You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
Trigger Warning: Animal death and abuse, blood and vomiting.
What did I just read??? This book was MESSED. UP. I loved it.
So first and foremost, there's a lot of references to Edgar Allan Poe in here. As someone who isn't a huge fan of his but read his work in high school: it threw me off at first, but you learn to live with it.
Tress and Felicity are both terribly messed up people. I loved reading about them. And yeah, I was rooting for them both: Felicity to live, but also for Tress to kill her.
We jump between both their POV's in this book, and while most times it was easy to tell who was who, there was the occasional chapter I found myself mixing them up. Some of the chapters also just seemed like they were taking away from the main storyline, in some cases. Like I just wanted to hurry through them to find out what actually happened to Tress's parents.
And then there's Tress's parents. I had my guesses on what actually happened to them. One of those guesses was right, and I kinda hate that for me because damn, now I'm afraid for [redacted].
I will be reading the sequel, and more of Mindy McGinnis, hopefully sooner rather than later.
What did I just read??? This book was MESSED. UP. I loved it.
So first and foremost, there's a lot of references to Edgar Allan Poe in here. As someone who isn't a huge fan of his but read his work in high school: it threw me off at first, but you learn to live with it.
Tress and Felicity are both terribly messed up people. I loved reading about them. And yeah, I was rooting for them both: Felicity to live, but also for Tress to kill her.
We jump between both their POV's in this book, and while most times it was easy to tell who was who, there was the occasional chapter I found myself mixing them up. Some of the chapters also just seemed like they were taking away from the main storyline, in some cases. Like I just wanted to hurry through them to find out what actually happened to Tress's parents.
And then there's Tress's parents. I had my guesses on what actually happened to them. One of those guesses was right, and I kinda hate that for me because damn, now I'm afraid for [redacted].
I will be reading the sequel, and more of Mindy McGinnis, hopefully sooner rather than later.
A modern day retelling of [b:The Cask of Amontillado|261240|The Cask of Amontillado - an Edgar Allan Poe Short Story|Edgar Allan Poe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327936575l/261240._SX50_.jpg|1405544] by [a:Edgar Allan Poe|4624490|Edgar Allan Poe|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1454522972p2/4624490.jpg], but with teenagers. You can guess how this is going to go.
Except, it's Mindy McGinnis. So you really can't.
If you've read McGinnis before, you know what to expect, that is, the unexpected, told in a highly personal voice, and with no shortage of often gory details. McGinnis is a writer who you either like or you don't. There's a reason her books tend to be polarizing, and The Initial Insult is no exception.
Personally, I love McGinnis. Her characters tend to be intense and unreliable, often unlikeable, sometimes mentally and emotionally off-balance, but always interesting.
My only complaint is that this is a duology instead of a standalone. Of course it ends with characters left in mortal peril, but I'm not sure that's the best way to present a thriller. The tension will be substantially dissipated by the time the concluding book comes out. One longer book please.
Except, it's Mindy McGinnis. So you really can't.
If you've read McGinnis before, you know what to expect, that is, the unexpected, told in a highly personal voice, and with no shortage of often gory details. McGinnis is a writer who you either like or you don't. There's a reason her books tend to be polarizing, and The Initial Insult is no exception.
Personally, I love McGinnis. Her characters tend to be intense and unreliable, often unlikeable, sometimes mentally and emotionally off-balance, but always interesting.
My only complaint is that this is a duology instead of a standalone. Of course it ends with characters left in mortal peril, but I'm not sure that's the best way to present a thriller. The tension will be substantially dissipated by the time the concluding book comes out. One longer book please.
As Tress seals her former best friend away, she also covers up the secrets she hoped to learn, brick by brick. A gripping story where everything goes wrong.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this book. They did some unique things with it, having the perspective of the cat. It made it really interesting and added a bit of suspense!
I wanted to like this one, but coming out of it I just feel overwhelmingly confused and disappointed.
I didn’t like any of the characters, there didn’t seem to be any point to the story. (I guess there may be more answers in book 2, but idk. This is the main reason I don’t think thrillers work well as series.)
The cat POV was just weird and confusing.
I didn’t like any of the characters, there didn’t seem to be any point to the story. (I guess there may be more answers in book 2, but idk. This is the main reason I don’t think thrillers work well as series.)
The cat POV was just weird and confusing.
Appalachia, Flu pandemic, Tiger King shenanigans, Edger Allen Poe-esk crimes, and revenge. It is hard to put down!
This book was a journey that I really enjoyed reading. The three points of view work very well and tell a complete story. Tress is a character readers can sympathize with and root for, even when it feels wrong. Whereas, Felicity is easy to dislike but also feel for. The cat's perspective was unsettling and creative. It added an outside perspective to the events going down in the book.
The mystery keeps readers guessing until the end and the climax will leave you itching for the sequel!
This book was a journey that I really enjoyed reading. The three points of view work very well and tell a complete story. Tress is a character readers can sympathize with and root for, even when it feels wrong. Whereas, Felicity is easy to dislike but also feel for. The cat's perspective was unsettling and creative. It added an outside perspective to the events going down in the book.
The mystery keeps readers guessing until the end and the climax will leave you itching for the sequel!
“Welcome to Amontillado, Ohio, where your last name is worth more than money, and secrets can be kept… for a price.”
I listened to this book 5 months ago. I had an early copy from NetGalley; my first ALC with a synthetic voice - not a copy of the official audiobook. I still rated it 5 stars. Mindy is my favorite YA author; her material is definitely on the darker side. The Initial Insult is a Poe-inspired YA thriller that draws from elements of Edgar Allan Poe short stories - The Cask of Amontillado, The Black Cat, and The Masque of the Red Death.
This is the expertly crafted story of Tress Montor & Felicity Turnado and the dissolution of their friendship. The two BFF’s are no longer speaking. It was hard enough to maintain their friendship; one is from an affluent family (Felicity) & the other considered white trash (Tress). One night, Tress’s parents go missing while driving Felicity home. No one knows what happened to them except Felicity, but she doesn’t remember. Tress now has to live with her drunken, one-eyed grandpa at his white trash zoo. There are 3 POV’s: Tress (read by Lisa Flanagan), Felicity (read by Brittany Pressley), and the panther (read by Tim Campbell). Tress engineers a way to get Felicity to finally tell her what happened to her parents. The Initial Insult is graphic & fueled by vengeance. Just imagine the possibilities of what could possibly go wrong at a white trash zoo...(hello Tiger King). My favorite things about it: the retelling aspect had me wondering if Poe came back from the dead to write one more story; the suspense builds at such a great pace; Mindy’s plots are tight, she doesn’t use fodder...the audiobook is only 7.5 hours. I hope this book does well! I highly recommend! 5/5
I listened to this book 5 months ago. I had an early copy from NetGalley; my first ALC with a synthetic voice - not a copy of the official audiobook. I still rated it 5 stars. Mindy is my favorite YA author; her material is definitely on the darker side. The Initial Insult is a Poe-inspired YA thriller that draws from elements of Edgar Allan Poe short stories - The Cask of Amontillado, The Black Cat, and The Masque of the Red Death.
This is the expertly crafted story of Tress Montor & Felicity Turnado and the dissolution of their friendship. The two BFF’s are no longer speaking. It was hard enough to maintain their friendship; one is from an affluent family (Felicity) & the other considered white trash (Tress). One night, Tress’s parents go missing while driving Felicity home. No one knows what happened to them except Felicity, but she doesn’t remember. Tress now has to live with her drunken, one-eyed grandpa at his white trash zoo. There are 3 POV’s: Tress (read by Lisa Flanagan), Felicity (read by Brittany Pressley), and the panther (read by Tim Campbell). Tress engineers a way to get Felicity to finally tell her what happened to her parents. The Initial Insult is graphic & fueled by vengeance. Just imagine the possibilities of what could possibly go wrong at a white trash zoo...(hello Tiger King). My favorite things about it: the retelling aspect had me wondering if Poe came back from the dead to write one more story; the suspense builds at such a great pace; Mindy’s plots are tight, she doesn’t use fodder...the audiobook is only 7.5 hours. I hope this book does well! I highly recommend! 5/5
I’ve read a book by Mindy McGinnis in the past and I was a big fan so I was super excited to get an advanced audiobook from Netgalley for her newest novel!
So the audiobook is told by a synthetic voice narrator until the actual audiobook is published…. I don’t know why they just didn’t wait till they started real production. The voice drove me insane, I felt like Siri was reading to me and it’s not the most enjoyable experience. Hopefully when the final copy is out it will add to the experience because for me, it personally ruined it. I had to start it over three times because I had a hard time paying attention.
Okay now that I got that out of the way, let’s move on to the actual book itself. This reminded me of Tiger King (even though I never watched it) mixed with Edgar Allan Poe. Our main characters Tress and Felicity are ex-best friends. Tress’s parents disappear when they give Felicity a ride home and she has no recollection of what happened to them. Tress lives with her alcoholic grandpa who has a zoo (Tiger King) while Felicity is off living her best life. Tress takes matters into her own hands to try to scare Felicity into telling her what really happened that night by sealing her shut in a basement brick by brick (my worst nightmare).
We get to hear from both girls and while you feel bad for them both, Tress was not that likable. It jumps around from when the girls were friends and what happened for their inevitable break up. Tress is too petty and immature, I know it’s the point to not like her but damn, she’s crazy. They both are messy and complicated so the relationship surrounding them was pretty intriguing. I will definitely continue with the series HOWEVER I will not ever be reviewing a synthetic voice ever again, I have to make sure I look out for that because I think this made it a lot less enjoyable. I tried to not like it affect my review too much but it does, sorry.
The Initial Insult will be published February 23rd, 2021. Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Children’s, and Katherine Tegen books for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
So the audiobook is told by a synthetic voice narrator until the actual audiobook is published…. I don’t know why they just didn’t wait till they started real production. The voice drove me insane, I felt like Siri was reading to me and it’s not the most enjoyable experience. Hopefully when the final copy is out it will add to the experience because for me, it personally ruined it. I had to start it over three times because I had a hard time paying attention.
Okay now that I got that out of the way, let’s move on to the actual book itself. This reminded me of Tiger King (even though I never watched it) mixed with Edgar Allan Poe. Our main characters Tress and Felicity are ex-best friends. Tress’s parents disappear when they give Felicity a ride home and she has no recollection of what happened to them. Tress lives with her alcoholic grandpa who has a zoo (Tiger King) while Felicity is off living her best life. Tress takes matters into her own hands to try to scare Felicity into telling her what really happened that night by sealing her shut in a basement brick by brick (my worst nightmare).
We get to hear from both girls and while you feel bad for them both, Tress was not that likable. It jumps around from when the girls were friends and what happened for their inevitable break up. Tress is too petty and immature, I know it’s the point to not like her but damn, she’s crazy. They both are messy and complicated so the relationship surrounding them was pretty intriguing. I will definitely continue with the series HOWEVER I will not ever be reviewing a synthetic voice ever again, I have to make sure I look out for that because I think this made it a lot less enjoyable. I tried to not like it affect my review too much but it does, sorry.
The Initial Insult will be published February 23rd, 2021. Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Children’s, and Katherine Tegen books for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.