Personal Rating: 2.5 Stars Goodreads Rating: 3.78 Stars Content Rating: R (for violence and sexual themes) Trigger Warnings: Rape (not described in graphic detail), violence, mentions of suicide, stalking, alcohol and drug use Meet Chloe Sevre. She’s a freshman honor student, a leggings-wearing hot girl next door, who also happens to be a psychopath. Her hobbies include yogalates, frat parties, and plotting to kill Will Bachman, a childhood friend who grievously wronged her. Chloe is one of seven students at her DC-based college who are part of an unusual clinical study for psychopaths—students like herself who lack empathy and can’t comprehend emotions like fear or guilt. The study, led by a renowned psychologist, requires them to wear smart watches that track their moods and movements. When one of the students in the study is found murdered in the psychology building, a dangerous game of cat and mouse begins, and Chloe goes from hunter to prey. As she races to identify the killer and put her own plan into action, she’ll be forced to decide if she can trust any of her fellow psychopaths—and everybody knows you should never trust a psychopath. (goodreads.com) You know, now that I’m a grown-up and I work in a library where other grown-ups are asking for advice on what grown-up books to read, I’ve been trying to read some books written for adults. I mean, I can’t exactly recommend grown-up books to people without having read any. So I do my best, but I just don’t think I’m cut out for it. At least not thrillers and mysteries. Certainly not romance. This book held my interest; I really wanted to know what was happening with the murders and if Chloe was going to accomplish the murder she had planned or not. This book has such a gripping premise and I think the story maintains that grip throughout the book. It’s a weird feeling to be rooting for the characters to solve a murder, while also rooting for one of them to murder someone else. I mean, obviously murder is bad and we should never cheer it on… but this is a fictitious story and the guy she intends to kill kinda deserves it. I’m not saying, I’m just saying. I thought the story was well paced and pretty much everything eventually led back to the main plot. Since I’m a person who enjoys mundane things, I almost wish that we would have seen more of Chloe hanging out with her college friends doing silly college stuff, or more of Andre (another character in the psychopath program) and his friend group. But, I know that normal stuff would have clogged up the story with unnecessary details and there were enough scenes of ordinary college life that I still felt mostly satisfied. So, if this was such a well written murder mystery with an interesting plot and good pacing, why the low rating? It’s totally a personal thing. That’s the hard part of reviewing books. I can know that something is objectively well written, but still not enjoy parts of it because of personal preference. So the reasons I didn’t fully like this book may not be deterrents for other readers, but since I’m the one in charge of this blog I get to decide the rules. And the rules say that I can give a book any rating I want. The reasons this book wasn’t for me:
So, if you asked me if I liked this book, I’d have to say yes and no. Yes, I liked the premise, the plot, and the setting, but no I wasn’t a fan of the parts listed above. After this and The Bones of Ruin, I think I need to read a sweet wholesome story with loveable characters and no dead bodies. Or, at least, very limited dead bodies. However, the problem with wonderful, wholesome stories is that they make for very boring reviews. But I’m sure we’ll manage. Okay, now onto the spoiler section, aka the rant about Charles section. SPOILERS AHEAD! WATCH OUT FOR SPOILERS ABOUT CHARLES PORTMONT! IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW SPOILERS ABOUT THIS BOOK THEN I SUGGEST YOU READ A DIFFERENT REVIEW. LAST WARNING!
Oh my gosh, this boy. And I can call him a boy because I’m older than him. Which both makes me feel smug and ancient (“ancient”, in my opinion, is a nicer word than “old” because it implies that I could be an immortal vampire, you never know). But I digress. Charles, who is literally called Terrible Charles by his frat house, really annoyed me. So, this dude is in the psychopath program, which means he’s a psychopath. Which also means that he doesn’t really have empathy, though he might act like he does to further his own goals. And I’m no psychologist so I won’t comment here nor there on that, but the dude is just so frustrating. In one situation in particular. He has an amazing girlfriend. Her name is Kristen and she is one of my favorite characters in this book because of how nice she is. She knows about his diagnosis and she actively works with her boyfriend to help him in situations that his psychopathy might hinder him. Since he can register disgust, she checks the food in his fridge to make sure it’s not expired because a foul odor doesn’t tell his brain that the food has gone bad. She helps him keep his meds straight. She comforts him when his dad chucks a glass of alcohol at him. She trusts him and loves him and SHE’S TOO GOOD FOR HIM. I’m not saying, I’m just saying. Now, at first, Charles seems like he’s actually a great boyfriend. He tries really hard to be a good partner for Kristen and he definitely loves her. He protects her from creepy murderers. But the dude will not stop cheating on her! Like, good grief! CHARLES, PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER. And what made me really want to toss the book across the room is the ending scene. Where Charles is in the hospital, having been shot by the murderer, and Kristen has been by his side all night. And then freaking Chloe walks in and tells Kristen that she’s one of Charles' friends and kind, trusting Kristen is so excited and asks if Chloe would stay with Charles a little while to keep him company while she’s gone. And as soon as she leaves Chloe and Charles start CUDDLING. THE AUDACITY. It makes me so mad just thinking about it. I want a sequel where Kristen dumps his sorry behind. That, and more screen time for Andre are the only things I want out of a sequel. So on that infuriating note, I bid you adieu until the next review! Image source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56383038-never-saw-me-coming
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