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A review by typedtruths
Black by Fleur Ferris
1.0
If you know me at all, you know how much I adore mysteries and thrillers. I have since I was a kid, and since last year, I’ve also found a new fascination with cults. Ferris’ Black promised to deliver on both of these fronts, and umm, didn’t really achieve that. At all.
From the very first page, I had a problem with the writing style. It was just so juvenile! The descriptions were repetitive and basic. It was hard to pick up the detail of the settings or the character’s descriptions. I have no idea what anyone looked like, apart from Ebony’s iconic black hair. We were told things, instead of being shown, especially regarding the character’s emotions. Backstories were dumped at us, and the dialogue was stilted and forced. Ferris’ attempt at witty banter made me cringe. Her use of slang was slightly off - she was trying too hard to sound like a teenager - and it came off as cheesy. The number of times Ebony giggled when she was talking to a male character was… it was too much.
The characters themselves didn’t help. I couldn’t have cared less about any of them. I never hated the ‘villains’ or felt sympathy for Ged or Ebony’s mother. Every character was flat and dull; even Ebony’s classmates felt unrealistic. Ebony was as bland as boiled rice and such a Special Snowflakes. She had the 'pretty but didn’t know it' thing going on so everyone was ‘unintentionally’ falling in love with her. It was nauseating. Both of the romantic interests - of course, there’s a love triangle - were similarly underdeveloped. Both Ed and Aiden’s relationships with Ebony were forced. They had no connection, and it didn’t help that they had the personalities of wet paper bags.
What was most disappointed, however, was the plot. It was unbelievable and utterly bland. (I apologise for overusing that word, but it honestly sums up every aspect of this book!) I wasn’t that it was predictable, though it largely was, it was that I have read this story before - and I’ve seen it done better. It wasn’t thrilling in the slightest. This may have been a result of unengaging writing, but there wasn’t really a mystery to be investigating. It lacked urgency. I never really felt like Ebony had a real reason for caring about this random person’s death. Sure, the death of her friends was a little suspicious but in the end, their deaths didn’t actually have anything to do with anything... so I still don’t see why she was even involved in all of this? Maybe if I had understood the character’s motivations more than I would have enjoyed the book more. It seems to me that if Ebony’s parents had moved straight away - after the weird incident - literally none of this would have happened...
Overall?
I don’t think this book bought anything new to the table. It was boring and flat. The characters were dull, and the plot put me to sleep. I’m not sure Ferris’ writing style is for me, but I’m hoping her debut will be more enjoyable. I would only recommend this book if you were a die-hard fan of the similarly abysmal, [b:The Cellar|16066586|The Cellar (The Cellar, #1)|Natasha Preston|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1349350056s/16066586.jpg|21857831].
➸ Trigger warnings fordomestic violence, suicide, death, murder, physical assault, kidnapping, car accident, and bullying .
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From the very first page, I had a problem with the writing style. It was just so juvenile! The descriptions were repetitive and basic. It was hard to pick up the detail of the settings or the character’s descriptions. I have no idea what anyone looked like, apart from Ebony’s iconic black hair. We were told things, instead of being shown, especially regarding the character’s emotions. Backstories were dumped at us, and the dialogue was stilted and forced. Ferris’ attempt at witty banter made me cringe. Her use of slang was slightly off - she was trying too hard to sound like a teenager - and it came off as cheesy. The number of times Ebony giggled when she was talking to a male character was… it was too much.
The characters themselves didn’t help. I couldn’t have cared less about any of them. I never hated the ‘villains’ or felt sympathy for Ged or Ebony’s mother. Every character was flat and dull; even Ebony’s classmates felt unrealistic. Ebony was as bland as boiled rice and such a Special Snowflakes. She had the 'pretty but didn’t know it' thing going on so everyone was ‘unintentionally’ falling in love with her. It was nauseating. Both of the romantic interests - of course, there’s a love triangle - were similarly underdeveloped. Both Ed and Aiden’s relationships with Ebony were forced. They had no connection, and it didn’t help that they had the personalities of wet paper bags.
What was most disappointed, however, was the plot. It was unbelievable and utterly bland. (I apologise for overusing that word, but it honestly sums up every aspect of this book!) I wasn’t that it was predictable, though it largely was, it was that I have read this story before - and I’ve seen it done better. It wasn’t thrilling in the slightest. This may have been a result of unengaging writing, but there wasn’t really a mystery to be investigating. It lacked urgency. I never really felt like Ebony had a real reason for caring about this random person’s death. Sure, the death of her friends was a little suspicious but in the end, their deaths didn’t actually have anything to do with anything... so I still don’t see why she was even involved in all of this? Maybe if I had understood the character’s motivations more than I would have enjoyed the book more. It seems to me that if Ebony’s parents had moved straight away - after the weird incident - literally none of this would have happened...
Overall?
I don’t think this book bought anything new to the table. It was boring and flat. The characters were dull, and the plot put me to sleep. I’m not sure Ferris’ writing style is for me, but I’m hoping her debut will be more enjoyable. I would only recommend this book if you were a die-hard fan of the similarly abysmal, [b:The Cellar|16066586|The Cellar (The Cellar, #1)|Natasha Preston|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1349350056s/16066586.jpg|21857831].
➸ Trigger warnings for
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