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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Stupid ending
it was a really good book, but still kinda confused on what happend to tress’s parents
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
A Edgar Allan Poe inspired story filled with revenge, betrayal, death, and secrets. In the town of Amontillado, Ohio, your last name dictates what your worth and who you are. Tress Montor knows her family used to mean something... until her parents disappearance and suddenly she is left with nothing and everyone has turned their back on her, but the biggest betrayal came in the form of her former best friend, Felicity Turnado, the last person seen with her parents before their disappearance. Felicity claims that she doesn’t remember anything from that night by Tress knows she’s hiding something. Tress’s life now revolves around the animals that her grandfather keeps at their wild animal attraction, her grandfather who is a drunk and doesn’t even care for her, and as long as she doesn’t die taking care of the animals he doesn’t care what happens to her. Tress has lost everything, and someone who has lost everything has nothing to lose. After her dog, the last thing she loves, is killed, thats the last straw. She makes a plan, a plan to finally confront Felicity and get the answers she wants, and if she doesn’t well... Felicity will be too walled up to do anything about it, literally. Felicity Turnado has it all, she’s popular, beautiful, rich, and has a deep dark secret. She has seizures that she’s been hiding and her “fake” boyfriend has been helping her through them. she also knows more than she is letting on about what happened to Tress’s parents. After years of hurt, betrayal, and secrets, all of that comes to a head as these two former best friends face each other, to finally let all the secrets out. This book was the perfect read for fans of Edgar Allan Poe, there were so many little things inspired and even the story itself was a unique and thrilling take on his classic story of The Cask of Amontillado! I was at the edge of my seat throughout this book and cant wait to see how the next book ends.
I'm going to start this review with two things: I love YA murder dramas and I really really hated this book. I had such high hopes, comparison's to Karen McManus' books, and in this book one of the teen's seeks revenge? Sign me up! But alas, this was not the book for me.
There are several trigger warnings but the most egregious one is rape and the way the author handled it.
I cannot begin to describe how much I disliked this book. I was really close to DNF-ing around 40% but I kept going to see if there was an explanation of one of the odd plot devices. There wasn't.
The above notwithstanding, I had two other major issues with this book: the Poe references and the panther.
1. The Poe references are crammed down the reader's throat to such an extent that it really isn't clever anymore. It feels oppressive from the character's names to the town name to a literal House of Usher. I don't think this book quite lives up to Poe.
2. There is a panther in this story. It's kind of mentioned as being dangerous and wild and it is one of the three narrators. It says things like "I am cat, I have always been cat." Why does the panther have it's own chapter? Is this a set up for the second book which I will never read? This is never explained. Its probably
So here's my theory for book two
There are several trigger warnings but the most egregious one is rape and the way the author handled it.
Spoiler
in the beginning one of the characters is drunk and high and carried off into the woods by a boy being cheered on my his friends. The reader naturally assumes she's about to be raped. He even pulls down her pants and takes off her underwear. But all of this is just to prove what a nice guy he is because the character is about to have a seizure and he's the only one that knows she has them. The author really uses the threat of rape to prove what a good guy this character is.I cannot begin to describe how much I disliked this book. I was really close to DNF-ing around 40% but I kept going to see if there was an explanation of one of the odd plot devices. There wasn't.
The above notwithstanding, I had two other major issues with this book: the Poe references and the panther.
1. The Poe references are crammed down the reader's throat to such an extent that it really isn't clever anymore. It feels oppressive from the character's names to the town name to a literal House of Usher. I don't think this book quite lives up to Poe.
2. There is a panther in this story. It's kind of mentioned as being dangerous and wild and it is one of the three narrators. It says things like "I am cat, I have always been cat." Why does the panther have it's own chapter? Is this a set up for the second book which I will never read? This is never explained. Its probably
Spoiler
a larger version of the cat from "The Black Cat" (again beating us over the head with the Poe references) lost eye, alcoholism, animal abuse, it all fits the bill.So here's my theory for book two
Spoiler
Felicity is alive behind the brick wall, we already know this. But since the panther was mysteriously at the Allan House and there are strong links to "The Black Cat," the panther is walled in with Felicity. So the police hear the panther behind the wall and find her, dead or alive. Maybe I'll check the reviews to see if anything gets explained but I'm definitely not reading book 2 myself.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
DNF. From the first page this book was an utter disappointment.
I waited MONTHS for this book and it was highly anticipated, which I suppose is part of why it crashed so hard for me.
After several times trying this book and being unable to get to 10%, I read a few reviewers w/ spoilers and accepted this book was definitely not for me.
I’d heard MM can be hit or miss and this is definitely a big miss for me (even though I like Edgar Allen Poe too!)
I waited MONTHS for this book and it was highly anticipated, which I suppose is part of why it crashed so hard for me.
After several times trying this book and being unable to get to 10%, I read a few reviewers w/ spoilers and accepted this book was definitely not for me.
I’d heard MM can be hit or miss and this is definitely a big miss for me (even though I like Edgar Allen Poe too!)
What we all wanted Pretty little liars to be, darker, real trauma and the effects it has on teenage friendships. I recommend this book to people all the time!
dark
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:
Yes