This Is How It Ends by Jen Nadol

So I appear to be in the middle of a trend with the things I'm reading at the moment where the stories I'm getting are not what I expected based on the blurb. It happened with Last Seen Leaving and it's happened again with This Is How It Ends. The blurb of this book definitely makes it sound a lot darker than it is and even like it might have elements of horror in it. Instead we get a mostly contemporary book with a slight sci-fi element thrown in.

The bulk of this book is kind of a murder mystery, although you aren't given any clues and it's more like a character journey I guess. The magical binoculars that kick off the plot are pushed to one side fairly quickly and (while still talked about) everyone just sort of takes them in their stride. I found it frustrating that no one seemed to care enough about them when it's confirmed early on that they do indeed tell the future. The 'disturbing visions' mentioned in the blurb are also pretty tame for all but one of the characters. I guess they are emotionally disturbing for each person but again, it wasn't quite what I expected.

The characters are all decent enough I suppose. I didn't really 'get' Sarah, and the more we learn about her, the more confusing her motivations and feelings are. I dislike the trend in books of having someone have a crush on their best friend's partner and that partner never being weirded out by it or uncomfortable around them despite knowing. I know teenage friendships/relationships aren't as serious as those made after high school but it always leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Riley was fairly compelling but again, the lack of interest surrounding the binoculars made everyone seem a bit hollow. Tripp was irritating, Tannis was downright infuriating and again, her motivations could have used much more explanation.

The ending...without spoiling anything, I found it to be the weakest part. The murder mystery aspect is not satisfactory. The final binoculars bit makes very little sense and is a bit out there. I was surprised by one thing and I really liked that particular element but it wasn't enough to save the ending. Overall, it is a nice conclusion to the character exploration I suppose but it doesn't do much plot-wise.

Despite this book not being what I had hoped for, I still did really enjoy it. It's a quick read and worth checking out if you know beforehand what kind of story to expect. My opinion of it might improve the more I reflect on it but for now, it's slightly better than average.

Overall Rating:

.5

Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig

Let me start by saying that I think this blurb is pretty misleading. That isn't necessarily a bad thing-the 'secret' that Flynn is keeping is fairly obvious to guess and when I started this book, I was quite worried that it would be expected to carry the whole thing. Thankfully that doesn't happen and it gets revealed relatively quickly. This led to a much stronger book than I was expecting from the first few chapters but I can also see some people potentially being disappointed or annoyed that the story isn't exactly what the blurb implies. This isn't a 'doubt the narrator' kind of thriller.

What Last Seen Leaving is is a fantastic and engaging story with a vibrant plot that keeps you on your toes. I must say that I found the book to be incredibly well-paced. Excluding my little niggle with the beginning, the author weaves in nuggets of information precisely where they should go to keep the story flowing. There is plenty going on in this story and while it could easily have come across as unrealistic and childishly dramatic, the mature tone and the characters keep it grounded in reality.

Speaking of the characters, they're all pretty strong here. There is quite a bit of the frustrating 'why don't they just tell the police' thing going on but on the whole, people behave realistically and understandably given their respective personalities. Flynn is average but likeable, and the more you learn about January, the more your heart breaks for her. January's parents were very well done and they made for interesting characters. Her stepbrother I felt could have been developed more and I would have liked some more information about him than what we got. There is one thing in particular with him which never gets explained, which I will mention below in my spoiler section.

Spoiler section here (highlight to read): Okay, so I did not like the fact that January survived at the end. The stuff with her family made sense (kind of) but it was too contrived and convenient for me. Also it kind of turns her into a bitch because it makes her responsible for Reiko's death (as Reiko wouldn't have confronted the drama guy and gotten killed without January running away). Speaking of which, I had absolutely no idea who the drama guy was when he was initially revealed as being the suspect. I'm sure he appeared earlier in the story but I wasn't so much surprised as confused because he was such a non-entity to me. Finally, what was the deal with the banana scene her stepbrother described? Did that really happen or not? I assume he was just a creep but some confirmation would have been nice.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I haven't had much luck with YA thrillers as they tend to be over-dramatic and unrealistic, but Last Seen Leaving stands out from the crowd. If you want to read an intriguing and well-paced mystery with a bit of a lighter tone than most adult thrillers, then this is the book for you.

Overall Rating:

The Date by Louise Jensen

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Bookouture in exchange for an honest review.

Despite owning every single book Louise Jensen has ever released, I have yet to actually read any of them so far. Thankfully this pattern has been broken by The Date. Jensen has exactly the kind of writing style I look for in a thriller-straightforward, engaging and dynamic enough to keep you turning the pages. From the very first page I knew I hadn't made a mistake in picking this. Sadly it is the 'thriller twist' aspect which is a let down.

In addition to the great writing style, the characters in this book were also extremely well-written. Our protagonist is likeable and has a fair bit of depth to her, and indeed all the side characters are similarly fleshed-out. Her friends maybe suffer a little bit in terms of depth and Alison does make some frustratingly-bad decisions but these are somewhat justified by her backstory and the plot. Overall, none of them felt like flimsy stand-ins or excuses to have more suspects which is very good.

As mentioned, my one major flaw with this book is I found it very easy to predict. I must admit that reading about a protagonist with prosopagnosia (face-blindness) was a nice gimmick for a thriller. I've read hundreds that have a main character with amnesia but this added a new layer to the whole 'can't recognise your attacker' aspect. As a psychology student, it was also portrayed fairly accurately as well. But even with this plot device, I still guessed the ending and I wasn't really surprised about anything along the way. There was maybe one twist I didn't guess but only because I had forgotten the character involved was in the story.

Overall, I would still recommend The Date as a nice, enjoyable thriller. It offers enough new things to be worth the read and I will definitely be seeking out more from the author. Hopefully next time I will be surprised.

Overall Rating:

.5