Review: Follow Me

Read if you like: thrillers that leave you guessing, mysteries that throw twist after twist, a seriously strong cast of characters.

Follow Me | Sara Shepard

Series: The Amateurs

Genre: YA Mystery, Thriller
Released: October 5th 2017
Pages: 288
Format: Ebook
Source: Publisher

Everyone knows Chelsea Dawson. Day and night, her tens of thousands of followers on Instagram watch her every move. So when she goes missing from the sunny beachside town of Lafayette, it makes headlines.

The police are searching everywhere for her kidnapper, but when eighteen-year-old Seneca Frazier sees Chelsea's picture, she knows instantly who took her. Chelsea looks exactly like her friend Aerin Kelly's murdered sister - and Seneca's own mother, who was killed five years ago.

Seneca's suspicions are confirmed when the killer contacts her, threatening to hurt Chelsea if Seneca goes to the police with what she knows. Seneca makes the only move she can, reaching out to Aerin and Maddox and Madison Wright, her friends from Case Not Closed, an amateur crime-solving community. Together they go to Lafayette to work the case, to save Chelsea, and to bring the killer to justice.

But the killer has a plan of his own. He wants Seneca and her friends in Lafayette, but he wants them to play by his rules. One wrong step could mean the end for Chelsea - or the Amateurs. 

Not quite as good as the Amateurs but just as exciting and deadly. The secrets keep piling in this book, and not even the Amateurs can predict the next move of the killer - someone they thought was their friend. I loved every element of this, from insights into Brett's twisted mind to all the clues and cleverness. There's just enough emotional bits to temper the mystery and crime solving too, which I loved. These characters are so interesting and varied, a really strong team. And that ending... I'm so excited for book three!

This series is awesome.

5 stars

ARC Review: Please Don't Tell

Please Don't Tell | Laura Tims

Published by: HarperTeen, May 24th 2016

Genre: YA, Mystery, Thriller

Pages: 352

Format: Ebook

Source: HarperTeen, via Edelweiss

Joy killed Adam Gordon—at least, that’s what she thinks. The night of the party is hazy at best. But she knows what Adam did to her twin sister, Grace, and she knows he had to pay for it.

What Joy doesn’t expect is that someone else saw what happened. And one night a note is shoved through her open window, threatening Joy that all will be revealed. Now the anonymous blackmailer starts using Joy to expose the secrets of their placid hometown. And as the demands escalate, Joy must somehow uncover the blackmailer’s identity before Joy is forced to make a terrible choice.

In this darkly compelling narrative, debut author Laura Tims explores the complicated relationship between two sisters, and what one will do for the other. It’s a story that will keep readers turning pages and questioning their own sense of right and wrong. 

This book is great in so many ways. An honest look at sexual violence and its effects on the mind. A realistic and respectful portrayal of mental illness, even if there was one comment that got me angry. 

(It was a comment that a mentally ill girl must be the murderer, but it was calculating and the comment was meant to throw Joy off the scent of the real killer/blackmailer, and I 100% understand why that line was in there.)

The main plot of this book is a murder mystery whodunnit. Basically who pushed the asshole rapist off the cliff. I was not disappointed by any of the mystery. I kinda guessed the end, and totally DID NOT guess the end at the same time. It was brilliant and shocking and I loved it. I also really liked the characters, Joy and Levi in particular. Joy was complex and conflicted and it was very interesting to be in her head. 

Other things I liked: the non-linear second POV, the two stories going on at the same time, the sweet romance between Joy and Levi, the SECRETS (so many secrets), the realistic way a naive crush can blind you to someone's faults, wanting to avoid a trauma and wanting to murder the person who put you through it at the same time. 

There's a lot to love in this book. Usually I sum up my thoughts here, but that's impossible. Read this book, it's very important and entertaining too.

Characters ★★★★☆

Setting/world ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★★☆

Follow all my reviews on Bloglovin!

Review: Damage Done

Damage Done | Amanda Panitch

Published by: Random House Books for Young Readers, July 21st 2015

Genre: YA, Mystery, Thriller

Pages: 304

Format: Ebook

Source: Random House, via Netgalley

22 minutes separate Julia Vann’s before and after.

Before: Julia had a twin brother, a boyfriend, and a best friend.

After: She has a new identity, a new hometown, and memories of those twenty-two minutes that refuse to come into focus. At least, that’s what she tells the police.

Now that she’s Lucy Black, she's able to begin again. She's even getting used to the empty bedroom where her brother should be. And her fresh start has attracted the attention of one of the hottest guys in school, a boy who will do anything to protect her. But when someone much more dangerous also takes notice, Lucy's forced to confront the dark secrets she thought were safely left behind.

One thing is clear: The damage done can never be erased. It’s only just beginning. . . . 

Compared to the last mystery I read, this book is EPIC. I don't have an awful lot to say about it so I'll just sum up my thoughts:

-LOVED JULIA. So much. I love my dark, disturbing ladies. More of this in the books I read please.

-Michael was wishy-washy, and so was the best friend.

-The current of memories and flashbacks and bloody scenes running through this book were PERFECT. I ought to be unsettled by it but I love every bit of murder and every morally-messed-up character.

-I predicted the murderer from the first chapter. AGAIN. Two books in a row. I guess I'm kind of psychic now?

-THAT END??? Holy wow. Even better than I could have guessed.

-This is a stand out novel. Blew me away. Read it now!

Characters ★★★★☆

Setting/world ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★★☆

Follow all my reviews on Bloglovin!

ARC Review: Take The Fall

Take The Fall | Emily Hainsworth

Published by: Balzer+Bray, February 16th 2016

Genre: YA, Mystery, Murder

Pages: 368

Format: Ebook

Source: Balzer+Bray, via Edelweiss

WHO KILLED GRETCHEN MEYER?

Fear grips the residents of Hidden Falls the night Sonia Feldman and her best friend, Gretchen Meyer, are attacked in the woods. Sonia was lucky to escape with her life, but Gretchen’s body is discovered at the bottom of a waterfall. Beautiful, popular, and seemingly untouchable, Gretchen can’t be gone. Even as Sonia struggles with guilt and confusion over having survived, the whole town is looking to her for information…could she have seen something that will lead the police to the killer?

At the top of the list of suspects is Gretchen’s ex-boyfriend—and Sonia’s longtime enemy—Marcus Perez. So when Marcus comes to Sonia for help clearing his name, she agrees, hoping to find evidence the police need to prove he’s the killer. But as Gretchen’s many secrets emerge and the suspects add up, Sonia feels less sure of Marcus’s involvement, and more afraid for herself. Could Marcus, the artist, the screwup, the boy she might be falling for have attacked her? Killed her best friend? And if it wasn’t him in the woods that night…who could it have been?

I'M GONNA SPOIL THE HECK OUT OF THIS BOOK, SO DON'T READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED THE BOOK.
I'm so frustrated!! I feel a bit like I've wasted hours reading this for nothing. If you've read the book, you know it was Sonia who killed Gretchen. So why, GODS WHYYY, did she spend THE ENTIRE BOOK trying to solve a murder she knew she'd committed???? It seems like she wasted a tonne of time investigating the murder, and I wasted my time reading about her solving the murder, when all along she knew SHE'D done it. I could understand it if she had amnesia but no, she knew all along. What the heck? And why did she confess to Marcus? She could have kept quiet and got away with it. The end was just ... ugh what?? I'm very confused about the whole thing. 

But digressing, this is written pretty well. This book has all the staples you'd expect of the genre, and it does them all well. And I like that she owned her crime and confessed. While I'm really frustrated with the pointlessness of Sonia's story, and the characters never really struck me in any way, Take The Fall is actually a decent book.

Characters ★★★☆☆

Setting/world ★★★☆☆

Writing ★★★☆☆

Follow all my reviews on Bloglovin!