Published By: HQ
Pages: 368
Released On: 11/04/2024
We were always The Four. From our very first day at High Realms.
The four scholarship pupils. Outsiders in a world of power and privilege.
It would have made our lives a lot easier if Marta had simply pushed Genevieve out of our bedroom window that day. Certainly, it would have been tragic. She would have died instantly.
But Marta didn’t push her then, or – if you choose to believe me – at any other time. If she had, all of what we went through would not have happened.
I’ve told this story as clearly as I could – as rationally as I’ve been able, in the circumstances, to achieve. I don’t regret what we did. And I would do it all again.
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
I had my eye on this book for a long time and was thrilled when I was sent an early digital copy.
The only problem was, it really didn’t live up to my expectations. I can’t say it’s a bad book, because objectively I can see it isn’t. But it felt flat. Like, it was fine, it was okay, but nothing special.
I felt that Ellie was trying to find the shock value, but by adding so many topics – suggested abuse, self harm, confused sexuality, violence, death etc etc. – it became bogged down and unrealistic, and so the shock value just turned into the annoyed value, as it just felt like she was trying to cram in more and more shocking things, that together they all ended up losing their shock value. It just felt too try hard.
None of the four main characters endeared themselves to me. I didn’t dislike them as such, but I didn’t like them, they were just there, almost how you expect a minor or background character to be. There wasn’t any substance for me to get y teeth into, which meant I didn’t really care what happened to them by the end.
It felt a bit haphazard, with plots and themes all over the place, with a lot of them not really linking together. Some of the character’s decisions didn’t add up to how they had been explored earlier in the book. I felt there was character growth in the first part, and then they seemed to do the complete opposite as the book went on, which is fine if it makes sense to the story, but it felt chaotic.
The ending annoyed me too. I know it’s meant to be a thriller and thrillers are meant to have twists and turns and whatnot, but it just didn’t make sense in context of the rest of the book. It ended on such a flat note, and whilst I can say it was an alright read, by finishing it in the way it does (I won’t give away the ending), it brought my overall enjoyment down.
I can see why people enjoyed it but I felt it was a bit…a bit forced. I couldn’t find a heart behind the words, sadly. It is meant to be this anxious thriller, but for me it was all minor school arguments, a bit rude, a bit lacking of substance. Most of it seemed out of place, and it was timid.
Looking at other reviews, I can see there are two distinct camps. There are those who loved it and gave it 4-5 stars, raving about how brilliant it is, or they’re in my camp, giving it 2-3 stars and explaining their disappointment. Sadly, this didn’t live up to what I was expecting going into it, and I can’t say with certainty that I would recommend it to others.
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