Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book! I was hooked from Page 1 and am so happy I read this! The characters were well-developed and I loved getting to know all of them. The STORY line was intriguing and I kept wanting to read more. I wanted to finish it and then I didn't, because I did not want the STORY to be over!!!! At the end of one chapter my mouth literally dropped and I just had to read the next chapter to find out more!! I will recommend this book to others! Thank you again to NetGalley and I look forward to the future books and going back and finishing One of Us is Lying and reading the rest of McManus' books!

This was pretty different from Karen McManus’ earlier books. There’s still the mystery element, but this one is more of a cold case than a situation of constant, current danger. I liked the setup, with three teenaged cousins being invited to spend the summer working at a resort owned by their grandmother, who has been estranged from their parents since before they were born. I liked the pacing and the slow but steady revelation of information leading up to a fairly explosive ending.

Rating 5

"The Cousins" is the first book I have read by Karen M. McManus and I am so happy that I did. I loved the cover of this book and thought it would be a perfect read for October and I wasn't wrong. What is nice about this book is it has a little bit of everything such as family drama, mystery, romance, comedic reliefs, and even thrills. The story is about three cousins who have to spend a summer on an island to get "in" with their grandmother. The thing is none of these cousins have met and their grandmother is a complete stranger to each of them. It was interesting to see how things unfolded with the family and each character individually. The story is being told from four different point of views, the three cousins Milly, Jonah, and Aubrey with the occasional chapter from Alison Milly's mother. I loved having these different point of views because it helped keep the mystery going. While also at the same time we got to learn more and more about each individual character. Another thing I loved about this story was the overall mystery. In my opinion, it wasn't easy to figure out and while I thought I knew what the end was going to be I was wrong and I love that. Overall, this is an enjoyable read that goes fast because it makes you want to get to the end to see what happens.

Should you read "The Cousins"?
Yes! Like I said this book is filled with all of the right things. Give it a try, I promise you will not be disappointed.

**Received an advanced copy through NetGalley in return for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **

I've read every book that McManus has published, and THE COUSINS did not disappoint. While her previous novels tend to focus on friends, the dysfunctional family drama was a nice change. I really enjoyed all the perspectives in this book (there are three), and the loyalty between Milly, Jonah, and Aubrey, all of whom are very likable characters while still exemplifying the mistakes teenagers can make when they don't put too much thought into their actions.

I keep thinking about the ending and that cliffhanger! I hope we get another story about the Storys.

This was a great YA thriller. McManus' is really great at a multi-POV narrative and her pacing is great. There is a lot of family trauma, as per usual, with a lot of family secrets. Enjoyable. Fans of McManus will love it.

Another read-in-one-sitting home run from McManus. I kept flipping pages needing to know what happened next. YA readers are sure to love this as much as her previous works.

This one definitely kept me reading well into the wee small hours of the morning. I really enjoyed the familial relationships in this one. It was not necessarily a good sibling book but it was a good cousin book.

McManus does it again! I loved the twists and turns of this book and simply didn't see the ending coming. This is definitely a book I will recommend to my middle and high schools for purchase.

A solid YA mystery to add to the McManus canon. Family drama, summer vibes, and a heavy dose of atmosphere make this a must read for fans of her previous titles, and a must own for high school and teen collections.

Karen McManus delivers another average read. It's not something that is for me, clearly but I think a lot of teens will enjoy this entry. The plot is pretty forgettable for me. In the end, not my cup of tea.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review - Here goes...
This book deviates from earlier McManus YA mystery series in that the characters are (wait for it...) cousins (not classmates). This is an interesting slant because who doesn't love reading family drama that happens to take place in a ritzy seaside resort? Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah Story are estranged from their wealthy grandmother who disinherited their parents over 20 years ago. So why has Grandmother reached out to her descendants after all those years? And why did she disinherit her own children? The three cousins must accept jobs at the resort for the summer in order to begin piecing together answers to these questions. They bring with them their physical luggage and emotional baggage that they inherited from their parents who exhibit varying forms of dysfunction. From being emotionally detached to professionally reckless, these parents have done a number on their children. From the moment they arrive at Gull Cove, nothing is as it seems. The cousins have to decide one thing: are they allies or adversaries? If they are allies, they can work together to discover once and for all why their grandmother disinherit their parents. If they are adversaries, they will need to ingratiate themselves to their grandmother (and her lawyer, and her lawyer, and her assistant) in order to become her favorite grandchild and to lay claim to the family fortune.

What I liked: This is quintessential McManus. Few YA writers can keep such focus on plot - mystery plot at that - without devolving into politics, agendas, and whatnot. That is what makes her writing solid and keeps readers from feeling alienated. Her plot twists are so well executed that even the most seasoned "who-done-it" reader will likely not sniff out all of them. Also, not only are her plots solid, they are many things, but never canned. These are not played out retellings - they are 100% original McManus. This is a great story with believable characters, and I know my students will enjoy the plot as well as the characters.
What was hard: McManus has identified on Twitter that she has MANY characters. This particular story adds the challenge of all of the adult siblings having first names that start with "A." It was different to keep the Archer/Anders characters separate for me, but not Allison (the only sister) and Adam. This is not at all an indictment on the writing - maybe it says more about me as a reader. So while there were many characters in the story, having so many who had names beginning with the same letter made me need a flow chart (not present in the digital ARC I read).
All in all: a great story!

McManus has done it again. The three Story cousins - Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah, are all called to the island resort their estranged grandmother owns. Their parents had suddenly been disinherited over 20 years before, and none of them know why. They simply got a letter from their mother's lawyer which read "You know why." Each of the cousins accepts the invitation (begrudgingly) but has their own reasons why and are holding their own secrets close to their chests.

The 2/3 of the book are more about the cousins relations to each other, with the occasional flashback to Milly's mother, Allison, in the summer of 1996, the year before the Story kids were disinherited. Even so, I was compelled by their family dynamics and growth as characters. Once the mystery started to kick in, however, I absolutely could not put the book down. Maybe not as nail-biting as her other books, but just as well-written, so I was hooked from page one.

Milly's, Aubrey's, and Jonah's parents were disinherited from their wealthy and aloof mother almost twenty years ago; now, she wants to get to know her grandchildren. Spending the summer working on their grandmother's island resort wasn't any of their ideal summer vacations, but the three of them soon start to unravel the intricate mysteries that have been surrounding their family for decades.

Fast-paced and full of twists and turns, this novel definitely relied too much on suspension of disbelief for this jaded old gal, but I will have no reservations about recommending it to teens and other fans of mystery thrillers.

Another great mystery from Karen McManus! LIke her other books, this one is full of plot twists that you think you have figured out all leading to an ending you didn't see coming. Fast-paced with great characters, this book is a little different than her others in that you aren't quite sure what the full scope of the mystery is in the beginning. It's definitely a great read, and I'll have no reservations recommending it to mystery lovers.

I loved this book. I have read all of McManus’ books and I would rank this one close to “One of us is Lying”. This book hooked me from the very beginning. The main characters were likable and I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, I was thrown a curveball. I couldn’t wait to get to the end but then I was disappointed I had finished. Great story.

This is a family drama with lots of family secrets. This book is more for older teens, more like 15-16 and up, because there is talk of sex and alcohol abuse in this story. The book does have a lot of twists and turns and has a surprising ending.

This was everything I love about a Karen McManus mystery! Every time I read one of her books, it becomes my new favorite. I loved the setting of this one--eerie, isolated island locale, full of wealthy and mysterious people. Each of the "cousins" had such distinct voices and personalities, and I ended up caring a lot about each one and enjoying the way they bonded with one another. I really didn't see the twist/ending coming until it was revealed, which I love in a mystery. Overall, another fun, fast-paced, twisty read from one of my favorite authors. Looking forward to what's next from her!

This is my third book by Karen McManus, and her books definitely have a particular flavor to them. Her teen characters are so fun to read - they always have secrets, histories, and insecurities that drive the plot forward, which I think really makes for satisfying mysteries. She's very good at dropping pieces of information as the story moves while saving a big reveal for the climax, and even when you can guess some of it, you'll still second-guess yourself throughout.

While I liked this book and it's a solid mystery, I think I was hoping for a bit... more. Just something beyond my expectations. (Which, admittedly, were high.) I don't know how to explain this. I just hoped for something magic, 5-star worthy, and it wasn't here.

Many thanks to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the advanced review copy!

From beginning to end, I loved everything about this book! I was pulled into the story of Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah and couldn't wait to see how this story unfolded.

Milly, Jonah and Aubrey are 17 year old cousins who have been been out of touch since they were young kids. They all receive a letter from their rich grandmother, who invites them to spend the summer with her on Gull Cove Island. Their grandmother has disinherited the entire family and has had nothing to do with any of them in 24 years. Although the cousins are surprised and hesitant, their parents all force them to go, in hopes of getting back into the grandmother's good graces.

This book has a fun setting, excellent characters, and such a great plot, with lots of twists and turns! I loved that there was a different narrator each chapter, and several flashback chapters. And the ending....fantastic!! This is my first Karen McManus book, but definitely not my last! I can't wait to read another!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Cousins is a different style of mystery compared to Karen McManus' previous titles, and it's not what I was expecting or wanting. I liked the three cousins, especially Aubrey, but I had a very hard time caring at all about the Story family mystery. The story goes back and forth between present day and the last summer before their parents were disinherited as the cousins try to figure out what happened and reconnect with their grandmother.

The actual mystery of what happened to cause their grandmother to disinherit their parents with such abruptness was incredibly weak, and none of the plot twists throughout the book were actually surprising. This felt more like a rich family drama than a solid mystery, which many people may actually really enjoy if they know that going in. Aubrey and Jonas had a good development arc throughout the story, but I hated that Milly's budding alcoholism wasn't ever addressed.

Fans of We Were Liars and similar books will likely enjoy The Cousins, but it wasn't for me.