Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Cousins by Karen M. McManus

17 reviews

shiroofficial's review against another edition

3.0

Its not bad… but not particularly that interesting to me… i found it to be rather boring and draggy, except when eventually the story came together and secrets were unfolded, the concept was really good. But the book itself was draggy and a slow for me… didn’t find it captivating for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death of parent, Addiction, Cursing, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Death

Moderate: Blood and Murder

Minor: Drug abuse, Car accident, and Medical content

kstericker's review against another edition

lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Murder, Violence, Alcohol, Dementia, and Pregnancy

Minor: Abortion, Body shaming, Car accident, Gun violence, Sexual content, and Incest

jbabbm's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Did some of the phrases/thoughts of the characters felt right out of an early 2000s teen movies? Yes.
Was the story actually interesting and completely sucked me in as the mystery developed? Completely.
Will check other Karen M. McManus books in the future? Totally, she certainly knows how to write a good mystery plot. I did see some of the things coming but she completely side-blinded me with the big reveal.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Abandonment, and Addiction

Moderate: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Gun violence, and Grief

emily_mh's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This had a great premise and resolution but was told incredibly poorly with no sense of urgency and thrill in the present, no sense of tragedy and intrigue in the past, and no sense of atmosphere in either. The characters and romance were an improvement from Two Can Keep A Secret, however (though the romance was still a bit pointless in this one). Also,

I liked how the ending echoed Jonas' story so much in terms of the imposter and financial fraud elements

.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, and Gun violence

Moderate: Blood, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

Minor: Abortion, Animal death, Cancer, Car accident, Colonisation, Dementia, Grief, Incest, Racism, Sexism, and Sexual content

sallenreads's review

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Infidelity, and Murder

Minor: Abortion, Blood, Gun violence, Sexual content, and Miscarriage

novi's review

adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

I don't know why I didn't know this, but this is a young adult thriller. The reviews are right, the vibe is very similar with E. Lockhart's We Were Liars, but this one is more.....comfortable? It wasn't as eerie or unsettling as We Were Liars, but it's still so fun to read because the way the plot moves fast is satisfying and in each chapter we always learn something new about the story (or um, The Story, since that is the name of the family that this book is about). The twist wasn't as messed up as I hoped it would be lol the tone of this book is lighter that the cover made it seem to be, that's all I'm saying. I really enjoyed being with these characters and the pacing of the book is perfect. I couldn't put it down I really could've finish it in one sitting if I didn't have work to do.

This isn't a hot take or anything, but I just want to say that the last page felt really unnecessary lol like okay I get that the author wanted the readers to leave the book feeling uncomfortable, a bit haunted, or with a goosebumps, and I wanted it for myself too, as I was reading it, but sadly it wasn't strong enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, and Infidelity

Moderate: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Medical content, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Car accident, Gaslighting, and Vomit

angelicathebookworm's review

lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Dementia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Blood and Incest