sam

well, at least this was better than the first one. i didn't even plan on picking this book up because i wasn't a fan of the first one but then I thought what the hell. and...i didn't hate it.
the writing is nothing special at all and the neither are the characters so the only thing that saved this for me was the actual mystery which is funny because that's exactly what was lacking in the first book.
i think holly jackson should ease up on the foreshadowing though because that makes it really easy to figure out who is sus right away but at least i didn't figure everything out this time around.
i did like that this book was very binge-able. i finished the whole thing in the span of like 12 hours. and i guess i am going to read the next book so yayyyy

This is one of the best books I've ever read. THE best Emma mills book. Truly everything I could ever want in a contemporary.??
WHY THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER:
-it is funny af. im not kidding, i laughed out loud at SEVERAL points.
-the dialogue is sharp & witty & entertaining
-its such a happy book but makes me wanna cry at the same time
-THE CHARACTERS the characters THE CHARACTERS i wanna give em all a never-ending hug, every single one of em
-PAIGE AND IRIS, name a better fucking couple i dare you
-this book weirdly made me wanna be a better person??
-it's so tragically underrated
-and it's just instant serotonin
I love this book in such an intrinsic way, i can't even describe it. Going into this, I NEVER imagined it would be so good. Sure it's not a perfect book, hardly anything is, but I will never stop screaming from the rooftops about this.

It hurts to say it but this is my least favourite Emma Mills book.
I mean, I don't really regret reading it but this wasn't that good. While I wasn't bored with this, at some points I just felt nothing was really happening. It had some surprising twists that were great for shock value and...pretty much just that.
Also, some of the characters weren't nearly explored as much as I would've liked. AND at some points this book gets cringe-y and holier than thou. I personally didn't agree with some of its ‘‘philosophies'' .
Now this is starting to sound like a hate review which it really isn't, trust me. I'm just disappointed.
Signature Emma Mills writing shone through in this one (lmao calm tf down hoE, you've only read one other book of hers).??

AAAHHHHH I REALLY LIKED THIS
I love this book to the moon and back. The mental illness rep is just...chef's kiss. Eliza is such a relatable character for so many different reasons. I loved the web comic, the writing, the characters and the relationships between them (also internet friendships!!! my heart is soaring!!!). The family dynamic was really realistic, at least to me, who pretty much hates her family lol.
What I didn't like was how Wallace acted in the last act of this book. It really drove me mad. Fuck that shit. I was really rooting for him up until he went ahead and pulled that BS :/

??This was my first audible original & you couldn't pay me to stop now. From the incoming of traffic to the whining kitty (HE WAS THE CUTEST), the sound effects on the production were SO GOOD. And the narrators killed it btw!! This is absolutely the ???best??? audiobook I've ever listened to,,,,??

Coming to the actual story, I loved it so much that idk what to say about it (...proceeds to write entire paragraphs). The characters were EVERYTHING. Vera was so fun to read about. She was funny, fierce, kind and quirky in the best way. And Cal is my book bf, I call dibs. He was the softest cinnamon roll hero ever????? I LOVE THEM SM.??
In fact, I loved the entire thing with all my heart. These two had so much emotional chemistry, considering they don't even meet till the last chapter. And all the personal conflicts they were dealing with actually got to me??? Like, I cried. Multiple times. But overall this book made me so happy I wanna S C R E A M.??

PS- HOW DID I NOT SEE THAT TWIST COMING??? I WAS FLOORED & I FEEL STUPID ABOUT IT ??????

This book...ugh. I absolutely loved Rosaline Palmer Takes The Cake so I decided to try Alexis Hall's other works. Clearly that didn't go well.??
I hated almost all of the characters with exception of Luc's mother. Oliver and Bridget were THE WORST.??
Oliver is definitely one of my least favorite love interests I have ever read about. This entire book made me so angry. There were one too many conflicts for my liking. Also, that entire plot-line with Luc's dad was...unnecessary??? I wish we'd just been told that he is an asshole and that'd been it because it went absolutely nowhere. I was just desperately waiting for it to end. Honestly, I kinda wanna forget about it.??

This book is so hard to rate. I hated it and it was my favourite of the series. And by hated I don't mean in an affectionate I hated how much I loved this way. I mean, I really wasn't enjoying myself at certain points. But. Everything got SO. much. BETTER in that last act.
What I disliked the most about this book was the romance aka David. Yes, I finally hate him and have joined the bandwagon. What an ass. And I absolutely hated how Stevie behaved around him. Like, girl, grow a spine and have some self respect.
This is one when of those books where I was not the fan of where the mystery was going UNTIL the big expose where it all came together. I fucking loved it. It's the work of a genius. As underwhelming as the first two books were in that department, this one totally makes up for it. I loved the attention to detail to everything. The way it all came together was so fucking satisfying. I already miss these characters.??
Also, Nate. He's the fucking best. I need a whole book just about him. He better be in the next one.

This had a weak start but THEN I fell in love with it. It was just so fun and a complete page-turner. I loved the characters so much. It was unexpectedly funny and I surprisingly didn't completely hate David.
What I didn't love was the actual mystery. Not because there was anything wrong with it, apart from the pacing, but since this is a series, no real questions were answered in this book and it was just all set-up. IMO, it would have been better if each book followed a different mystery (like in Prep School Confidential) instead of just one in the entire trilogy. Also, I have no idea what the ending means. SpoilerLike, are David and his dad ghosts? Is this shit paranormal? Please, someone let me know.
I have to say though that I, like most people, am fascinated (and terrified) by true crime. And even though the one in this book is obviously fictional, that is the case with this one too. It felt so real.



TL;DR: SO. MUCH. FUN.

where the fuck do i even start. i don't think it's a secret that i'm not the biggest fan of the first two books in this series (tho the 2nd one is better than the 1st). But this one blew my mind and shattered my fucking heart. this series progressively gets darker and darker which means PAIN yayyyy.
But let me start from the beginning. I was really not enjoying myself at the start of this book. I even thought it might be my least favorite of the trilogy but then at the halfway point EVERYTHING CHANGED.
Pip is kidnapped and we learn who the DT killer is and I think is this book ending already???. BUT THEN. bUt ThEn. Pip and Ravi become murder buddies??? Wtf??? And the whole trajectory of the book changed and it became a revenge thriller???!!! And I was fucking digging it?? It was so goddamn badass.??If he will LITERALLY help you take care of the body, THAT'S how you know he's a real one.
I was so impressed with the amount of callbacks from the 2nd and even the 1st book??? Especially considering AGGGTM was originally supposed to be a standalone like...woooooow....holly jackson YOUR MIND.??
But then THE thing happened and everything went wrong and my heart was ACTUALLY breaking omfg. And then the SECOND thing happened and I was like miss jackson HOW FUCKING DARE YOUUUUUU???? DO YOU HAVE NO REGARD FOR MY MENTAL HEALTH?? (note: she doesn't and we love her for it!)??
I think I've only ever been this sad over a book ONCE before (and that was evelyn hugo, for you nosy fucks). i was so anxious for pip and these characters the entire time...??
AND THE FUCKING ENDING. I DON'T KNOW WHETHER TO LAUGH OR CRY. (that's a lie. i cried. because that last chapter was so

Oh. My. God. I'm in love with this book.
No, you don't understand, the amount of creativity one needs to create something like this...I'm honestly speechless. This was truly iconic.
The plot twists? Unbelievable. The humour? On point. The accuracy? Unmatched.
I've never in my life read anything like this.??

READ THIS BOOK OR I'LL MAKE YOU!!!

THE GOOD:??
-i'm just so happy that this book exists. not because the writing is great or the plot is ground-breaking but because I've never felt so seen. for that, this book will always have a special place in my heart. alice oseman is a treasure.
-the dialogue was really funny, love that for us
-so many quotes!!!!

THE BAD:
-the writing was at points was painfully juvenile
-certain parts were a cheesy fucking cringe-fest
-a non-binary character goes with ‘‘he/they'' pronouns yet ‘‘they'' pronouns are never used for them

??Objectively, this was bad. Buuuuut,,,,,also fun. Sure the writing was kinda cringe at times, and the characters were kinda stoopid and annoying but I still wanted to keep reading. this book is clearly inspired from the cecil hotel case which is cool, i guess.
I WILL SAY, the big reveal was so obvious, i knew it the moment that fucking character was introduced. this book was also too on the nose with everything. SHOW, DON'T TELL, MADAME.
as a whole, the entire thing was pretty tame but there were a couple moments that got me. this book also tried to be super woke & it didn't feel completely forced??? so that's good ig
i hated how amatonormative this story was tho. i despise it when everyone (conveniently) couples up.

ANYHOO, MORAL OF THE STORY IS THAT MEN ARE THE REAL TERROR.??

This is one of the best romances I've ever read. It has Love, Rosie vibes which I loved and I was a sobbing mess by the end. A wild ride from start to finish.
It was incredibly funny with witty banter and entertaining dialogue but also really profound at the same time. This is everything I could ever want in a romance. It really has some of FAVORITE tropes.??
That is not to say that this book was perfect. The entire time we are building up to the Croatia trip and what caused their “friendship” breakup but when we actually get there, the pay off is very disappointing. I was left feeling like, that's it? this is what made you not talk to each other for two years?. Alex, at times, was really prickly and that kind of ruined it for me. Also, the miscommunication trope is...used. But I still freaking loved it. This book got me out of a reading slump!

i have no idea how to write a review for this book but you gotta start somewhere so here goes. this is officially now one of my all time faves.??
this book made me cry happy tears. like a lot of them. first of all, I loved all the mental health rep. And the rep in general actually. Charlie is also on the asexual spectrum and Dev is Indian!??
Dev put it best: this book is a queer party. Like almost everyone is queer?? And that means so fucking much to me.??
Charlie and Dev were literally so cute, I'm sending them my dentist's bills.??
THIS BOOK WAS ALSO REALLY FUCKING FUNNY WTF
I was a sobbing mess by the end of it tho. like how dare you make me feel so much?????
IT IS SO WELL WRITTEN ASDGHYGJUBNJ
I loved all the discussions that were had in this book and they're all really important.??
I LOVE PARISA AND JUNE AND SKYLAR AND EVEN RYAN.??
Also, that ending. Daphne's sapphic season spin off when???

As much as I hate calling books that, this book is so important. I absolutely adored Darcy as a main character. She did make many mistakes which will make you cringe but that just makes her all the more human and endearing.??
In fact, it's hard to think of a character I didn't like in this, which is so rare. The romance was so fucking precious it made me feel like a giggly teenager (...which I am). I also loved all the amazing queer rep in this! We have people from various indentities which made my heart go soft.??
The way this book handled biphobia (both internalized and very much not) in a subtle way was truly commendable. Also, I'm in love with Brougham.??
I loved the Locker 89??? advice sections at the beginning of most chapters. It was enlightening, even for me.??
And the way that “You're queer” scene had me crying in the club? Pitiful, really.??
This book was also really funny. I was cracking up at multiple points.??
Though I have to nitpick about how many times a guy-is-drunk-and-needs-to-be-taken-care-of situation happened. Which is twice, but it's still weird that it happened twice.??
And it did take me some time to get invested in everything and guage how I was feeling, but once I was in I was in.??
Overall: I would totally recommend this book to everyone!!!??

omfg i was having such a bad fucking week and then this book came along was like I'M HERE FOR YOU BITCH,,,??
the entire thing was just pure fluff and i love nothing more than that in life!!??
also we need to talk about the demisexual rep??? as an ace person myself, i can't even tell you how fucking happy that made me (autism and diabetes rep are some other reasons to check out this book !)??
this book got the classic grumpy/sunshine trope ~exactly~ right!! it was truly ???chef's kiss???
jonathan was soooooo hot omg!! the way he was so caring and protective of gabby had me SWOONING
i loved all the side characters so, so much and this was the cheesy, sappy, You've Got Mail-esque rom-com of my dreams?? !??
AAAAND i loved all the meta-bookish parts of this shit way too much ????
OH BTW SHE HAS A CAT NAMED GINGERBREAD??? I'LL NEVER RECOVERRRRR

i actually liked this book a lot!! i love stories that are unique spins on classic murder mystery settings. i was also pleasantly surprised by that ending!! the characters were all interesting (except for hanna, she def lacked ~depth~). the romance on the other hand was...just alright??? honestly, it felt a little cookie-cutter and bland but whatever. i loved how this was almost a parody of the exact kind of story it was trying to be. the writing as usual was great, as is expected from alexis hall.??
Overall = i really enjoyed this ,,,

??update 26/12/21: lowering my rating coz in hindsight i've already forgotten a lot about this book. it was a quick one time read but didn't really leave much of an impact on me in the end.

i didn't even know how much i needed this book until i read it. it was the perfect quick read to get me out of my mini-slump.for a book with such a small cast of characters, i really did love a lot of them.I loved holly and rose and ida and stacey so fucking much!!! my ragtag bunch of vengeful vampires ???? their dynamic was everything, especially the original three.paige, no, parker...was bland and kind of boring but i didn't really *hate her either.
oh i DESPISED elton, is anyone surprised???
i also loved how feminist and casually queer this book was, which really is the perfect combination if you think about it. i mean who doesn't like a book full of badass women??
this was just a great read that may not have been the absolute best thing i've read but was still a ton of fun (even though the ending was a tad unsatisfying).
this book touched on several different topics and they were handled very well imo. the allegory on abuse was also SPOT ON.
i found the rules of vampirism in this book really interesting too.
BASICALLY I LOVE VAMPIRES, GIVE ME MORE VAMPIRE BOOKS!!! ??

This is the worst book i have read this year, and the year has just started. Fuck me.
This book was just bad. The writing was mediocre at best, and Jenny acted like a 9 year old (actually, that's an insult to tweens).
This is literally first world problems in a book. ALSO, INSTA-LOVE. UGH.??
The ending left so many things unexplained??? Least of which is the hook of this book. It's just so lazy. Anyway, I don't wanna spend one more second thinking about this trash.??