Mini reviews: Friends Like These, How To Find A Missing Girl

11 months ago 38

Hi friends! ?? It�s time for a couple mini reviews again, this time of some exciting YA mystery/thrillers I had a lot of fun with! As always, I love chatting with you all, so feel free to let me...

Hi friends! It�s time for a couple mini reviews again, this time of some exciting YA mystery/thrillers I had a lot of fun with!

As always, I love chatting with you all, so feel free to let me know in comments your thoughts on these books!

There are no spoilers in these reviews.

This blog post contains affiliate links. If you buy something on my recommendation, I will receive a small commission. Purchasing via these links will not cost you any extra and will help me cover the costs of book blogging. You will find more info on my�privacy policy�and�disclaimer�pages. Thank you!

Review: Friends Like These, Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Friends Like These, How To Find A Missing Girl

Friends Like These by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez
Published by Delacorte Press on November 1, 2022
Genres: mystery, thriller, young adult
Format: Paperback
Buy on Amazon,�Bookshop,�Blackwell's
Goodreads

Twisted secrets that will have readers guessing with every flip of the page. Perfect for fans of GONE GIRL, WE WERE LIARS and Karen M. McManus.An end-of-summer party. A prank gone wrong. A body on the beach. Who's to blame?
Tegan Sheffield's annual end-of-summer beach party is the only way to start their senior year. At least that's what Jake Healy tells his girlfriend Jessica Sanchez.
But when a video prank from the party goes viral and a body is discovered at the beach, Jake and Jessica find themselves at the centre of a national media storm and a police investigation.
It's a race to uncover the truth before the killer strikes again.
Readers love Jennifer Lynn Alvarez:
'An emotional rollercoaster!''You won't be disappointed''Damn this was entertaining''A mystery thriller done to perfection'

TRIGGER WARNINGS:sexual assault, abusive relationship, toxic friendship, panic attack, revenge pornography of a minor, drug use (mentioned), alcohol consumption, physical injury (minor), grief and loss, physical assault, emesis (mentioned)

Jennifer Lynn Alvarez writes some excellent YA thrillers, friends. If you�re fans of the genre, I highly recommend checking out her books.

Friends Like These is a compelling book, right from the very start. While it�s definitely more of a slow-burning kind of thriller, I personally found the characterization excellent. No one�s all black or white, these teenagers make sometimes terrible mistakes, and yet you�re compelled to read on, mezmerised by the twists and turns and just wondering how you want this to end.

The relationships in this book are, let me say it: messed up. Like, they�re high level toxic and not right in so many ways. I definitely appreciated the exploration of both friendships and romantic relationships in this book, how twisted they could get, as well.

Twisty, compelling, intriguing until the very end, this is another book by this author I had so much fun with. Definitely recommending it.

FINAL RATING : 4 stars!

Buy this book:

amazon

bookshop

blackwell�s

Review: How To Find A Missing Girl, Victoria Wlosok

How to Find a Missing Girl: a sapphic thriller perfect for fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Victoria Wlosok
on September 19, 2023
Genres: mystery, thriller, young adult
Format: eBook
Buy on Amazon,�Bookshop,�Blackwell's
Goodreads

A year ago, beloved cheerleader Stella Blackthorn vanished without a trace. Devastated, her younger sister, Iris, launched her own investigation, but all she managed to do was scare off the police's only lead and earn a stern once she turns eighteen, more meddling means prison-level consequences.
Then, a year later, the unthinkable happens. Iris's ex-girlfriend, Heather, goes missing, too-just after dropping the polarizing last episode of her true crime podcast all about Iris's sister. This time, nothing will stop Iris and her amateur sleuthing agency from solving these disappearances.
But with a suspicious detective watching her every move, an enemy-turned-friend-turned-maybe-more to contend with, and only thirty days until she turns eighteen, it's a race against the clock for Iris to solve the most dangerous case of her life.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: graphic, on-page depictions of blood, a car accident, grief, cursing, and death; moderate on-page mentions of medical content, alcohol, infidelity, an adult/minor relationship (challenged), cancer, the death of a parent, mental illness, and murder; and brief allusions to or minor depictions of gore, drug use, stalking, vomit, emotional abuse, suicide, panic attacks/disorders, gun violence, homophobia (challenged), a terminal illness, and violence.

How To Find A Missing Girl was one of my most anticipated reads of this year and I�m thrilled to say, it didn�t disappoint. It was exactly the kind of entertaining, fun, captivating YA mystery I was looking for.

The story is carried by a great, diverse cast of characters I immediately fell for. I loved their friendship and their banter so much. Each of them had their own talent and personalities, but together, they just fit. Definitely a little found family here. I absolutely loved the ex-childhood best friends trope here, which was wonderfully done and evolved so realistically alongside the main plot.

The mystery was compelling and addictive to read� yet also felt realistic, from a teenager�s point of view. Our main characters aren�t 18, they obviously don�t have the means or material to do a real investigation, they�re struggling with some obstacles here, and I loved how realistically that was painted, as well.

Overall, How To Find A Missing Girl was a page-turner for me. I had so much fun with these characters and can�t wait to see what the author will come up with, next!