I have to be honest The List didn't turnout to be the book I was expecting. I was expecting a fast paced, page turning, got to know what happens next kind of feeling and read but unfortunately this book was a slower burner. Although the story is unique and creative it just didn't cause me to read this as fast as I normally would. With that said the writing was good. The story definitely had some dark moments unlike some other books I've read in this genre. I would give it 3 out 5 stars.

Beth finds her name on a piece of paper, the third of five names. The first two are dead. Suspicious deaths. She slowly realizes how they are linked. How someone has found out a horrific crime, she and her friends committed as a child. A crime so horrific, they were branded 'sadistic' and called the 'Stirchley Six.
The plot was well written with quite many interesting characters and focused on the story of a dark friendship and hidden secrets. I enjoyed the twist at the end as it was very unexpected. Jones did a fantastic job taking us on the emotional journey of characters and their thought process. It made it easy to understand their feelings and motivations right from the start and see the events through their eyes. .'

A solid addition to the crowded thriller genre with a pleasing narrator. A recommended purchase for collections where crime fic is popular.

This is told from three different POVs, which I normally love, but what set this apart (in a bad way) is that the POVs are not broken up by chapters, so you'll be listening to one POV and it will abruptly switch over to another POV and it can take a minute to realize so it was a bit confusing at first. This may only be an audio problem and probably doesn't affect the physical copy readers.

The premise itself really intrigued me and it set this up to be a really great thriller, but it never really got over the hump from average to great. The characters themselves I think needed a bit more development to seem more believable. Once the listmaker was revealed, I felt like there wasn't much anticipation left and it seemed a bit too obvious that thats who it was. I enjoyed the book until that point but didn't love the ending. This had a lot of potential and not enough follow through. It did have a lot of strong points though - interesting plot, characters you wanted to root for (and ones you could easily hate), and the pacing and dialogue were both good. I think the twist was just a bit too obvious and revealed too soon with not enough drama to follow. Overall, an enjoyable listen and I'd return for more of this author's work.

I received access to this audiobook ARC thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape media.

Imagine you’re running through the woods (already scare, IMO) & find a list with your name on it. The 2 people before you on the list are dead. I’d be pretty freaked out & so is our main character.

For the first half, I was put off by the fact that there were 3 points of views. As the reasoning for this device was revealed later in the book, I wasn’t as put off by it, but I also didn’t see the need for it. I like reveals where you get the information slowly. I also like a good twist that you don’t see coming. I actually think I would have enjoyed this more if it had been a “twist” kind of a book. Without getting into spoilers, I felt the same way I did about the ending of Lost when everything started to come together. I felt lied to, and it didn’t quite seem to add up for me.

Though the format and delivery weren’t my cup of tea, I thought the author did a great job creating atmosphere in this book. I felt the panic along with the character(s), and even after finding out what was going on and who was doing what things, I still wanted to keep reading because the scenes really drew me into the book.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Carys Jones for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I know you aren’t supposed to judge a book by it’s cover- but this one definitely made me look and read the description!!! The title, cover and description attracted me like a moth to a flame!!

In this book, Beth is out for her normal morning jog. She finds a list with her name on it and is instantly obsessed by this list. She begins researching the names and becomes concerned when she discovers the first two people are dead. She attempts to find out more about these two people and what their relationship might me to her. More importantly- who wrote this list and why? Is it a warning to protect her or to frighten her into revealing the secret that she has been hiding?

I struggled with Beth- I felt such sympathy for what she had been through. But I was struck with horror over her mistakes. There were twists and turns and this book looks at how our choices change us. Overall the book was interesting and I was curious if it would turn out like I expected (it didn’t!)

I voluntarily listened to an audio version of this book so I could share my honest opinion on the book. Thanks NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for letting me have this advanced copy!

The List by Carys Jones is a psychological thriller is an engaging story that elicits many emotions from the reader. Beth finds a list with several names and hers is the third one on there. After looking into the names, she finds they are both dead. She quickly spirals into her past as it collides with her now.

Didn't really work for me.

Beth goes on her daily run and finds a piece of paper next to the trail. On it is a list of names, and hers is third on the list. She is shocked and in her research she finds out that the first two names on the list are both dead in suspicious circumstances.

This book was decently suspenseful for me until it wasn't. Without venturing into spoiler territory, I found it absolutely implausible that Beth wouldn't have been able to put two and two together and figure out both why she would be on the list and who the other people were. The twist toward the end is decent though, and I was actually surprised. I just wanted more from the book and I wanted it to be more believable than it was for all of the excitement of the premise.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator does a good job with multiple voices and points of view. It did keep me engaged more than I might have reading it on the page.

I didn't love this book as much as I wanted to. The premise was great but the main character basically drove me up the wall. She was not likable whatsoever. I think the novel was well written overall but the main character almost made me want to stop reading.

4.33 stars
Enjoyability 8/10

Beth Belmont is on her daily run when she finds something different in a route she knows as the palm of her hand: the corner of a paper at the base of a tree. Curiosity gets the best of her, and she picks it up.

On that paper, there are five names, including her own. As the day follows, Beth can't stop thinking about the names on the list and decides to look further into it. When she finds out the two words above hers belong to dead people, she wonders if she could be next. I mean, wouldn't you?

I first read The List as an audiobook produced by Dreamscape Media and narrated by Charlotte Worthing. And I really enjoyed it. Worthing's voice was enticing, and her pacing was spot on. Although I felt that she did excellent with projecting the characters' voices, I wish there was a second narrator for the "mystery" POV. I realize this wasn't on Charlotte's talent but the book's writing, making it hard for readers to get used to that narrative until almost the end of the book.

On that note, I will start the book review with my one gripe - We have three narrators, Beth in the present, Ruby in the past, and a mystery narrator we know is the list author, but don't know their identity or gender. I have no problem following stories with "mystery narrators." Still, in The List this narrative came right in the middle of other chapters without warning, making it difficult for me to follow or enjoy at first. It often broke the tension of either Beth's or Ruby's Story. I would have rated the book higher if somehow that PoV had its own chapters. It would have made the narrator's storytelling more fluid as well.

On the other hand, Jones did a fantastic job taking us on the emotional journey of characters and their thought process. It made it easy to understand their feelings and motivations off the bat and see the events through their eyes. One of my favourite things about reading is connecting with characters, and I did just that in The List. Beth is such a compelling, multidimensional character. Her whole journey was the perfect frame for this story.

Even with the awkward placement of the "mystery narrator," I really enjoyed all the alternating PoVs. It reminded me of The ABC Murders in style (but utterly different in everything else, so I promise this isn't a spoiler.)

I still catch myself thinking about Ruby and Beth, which is a great sign the author wrote a book worth reading. I will be checking her other books out and hope her characters are just as enjoyable!

Disclaimer: I first read it as an ARC. In exchange for an honest review, I am thankful to Dreamscape Media, Carys Jones, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of The List.

The premise of this book really drew me in, but I found the story itself to be a bit tedious. While the twist at the end was satisfying, the journey to get there was long, and at times, I wasn’t sure I would finish it.

The Short Version: A lightly tense thriller that will keep you along for the ride, but doesn’t take you anywhere new or exciting.

The Long Version: I got to listen to the audiobook ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape media.

The List follows a young English woman who’s living a simple life, working at a local theatre, living with her loving boyfriend, and taking her morning runs. One day on her run, she finds a list of five names, the third name is hers. After some research she finds the first two names on the list have died under suspicious circumstances. Now she has to unravel the mystery of The List before it’s too late.

The premise of this book made my ears perk up, it’s super catchy and who wouldn’t be freaked to find a list of dead people with their name on it, and for a good part of the book, there’s decent pace and tension that keep you going, the main problem with it is that it fails to get over that hump that separates decent thrillers and great ones.

At the beginning, it’s a little tough to get on board because the story is told through three POVs(two in third person, one in first person ). In the audiobook this is especially tough because the POVs aren’t separated into their own chapters, so you’ll be listening to the third person narrative then it switches over to first person abruptly. I’m sure in the print version there’s a page break to ease these transitions, but this would have been an easy issue to fix.

Once I got past that, I started to warm to the main character, whose world starts caving in on her after the discovery of the list. There’s a midpoint twist, but it was fairly obvious, and while I was interested to figure out the mystery of the list maker, I wasn’t desperate to keep listening, I wasn’t waiting anxiously for my next fix.

The main components of the novel are strong (prose, dialogue, plot) and it’s an enjoyable read/listen overall, with a. Strong performance from the narrator as well on the audiobook. The real shame comes in the ultimate reveal. The identity of the list maker made the whole premise feel convoluted and…well…stupid. There were so many better ways for the list maker to achieve their goal without the list.

Overall a solid 3 out of 5. It’s not spectacular, but you probably won’t be disappointed you read it either, except perhaps for the ending.

Component Ratings
Idea/concept: 4 out of 5
Protagonist: 3 out of 5
Antagonist: 2 out of 5
Supporting characters: 4 out of 5
Character Development: 2 out of 5
Plot: 3 out of 5
Pacing: 4.5 out of 5
Prose: 4 out of 5
Dialogue: 4 out of 5
Narrator performance: 4 out of 5
Ending: 1 out of 5

Thank you for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook, I have seen a lot of hype over this book on bookstagram and I was super excited for this! Overall - before reading, I found the synopsis and cover to be super intriguing. You get a good idea that this book will be a thriller, who done it- type of book. However, I felt this book did not live up to what I was expecting. I felt it was a bit of a slow burn and I had troubles piecing together the story while listening. I feel with thrillers I need that hook to get me so excited about where the story is going - it might have been the character Beth I was not enjoying. I just felt I was wanting more.
This book was well written and I would recommend to my friends that enjoy YA thrillers. It was not for me but I am happy I had the opportunity to listen to this story. Thank you again.

Sarah
@sarahsbookcase

I really liked this book! Every time I thought I knew where it was going, it went a different direction. Having the three characters was a different way to tell the story, but I really liked how it gave you a chance to connect the dots. One decision can change your entire life.

QOTD: Are there any sort of creepy stories that you couldn’t shake as a kid, true or otherwise? (Think true crime, movies, books)

I’m not on the True Crime train anymore, but that didn’t change until I had kids. When I was younger, I remember hearing about this story of how a 12 year old girl (Shanda Sharer) was brutally murdered by a handful of teenagers (literally just the worst story), and this book had me recalling the whole thing throughout. When asked why the girls did it, one of them said, “we just didn’t like her.”

In Carys Jones’ The List, We Meet Beth, who has her own dark and twisted history. Having done something horrible as a kid, she’s saddled with fear and paranoia as an adult. My favorite thing about the story was how Jones sort of gets you to empathize with Beth. It leaves you asking things like, at what age people are accountable for their actions, how much kids/adolescents can be influenced in a group setting, whether people can be truly rehabilitated after doing something heinous, etc.

Beth finds a list in the woods with her name on it, and immediately starts spiraling. She finds out early on the first two names on the list are dead, and she’s third. How are they connected to her?

The plot had a ton of promise, but under-delivered IMO, especially at the end. I listened to the audiobook and until the last third it held that promise, despite some heavy repetition in the writing. By the end, though, the story just didn’t come together in a way that made a ton of sense for me as the reader.

I’d recommend most for fans of YA even though Beth, who we follow most, is an adult in the current timeline (there is some past/present back-and-forth).

Thank you @netgalley and @dreamscape_media for this gifted audio version! Available Sept 2, 2021

#thelist #netgalley #carysjones #dreamscapemedia #audiobook #audiobooks #audiobookstagram #audiobooksofinstagram #audiobooklove #audiobookreview #bookreview #netgalleyreads #netgalleyreview #bookreviews #bookreviewer #bookrelease #bookphoto #bookish #booklove #booklife #instabooks #instareads #instaread #instabook #thriller #shandasharer #yareads #reading #reads #readstagram

Beth finds her name on a list of five names while running in the woods. After looking into the names, she finds that the first two are dead and her name is next. She has to figure out if the list has to do with her dark past.

The audiobook itself was good, the narrator did a great job of being multiple people. I found the book itself to be too long and the ending was very unsatisfying. I'm not entirely sure what the message of the story was or the purpose behind a lot of the actions taken in the book. The characters themselves weren't particularly likeable. I did feel bad that the main character was so young when her life fell apart, but I didn't really feel like she had done anything to redeem it. I found the premise very intriguing and wish that it had gone down a different path. For me, this was a 2.5/5.

I received a copy of this audiobook free from NetGalley and Dreamscape Media in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media, who provided a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

Synopsis: While out for a run, Beth finds a list of five names. She doesn't recognize four of them, but her own name is third on the list. As she digs into the other names, she discovers that the first two people are dead - is this a threat? Is she next? 

This started off strong for me, with a dark premise that sounded really promising, with expected twists and suspense. The first hour or so I was really intrigued, and as Beth starts to uncover what happened to the first two names on the list, I was looking forward to seeing where it would go. 

And then it just started to drag, and managed to be melodramatic at the same time. There was a lot of hand-wringing and existential crises, without the plot advancing in any way. 

I was hoping the end would pull it together, but unfortunately it did the opposite for me. When the purpose behind the list was revealed, it was definitely not what I expected, but mostly because it just didn't make any sense. It felt like it was written to be a huge surprise, but the backstory to explain it wasn't thought out. 

Sadly, this just didn't do it for me.

The plot of this story had me intrigued enough to listen to an audiobook even though that is not usually my style. I struggled to get through this book. I may have enjoyed it more if I read the book, but I found myself having a hard time understanding the narration and figuring out which character was "speaking" due to the similarity in the voice with only one narrator. Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to review this book.

I started this book and I’m just really confused. There is so much going on and it’s rather confusing. I may try to finish it but i don’t think so. I don’t think this book is for me personally.

If you read a lot of thrillers, you pretty much know that there's going to be a twist at some point. And it's nice and refreshing when you're still surprised by it. The List manages to avoid formulaic traps and deliver a unique plot that will definitely hold your interest.