I received a digital copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

This had too many POVs and unlikable characters. I'm all about antiheroes but these characters didn't have a lot going for them personality wise. I really liked "18 Months" but this one fell flat for me.

It's really quite rare that I rate a book 1 star unless I DNF the book. I have to say that had this not been for a review, I might have DNF'd this book. I pushed through because it was under 250 pages and so I figured even if it was not the greatest story, I could finish it quickly. I did finish it quickly but man, I made a lot of notes. They mostly were about how the characters were all insufferable. They were all homophobic, fatphobic, racist, classist, violent addicts. It was a repetitive story with characters who all were violent with the MC claiming that they didn't kill her because they could never hurt her. I just read a YA thriller where I guessed the "twist" from the beginning and I don't think that's a "toot my own horn I'm so smart" thing. I think it was just too obvious. I had high hopes for this based on the premise, but it was such a let down.

This book was not enjoyable for me. It took me such a long time to get into and eventually after not picking it up for weeks on end I had to give up and DNF.
I am used to rude books and swearing and sexual content doesn't faze me at all but I really don't feel like it worked in this novel.
This is a mystery type book were we try and figure out who attempted to kill a girl and that sounded super intriguing to me, I was expecting low key Pretty Little Liars vibes with this supposedly dead girl but that wasn't what I got.
I didn't connect with any of the characters, what with the multiple POVs it became repetitive and maybe if I'd been more interested in figuring out who the actual culprit was I could have pushed forward and completed it but unfortunately that wasn't the case.

Overall, I found this book hard to complete. It wasn't one that I wanted to read cover to cover (which for me, is unusual!) I almost had to spend time convincing myself to pick it back up.

Unfortunately for me, I found it all a little cliche; especially the characters. We've seen them all before, we've seen the cocky boyfriend, the nerds, the popular people, and even the lgbt characters (which I totally promote being in YA fiction.) I found myself yearning for something different, a hook, something to excite me, and unfortunately, none of these characters gave me that.

This was a great little mystery that certainly kept me guessing, although I did have my suspicions and did figure it out a little before the reveal, woohoo.

I enjoyed the alternating POVs and retellings of the prom night. Found it all very interesting, although Gabe's accounts were a little on the icky side! TMI, man, TMI.

Unfortunately this book wasn't for me and I did not finish it. Thank you for the opportunity :)

Honestly, I didn't love it or hate it. It reminded me of the old Christopher Pike books, which were my bread and butter as a teenager reading horror. Is it a bit problematic? Yes, sure. It is a bit trope-y, and the killer is a bit obvious, but I overall found it a quick and easy subway ride read, meaning it entertained me without causing me to miss my stop.

*Semi spoilers in this*

When I first saw this book, I highly anticipated it. It fitted into my genre of preference and the description made it sound like an excited book. However, I have been left very disappointed for a number of reasons.

Plot:
At the beginning the plot seemed quite exciting but this went downhill within a few chapters. Whilst I respect that the same plot is being told by each perspective of the characters, each 'retelling' seemed too similar its presentation that I simply felt like I was reading the EXACT same thing over and over again which quickly bored me. Also not sure if this was my mind working the plot out quickly or the narrative being so transparent but I worked out the plot twist early on however the escalation that occurs after the plot twist is revealed is too dramatic for my tastes.

Characters:
Each character is this book seemed to only have one personality trait to define them which made them feel very one dimensional and therefore I couldn't connect with any of them. Liam I felt was lost in the story until the end which could have been intentional but to me he didn't seem to be an important character. No character seemed believable in their emotions and generally they were all bad people. No one had a redeeming quality, their willingness to manipulate people and cheat on each other was almost incredulous with the reasoning not being very strong.

Narrative:
I specifically want to talk about the locations the characters were in. Despite hearing the same plot over and over again I could not work out the logistics of the hotel the night took place in. This is probably due to the fact that the characters move around a lot in each of their versions of the story and so with everyone going to different places and different times I couldn't really grasp a real setting in my head.

Whilst the switch between 1st and 3rd person acts a device to separate the past from the present I found it confusing and left the characters in the present with less feeling and depth. The 3rd person narrative just wasn't as strong so it may have been better to use 1st person throughout with a simple note at the beginning of each chapter that it was past or present (this technique is used successfully in books I've read)

Unfortunately, I can only give this book 1.5 stars as it has real promise but could be vastly improved.

Unfortunately I was unable to finish this book as the writing and story just didn't grab me. The premise sounds like that of an old Christopher Pike novel - girl who was thought dead in horrible accident but turns out to be alive and plotting revenge - which really intrigued me but I feel this fell very flat. The characters are very vain, the constant sexual talk got old and the LGBT relationship included seemed like an afterthought which was disappointing. I appreciate the opportunity to review this title but unfortunately this book is just not for me.

Unfortunately I didn't finish this book, as I couldn't get into it - nothing against the author or book, just not to my personal taste. Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

I was unable to review this book because of a conflict in my schedule. Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused the publisher or the author of the work. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to review for you and I look forward to reviewing for you in the future.

Sorry, didn't liked this book and couldn't force myself to read it.

I got this book as a free review copy from netgalley.com. There are spoilers in this review.



This book is weird. It’s billed as a YA-LGBTIQ novel, which I get – the characters are 6 months past highschool, and two of them have had a secret lesbian relationship for 6 months – but it’s also part mystery, and part crime, and part coming of age and this hodgepodge of genres means the author has thrown different themes in willy-nilly which dilutes the purpose of the book.

So Jenny wakes up in a river with her hands tied behind her back. She survives and spends 6 months hiding out and licking her wounds before she confronts the four people she assumes are responsible. These four – her best friend, her boyfriend, her secret lover and the boy who in love with the secret lover – are lured to a cabin, where Jenny and her ‘saviour’ Ally attempt to interrogate them and figure out who tried to kill Jenny.

This is where the book goes off the rails. The stories are boring as bat shit, and go over the same events sometimes word for word. It’s high school prom fluff about drinking and cheating and one kid has a massive coke addiction which I’m not sure how he funds. Basically, each kid tells their story, there’s a bit of beer-and-pizza fuelled chitchat about the the revelations (OMG, men are pigs. OMG, that person didn’t like that person. OMG, so and so was really drunk) and it turns out none of the four did it. Then Ally pulls a gun and shoots one of them in the head, tells everyone she did it and literally within 24 hours they are all at a diner saying “phew, glad most of us survived, wasn’t that weird, pass the pizza and btw, Jenny and her not-so-secret lover are openly gay now”. It’s as if Boyette wasted so much time going over and over the same four versions of prom in such detail that there was no time to develop the trauma that would occur after seeing a friend killed in front of you, so she just pretends everyone would be fine.

I found the premise of the story good, and I like the LGBTIQ elements – the backstory of Jenny exploring her sexuality as a young teen is awkward and tender and the only believable part of this novel – but it feels like the author spent way too many words on parts that aren’t important, and raced through bits that were. I wouldn’t bother unless like me you’re desperate for anything to read.

I'm giving this one an extra star solely because this is not the type of book I'd expect from Bold Strokes Books--which is a GOOD thing--and I'd really like to see more genre diversity like this from the publisher in the future. But wow, after such a terrific premise, the delivery was a total bomb.

I really enjoyed this book. I knew pretty early on who had tried to kill the girl, but I was definitely surprised by some of the events that happened later in the book. I liked how we got to hear so many different sides of the same night, and would recommend this book to young adults looking for a quick read.

DNF. Story is poorly written. Not even a third of the way through and was able to determine who attempted murderer was. Inconsistent characters who are described one way and then act differently in the next scene.

Sadly I had a hard time getting in to The girl who wasn't dead. It just wasn't working for me. The writing style was off for me. Not for everyone.

Unfortunately, the book didn't download so I can't leave a review.

My first by this author. Not sure if I would risk another but as they say never say never. I seem to be caught in a whirlwind of mediocre lesfic at the moment. Also, I need to question is this book really lesfic?

The book is about a girl named Jenny who after her senior prom someone tried to kill her. She disappears from sight for a year then returns and invites six suspects. You are in and out of people's heads so much I was tempted to kill her.

This book just wasn't my cup of tea. Sorry 2 stars. Enjoy!

*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*

it is such a huge letdown for a promising mystery story. What could possibly go wrong, you ask. Well, it was told in 6 POVs. Not only that none of those characters are likeable, not one of them is engaging as well. Reading through 6 people’s perspective is a feat already, but if you can’t seem to connect to at least one of those 6, it will surely drive you nuts. It doesn’t help that they keep telling the same stories and same dialogues, just different narrator, over and over. So, no chance for any character development whatsoever. The mystery surrounding the plot is so predictable, too.I was hoping there’ll be at least a surprising twist coming, but nope, nothing. Even the ending is frustrating. I feel like it’s a poor attempt to give a happy ending but it just didn’t work. Oh well, at least it was a quick read.