➳ 2.5 stars ✰

let me start by saying that i haven’t read ‘the perfect child,’ which is essentially the origin story for this one. from all the reviews i’ve seen on it, i never wanted to (and still don’t). but i do think that if you want closure or a sort of epilogue to that book, you should read this.

we see janie, hannah, christopher, and piper ten years (i think?) after the ending of ‘the perfect child,’ and what they’re up to now. janie’s recently turned eighteen and published a novel about her experiences, but hannah believes she’s still up to no good.

so i liked the writing. it was easy to read and the chapters ended on little cliffhangers that kept you wanting to read. it reminded me of freida mcfadden.

but that’s where the good things stop.

the few twists in here? saw them all coming. this was so predictable it hurt. i get that it’s basically an epilogue novella but it’s still a thriller. i still wanted to be thrilled. and i wasn’t. 

i also didn’t like or care about any of the characters or what happened to them. again, maybe i’d feel different if i had read ‘the perfect child,’ but after reading this i don’t think i could stand a whole book with these characters. they weren’t just unlikable, they were bland.

a lot of reviews of ‘the perfect child’ that i’ve read have said that there’s hardly an ending. so again, if you’re looking for one, go for this. it can also be read as a standalone novella if you don’t want to read ‘the perfect child.’ everything that happened in that book is summarized nicely in here. but overall i just can’t see myself recommending this.

thank you to netgalley + amazon original stories for the arc!