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greatexpectations77's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-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
4.75
I thought this was so much fun, and the author seems extremely cool. I loved how realistic the characters seemed, and I'm such a fan of a puzzle. I'm really looking forward to reading more in this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Murder, Toxic friendship, Classism, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Alcohol, Mental illness, Bullying, Child death, and Panic attacks/disorders
headinthepages's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Grief, Mental illness, Alcohol, Death, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Cursing, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
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
bookishgoob's review
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
the beginning half was incredibly slow and i hated it until i realized that there was several books in this series and then it made sense. the atmosphere was being built. this book is a nice dark academia read. i’m starting the second book now. the main character stevie is a little annoying and a little “not like other girls” which annoys me in books. also her obsession with true crime makes me gag. i hope she learns soon that true crime involves real people and that even though she knows a lot about police proceedings doesn’t mean it’s going to be like her podcasts. i like the building relationship between her and david.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, and Violence
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