warrior] (my take)" is really problematic.
Why are we supporting the TERF Queen J.K. Rowling in the year of our Lord 2023?? Harry Potter makes multiple appearances in the book, and I'm so, so tired of dealing with her and her books. Major yikes.
I would give this a four, but I'm sticking to my guns (pun intended) and giving this a three.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review!:)
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
For a young adult thriller, I was expecting something a bit more fast-paced, exciting, and a lot more tension! I had high hopes for this and it just didn’t live up to my expectations.
I thought there was too much telling/exposition, especially for the context of our main character Lucy’s relationships with all of the deceased. I felt like the middle part (40-70%) dragged on a lot, and I was quite literally waiting for something to happen or information to reveal itself, as most YA thrillers do. Some characters, like the private detective Dana, completely disappeared for a bit, and played a much smaller role than I would think? Ultimately, I just struggled a lot with the pacing of this.
Overall, once I got to the resolution/reveal at the very end, I felt this was entertaining enough but there were too many Harry Potter references (why?! JKR is a TERF, & there are so many other fantasy legacies one can add in!)
cw: murder, violence, child death, grief, injury, blackmail, corruption, too many Harry Potter references 😒
I thought there was too much telling/exposition, especially for the context of our main character Lucy’s relationships with all of the deceased. I felt like the middle part (40-70%) dragged on a lot, and I was quite literally waiting for something to happen or information to reveal itself, as most YA thrillers do. Some characters, like the private detective Dana, completely disappeared for a bit, and played a much smaller role than I would think? Ultimately, I just struggled a lot with the pacing of this.
Overall, once I got to the resolution/reveal at the very end, I felt this was entertaining enough but there were too many Harry Potter references (why?! JKR is a TERF, & there are so many other fantasy legacies one can add in!)
cw: murder, violence, child death, grief, injury, blackmail, corruption, too many Harry Potter references 😒
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Violence, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Last Girl Breathing, by Court Stevens.
3.5/5⭐️⭐️⭐️
TRIGGER WARNINGS-
.
.
.
Death, kidnapping, abuse, murder,
Eight years ago seventeen year old Lucy's younger brother, Clay died in a flood of water during heavy rains that aided in causing the dam to brake. Now Lucy's hoping to make the Olympic air rifle team when another tragedy hits her small home town- two of her loved ones are found dead and the number one suspect is her ex-boyfriend. As secrets start to come to light Lucy starts to see that not everyone is as innocent as they claimed to be.
The book launches right into the story/plot with very little to no background right away. You do learn the main back story as you read. The book goes between what happened before the damn brake to current time. I found the beginning to be a bit slow and drawn out but it did pick up and drew you in once it gets to part three. It definitely kept you guessing and had a lot of good twist, and turns.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Thank you to Thomas Nelson Fiction and NetGalley for giving me an E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
3.5/5⭐️⭐️⭐️
TRIGGER WARNINGS-
.
.
.
Death, kidnapping, abuse, murder,
Eight years ago seventeen year old Lucy's younger brother, Clay died in a flood of water during heavy rains that aided in causing the dam to brake. Now Lucy's hoping to make the Olympic air rifle team when another tragedy hits her small home town- two of her loved ones are found dead and the number one suspect is her ex-boyfriend. As secrets start to come to light Lucy starts to see that not everyone is as innocent as they claimed to be.
The book launches right into the story/plot with very little to no background right away. You do learn the main back story as you read. The book goes between what happened before the damn brake to current time. I found the beginning to be a bit slow and drawn out but it did pick up and drew you in once it gets to part three. It definitely kept you guessing and had a lot of good twist, and turns.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Thank you to Thomas Nelson Fiction and NetGalley for giving me an E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for an ARC of this book (all opinions are completely my own).
This was so good! This was the second book I have read from this author and their writing is so captivating. I loved how the characters and settings were built and the realtionships between the characters were explained well. I especially loved Lucy, the main character. Something about her just made me love her from the first page till the end. The quick pacing and short chapters were something I liked a lot as well!
I think the ending is very fitting and while I could guess most of the twists and turns beforehand I still ended up being surprised and shocked by some reveals. The book kept me on my toes and I wanted to read this as quick as possible to find out what happens next.
So, a very good book that I would recommend to anyone who loves stories/mysteries spanning years or just to someone looking for a captivating YA mystery!
This was so good! This was the second book I have read from this author and their writing is so captivating. I loved how the characters and settings were built and the realtionships between the characters were explained well. I especially loved Lucy, the main character. Something about her just made me love her from the first page till the end. The quick pacing and short chapters were something I liked a lot as well!
I think the ending is very fitting and while I could guess most of the twists and turns beforehand I still ended up being surprised and shocked by some reveals. The book kept me on my toes and I wanted to read this as quick as possible to find out what happens next.
So, a very good book that I would recommend to anyone who loves stories/mysteries spanning years or just to someone looking for a captivating YA mystery!
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My heart broke repeatedly for Lucy, but by the last page, my heart was so happy of her.
The story spans nearly a decade, beginning with the death of Lucy's younger brother during an environmental disaster and the tragic events of the "present."
Having grown up in a small town, I was taken back to the small sense of community while also turning a blind eye to important topics and concerns. It's this culture that adds twists and turns to Lucy's story.
The story spans nearly a decade, beginning with the death of Lucy's younger brother during an environmental disaster and the tragic events of the "present."
Having grown up in a small town, I was taken back to the small sense of community while also turning a blind eye to important topics and concerns. It's this culture that adds twists and turns to Lucy's story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Mental illness