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dbguide2's Reviews (863)
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dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I first had this as a blog tour post and made a 15 Reactions post. I’ll be reusing some of that in here, just to make it easier and also it’s there. I liked this book but there was just always something holding me back that made me not rate it higher. For one the book didn’t lean a lot into the classic YA Mystery/Thriller genre where the main character/s decides to solve the mystery themselves. It did but stopped just when I thought Courage could’ve taken it further and then picked up again late into the book. Throughout the book I kept feeling at various times it would really go for it, faster pace, go for the throat. And just when I thought it would happen it floated away.
Another thing I had a big issue with was there was a subtle fantasy element to it. Things happened, the main female character thought she saw something, and I would get excited because I thought it meant surprise fantasy element! Just what I thought this book needed to elevate it and me to rate it higher. But that element never came true and yes, fantasy wasn’t one of the genres listed but every time it happened it felt like it should be (a fantasy book). I suppose maybe that was kudos to the author for making me believe. It still left me annoyed.
I had trouble connecting most of the time to most of the characters. I understood why Lucia was the way she was – didn’t help much. I wanted her to dig deeper into the investigation and she didn’t. Her mom was a difficult character for me in that she seemed to be thinking mostly about herself and half forcing her daughter to do what she and the boyfriend wanted to do. The boyfriend and his son weren’t the best characters either – I think I liked the boyfriend less than the mom. But at the same time, maybe what I felt (their staleness) were through the eyes of Lucia and how she perceived them – I think then if they’re “boring” to me it’s fine.
The pacing was inconsistent and that added to my rating it lower. It went from slow to medium and then all of a sudden fast at the end – it confused me. With a mystery pacing is even more important as you need to progress through each section of the plot at the right time. So for the mystery to only start after 20% – it doesn’t work for me. There’s also 3 girls that are a large part of the plot and just when I think I understand them/their place something about them, their personalities fell. If you’re wondering why I just mentioned them at the end of the review, it’s because I felt like even though the author tried, they didn’t add much to the plot. I could see where they could’ve, but I think Courage just didn’t work with the whole thing properly.
The whole plot and mystery didn’t seem all fleshed out to me. I understood everything but it kept feeling like something was missing – just like all the other aspects about this book. But at the same time I did enjoy it! Reading’s weird like that!
Another thing I had a big issue with was there was a subtle fantasy element to it. Things happened, the main female character thought she saw something, and I would get excited because I thought it meant surprise fantasy element! Just what I thought this book needed to elevate it and me to rate it higher. But that element never came true and yes, fantasy wasn’t one of the genres listed but every time it happened it felt like it should be (a fantasy book). I suppose maybe that was kudos to the author for making me believe. It still left me annoyed.
I had trouble connecting most of the time to most of the characters. I understood why Lucia was the way she was – didn’t help much. I wanted her to dig deeper into the investigation and she didn’t. Her mom was a difficult character for me in that she seemed to be thinking mostly about herself and half forcing her daughter to do what she and the boyfriend wanted to do. The boyfriend and his son weren’t the best characters either – I think I liked the boyfriend less than the mom. But at the same time, maybe what I felt (their staleness) were through the eyes of Lucia and how she perceived them – I think then if they’re “boring” to me it’s fine.
The pacing was inconsistent and that added to my rating it lower. It went from slow to medium and then all of a sudden fast at the end – it confused me. With a mystery pacing is even more important as you need to progress through each section of the plot at the right time. So for the mystery to only start after 20% – it doesn’t work for me. There’s also 3 girls that are a large part of the plot and just when I think I understand them/their place something about them, their personalities fell. If you’re wondering why I just mentioned them at the end of the review, it’s because I felt like even though the author tried, they didn’t add much to the plot. I could see where they could’ve, but I think Courage just didn’t work with the whole thing properly.
The whole plot and mystery didn’t seem all fleshed out to me. I understood everything but it kept feeling like something was missing – just like all the other aspects about this book. But at the same time I did enjoy it! Reading’s weird like that!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence