Reviewed by Leigha on
When will I learn to stay away from plots featuring mass shootings? I liked the first book in this series despite the triggering premise, but it’s such a hard topic for me. I worked in an academic library for nine years. Students would request help with their research papers, and a surprising number of topics were on mass shootings and serial killers (?!?!?). It messed with my head, and I prefer to stay away from the topic when reading for fun. (I couldn’t even get through Nora Roberts’ Shelter in Place and ya’ll KNOW I’ll read about anything from La Nora).
Not only was the topic difficult for me, but the characters and story didn’t capture my attention. Flashbacks are liberally used throughout the book to juxtapose Kincaid and Ashton’s past friendship with their uneasy present relationship. I’m rarely a fan of flashbacks, but waiting for the unpreventable “prom night massacre” scene was dreadful. I would have preferred it be placed at the beginning of the novel rather than toward the end. Fans of the series will probably love this conclusion. I, however, plan to skip novels with mass shootings in the future. It’s just not worth my mental health.
tl;dr While fans of the series will probably enjoy the climatic conclusion, I found the topic of mass shooting to be too triggering to enjoy.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 28 January, 2020: Finished reading
- 28 January, 2020: Reviewed