Take a photo of a barcode or cover
ninenine 's review for:
Looking for Smoke
by K.A. Cobell
Damn
Okay I feel like a major theme of this book that presented itself is that so many of the characters put their family above others, even if their family was bad. The characters continuously shoved each other under buses and through hoops just to protect their own blood. Blood is thicker than water. This isn’t a very common theme I feel like it’s more commonly a found family theme, which is what I was expecting. But it wasn’t and it was a nice change of pace. I appreciated it and it was done well. Lowkey was kinda irked at characters at times tho for completely betraying their life long friends for their scum bag families.
I lowkey loved that the murder wasn’t that simple. Like it was multiple people. Jason killed the two. Fucking loved that the grandma killed Jason tho. Like this sweet old lady murders a murderer to protect the women and girls of her tribe. Queen shit
Another thing done well was the grief aspect of it. Like I feel like the book was more focused on the trauma and the grief of the teenagers and how they grappled with the losses and the paranoia and the guilt. And it was honestly very interesting to read and done very well. It was a nice change of pace too. Really helped the rating lol bc I just read the naturals which were really well done mysteries and I would’ve unfairly compared them and been ultimately disappointed. So yay I guess
What else… oh!Eli First Kill is my husband I love him so much omg he’s so fine in my brain would smash morning noon night and omg when he protected her against sterling, and then gave her his hoodie, and then gave her his number and was like “text me when you’re home so I know you’re safe” stop he’s so nice and OMG THE WAY HE TREATS CHERIE LORD TGATS SUCH A GREEN FLAG OMG BRO THATS ANOTHER THING WHEN CHERIE WAS TAKEN BY CPS BRO THAT WAS SO SAD AUTHOR PLS WEITE THEIR REUNION SO I CAN HEAL. i can imagine so well Eli being 18 and getting a steady job and raising Cherie and Mara at uni and then coming back after her school day and hanging out with them STOP ITS SO CUTE
Also lowkey got me there for a second with Mara’s dad. Like the “unknown” talking about the thumb ring and the earbuds. And then having just little lines slipped in about her dad and how he “grabbed his earbuds” or “twisted the jade ring on his thumb”. I was thinking either this is the biggest red herring effort and it’s not him bc it’s way too obvious or it’s like, so obvious it’s the answer - reverse psychology kinda thing. Essentially I had no clue.
Normally I would think the ending is kinda sudden but like…it lowkey wasn’t. Like don’t get me wrong it was sudden and just kinda stopped but in a way that’s like “damn….”. Normally when it just stops there not much cleared up and I have lots of questions but I genuinely can’t find anything that wasn’t wrapped up or that I have questions about. Actually wait - more of a clarification but stillso Loren knew that her grandma was there and she knows that she killed Jason? Like either way makes sense lowley. I’m here for it.
I would just like to say I never likedBrody Clark from the fucking beginning. Also I lowkey guessed it was Jason killing reyanne or Sam and Brody trying to help him. I just didn’t think that he would’ve fucking suffocated reyanne. Also enjoyed how he has convinced himself that he was helping her and putting her out of her misery with the little rabbit bit. Lowkey just read Twelve - naturals 4.5 and the killer did like assisted suicide and convinced victims to jump and convinced himself he was helping them. So I enjoyed this.
Basically, I enjoyed this. It was a nice change of pace from a regular murder mystery. The psychological-emotional side of it was very well done.
3.75 just seems right. Like it wasn’t the best book I’ve ever read, I enjoyed it tho. I would recommend it, but I wouldn’t reread it.
Btw the reason I mut the last names was so people couldn’t see the length of the blank and guess
Okay I feel like a major theme of this book that presented itself is that so many of the characters put their family above others, even if their family was bad. The characters continuously shoved each other under buses and through hoops just to protect their own blood. Blood is thicker than water. This isn’t a very common theme I feel like it’s more commonly a found family theme, which is what I was expecting. But it wasn’t and it was a nice change of pace. I appreciated it and it was done well. Lowkey was kinda irked at characters at times tho for completely betraying their life long friends for their scum bag families.
Another thing done well was the grief aspect of it. Like I feel like the book was more focused on the trauma and the grief of the teenagers and how they grappled with the losses and the paranoia and the guilt. And it was honestly very interesting to read and done very well. It was a nice change of pace too. Really helped the rating lol bc I just read the naturals which were really well done mysteries and I would’ve unfairly compared them and been ultimately disappointed. So yay I guess
What else… oh!
Normally I would think the ending is kinda sudden but like…it lowkey wasn’t. Like don’t get me wrong it was sudden and just kinda stopped but in a way that’s like “damn….”. Normally when it just stops there not much cleared up and I have lots of questions but I genuinely can’t find anything that wasn’t wrapped up or that I have questions about. Actually wait - more of a clarification but still
I would just like to say I never liked
Basically, I enjoyed this. It was a nice change of pace from a regular murder mystery. The psychological-emotional side of it was very well done.
3.75 just seems right. Like it wasn’t the best book I’ve ever read, I enjoyed it tho. I would recommend it, but I wouldn’t reread it.