Friday, September 24, 2021

Book Review: The Cousins by Karen M. McManus

Book Review: Recursion by Blake CrouchThe Cousins by Karen M. McManus

Published: December 1, 2020

Genre: Young Adult, Mystery

Pages: 337

Synopsis: Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah Story are cousins, but they barely know each other, and they've never even met their grandmother. Rich and reclusive, she disinherited their parents before they were born. So when they each receive a letter inviting them to work at her island resort for the summer, they're surprised... and curious.

Their parents are all clear on one point—not going is not an option. This could be the opportunity to get back into Grandmother's good graces. But when the cousins arrive on the island, it's immediately clear that she has different plans for them. And the longer they stay, the more they realize how mysterious—and dark—their family's past is.

The entire Story family has secrets. Whatever pulled them apart years ago isn't over—and this summer, the cousins will learn everything.

Thoughts: Mysteries have been my jam lately, and The Cousins was no exception. There are a couple different mysteries afoot in this book, including what happened to make the main characters' grandmother disinherit her children (the main characters' parents), and why she has suddenly decided to invite all of the grandkids to work at her island resort for the summer. It's mainly told from the three grandkids' POVs, with some chapters from one of the parents' POVs back when she was a teenager around when the disinheritance happened.

In general, the story has some good twists and turns, with some of the reveals actually being pretty surprising. However, one of the big reveals toward the end wasn't super satisfactory for me, and felt like it was too similar to some of the previous plot points in the book. I will say, though, that unlike other books where the different POV chapters always leave me wanting to get back to one particular POV versus the one I might be currently reading, in this book I enjoyed each different one equally -- and that's definitely saying something!

If you enjoy a mystery, particularly one with some family drama and some unexpected romance thrown in, then you'll probably enjoy this one. Would I say it's McManus' best book? Probably not, but I still enjoyed it and read it pretty quickly, which is always a good barometer for me to see if I'm enjoying what I'm reading.

Rating: 4/5

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What I'm Reading Next: The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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