A review by wynrii
No Exit by Taylor Adams

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

4.75

the most tense book I’ve EVER READ. There were so many different writing choices used in this book that I found interestingly good. 
This book is SOO tense. Like some moments had my hands genuinely sweaty because I was so nervous. It was also Fairly graphic, to the point where I would have to put the book down for a few moments to process what I had just read. 
The use of traditional girl/boy names being used on the opposite sex of what they are usually paired with, was an interesting choice but one I grew to not mind. 
I enjoyed how the main character, Darby, was one you could root for but she was also grounded and got things wrong. It kept it realistic and really made me feel like I was in her shoes at some points. 

The  villains of the story were genuinely awful and all I wanted was for them to die, which I felt no remorse for. A character like that is hard to be executed well, yet this book did a pretty good job at making you hate them. 

I enjoyed the plot twists tbh. I see a lot of people complain how the plot twists came too early which, yes, I can understand how but I feel this is what sets this book apart from others in the mystery genre, especially for a setting like this one. The book gave me 0 time to even look for the clues but I didn’t really mind. I enjoyed that I couldn’t see it coming. It helped that it got its major twists out early, so that the book could focus on dehumanizing these people as much as possible. 

Finally, the ending. Tbh I was confused but happy the way it ended. The book had such wild plot twists so early into the book and by the end, I was only hoping that Darby and Jay would have a happy endings. It ended off on this semi sweet note and it felt just right for this book.

Overall, literally go read. The writing style is descriptive yet easy to follow. I devoured this book up cause it didn’t feel like I was reading that many pages. It kept me tense the entire way through. 
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