Hey everyone! I'm back with another review :)
Before I start, I just want to let you know about some posts I'm going to be publishing veerrry soon.
So a while ago I started reading the book series H.I.V.E., and the next book in the series is already sitting on my bookshelf at home, waiting to be read and reviewed, so if you like science fiction, that's the book for you xD.
I have also begun reading a book which I'm not going to reveal just yet! This book is entirely an accident I did not mean to read it but I guess it's something to look forward to if you like romance and mystery <3
I'm also going to read a book my friend recommended me, though I haven't started reading it yet because I just have so many stuff on my schedule! With school and everything ;-; Apparently I actually need to focus in school now because I'm getting older smh. I also have to read the next book in the series One of Us is Lying, for which a review is most probably going to come out sometime next week. I also have to start reading all the books on my TBR list!
Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M.McManus
Genre(s): Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller
Free Download (z-lib.org)
Blurb:
Echo ridge is small-town America. Ellery's never been there, but she's heard all about it. Her aunt went missing there at age seventeen. And only five years ago, a homecoming queen put the town on the map where she was killed. Now Ellery has to move there to live with a grandmother she barely knows.
The town is picture-perfect, but it's hiding secrets. And before school even begins for Ellery, someone's declared open season on homecoming, promising to make it as dangerous as it was five years ago. Then, almost as if to prove it, another girl goes missing.
Ellery knows all about secrets. Her mother has them; her grandmother does too. And the longer she's in Echo Ridge, the clearer it becomes that everyone there is hiding something. The thing is, secretes are dangerous -- and most people aren't good at keeping them. Which is why in Echo Ridge, it's safest to keep your secrets to yourself.
I originally thought this book was a continuation from One of Us is Lying as I mentioned in my review. (linked below) Turns out it's just a standalone book and One of Us is Next is actually the sequel (review coming out for that sometime next week!) but standalone book or continuation, it was a good read.
75% of this book was better than One of Us is Lying. The last 25%...just seemed too rushed. After reading One of Us is Lying, I was prepared for a fantastic twist at the end of the book. There was a twist of course, it's a young adult book after all, but the book just didn't end on as good a note as I thought it would. I'm pretty sure the ending would suffice for an average reader, but as someone who reads a lot of books on a daily basis, I was looking for something a bit more intricate. And the last line (read the book to find out what it is!)...it did not compute. (Not a spoiler technically, just the line Sadie (Ellery's mother) says in the Hollywood movie series Defenders. Sadie is also practically a celebrity at Echo Ridge because of that one line. -_-)
The setting was a typical cliché young adult setting - A high school 🙄 - but I was expecting that anyway. And, unlike One of Us is Lying, not EVERYTHING happened at Echo Ridge High - a lot of the action happened in Echo Ridge itself, Ellery and Malcolm's houses, and Fright Farm A.K.A. Murderland. The alternating POVs between Malcom and Ellery was really smooth, and I found the POV changes easier to handle than the four different POVs in One of Us is Lying. It was nice to see in the mind of a true crime solver and a suspect :D
Ellery was a really good main character, she had flaws too which made her really believable and her character had a bit of sarcastic humour, something I always love and makes a young adult book ✨young adult✨.
Malcolm also had an interesting POV as he was wrongfully suspected, though his and Ellery's relationship just seemed a little rushed and forced for me, it didn't have any chemistry in it unlike some other books I've read.
The other characters are just going to be listed as I don't have the time to give every single one of them a paragraph 🥵:
Mia the Korean kid who is like my favourite character so far, soo badass. And she's a good friend.
Ryan Rodriguez, the 'sketchy' policeman who looks like he's still a teen. He's only five years older than Ellery and Ezra.
And oh yes, Ezra, Ellery's twin whom I almost forgot about because to be honest, he wasn't a very developed character - which he should have been by the way, he's Ellery's literal twin for god's sake - and I read this book two days ago and I honestly can't remember a thing about him.
Sadie who's just a very distracted mother to Ellery and Ezra, she's currently in rehab, I think it's because she broke into a jewellery shop or something. I can't really remember. As you can probably see, my memory is really bad. I should probably go see a therapist. Or maybe it was just the book.
And then there's Ellery and Ezra's teacher grandmother. At the beginning none of them want to live with each other, but things change and they grow to love each other etc.. Sorry if this sounds like I'm writing a whole load of crap but this is typical cliché stuff I'm tired of reading about, but it always brings a good end to the story, so what can I say? Excuse me I'm really weird ://
Overall, I thought Karen M.McManus could have done better, what with her reputation of One of Us is Lying. Maybe that was just beginner's luck? I don't know. But I will still be reading the sequel to One of Us is Lying because at the moment, Brownyn, Nate, Cooper, Addy, Maeve and everyone else have become very real to me. Especially Maeve, I just love badass characters xD. She also has another book called the cousins which I'll probably read once I get the time.
What's the best way to measure a murder mystery? See if I could guess the murderer, of course. Well, no, I couldn't guess who the murderer was so it's still a good book I guess. By the way, the picture on the left is one of Karen M.McManus, if you were wondering.
This book gets 3 grapes because honestly, Karen could do better. I keep on writing Karen McCombie xD because she came to our school last year and she has an easy name to remember. Anyway, that's the end of my review! You guys know what books I'm going to be reviewing next so I guess there's no point in mentioning them again.
That's all I guess! See you soon for another review as straight after publishing this, I'm going to start another review like I always do 🙄 Expect a review in at least three days! Hope y'all have an awesome day, byeee!