Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

48 reviews

prynne31's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I really enjoyed this book until nothing was resolved at the end.
The reveals were fun, and I don't mind having some plot points have cliffhangers for the next book, but you have to wrap at least one storyline up so that I know this will be a satisfying series.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol and Murder

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. 

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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

carefulfearanddeaddevotion's review

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

biiiiig fan of Stevie. what a cutie nerdy little weirdo <3

the writing annoyed me at the beginning, felt like she was trying too hard with the flowery language. if i've said it once, i've said it a million times, not everything needs to be a danged metaphor, people!!! i liked everything else about the writing, though. not sure if i just got used to it, or if she stopped trying to make everything a metaphor, but it def got better as the book went on.

i love a fun little mystery, and this was def that. already picked up the next one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Violence, and Child death

Minor: Classism, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Drug use, Car accident, and Racism

inkysplodge's review

challenging mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

when Stevie and Janelle were talking about Vi and Stevie said "she", Janelle corrected her with "they" but the rest of the narration uses she/her for Vi... good job, author /s

anyway the main reason it got a 3(.25)⭐ is because i use CAWPILE and atmosphere and logic got high ratings. the characters were very flat and "trope-y" and i could not tell you a single thing about their personalities except maybe Nate and Ellie. there didn't seem to be an actual plot until about 75% in and i get it's a trilogy but not a single thing was solved which implies to me that book 2 won't give anything to leave it all to be solved in book 3 and i frankly don't care about the characters enough (or at all really) to want to continue

less of a "contemporary mystery" and more "a contemporary with a bit of mystery" which is fine if that's what you want/expect, i just want my mysteries to be happening from the first few chapters or to at least care about the characters. the majority of this book i just had completely neutral feelings for (and when i did feel something, it wasn't enjoyment😅) 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and Alcohol

Minor: Cursing, Murder, Drug use, and Transphobia

headinthepages's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

4.0

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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

luminareads's review

adventurous mysterious slow-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Car accident, Kidnapping, and Chronic illness

Minor: Alcohol

booklover26's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

3.5

I liked this book overall, but the first half was slow. The present was boring, while the past was interesting.

But after Hayes died, things started to ramp up and get interesting.

I read the majority of the second half in one day. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Cursing

Minor: Child death, Drug use, and Alcohol

mia_reads_books1119's review

adventurous dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Death, Drug use, Alcohol, Cursing, and Panic attacks/disorders

samchase112's review

adventurous mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I'm not a mystery girl, but I figured I'd give this one a try after a recommendation from a coworker — and the season, of course! It was definitely fun, and I enjoyed the mysterious world it set up for sure. The characters were diverse and interesting, and there's a lot going on that I did enjoy. The only reason I'm not continuing the series is because I've heard the ending is disappointing, and I'm not interested in getting into another How I Met Your Mother situation — you know. A fun foray into YA mystery that I don't regret!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Alcohol, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Child death and Death of parent

Minor: Classism and Racism

blewballoon's review

funny mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I wasn't sure quite what to expect from this, I knew it was a popular YA thriller and I had been a little disappointed with The Inheritance Games and I thought this might be a little closer to what I wanted from that. I do think that's the case. Stevie is an interesting, flawed protagonist that is still charming and even funny. The cast of surrounding characters at the school provides camaraderie and intrigue. I enjoyed the chapters from the past about the original disappearances at the school as well. The romance felt a little strange and forced, but that's not unusual for YA.

The cliffhanger ending was frustrating, but I did know this was a series so I wasn't entirely unprepared for that.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Child death

Minor: Alcohol