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niight's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Moderate: Gun violence
pich's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
i’ll still read the rest of the series, but i just felt like this book was quite lackluster. I definitely would’ve liked more detail with each of the brothers, and while I understand that this is the first book, a little more dimension to them wouldn’t hurt. The riddles and puzzles weren’t crazy—as I thought they would be—but this was an easy read so I didn’t worry about those too much.
Graphic: Death and Gun violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Alcohol
eveeneman's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Death
Moderate: Death of parent and Gun violence
itsartemis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Minor: Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Car accident, and Death
blewballoon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Car accident and Gun violence
kaz_brekkerrr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Minor: Gun violence, Alcohol, Death, and Suicide
koistyfishy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I do not see the hype of this book at all. I clearly arrived late to the party and missed the Kool-Aid they were passing around, and now I'm staring at a bunch of people that absolutely adore this book...And I have no idea why!
If it wasn't for the fact that I did this as a buddy read, I probably would have DNFed this... (I say with the premise of I will probably pick up the rest of the books just to see where the story goes if she wants to read the rest of the books with me 😬.
The thing is that I don't give a crap about the brothers. I don't give a crap about how they look. The love triangle that was going on was tedious. Everybody in this book needs fucking therapy. There is so much undiagnosed trauma, no character development, and most of the characters are just awful people. AND everything is so surface level it hurts!
This is almost the epitome of Young YA (which might be why I am the wrong target audience). You're not going to this book for people's growth and development, you're going in for COULD BE A MOVIE plot, excitement, and drama with the flashy lights, secret hallways, sexy men and money thrown at our girl for seemingly "no reason".
Avery is stupid and for somebody that is immediately thrust into the cliche of "she's not like other girls" (and not because she's been given the inheritance if you take the money out of the picture) we're introduced to her as this really statistically analytical-minded person who is logical, smart and incredibly book-smart. And then she moves into the house with four boys and poof - she's stupid now. Yes, she can solve a couple of puzzles (but they weren't exactly that complicated, to begin with). I don't get it. Why? Why set her up to be this incredibly smart person to just make her so stupid?
There is no character growth in this book. The only person that has an inkling of character growth is Libby. And that's basically the only character that I cared for. All I want to know about is what the fuck is happening between Libby and Nash and why the flip is everything between them behind closed doors??? Gimmie a book about Libby and Nash and how she heals through her abusive relationship and trauma and I'd read it in a heartbeat!!!
ANOTHER frustrating thing about this book is half of the aspects of the plot are not explained. I understand leaving "carrots dangling" at the end of a story to make you want to read the next book, but it felt like everything was just left dangling or not really cleaned up. OR just cleaned up in a very messy way. Basically, it left me frustrated, unsatisfied and annoyed!
If I had to choose one of the boys right now, it will be Jackson. Grayson is a dick. And quite frankly, I don't care what he looks like in a suit.
If I have to think of tropes?
▶ Mystery Puzzle Solving
▶ 4 Hot Brothers
▶ Ordinary Girl becomes Billionaire
▶ Love Triangle
▶ Dark Secrets
▶ Fast Paced Plot
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Gun violence and Death of parent
passionatereader78's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death and Child death
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Physical abuse and Domestic abuse
bookish_dreamery's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Minor: Gun violence
btwnprintedpgs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Stalking
Minor: Death and Death of parent
Mentions JKR (HP)