A review by chrisljm
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

adventurous emotional mysterious 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? No

3.75

I really liked the concept, and the execution wasn’t bad, but I felt like it could’ve been so much better. 

I wasn’t convinced with the chemistry between Yadriel and Julian. The trajectory of their relationship felt more along the lines of it’s happening because they’re the two main leads and this is supposed to happen. They spend majority of the book together but there’s not really a slow build from them being strangers to friends to lovers, instead it seemed more like leaps to each one. Another character I wish was handled better was Maritza. I felt like she was often included as a second thought and only placed in certain scenes only so that she could help another character. 

My last gripe has to do with how predictable the plot was. The predictability itself was not the issue itself because a book can be predictable and still carry the tension and suspense needed for readers be swept away in the story. The problem was that a character in the book literally predicated what was happening only for Yadriel to ignore it, when it was obviously the most logical answer to what was happening. This made me want to yank my hair out. 

I still think this book is good, but I think it has the potential to be so much better, and it probably could’ve been done with 100~ extra pages to work on character/relationship development as well as making the overarching plots tie together better. 

To paint a picture of what the book felt like to me, it’s similar to sewing the hem on a shirt but the tension isn’t there because you haven’t pulled on the thread to tighten it yet. So all the working is there, the only thing left is the author just has to pull on that thread to tighten up the plot and tie it all up. 
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