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itsheyfay's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Stalking
Minor: Gaslighting, Transphobia, and Infidelity
david_slack110507's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I will admit that I would have most likely gotten this finished a lot earlier if I hadn't gotten distracted with other books and other things happening in life as I left the book with about 40ish pages left for a while whilst finishing other books and doing other things in life.
The biggest strength of the book is that it is fast-paced, I got through most of the book very quickly and the condensed chapter length helped with this as they didn't drag on for too long. Another highlight of the book is that the dual timelines work very well with me sometimes preferring the past timeline over the present Ellingham one, but both were interesting, and their associated mysteries were good as well though in that regard I would say that the Truly Devious plotline from the past was a much more interesting mystery than the one in the present regarding the murder of Hayes.
My biggest issue with the book is that I found it very difficult to connect with the characters as with regards to the past timeline, the story is told factually that sometimes has some character moments that help develop the cast of characters for that timeline, but this doesn't happen often. The cast of characters for the present timeline wasn't also the easiest to connect as very few characters stood out to me apart from Nate and Stevie who I think had the most distinctive personalities/characters though I would be interested in seeing them develop, I just found that it was quite overwhelming with the number of characters introduced and then often left for extended periods of time before being reintroduced into the story.
The second half and near the end is definitely the strongest part of the book and I am very interested in seeing where both the Truly Devious and Hayes' murder throughout the series. I do hope that the series doesn't drag out the mystery, but I have a feeling that it will reach a satisfying conclusion. I would give this a 4 but I feel like a 3.5-star rating is much more appropriate as my main issues such as the lack of connectivity as well as Stevie and David's relationship kind of came out of nowhere. I feel like my experience with this book would have been much better if I had read it more consistently, so this is a fault on my part.
The biggest strength of the book is that it is fast-paced, I got through most of the book very quickly and the condensed chapter length helped with this as they didn't drag on for too long. Another highlight of the book is that the dual timelines work very well with me sometimes preferring the past timeline over the present Ellingham one, but both were interesting, and their associated mysteries were good as well though in that regard I would say that the Truly Devious plotline from the past was a much more interesting mystery than the one in the present regarding the murder of Hayes.
My biggest issue with the book is that I found it very difficult to connect with the characters as with regards to the past timeline, the story is told factually that sometimes has some character moments that help develop the cast of characters for that timeline, but this doesn't happen often. The cast of characters for the present timeline wasn't also the easiest to connect as very few characters stood out to me apart from Nate and Stevie who I think had the most distinctive personalities/characters though I would be interested in seeing them develop, I just found that it was quite overwhelming with the number of characters introduced and then often left for extended periods of time before being reintroduced into the story.
The second half and near the end is definitely the strongest part of the book and I am very interested in seeing where both the Truly Devious and Hayes' murder throughout the series. I do hope that the series doesn't drag out the mystery, but I have a feeling that it will reach a satisfying conclusion. I would give this a 4 but I feel like a 3.5-star rating is much more appropriate as my main issues such as the lack of connectivity as well as Stevie and David's relationship kind of came out of nowhere. I feel like my experience with this book would have been much better if I had read it more consistently, so this is a fault on my part.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, and Murder
Moderate: Violence and Grief
Minor: Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Cursing, Toxic friendship, and Sexual content
bee87's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Would’ve been five stars but….CLIFFHANGER?!!!!!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Child death, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
brookey8888's review
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this. I do have to say the mystery doesn’t happen really until almost 250 pages in. Which I don’t mind because I was enjoying the characters in the relationships forming I’m excited to see where this goes. I will be continuing. I also really like Stevie as a main character and
I related to her a lot.
I related to her a lot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Death, and Kidnapping
books4em's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Loved Truly Devious! Yet another young adult cozy mystery that twists and turns, keeps you guessing till the last page, and makes you somehow love and hate the characters. Mental health is touched on in the first book, and I’m hoping it might be further discussed in the series. There’s also some queer side characters, including one who uses they/them pronouns! The relationships between the characters are constantly changing and interesting to see the typical high school dynamics here even though they’re at this special school. I would’ve loved to see more focus on the Ellingham kidnappings/murders -that’s why I didn’t give it 5 stars. But it’s like a typical mystery novel, many subplots and tie-ins. Can’t wait to pick up the rest of the series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Gaslighting, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
katsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
“You have to take things as they are, not how you hear they're supposed to be.”
“When you have enough power and money, you can dictate the meanings of words.”
“There is nothing so serious as a game.”
This was a really fun mystery. I really enjoyed Stevie as a main character. She was funny and relatable and that made the story compelling. I loved the setting. The school was really well written and described. However, I found myself more intrigued by the 1936 timeline. The major mystery in the present day timeline got pretty juicy near the end but suffered from all the time spent introducing the secondary characters and setting for the first 200 pages or so. I appreciated having a large pool of suspects and minor characters but the first half of the book definitely felt like set ups for the rest of the series. I'm not really sure how that could have been rectified but I was drawn in enough to want to read the rest of the series, for sure.
“When you have enough power and money, you can dictate the meanings of words.”
“There is nothing so serious as a game.”
This was a really fun mystery. I really enjoyed Stevie as a main character. She was funny and relatable and that made the story compelling. I loved the setting. The school was really well written and described. However, I found myself more intrigued by the 1936 timeline. The major mystery in the present day timeline got pretty juicy near the end but suffered from all the time spent introducing the secondary characters and setting for the first 200 pages or so. I appreciated having a large pool of suspects and minor characters but the first half of the book definitely felt like set ups for the rest of the series. I'm not really sure how that could have been rectified but I was drawn in enough to want to read the rest of the series, for sure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Gaslighting, Death, and Grief
Minor: Alcohol and Drug abuse
grimviolins's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, and Grief
Minor: Gaslighting
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