Blog Tour: The Cousins by Karen M. McManus @The_WriteReads @WriteReadsTours (#TheWriteReads #UltimateBlogTour)

Hi Blisses,

TITLE: The Cousins
BY: Karen M. McManus
GENRE: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller
PUBLICATION: December 3rd 2020 by Penguin
NOTES: I received a copy via Netgalley for a blog tour and in exchange for an honest review.

BLURB

The Storys are the envy of their neighbors: owners of the largest property on their East Coast island, they are rich, beautiful, and close. Until it all falls apart. The four children are suddenly dropped by their mother with a single sentence:

You know what you did.
They never hear from her again.

Years later, when 18-year-old cousins Aubrey, Milly, and Jonah Story receive a mysterious invitation to spend the summer at their grandmother’s resort, they have no choice but to follow their curiosity and meet the woman who’s been such an enigma their entire lives.

This entire family is built on secrets, right? It’s the Story legacy.

This summer, the teenagers are determined to discover the truth at the heart of their family. But some secrets are better left alone.

REVIEW

I haven’t had the chance yet to read this author’s second and third book but I enjoyed her first novel, One of Us is Lying. That one really surprised me because it is in my least favorite genre, Young Adult Contemporary, and yet I enjoyed it. So when I was invited to be part of this tour, of course, I jumped at the chance. And just like One of Us is Lying, I enjoyed The Cousins too.

The Cousins features the Story family and the plot is centered in cousins, Jonah, Milly and Aubrey who received an invitation from their estranged grandmother to stay and work in the family’s property in an island. The cousins are not happy with the idea of meeting their grandmother but their parents basically forced them to go since their parents are still confused and wanting a reconciliation with their mother who disinherited them 24 years ago. But the cousins soon found out that so many secrets are surrounding their family and they are eager to discover everything.

It took me a while to get into the story mainly because I found the first few chapters filled with regular young adult scenes and exchanges that they don’t interest me much. I even found the characters a bit cliche when they were first introduced. But the mystery surrounding their grandmother really hooked me. I really wanted to find out so I kept going. And soon, I found myself more sucked in to the story and the intrigue.

The characters turned more interesting as well as the story goes. I found myself liking Aubrey, Milly, and Jonah. Though I think my favorite would be Aubrey. She’s really kind-hearted and even Jonah found her to be someone who would be a terrible liar. She has that pure aura, which is a bit in contrast to Milly. Milly is the typical socialite teenager but I love her. The author made her appear to be sensible and not vain. She’s a girl who enjoys good things, that’s all. Jonah…Well, I don’t want to talk about him for reasons you will soon find out in the story.

The entire plot is interesting. I wouldn’t call it common but I also wouldn’t call it refreshing and unique. It’s just intriguing and would kept your interest till the end. Though for me, the last quarter of the book is the best part. The pace leading to the resolution certainly kept up. The twists are okay. The very first twist was so easy to guess. I wasn’t surprised at what Milly found out in the first quarter of the story. The same goes for the big reveal. I wasn’t surprised, mainly because that kind of “secret” have been used at least three times throughout the book. Though I think, it’s not that the author run out of an idea on how to conceal things, maybe the forst two are just hints about the big reveal.

Despite the big reveal not being too surprising, I still find this book very engaging. I liked the way the author wove all the elements of her story. The plot is certainly multi-layered. I also like the sub-plots especially the ones about the main characters. I would’ve liked their backgrounds explored more. There are more side characters in the entire story and most of them are related to the big secret and the past storyline and I think the author did a great job with them because most of them are well-developed. There’s a bit of romance and if you’ve been following me for a while now, then you’ll know I’m a sucker for romance in my reads no matter the main genre is.

RATING: 3.5 blissful pages with lilies

Overall, this book is not perfect but it certainly is very engaging. It will keep your interest till the end and will keep your mind working throughout. It is also fast-paced.

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Have you read this book? Or planning to? What do you think of it? Let’s chat.