Scan barcode
alikumfer's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
puzzles; riddles; family mysteries; rags to riches; a maze of a mansion; love triangle; brother relationships
• i really enjoyed the last 100 or so pages. I feel like the story picked up in a good way. Like it was fast paced and gripping, not just fast paced
• i did feel this story was initially too fast paced. I feel like a lot of things in the beginning were mived through quickly and there were things that shouldve been explored and elaborated on more. Like parts of the mystery were brough up and then solved on the next page without going through the details of getting to the solution. The was fixed in the second half of the book though
• i didnt really feel any chemistry between avery and either of the boys. Jameson just seems to be using her as a means to an end or a piece of the puzzle but i can see how the time they are spending together could lead to him developing feelings. Grayson seems to be liking her more and i vowing to protect her over his family, but i dont see when the switch to this from basically hating her occurred or why.
•as for the twist at the end with toby, i knew it had to have something to do with the ild man in the park. I never guessed that was toby but i knew he had some sort of connection to avery’s being chosen in the first place. I am interested to see more of xanders involvement in the next book and if it becomes a race between him and the others
• i really enjoyed the last 100 or so pages. I feel like the story picked up in a good way. Like it was fast paced and gripping, not just fast paced
• i did feel this story was initially too fast paced. I feel like a lot of things in the beginning were mived through quickly and there were things that shouldve been explored and elaborated on more. Like parts of the mystery were brough up and then solved on the next page without going through the details of getting to the solution. The was fixed in the second half of the book though
• i didnt really feel any chemistry between avery and either of the boys. Jameson just seems to be using her as a means to an end or a piece of the puzzle but i can see how the time they are spending together could lead to him developing feelings. Grayson seems to be liking her more and i vowing to protect her over his family, but i dont see when the switch to this from basically hating her occurred or why.
•
danaeliz's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
a silly version of knives out, except take a shot every time the author writes about the characters eye color
wrens_diary's review
3.0
why is there a love triangle? I thought we left that in 2015. Fun story, pretty predictable however. Left me wanting more of Xander.
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review against another edition
4.0
Once upon a time (I've been starting a lot of reviews with this sentence lately) you could almost wake me up for some good riddles and puzzles. I really enjoyed challenging my brain, figuring things out, coming up with answers when people expected me not to. It was no wonder I was into all those teenage detective books. And it seems that I'm finding that love back, because with riddles and puzzles and mysteries, come smart characters. And I'm such a sucker for those.
This book was really addictive from start to finish. I had to get my groceries when I was 1/3rd in and I don't think I've ever did them as fast as today. I constantly had to know what would happen next, how the puzzle would be solved, what would be the next clue and what information we would be getting. And although this was the kind of book where it was easy to play along (it's kinda hard to search places for clues when you're not a fictional character in the story), I really enjoyed the characters running around and slowly figuring everything out.
And what I enjoyed most, is that this story IS about the puzzles and the riddles and that one question: Why would a billionaire give all his money to a random girl he has never met in his entire life? Yes, there are some romantic subplots, but they never take over the story and even all those romantic interactions are ultimately always about the ongoing game. Yes, there's also some attempted murder-mystery in there, but even that doesn't take over the story. It still serves the game.
And along the way we met all those amazing characters. Of course there is Avery, a girl who didn't really have an easy life, but who's determined to make something of it. I love how real she feels, how human she feels, how her emotions are there, but never really taking over. And then we have the Hawthorne Boys. They are all different and unique, but all driven and intelligent and it's not hard to understand why Avery is so intrigued by them, and the other way round.
I can't wait to see more of them in the next book! (And how I wish this will be a menage or a reverse harem in the end, but we all know that's not gonna happen in traditional publishing...)
This book was really addictive from start to finish. I had to get my groceries when I was 1/3rd in and I don't think I've ever did them as fast as today. I constantly had to know what would happen next, how the puzzle would be solved, what would be the next clue and what information we would be getting. And although this was the kind of book where it was easy to play along (it's kinda hard to search places for clues when you're not a fictional character in the story), I really enjoyed the characters running around and slowly figuring everything out.
And what I enjoyed most, is that this story IS about the puzzles and the riddles and that one question: Why would a billionaire give all his money to a random girl he has never met in his entire life? Yes, there are some romantic subplots, but they never take over the story and even all those romantic interactions are ultimately always about the ongoing game. Yes, there's also some attempted murder-mystery in there, but even that doesn't take over the story. It still serves the game.
And along the way we met all those amazing characters. Of course there is Avery, a girl who didn't really have an easy life, but who's determined to make something of it. I love how real she feels, how human she feels, how her emotions are there, but never really taking over. And then we have the Hawthorne Boys. They are all different and unique, but all driven and intelligent and it's not hard to understand why Avery is so intrigued by them, and the other way round.
I can't wait to see more of them in the next book! (And how I wish this will be a menage or a reverse harem in the end, but we all know that's not gonna happen in traditional publishing...)
artemismoon's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
savybanana's review
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
bess13's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
I think this book is amazing! I loved reading this book 📖 It was very enjoyable and full of surprises but the beginning is a little slow but after a little while things speed up and overall it’s a great book and would definitely recommend reading it 👍