reader_of_rohan's reviews
564 reviews

Thanks to BookSirens for the ARC. I think this might be my favourite book by this author - I was really thrown for a loop by some of the twists! It was scary, but not quite as graphic as some of Cosco's other books.

Thanks to the author and Love Books Tours for my copy of this book, which I absolutely loved! The cover gives nothing away, and I think that's quite exciting; you're left totally unprepared for the wit, the drama, and the chaos that this book contains. I really enjoyed the author's approach to fantasy - urban fantasy is always a win for me - and the fact that many of the characters weren't instantly recognisable by Drew as a particular species based on cliché. The author took folklore and really put a personal spin on it, creating a fun story with lovable characters. I look forward to the sequel!

The representation in this book was wonderfully intersectional, and I really enjoyed the way the author brought some transphobic views into the narrative so that the characters could address them - as a book targeted at teens, it felt like it was helpful advice. Felix was an enjoyable main character, and the story was easy-to-read. There were a couple of elements that really made me smile - all I'll say to keep it spoiler-free is Tully.

This book started off really strong - full of beaurocratic nonsense that was quite funny, but I really didn't like where it went. I read the trigger warning, but wasn't expecting it to play out the way it did. At one point, I went back and reread about thirty pages to see if I'd missed something that led to what happened when Clarissa opened a chat with Dick, and if it was there, I couldn't find it. 

The last chapter brought it back up to a positive rating, because it was back to the humour of the start and it was such a creative way to do it. 

What a read! Thank you so much to the aithor, the publisher, and Love Books Tours for my copy of this book. 

I've read a few thrillers about cults before - I find them an intriguing and rather terrifying concept - but this one surpasses them all. I found myself getting so stressed and angry, both by and on behalf of the main characters. This is definitely a story that provokes an emotional response, if not many varying emotional responses in a rollercoaster that somehow still manages to be under three hundred pages! So much happens, and it requires digestion time afterwards. The ending had me flicking back through the book to try to spot signs that I'd missed...

Without spoiling anything, there's a scene involving phonics which I thought was absolutely beautiful, and really summed up a lot about the character's experience. 

Thank you to the author and Love Books Tours for my copy of this book. 

Firstly, I want to say that it was really very well-written - I loved the author's style. The narrative was compelling, and the difficult theme was handled in a way that made it easy to digest, despite being so uncomfortable. The author's knowledge and understanding of the procedures involved in the story were evident, and I found it reminiscent of John Grisham's approach to fiction - built on so much reality that it was utterly believable. The setting was perfect for the story, and the characters were completely realistic. I felt like this could have been a documentary!

My hangup with this book, however, is what I would consider a miscategorisation. It was described as a thriller/mystery, which is right up my street, and I believe it was more of a courtroom procedural. There were elements of thriller, absolutely, but I did not think there was much in the way of mystery - and what there was did not get resolved. For this reason, I think i enjoyed the book slightly less, because I was waiting for a resolution befitting of the genre, which - in my opinion - never came. Had it been described differently, I would not have had these expectations  - but then again, I also wouldn't have been likely to read it if it had been described as a courtroom drama, and I would have missed out on what I think is a very good book (just not quite my cup of tea). 

I absolutely loved this little thriller - thank you to the author and Love Books Tours for the ARC - it took classic tropes like the unreliable narrator and played with them beautifully. I thought I had everything figured out, and then... I really didn't. I love a book where I don't trust anyone, and I felt that these characters were all only just detailed enough to get a sense of who they were, but without anywhere near enough to make them feel totally good and innocent. Really fun, and a quick and satisfying read. 

Having received a digital ARC of this book - thank you to the publisher and Love Books Tours - I'm already looking forward to buying a physical version too - it was a brilliant read. One of my favourite things to do when reading a thriller is to introduce the character list for my partner to (unnervingly accurately) guess 'whodunnit' - this one was so close, but the story was so twisty even he didn't get it. 

I absolutely loved the premise of a Robin Hood for the modern age, and I thought the author executed this (pun intended) in a really compelling way. The characters were totally believable, and I really enjoyed the development they went through - including side characters. I loved the politicians (first time for everything), and I echo the editor's sentiment in hoping they get brought back in another novel. I will be desperately awaiting a new instalment for as long as it takes!

I was a beta reader for this book, and thanks to the author, I am now a proud owner of a finished copy too! It's so cool to see a book grow from a Word document to an actual book I can hold in my hands.

This book is a folklore-inspired horror with six somewhat likeable main characters - shout out to Ava for being the most rational in the mix - who enter a creepy forest for fun. Couldn't be me! Rhys is so suspicious, and I never knew how to feel about him at any point, but he certainly didn't leave me enamoured. The Whisperers are great fun, bringing tension, manipulation, and discord to the group. This is a fairly fast-paced book with a satisfying ending - to quote the blurb, "Not all stories end happily, and not all friendships survive the dark."

The first fifty pages of this book were a mixture of intrigue and tedium, which seems like a contradiction... The overall plot was exciting, but I swear every single day just went 'Morgan made coffee and it smelled great and then she thought about showers and bought loads of fast food and scrolled on Netflix and then got a film from Redbox and fell asleep early'. I don't know if it's standard American behaviour to eat fast food for every meal, but it felt very bizarre to me as an English reader. 

That being said, I thought this was fairly well-written, and the last section was brilliant. Such a great ending, and brought my rating up a star. I also really liked the other timeline that was brought into it - learning the character's backstory bit by bit was cool, and it was an unusual plot.