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curseofachilles 's review for:
The Cousins
by Karen M. McManus
Karen McManus is at it again!!!
I’m going to keep it short because everyone probably knows how I feel about Karen McManus. She’s one of my auto-read authors and not at all because she writes the best story; it’s more because I take comfort in her books.
Also does she know ‘Surya’ is a boy’s name and not a girl?
When it comes to enjoyment, mystery authors walk a very thin line. You can make the suspense as good as you could but the moment the big reveal don’t satisfy the reader, it could throw the plot off. So I kind of understand what happens here. Even though I still like it, I think it lacks the shocking twists that Karen McManus’ other books have.
Let’s hit it off with saying this book reminds me a lot of what is probably the most legendary mindfuck back in my early teen years, We Were Liars. A group of cousins, rich as hell, stuck on an island where some massive myserious tragedy happened in the past. That’s what this book is about; and the suspense the author created, building it up toward a big reveal was an excellent one, though I’m not quite a fan of the reveal itself.
Remember when I said the mystery matters most? The big reveal wasn’t that surprising to me; it was kind of disappointing, in fact. And when it comes to plot, I don’t think this is her best work either; that award still belongs to Two Can Keep a Secret.
But while Two Can Keep a Secret lack in character development, I find myself enjoying the dynamics and interactions between Milly, Jonah, and Aubrey. They remind me a lot of the characters in Karen McManus’ previous work; Maeve, Knox, and Phoebe. They just... fit and it’s so comforting to read about them. Though the romance in this book is still uncomparable to that of our original excellence, Nate and Bronwyn, I think it adds to the teenage atmosphere which I feel very much and can relate to a lot. If anything, it wasn’t an annoyance but more of a breath of fresh air.
I’m going to keep it short because everyone probably knows how I feel about Karen McManus. She’s one of my auto-read authors and not at all because she writes the best story; it’s more because I take comfort in her books.
Also does she know ‘Surya’ is a boy’s name and not a girl?
When it comes to enjoyment, mystery authors walk a very thin line. You can make the suspense as good as you could but the moment the big reveal don’t satisfy the reader, it could throw the plot off. So I kind of understand what happens here. Even though I still like it, I think it lacks the shocking twists that Karen McManus’ other books have.
Let’s hit it off with saying this book reminds me a lot of what is probably the most legendary mindfuck back in my early teen years, We Were Liars. A group of cousins, rich as hell, stuck on an island where some massive myserious tragedy happened in the past. That’s what this book is about; and the suspense the author created, building it up toward a big reveal was an excellent one, though I’m not quite a fan of the reveal itself.
Remember when I said the mystery matters most? The big reveal wasn’t that surprising to me; it was kind of disappointing, in fact. And when it comes to plot, I don’t think this is her best work either; that award still belongs to Two Can Keep a Secret.
But while Two Can Keep a Secret lack in character development, I find myself enjoying the dynamics and interactions between Milly, Jonah, and Aubrey. They remind me a lot of the characters in Karen McManus’ previous work; Maeve, Knox, and Phoebe. They just... fit and it’s so comforting to read about them. Though the romance in this book is still uncomparable to that of our original excellence, Nate and Bronwyn, I think it adds to the teenage atmosphere which I feel very much and can relate to a lot. If anything, it wasn’t an annoyance but more of a breath of fresh air.