Reviewed by lessthelonely on
Do I regret it? That's the question of the hour because there are some things this book is extremely solid in, but then there are also somewhere it's irritatingly lacking. I'm going to start by saying that the mystery, though extremely enticing and many times made you want to keep reading, definitely felt like more of a plot excuse than anything else: when I reached the final pages of the book, I thought some questions would be left in the air, at least two or three questions from this first book. I believe I only got 1 question that came from the actual beginning.
Also, the Physics Test challenge Avery did should've been finished. I was hoping for a highly satisfying scene coming from that and I got nothing. Maybe it'll come in the next book, I don't know. But back to the mystery: I'd say that the mystery is extremely well-executed in its body, but it's not a "layered" mystery. It's usually pretty straightforward, in my opinion: you find a clue, explore it and find its answer. If you don't find the answer almost immediately, then you mull it over a bit as the plot happens (usually, conversations). The "good execution" comes from using certain things right, like cliffhangers, mysterious conversations, techniques like the "2 lies, 1 truth"... It adds suspense because it reveals things without ever giving it all away. Mysteries are done exactly like this: leave a constant thread of breadcrumbs and your audience will EAT IT UP.
However, outside of the mystery and likable characters, I'm going to start talking about what I didn't like now: first, Avery is likable, but she felt void of personality. As the love triangle ensued, she just let herself go and fully committed to falling for the guys, which is OK, I just didn't like that she didn't own up to it and went with the "No, I must focus on the game" route... Because girl, you ain't fooling nobody. And you can have both. Her personality begins and ends at she's got some great traits, like protectiveness over her sister, great ability to solve riddles and puzzles, big-ass competence in school. No flaws. No interesting thing about her: she existed to be special in the book, but there's nothing special about her and I feel like she needs to have some sort of compelling arc within her, otherwise, she's an absolute doormat. I'll say she's not an annoying one, at least.
...The love interests. Here's the thing: they have more personality than Avery, even on a bad day, but Grayson and Jameson are, kind of the same character with a different coat of paint: Grayson is controlled, type-A, and arrogant, while Jameson is carefree, flirtatious and gentle... but their "arcs" are the same: guilt over what happened to Emily. One thing I will say is that Grayson seems like the obvious choice mostly because while a lot happens between Jameson and Avery very fast, any sort of romance between Grayson and Avery seems to stay on the simmering level, with a little enemies-to-friends in the beginning. When I understood that their whole character was being based around what happened to Emily I realized they could've been made into one sole character... But! By having a love triangle, I can imagine the author can do double the tropes: the annoying pet-name (Jameson), enemies-to-friends (Grayson), drunk-bad-boy and good-girl (Jameson), "forbidden" love/I want you but I can't have you (Grayson), which... fair enough, Ms. Barnes.
I will probably keep reading the series, at some point. Have some other books that seem more compelling at the moment that I'd like to get into first.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- Finished reading
- 7 April, 2022: Reviewed