yumna 🌙

while i do not think this was as good as the other books in THG trilogy, it definitely added to the world! it's so interesting to see snow just as a normal person. it wasn't exactly the villain origin story i was expecting, but i do think it's a realistic one. this book didn't validate his action in THG trilogy at all thankfully, but it definitely shows how power and notoriety were his biggest goals. sorry to break it to u snow, but when the dust settled at the end of mockingjay snow did NOT end up on top :/

This book has been on my tbr for a while and I didn't think I'd ever pick it up - until I went to my local Big Bad Wolf and found a hardback copy for IDR 80k. I haven't read any other Sara Shepard books before, but I honestly wasn't expecting too much. Whenever I read a mystery novel, what really matters to me is 1) how it read and 2) how predictable the ending is. This was a pretty good, easy to read YA novel for me, definitely nothing groundbreaking. What bumps this book from a three star rating to a four was the ending! Because man, there was one twist that was still predictable, but the second twist made it for me! By no means is this the best book I've ever read, but it's definitely a great read for someone that wants a quick mystery fix. Hoping to read [b:Follow Me 34298785 Follow Me (The Amateurs, #2) Sara Shepard https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1506819314s/34298785.jpg 55352616] sometime in the future!

hmm i can't say i particularly liked this book. the main character, alexa, gets a job in NYC at a marketing agency. after years of being estranged with her twin sister, beth, she shows up at alexa's doorstep and re enters her life. all the while, alexa finally falls in love with her food vlogger client, curt. but ofc there is something suspicious about alexa's new boyfriend and unstable twin sister.

the most important part of a psychological thriller is the plot twist and the ending. the main plot twist was very predictable to me... i think it was quite cliche and i predicted it early on. the other plot points that accompanied the plot twist (sorry to be vague but i don't want to include spoilers) were honestly just absurd to me. the ending felt like there were many events added to liven up the story but they just left me rolling my eyes. it seems to me that the ‘evil twin' trope is pretty hard to get right, and unfortunately, this book didn't satisfy my thriller itch.

what i found unique in this book were the references to the covid-19 pandemic. i think this is the first book i've read that was sent in the current post-pandemic era. BUT i do think the pandemic was over referenced and overall, didn't really add anything to the story. the multiple POVs were a great addition to further the plot, but i noticed some unexplained plot holes/points mentioned towards the beginning of the book.

**also NOTE: in the audiobook the mention that the company ‘FLLW' is pronounced ‘follow', but they keep pronouncing it as an ‘F-L-L-W' throughout the book. this really bugged me.

i just... idk why but i felt like this book was her humble bragging but we're also supposed to feel sorry for her? i don't think she really portrayed the ~dark side of fame~ very well here... i just feel like writing in verse made this book that much more pretentious - i'd love to see what she could do in prose though. also tbh if so many people didn't love lana's music, i doubt this collection would be rated so high on here