dapperreads's Reviews (1.29k)

Well this was an interesting yet annoying story!

So how do those things go together? It’s simple - the story was interesting while the characters were annoying. The thing is - I can guarantee that was the point. These characters were not supposed to be likable, and they certainly weren’t. 

We follow parents of 8th graders at a fancy private school in NYC. They’re all gunning to get their kids into the best high schools so they can then get into the best colleges. The conniving methods and absolute drama that unfolds is insane but then the real twist occurs - one of the parents goes missing and several other parents have had interactions that make them a person of interest in this disappearance. It’s a wild ride with a pretty predictable storyline (for me anyway).

This is an incredibly quick read, very fast paced with the twists and turns in predictable spots. There were some loose ends I’d have preferred were tied up but the ambiguous ending for those threads is typical of a novel that likes to keep the reader guessing. 

Overall we have a solid 4⭐️ read with this one. Its fast pace and completely unlikable characters really give this story its punch to keep the reader turning pages. 

I feel like, especially these days, long illness has become synonymous with long covid - and while long covid is a long illness, this book places it’s focus on the in general long illness (or chronic illness or whatever else you want to call it). We get common symptoms of long illness along with questions for us to ponder or ask our doctor, all kinds of different things to try with a focus on an approach that isn’t strictly medication and I appreciate that. 

I also enjoy that many times the authors mention to just skip to what you need - the book will always be there to go back to if you need other things. This is helpful as it is quite an info dump and if I was reading this with the intention of using it to help (rather than as the arc it is) it would be incredibly overwhelming to read through everything in here to sort out what applies to me. The chapter titles are straightforward and to the point and each chapter breaks down the symptom medically and then talks about it in layman’s terms followed by potential solutions and a reminder to consult your doctor before starting new treatments. 

I feel like this is responsibly written, well researched and personable. I definitely believe this could be a useful resource for long illness sufferers. 

Thanks to both Hachette Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader copies!

I’m going to be an outlier here. I didn’t like this, and I didn’t like it for the exact reasons that it’s highly rated. 

This book is emotional. 

I’m emotional enough without the addition of overly emotional books. The emotions in this one trended to the “negative” and I found myself on the verge of tears more than once. 

I HATE THAT. I ABSOLUTELY HATE IT. 

So is this a good read? Sure is, for the vast majority of people. For me? This is a big ole no thank you. Neutrally rated though - 

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook copy. 

For a debut novel this book is great. It has the potential to move into a series while operating just fine as a stand alone novel. I love it. 

There were times when I struggled to relate and it was definitely difficult to keep up with our FMC as she is all over the place and that my friends is very relatable for me. 

I found the case itself to be predictable, but as this genre and style are my wheelhouse, that isn’t saying much. The journey to get to the end is great though and I feel like that’s what matters. 

Thanks to NetGalley for the ebook copy of this one! It’s worth the read and I can’t wait to see what this author does next!

My library loan came back to me just in time to finish this up in April. I didn’t dislike it, but the audio was really hard to follow when compared with the physical book which left me confused toward the end when the character POVs switched places but the narrator stayed the same. I’ve gotten used to having different narrators for different POVs (especially with newer-ish books) and I think I’ve come to expect it. It really seems to effect my rating on a book!

However I’m invested and will continue the series. 

I just didn’t really like this at all. It’s pretty well thought out and maybe it was a healing journey for the author but I didn’t care for the (what felt like) incredibly disjointed in the story line along with forming no real connections with the characters, it’s a hard one for me to even rate and review since I have only feelings of meh, but leaning to dislike over like. 

This writing style just isn’t for me. While the story was good and interesting, the style kept me from fully enjoying it - it happens!

The rewritten biblical-type lore in this series is absolutely everything. I completely love it. This storyline is also well balanced with the romance and I find it to be a perfect mix of spice and story. 

This is the story of Luca and Nev, and we get to learn plenty about them both and watch as Nev discovered more of her power the closer she gets with Luca. The twists and turns and everything learned about The Augury and the overall plot to bring Luke back. 

It’s a wild ride, the whole series is really, and the cliffhangers really keep you coming back for more!