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The Rules by Nancy Holder
Narrated by alternating unreliable narrators, this dark thriller will have readers on the edge of their seats. No one is safe and everyone is a suspect. It's Saw meets I Know What You Did Last Summer.Junior Robin Brisset has no idea what she's in for when she accepts an invitation to one of Callabrese High's most exclusive parties. And when the trademark scavenger hunt begins, Robin must go against every rule she's lived by to survive.
Hardcover
First published June 23, 2015
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2966 people want to read
About the author
Nancy Holder
352 books2,408 followersNancy Holder, New York Times Bestselling author of the WICKED Series, has just published CRUSADE - the first book in a new vampire series cowritten with Debbie Viguie. The last book her her Possession series is set to release in March 2011.
Nancy was born in Los Altos, California, and her family settled for a time in Walnut Creek. Her father, who taught at Stanford, joined the navy and the family traveled throughout California and lived in Japan for three years. When she was sixteen, she dropped out of high school to become a ballet dancer in Cologne, Germany, and later relocated to Frankfurt Am Main.
Eventually she returned to California and graduated summa cum laude from the University of California at San Diego with a degree in Communications. Soon after, she began to write; her first sale was a young adult romance novel titled Teach Me to Love.
Nancy’s work has appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, LA Times, amazon.com, LOCUS, and other bestseller lists. A four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award from the Horror Writers Association, she has also received accolades from the American Library Association, the American Reading Association, the New York Public Library, and Romantic Times.
She and Debbie Viguié co-authored the New York Times bestselling series Wicked for Simon and Schuster. They have continued their collaboration with the Crusade series, also for Simon and Schuster, and the Wolf Springs Chronicles for Delacorte (2011.) She is also the author of the young adult horror series Possessions for Razorbill. She has sold many novels and book projects set in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Saving Grace, Hellboy, and Smallville universes.
She has sold approximately two hundred short stories and essays on writing and popular culture. Her anthology, Outsiders, co-edited with Nancy Kilpatrick, was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award in 2005.
She teaches in the Stonecoast MFA in Creative Writing Program, offered through the University of Southern Maine. She has previously taught at UCSD and has served on the Clarion Board of Directors.
She lives in San Diego, California, with her daughter Belle, their two Corgis, Panda and Tater; and their cats, David and Kittnen Snow. She and Belle are active in Girl Scouts and dog obedience training.
Nancy was born in Los Altos, California, and her family settled for a time in Walnut Creek. Her father, who taught at Stanford, joined the navy and the family traveled throughout California and lived in Japan for three years. When she was sixteen, she dropped out of high school to become a ballet dancer in Cologne, Germany, and later relocated to Frankfurt Am Main.
Eventually she returned to California and graduated summa cum laude from the University of California at San Diego with a degree in Communications. Soon after, she began to write; her first sale was a young adult romance novel titled Teach Me to Love.
Nancy’s work has appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, LA Times, amazon.com, LOCUS, and other bestseller lists. A four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award from the Horror Writers Association, she has also received accolades from the American Library Association, the American Reading Association, the New York Public Library, and Romantic Times.
She and Debbie Viguié co-authored the New York Times bestselling series Wicked for Simon and Schuster. They have continued their collaboration with the Crusade series, also for Simon and Schuster, and the Wolf Springs Chronicles for Delacorte (2011.) She is also the author of the young adult horror series Possessions for Razorbill. She has sold many novels and book projects set in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Saving Grace, Hellboy, and Smallville universes.
She has sold approximately two hundred short stories and essays on writing and popular culture. Her anthology, Outsiders, co-edited with Nancy Kilpatrick, was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award in 2005.
She teaches in the Stonecoast MFA in Creative Writing Program, offered through the University of Southern Maine. She has previously taught at UCSD and has served on the Clarion Board of Directors.
She lives in San Diego, California, with her daughter Belle, their two Corgis, Panda and Tater; and their cats, David and Kittnen Snow. She and Belle are active in Girl Scouts and dog obedience training.
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January 26, 2015
The moment this started to sound like a mix between Ten and They All Fall Down, I knew this had NO BUENO written all over it. But I decided to give it a fighting chance. True, I'd hated the shit out of the two short stories I'd read from these authors, but what the hell? The book was short, kids were dying all over the place, what did I have to lose? Besides several hours of my life I am never getting back, I almost lost my e-reader because that's how hard I wanted to throw it against the wall in frustration with this book.
Thisrant review might go on for a while, so if you don't want to stick with me all the way to the end, here's the short version: This book really fucking sucks. It's just awful. Like, gouge-your-eyes-out-with-rusty-spoons-and-pour bleach-on-your-ears-in-the-hopes-it'll-get-to-your-brain-and-erase-away-the-terrible-memory-of-having-read-it awful. For those who want to stick around for the long version, I'll throw in some gifs to make the experience a lot livelier.
This book is just like every other YA thriller/mystery about someone hunting down teenagers and killing them in gruesome ways out there, so there must be a set of RULES out there that YA authors shared amongst themselves. Since I am not privy to that particular information, I'll make my own based on what I learned from The Rules.
Rule #1: Insert every single teenage stereotype in there. The more outdated, overplayed and excessive, the better.
The jock with the heart of gold with the secret love for the quiet girl nobody notices? Welcome aboard! How 'bout the mysterious, kinda freaky-looking, weird guy with a vendetta against all the characters? Oh, how about we make the main character the sweet, shy girl nobody acknowledges but who's smarter, kinder, stronger and better than everybody else just 'cuz? The dumb one who gets easily manipulated by everyone, is revered only by how pretty and "easy" she is and goes running at the first sight of trouble? The ambitious social climber willing to step over everyone to get to the top? The gorgeous and ambitious mean girl with a secret who's really not that bad? A group of douche bros who only think about sex and alcohol? Bring them all in. And they are rich and popular and entitled, so of course they are a bunch of horrible people. Oh, but we need some diversity. Here. Have a guy with a Japanese name and a chick with an Indian name and let's cleverly not say anything else about the ethnicity of any other character, especially the crazy one that's in a gang, even though there might be some hints that he's black. It's not racist if we don't say it.
I don't think I've read about a more uninspired and cliched group of characters since Welcome to the Dark House. Not only that, they were also boring as fuck. Not a single one was in the slightest even remotely interesting. The lack of development or believable growth, the absence of layers to their personalities and the way they were used to check every single box in the stereotype checklist made them impossible to like, much less be engaging in the slightest. I care not a single fuck about any of them, not enough to even bat an eyelash when they were killed. It's a murder mystery! I need to care that someone's killing these kids, even if I don't care for the teens themselves. And yet...
Rule #2: To distract from how stereotyped and unoriginal your characters are, give them some stupid little trait. Don't even think about it. It doesn't even have to make sense. Just throw it in there. It's not like they'll notice. It's a YA book after all.
The psycho ex-boyfriend that's on a gang? Yeah, he has a black chihuahua that he adores and take with him everywhere. See how creative this character is? If he were a normal psycho ex-boyfriend who's on a gang, he would have a more menacing dog, like a Bulldog or a Rottweiler, not a freaking chihuahua! Did I just blow your mind or what?
And the shy girl, you see, she can be a leader and has a really great mind for mystery. You know how? She likes to play Clue. That's right: the mystery authority in this novel got her title by playing Clue with her 8 year old brother. Seriously, hold on to your seats because the character depth here will blow you right out into outer-space.
Rule #3: Make these characters as melodramatic, conniving and suspicious as possible. The more outrageous the better. Give them some really over dramatic rules to live by. Remember, they are teenagers. They need some really hardcore rules to live by. There are social steps to climb, after all. Really important life goals right there. Oh, and start every single chapter with one of those rules. They don't need to make sense or relate to what's going to happen next. Trust me. I write good.
We just don't understand. These kids have been so hardened by life's burdens. Robin has loved Kyle for so long, but she's the coach's daughter and that's against the rules. Romeo and Juliet had it easy compared to them. Oh, and Beth, poor Beth. She had to live outside of the popular group for years. For years, I tell you! She can't trust anyone or all she's worked for will crumble before her. She would not be invited to parties anymore! Think of the parties!
The way this bunch of little shits talk, you'd think they'd gone through the biggest hardships in the history of humanity. Who the fuck has an extremely detailed set of rules to live by? Teenagers at that. And if they do, why are they all based on the one characteristic that's supposed to define them, like the one dimensional chalk outlines that they are? Robin's kind, so all of her rules are about being sweet and kind to everyone. Kyle's all about respecting rules. Larson's a manwhore, so they are all about cheating whenever he can. Beth wants to be popular, so they are all about using people and trusting no one. August has some serious Lannister feelings going on for his dead sister, so they are all about cheesy notions of revenge. Hiro plays the drums, so here's an idea, let's make them all analogies about playing the drums!
Rules #4: Randomly change from POV to POV for no reason at all. The perspective doesn't matter. Just jump back and forth, but for the sake of cohesiveness, keep the same unemotional and sterile and disjointed narrative voice. Nobody needs to care about thesestereotypes kids, I mean, they are only going to be murdered, after all.
You have like 14 different characters, might as well use them to see half a page from their perspective, you don't even need a reason. The technique was useful for when one of them was in particular danger at that point, and it was admittedly used in several occasions in the novel, but there were plenty of other times where the narration would shift from one POV to the other for no particular reason, and the interesting thing here is that it almost made no different at all. The writing in this novel feels particularly disjointed because the first half of the novel unleashes this torrent of info dumps about the characters, but by the time the second half comes, the narration, all throughout and regardless of the POV it was told from, sounded dry, sterile and stiff. That actively worked against the characters and effectively erased any interest I might've had in them and their role in the novel. The writing was awkward sometimes, riddled with some really odd word choices and sentence arrangements that made the reading experience rather bumpy and uncomfortable. It was not unreadable, but I didn't like the writing and I thought it added nothing to the characters or the atmosphere.
Rule #5: Whenever someone is introduced, shit exposition and info dumps all over the page. Tell everything. Reveal everything you have from the get go. This is a mystery. Who needs mysterious characters with mysterious motivations and pasts, right? Oh, and make those internal monologues as vacuous and cliched as possible, you hear me? Before I forget, also put foreshadowing everywhere. Have every single character utter some line about feeling like someone's going to die tonight or some other bullshit about death being in the air. Instant tension. You're welcome.
Every couple of chapters, even before the horror started, someone would look into the distance and drop some eerie line about feeling like something horrible was going to happen or that someone was going to die. It wasn't enough that whenever one of these assholes was introduced we learned their entire life stories in a matter of seconds along with their particular ambition (hint: popularity!) and a very one-dimensional look at their one trait, delivered with all the grace and subtlety of an elephant on roller-skates, but they would also end their introductions with some cheesy exclamation of "having a bad feeling about this" or feeling like the night would end badly. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. This is the most blatant abuse of foreshadowing I've seen in a while, going heads to heads with Twisted Fate, a book that introduced about 8 POVs into the story to literally just talk about how awful it was that the three main characters never saw coming the horrible, horrible things coming for them. Extreme use of foreshadowing tension does not make. And I know someone's going to fucking die. It's right there in the book's stupid description.
Rule #6: Is the plot stuck? Just have every character hear one his or her companions screaming in horror in the distance. It doesn't matter that you've used that 50 times already. Trust me, it never gets old. Just let them scream in horror at each other. Or better yet, have a chick in hysterics just randomly run away in terror from the group and safety whenever there's a lull in the conversation.
Every time they split up, which was about a dozen times per chapter, someone would hear screams into the distance. I get it, someone's murdering teenagers, but every single character had a moment when they would hear one of his or her companions screaming in horror in the distance and the trick got old really quickly. It was basically a volley of terrified screams aimed at me every couple of pages. If it was meant to chill me or set me on edge, it failed epically, as things are bound to do when you do them about 500 times in the span of less than 300 pages.
And right before someone screamed in terror, some idiot would just run away in terror, sometimes even randomly and right in the middle of a conversation. And by someone, I mean hysterical women, of course. Who else. Quite frankly, all these morons deserved to die.
Rule #7: The action slowing down? Need to get your characters from point A to point B? Scooby-Doo, my friend. Just steal the basic plot from every Scooby-Doo episode ever.
Oh, no! Someone's missing! You know what that means?
That has worked terribly the last couple of times and has only helped the murderer to kill us even faster. Should we change tactics? Nope.
And then, exactly like Scooby-Doo, a chase would follow the splitting up almost immediately. And predictably. Over and over and over and over again.
Rule #8: Your story could use a bit more tension. Throw wild animals in there. Don't look at me like that. It doesn't need to make sense. Just one more thing hunting down these kids. Pfft, of course a deranged murderer is not enough. What kind of a writer are you? Vicious. Hungry. Wild animal. Go.
I shit you not. A mountain lion. Just randomly strolling around. For no reason whatsoever. I don't even know what the fuck to say about this. They were in front of the ocean, in a very secluded area and nowhere did it say that they were close to some woods or something that would give an inkling as to why a fucking mountain lion decided to crash their murder party. Seriously. A motherfucking mountain lion.
Rule #9: You need some romance in there, some passion. Okay, pick the main girl, obviously, and that guy. Who cares if they'd barely interacted before this? Make it so they are so hot for each other, they can barely keep their hands off each other even if their friends are getting killed one by one. No time like the present for a good make-out session.
You know teenage passion; it comes at the strangest of times and what can you do about it? Does it really matter if all of your friends are dying horribly around you? C'mon. You are the shy girl, he's the school king. This needs to happen now. Blood and guts all over the wall and all. Urges are urges. He's so impossible to resist, with his controlling nature and manipulation, oh, and the way he manhandles you and orders you around to get you to do what he wants. So, so sexy. Wait, is it hot in here or is it me?
Rule #10: Hmmm. It seems like you are running out of possible culprits. Here's what you can do. Pick the most unlikely of characters. Give them the shittiest, most nonsensical backstory you can think of and then chalk it all up to insanity, because, you know, "crazy" is the magic word to smooth away all plot holes.
I just love how most YA author think someone being "crazy" can make up for every single inconsistency, lack of logic or sense or just flat out stupidity in their damn plot twist. Really, not insulting or misinformed or lazy in the slightest. Insanity is YA's favorite Deux Ex Machina, and who cares about your twist making sense or fitting into the story, it's all about the shock value of the twist. Perfect example: the murderer in this novel. Insanity should not be the scapegoat of every single fucking twist in a novel, especially when you base it on a thoroughly absurd and ridiculous psychological state.
Bonus Rule: Some things make no sense, right? Forget about them. Just quickly look away from them, kill some other shitty kids and they'll soon forget all about it.
I'm supposed to forgive how absolutely ridiculous everything in this novel was because I'm supposed to be only entertained by the violence and the mystery of the story. I'm supposed to excuse the vapidity of the characters, the lack of logic in the story and the ginormous plot holes throughout because it's just a short, silly book that's there just to entertain. Fuck that. I see no reason to care for a story that didn't matter enough to whoever put it out there to make sure that the product had some integrity to it, that it offered quality in terms of writing and plotting, at the very least. And I just learned this might be a series.
This
This book is just like every other YA thriller/mystery about someone hunting down teenagers and killing them in gruesome ways out there, so there must be a set of RULES out there that YA authors shared amongst themselves. Since I am not privy to that particular information, I'll make my own based on what I learned from The Rules.
Rule #1: Insert every single teenage stereotype in there. The more outdated, overplayed and excessive, the better.
The jock with the heart of gold with the secret love for the quiet girl nobody notices? Welcome aboard! How 'bout the mysterious, kinda freaky-looking, weird guy with a vendetta against all the characters? Oh, how about we make the main character the sweet, shy girl nobody acknowledges but who's smarter, kinder, stronger and better than everybody else just 'cuz? The dumb one who gets easily manipulated by everyone, is revered only by how pretty and "easy" she is and goes running at the first sight of trouble? The ambitious social climber willing to step over everyone to get to the top? The gorgeous and ambitious mean girl with a secret who's really not that bad? A group of douche bros who only think about sex and alcohol? Bring them all in. And they are rich and popular and entitled, so of course they are a bunch of horrible people. Oh, but we need some diversity. Here. Have a guy with a Japanese name and a chick with an Indian name and let's cleverly not say anything else about the ethnicity of any other character, especially the crazy one that's in a gang, even though there might be some hints that he's black. It's not racist if we don't say it.
I don't think I've read about a more uninspired and cliched group of characters since Welcome to the Dark House. Not only that, they were also boring as fuck. Not a single one was in the slightest even remotely interesting. The lack of development or believable growth, the absence of layers to their personalities and the way they were used to check every single box in the stereotype checklist made them impossible to like, much less be engaging in the slightest. I care not a single fuck about any of them, not enough to even bat an eyelash when they were killed. It's a murder mystery! I need to care that someone's killing these kids, even if I don't care for the teens themselves. And yet...
Rule #2: To distract from how stereotyped and unoriginal your characters are, give them some stupid little trait. Don't even think about it. It doesn't even have to make sense. Just throw it in there. It's not like they'll notice. It's a YA book after all.
The psycho ex-boyfriend that's on a gang? Yeah, he has a black chihuahua that he adores and take with him everywhere. See how creative this character is? If he were a normal psycho ex-boyfriend who's on a gang, he would have a more menacing dog, like a Bulldog or a Rottweiler, not a freaking chihuahua! Did I just blow your mind or what?
And the shy girl, you see, she can be a leader and has a really great mind for mystery. You know how? She likes to play Clue. That's right: the mystery authority in this novel got her title by playing Clue with her 8 year old brother. Seriously, hold on to your seats because the character depth here will blow you right out into outer-space.
Rule #3: Make these characters as melodramatic, conniving and suspicious as possible. The more outrageous the better. Give them some really over dramatic rules to live by. Remember, they are teenagers. They need some really hardcore rules to live by. There are social steps to climb, after all. Really important life goals right there. Oh, and start every single chapter with one of those rules. They don't need to make sense or relate to what's going to happen next. Trust me. I write good.
We just don't understand. These kids have been so hardened by life's burdens. Robin has loved Kyle for so long, but she's the coach's daughter and that's against the rules. Romeo and Juliet had it easy compared to them. Oh, and Beth, poor Beth. She had to live outside of the popular group for years. For years, I tell you! She can't trust anyone or all she's worked for will crumble before her. She would not be invited to parties anymore! Think of the parties!
The way this bunch of little shits talk, you'd think they'd gone through the biggest hardships in the history of humanity. Who the fuck has an extremely detailed set of rules to live by? Teenagers at that. And if they do, why are they all based on the one characteristic that's supposed to define them, like the one dimensional chalk outlines that they are? Robin's kind, so all of her rules are about being sweet and kind to everyone. Kyle's all about respecting rules. Larson's a manwhore, so they are all about cheating whenever he can. Beth wants to be popular, so they are all about using people and trusting no one. August has some serious Lannister feelings going on for his dead sister, so they are all about cheesy notions of revenge. Hiro plays the drums, so here's an idea, let's make them all analogies about playing the drums!
Rules #4: Randomly change from POV to POV for no reason at all. The perspective doesn't matter. Just jump back and forth, but for the sake of cohesiveness, keep the same unemotional and sterile and disjointed narrative voice. Nobody needs to care about these
You have like 14 different characters, might as well use them to see half a page from their perspective, you don't even need a reason. The technique was useful for when one of them was in particular danger at that point, and it was admittedly used in several occasions in the novel, but there were plenty of other times where the narration would shift from one POV to the other for no particular reason, and the interesting thing here is that it almost made no different at all. The writing in this novel feels particularly disjointed because the first half of the novel unleashes this torrent of info dumps about the characters, but by the time the second half comes, the narration, all throughout and regardless of the POV it was told from, sounded dry, sterile and stiff. That actively worked against the characters and effectively erased any interest I might've had in them and their role in the novel. The writing was awkward sometimes, riddled with some really odd word choices and sentence arrangements that made the reading experience rather bumpy and uncomfortable. It was not unreadable, but I didn't like the writing and I thought it added nothing to the characters or the atmosphere.
Rule #5: Whenever someone is introduced, shit exposition and info dumps all over the page. Tell everything. Reveal everything you have from the get go. This is a mystery. Who needs mysterious characters with mysterious motivations and pasts, right? Oh, and make those internal monologues as vacuous and cliched as possible, you hear me? Before I forget, also put foreshadowing everywhere. Have every single character utter some line about feeling like someone's going to die tonight or some other bullshit about death being in the air. Instant tension. You're welcome.
Every couple of chapters, even before the horror started, someone would look into the distance and drop some eerie line about feeling like something horrible was going to happen or that someone was going to die. It wasn't enough that whenever one of these assholes was introduced we learned their entire life stories in a matter of seconds along with their particular ambition (hint: popularity!) and a very one-dimensional look at their one trait, delivered with all the grace and subtlety of an elephant on roller-skates, but they would also end their introductions with some cheesy exclamation of "having a bad feeling about this" or feeling like the night would end badly. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. This is the most blatant abuse of foreshadowing I've seen in a while, going heads to heads with Twisted Fate, a book that introduced about 8 POVs into the story to literally just talk about how awful it was that the three main characters never saw coming the horrible, horrible things coming for them. Extreme use of foreshadowing tension does not make. And I know someone's going to fucking die. It's right there in the book's stupid description.
Rule #6: Is the plot stuck? Just have every character hear one his or her companions screaming in horror in the distance. It doesn't matter that you've used that 50 times already. Trust me, it never gets old. Just let them scream in horror at each other. Or better yet, have a chick in hysterics just randomly run away in terror from the group and safety whenever there's a lull in the conversation.
Every time they split up, which was about a dozen times per chapter, someone would hear screams into the distance. I get it, someone's murdering teenagers, but every single character had a moment when they would hear one of his or her companions screaming in horror in the distance and the trick got old really quickly. It was basically a volley of terrified screams aimed at me every couple of pages. If it was meant to chill me or set me on edge, it failed epically, as things are bound to do when you do them about 500 times in the span of less than 300 pages.
And right before someone screamed in terror, some idiot would just run away in terror, sometimes even randomly and right in the middle of a conversation. And by someone, I mean hysterical women, of course. Who else. Quite frankly, all these morons deserved to die.
Rule #7: The action slowing down? Need to get your characters from point A to point B? Scooby-Doo, my friend. Just steal the basic plot from every Scooby-Doo episode ever.
Oh, no! Someone's missing! You know what that means?
That has worked terribly the last couple of times and has only helped the murderer to kill us even faster. Should we change tactics? Nope.
And then, exactly like Scooby-Doo, a chase would follow the splitting up almost immediately. And predictably. Over and over and over and over again.
Rule #8: Your story could use a bit more tension. Throw wild animals in there. Don't look at me like that. It doesn't need to make sense. Just one more thing hunting down these kids. Pfft, of course a deranged murderer is not enough. What kind of a writer are you? Vicious. Hungry. Wild animal. Go.
I shit you not. A mountain lion. Just randomly strolling around. For no reason whatsoever. I don't even know what the fuck to say about this. They were in front of the ocean, in a very secluded area and nowhere did it say that they were close to some woods or something that would give an inkling as to why a fucking mountain lion decided to crash their murder party. Seriously. A motherfucking mountain lion.
Rule #9: You need some romance in there, some passion. Okay, pick the main girl, obviously, and that guy. Who cares if they'd barely interacted before this? Make it so they are so hot for each other, they can barely keep their hands off each other even if their friends are getting killed one by one. No time like the present for a good make-out session.
You know teenage passion; it comes at the strangest of times and what can you do about it? Does it really matter if all of your friends are dying horribly around you? C'mon. You are the shy girl, he's the school king. This needs to happen now. Blood and guts all over the wall and all. Urges are urges. He's so impossible to resist, with his controlling nature and manipulation, oh, and the way he manhandles you and orders you around to get you to do what he wants. So, so sexy. Wait, is it hot in here or is it me?
Rule #10: Hmmm. It seems like you are running out of possible culprits. Here's what you can do. Pick the most unlikely of characters. Give them the shittiest, most nonsensical backstory you can think of and then chalk it all up to insanity, because, you know, "crazy" is the magic word to smooth away all plot holes.
I just love how most YA author think someone being "crazy" can make up for every single inconsistency, lack of logic or sense or just flat out stupidity in their damn plot twist. Really, not insulting or misinformed or lazy in the slightest. Insanity is YA's favorite Deux Ex Machina, and who cares about your twist making sense or fitting into the story, it's all about the shock value of the twist. Perfect example: the murderer in this novel. Insanity should not be the scapegoat of every single fucking twist in a novel, especially when you base it on a thoroughly absurd and ridiculous psychological state.
Bonus Rule: Some things make no sense, right? Forget about them. Just quickly look away from them, kill some other shitty kids and they'll soon forget all about it.
I'm supposed to forgive how absolutely ridiculous everything in this novel was because I'm supposed to be only entertained by the violence and the mystery of the story. I'm supposed to excuse the vapidity of the characters, the lack of logic in the story and the ginormous plot holes throughout because it's just a short, silly book that's there just to entertain. Fuck that. I see no reason to care for a story that didn't matter enough to whoever put it out there to make sure that the product had some integrity to it, that it offered quality in terms of writing and plotting, at the very least. And I just learned this might be a series.
April 1, 2017
This book features bad plotting, was overtaken by romance, and couldn't be saved by the nonexistent character work.
This has become a recurring theme. So here's an idea: I'm going to write a review, and then you're all going to have to guess whether I'm talking about Six Months Later, Cut Me Free, The Cellar, Panic, The Rules, or... okay, you get the point. This one is a particularly bad example.
1) The main character had no personality traits beyond a lack of logical sense. She's boring and extremely flat.
Sorry to use this gif twice in one day, but:
2) The plot is driven entirely by her lack of sense. Also, suspend your disbelief, because every twist is actually a plot hole. Or simply a character being stupid. Nothing makes any sense here.
3) The romance plot was boring, unnecessary, and took over the whole book. Can teen ya please stop with the bad-boy heterosexual romances? It's overdone.
See what I mean? I could lodge these complaints for any YA suspense book. Not recommended. And I'm lazy and don't remember any actual plot points, so I'm copy-pasting this review onto every bad YA suspense book I read in 2016.
This has become a recurring theme. So here's an idea: I'm going to write a review, and then you're all going to have to guess whether I'm talking about Six Months Later, Cut Me Free, The Cellar, Panic, The Rules, or... okay, you get the point. This one is a particularly bad example.
1) The main character had no personality traits beyond a lack of logical sense. She's boring and extremely flat.
Sorry to use this gif twice in one day, but:
2) The plot is driven entirely by her lack of sense. Also, suspend your disbelief, because every twist is actually a plot hole. Or simply a character being stupid. Nothing makes any sense here.
3) The romance plot was boring, unnecessary, and took over the whole book. Can teen ya please stop with the bad-boy heterosexual romances? It's overdone.
See what I mean? I could lodge these complaints for any YA suspense book. Not recommended. And I'm lazy and don't remember any actual plot points, so I'm copy-pasting this review onto every bad YA suspense book I read in 2016.
March 8, 2016
This was fast paced and a can't-put-it-down kind of story, but not overly impressive or memorable. 2.75
July 2, 2014
Popcorn drive-in horror - a great summer read. Everyone's a suspect as overprivileged teens get knocked off one by one in bloody, horrifying ways. As it should be.
January 25, 2016
There are few things going for this book. The first being the cover and the ominous sentence on the front: “come out, come out… you won’t get too far.” And the rest of the synopsis. Other than that, when I started reading the book I was hugely let down. Sure, the book moves quickly, but there isn’t a sense of character to the book. The main theme to this novel is revenge, and we have -what feels like to me- a million points of view; when we only actually have 6-10(?) views. I put that question mark there because I don’t even know how many views there actually are.
I couldn’t really get into the novel, as to the differing views and how quickly the views change. The ways the views change is literally like stop and going really fast in a car. The whole stop-go-stop-go. Whiplash. That’s it! How fast the character’s change is exactly like whip lash. Sometimes I didn’t even know that the points of view changed so I had to reread a lot of parts.
The plot was well planned out, now that I’ve finished the book. While I was reading The Rules though, with all of the differing views, the whole story feels really messy. Which means that I couldn’t really get into it, and I wish I could have! I wasn’t as immersed as I could have been if there were less points of views. Honestly because of all the views, it was hard to get the gist of the story until the later quarter of the book.
I can’t say that the main character is unreliable, because there are too many character views to even have a main character. I found that a few characters aren’t reliable protagonists. It really just seems like there’s a main antagonist in a sea of antagonists.
Even though I didn’t really enjoy reading it, and prefer the ending overall… I found myself reading it to the end when I didn’t really want to. I found the book boring, but I had to find out what happened to one of the characters.
I do like the detail though. And I feel like because we don’t get to know these kids as individuals, I only saw them as a group, that the details -gory or not- make up for the fact that we don’t get personal with any of the characters.
I enjoyed the ending the best to be honest. There is a considerable amount of character development within this one character. If you’ve read this book then you know the ending, and honestly I would react the same way.
Before the ending though, when we find out who was responsible for all of this, I literally thought of that meme. The one where Andy Samberg says “Cool motive, still murder.” Im obviously thinking this with sarcastic thoughts though, because what happened to the person behind it all, what happened to them is horrible. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Aside from that though, I was just so done with the book that I said to myself, “cool motive, still murder.” And continued on reading again because I was just so freaking done with this book.
All in all, I wouldn’t read this again. The Rules is scattered all of the place, much like this review. There were only a few things that I liked about this book, and they don’t really relate to the novel at all, and I can’t talk about them because of spoilers.
I couldn’t really get into the novel, as to the differing views and how quickly the views change. The ways the views change is literally like stop and going really fast in a car. The whole stop-go-stop-go. Whiplash. That’s it! How fast the character’s change is exactly like whip lash. Sometimes I didn’t even know that the points of view changed so I had to reread a lot of parts.
The plot was well planned out, now that I’ve finished the book. While I was reading The Rules though, with all of the differing views, the whole story feels really messy. Which means that I couldn’t really get into it, and I wish I could have! I wasn’t as immersed as I could have been if there were less points of views. Honestly because of all the views, it was hard to get the gist of the story until the later quarter of the book.
I can’t say that the main character is unreliable, because there are too many character views to even have a main character. I found that a few characters aren’t reliable protagonists. It really just seems like there’s a main antagonist in a sea of antagonists.
Even though I didn’t really enjoy reading it, and prefer the ending overall… I found myself reading it to the end when I didn’t really want to. I found the book boring, but I had to find out what happened to one of the characters.
I do like the detail though. And I feel like because we don’t get to know these kids as individuals, I only saw them as a group, that the details -gory or not- make up for the fact that we don’t get personal with any of the characters.
I enjoyed the ending the best to be honest. There is a considerable amount of character development within this one character. If you’ve read this book then you know the ending, and honestly I would react the same way.
Before the ending though, when we find out who was responsible for all of this, I literally thought of that meme. The one where Andy Samberg says “Cool motive, still murder.” Im obviously thinking this with sarcastic thoughts though, because what happened to the person behind it all, what happened to them is horrible. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Aside from that though, I was just so done with the book that I said to myself, “cool motive, still murder.” And continued on reading again because I was just so freaking done with this book.
All in all, I wouldn’t read this again. The Rules is scattered all of the place, much like this review. There were only a few things that I liked about this book, and they don’t really relate to the novel at all, and I can’t talk about them because of spoilers.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 1, 2015
I'd say 4.5, but as I've mentioned in other reviews I rate highly. If I had no real complaints but didn't adore it, it gets a 4. My average rating is 4.
There were lots of really harsh reviews about this book, but I understand there are usually mixed reviews of anything horror related (films, books, etc).
I realize there were a lot of "what the fucks" and not much character depth (though there was a bit), but I still found it entertaining. I found the organization unique but kind of random.
I don't regret reading it and even enjoyed it. Not something I'd read again, but something I would recommend if you're not looking for something too deep.
Overall:
Easy read. Entertaining. Though the very end of the epilogue irritated me for whatever reason. I suppose I just found it unnecessary. I was, however, ecstatic that the dog came out alright! As always the dog's survival was the most important issue for me.
There were lots of really harsh reviews about this book, but I understand there are usually mixed reviews of anything horror related (films, books, etc).
I realize there were a lot of "what the fucks" and not much character depth (though there was a bit), but I still found it entertaining. I found the organization unique but kind of random.
I don't regret reading it and even enjoyed it. Not something I'd read again, but something I would recommend if you're not looking for something too deep.
Overall:
Easy read. Entertaining. Though the very end of the epilogue irritated me for whatever reason. I suppose I just found it unnecessary. I was, however, ecstatic that the dog came out alright! As always the dog's survival was the most important issue for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 24, 2017
I actually had a lot of fun with this one. It wasn't the best written and didn't have the most developed characters but on a pure enjoyment level - I had fun. I think if you enjoy teen slasher flicks then you'd have fun with this one, because that is basically what this is. I wasn't shocked by any means by the ending but that didn't even matter. Good times.
May 31, 2017
The Rules was a glorious mashup up of 90s teen thriller books a la Christopher Pike and the PS4 game Until Dawn. It's full of murder, mystery, and (as the title demands) rules by which every character lives by.
My favorite part about the book was the multiple POVs Holder and Viguie scattered throughout the prose. As an author, I learned a lot. The authors provided a clever entry point to introduce each character POV by stating one of the character's personal rules (such as Larson's Rule #1: Don't work if you can cheat instead). It's unique enough to make the format memorable, but it isn't so quirky to distract from the tone of the book.
Overall, I enjoyed reading the way I would enjoy a slightly cheesy slasher film. If you appreciate movies like I Know What You Did Last Summer, you'll have a fun time reading The Rules.
My favorite part about the book was the multiple POVs Holder and Viguie scattered throughout the prose. As an author, I learned a lot. The authors provided a clever entry point to introduce each character POV by stating one of the character's personal rules (such as Larson's Rule #1: Don't work if you can cheat instead). It's unique enough to make the format memorable, but it isn't so quirky to distract from the tone of the book.
Overall, I enjoyed reading the way I would enjoy a slightly cheesy slasher film. If you appreciate movies like I Know What You Did Last Summer, you'll have a fun time reading The Rules.
June 20, 2017
Well, this was a big disappointment...
If you're looking for a predictable and corny book, this is it.
It starts with introducing the characters, and there are so many you can hardly tell them apart. They each get a way too brief intro, so you don't know any of them. I kept thinking: okay, no problem, it will come, as long as the excitement starts soon I can understand why you wouldn't be bothered with getting to know the characters yet.
Unfortunately, even when the hunt starts, nothing exciting happens for a long time. All these chapters in the beginning would have been so much more interesting if we had gotten a look into the characters' lives. Okay, I admit, there are some exciting moments, but they span no more than three sentences each. Then we go back to more boring 'hunting', jumping from one character's thoughts to another, while we still don't really know any of them. So when some of them died, I didn't care.
Then finally, halfway down the line, it suddenly gets interesting. And it stays interesting for a while, right until it all turns into a corny, predictable slasher story.
Until the end I was hoping for a solid ending. A killer nobody would expect, with a really good motive. Well, we got the unexpected killer, but the motive came out of nowhere. With all the suspicions being thrown around throughout the story, some of the killer's motive should have surfaced. Now it was just a weak ending to a corny story.
The writers can write, sure. That's why I gave this two stars instead of one. Their writing style is good and they certainly know how to write a story. But why... why couldn't they write something original and surprising? And why Coul they at least make us fear for the safety of their characters?
If you're looking for a predictable and corny book, this is it.
It starts with introducing the characters, and there are so many you can hardly tell them apart. They each get a way too brief intro, so you don't know any of them. I kept thinking: okay, no problem, it will come, as long as the excitement starts soon I can understand why you wouldn't be bothered with getting to know the characters yet.
Unfortunately, even when the hunt starts, nothing exciting happens for a long time. All these chapters in the beginning would have been so much more interesting if we had gotten a look into the characters' lives. Okay, I admit, there are some exciting moments, but they span no more than three sentences each. Then we go back to more boring 'hunting', jumping from one character's thoughts to another, while we still don't really know any of them. So when some of them died, I didn't care.
Then finally, halfway down the line, it suddenly gets interesting. And it stays interesting for a while, right until it all turns into a corny, predictable slasher story.
Until the end I was hoping for a solid ending. A killer nobody would expect, with a really good motive. Well, we got the unexpected killer, but the motive came out of nowhere. With all the suspicions being thrown around throughout the story, some of the killer's motive should have surfaced. Now it was just a weak ending to a corny story.
The writers can write, sure. That's why I gave this two stars instead of one. Their writing style is good and they certainly know how to write a story. But why... why couldn't they write something original and surprising? And why Coul they at least make us fear for the safety of their characters?
July 12, 2017
This book was a vain attempt at horror (or maybe psychological thriller?). I like the original idea - a scavenger hunt for revenge. It had much potential, but the execution failed miserably. 2.5/5 stars.
The Rules tells the story of a bunch of teens, who play the scavenger hunt at a party in an abandoned cannery. But things go horribly wrong when one by one, each of them are killed. August DeYoung had planned the party and the hunt in hope of making his friends realise how unfair they were to his sister Alexa, which ultimately lead to her death. But then, August's plans aren't the ones carried out. Or was it? They must all play by the rules, or be ready to die.
WARNING: There's a lot of violence and murder in this book.
The beginning of the book itself was a big NO for me. I knew then and there that I wouldn't like this one. There were so many characters and so many 'rules'. None of the characters had any depth to them, none of them were made to be likeable. For the first time, the multiple povs sucked.There was nothing urging us to read on. The tangled mess of characters and their stupid rules were difficult to follow. At the end of the book, I'm pretty sure I can't even remember most of their names.
And that ending?WTF?! Okay, I geddit, it's a big twist and all, but seriously? Just for the sake of the plot, one of characters just switched on to an entire new personality and turned out to be the killer! I didn't like any part of it. The beginning and the ending seemed to be from two entirely different books. The book obviously lacked good planning.
Maybe if the authors had tried to put some more emotions to the characters, it'd have turned out fine. Overall, just a meh book. :/
The Rules tells the story of a bunch of teens, who play the scavenger hunt at a party in an abandoned cannery. But things go horribly wrong when one by one, each of them are killed. August DeYoung had planned the party and the hunt in hope of making his friends realise how unfair they were to his sister Alexa, which ultimately lead to her death. But then, August's plans aren't the ones carried out. Or was it? They must all play by the rules, or be ready to die.
WARNING: There's a lot of violence and murder in this book.
The beginning of the book itself was a big NO for me. I knew then and there that I wouldn't like this one. There were so many characters and so many 'rules'. None of the characters had any depth to them, none of them were made to be likeable. For the first time, the multiple povs sucked.There was nothing urging us to read on. The tangled mess of characters and their stupid rules were difficult to follow. At the end of the book, I'm pretty sure I can't even remember most of their names.
And that ending?
Maybe if the authors had tried to put some more emotions to the characters, it'd have turned out fine. Overall, just a meh book. :/
July 6, 2015
I must admit that I was a sucker for this book. It is like one of those "campy horror movies". Ones that you love to hate but in a good way. There was nothing too scary about the events happening that night during the hunt. In addition, the characters for the most part were your average people. Nothing special or intriguing about them. In fact, there are probably some that you will find yourself cheering hoping that something happens to them.
For as many books that I have read, I really did not have a clue as to who was causing all of the havoc until the reveal. Until than I was just along for the joy ride. Although I must admit that the ending was fine but if I had it my way it probably would have ended differently. If you do anything,follow this one rule..."Pick up a copy of this book".
For as many books that I have read, I really did not have a clue as to who was causing all of the havoc until the reveal. Until than I was just along for the joy ride. Although I must admit that the ending was fine but if I had it my way it probably would have ended differently. If you do anything,follow this one rule..."Pick up a copy of this book".
February 6, 2017
Basically a slasher movie in book form, which was exactly what I expected. Most of the characters are complete stereotypes, but again: what I expected. I came for the entertainment, y'all. I went into this knowing that lots of these characters were going to die, so frankly, I appreciate not being encouraged to get too attached to them.
Plot-wise, this reminds me of Party Games by R.L. Stine, but I like this book a lot more. I think the writing is better; it definitely feels more current. And I find the resolution more satisfying. But there's a similar setup: oddball rich teen boy invites a bunch of other teens to an isolated area for a party that everyone knows will be intentionally creepy. When people start getting killed, the host is a suspect, but acts as horrified as everyone else. What's really going on? For other recent "teens at a party getting murdered" fare, see Ten by Gretchen McNeil, who also blurbed this book.
Spoilers ahead!
I had sort of guessed that Kyle was involved in the kill-y business. This was mostly for meta reasons: the fact that no one else was suspicious of him made me suspicious. And then he tried to kill August with the electric fence, then tried to pass it off as rage and fear and having thought August was the killer. Which is totally believable, but it made me keep an even closer eye on him.
Also, I knew Drew wasn't dead. No body, no death.
I am SO HAPPY that August survives! Early in the book, I was kind of rolling my eyes, like, "Wow, you guys are making the teen with albinism be a creepy villain? You do know that 'Evil Albino' is a done-to-death trope, right?" And I was surprised that they went that route, given that August's physical characteristics suggested that the authors had done at least marginally more research on the condition than many. His eyes are pale grayish rather than pink or red. He even has brown hair - people with albinism don't always have white-blond hair! It's true! So I was surprised that they'd still make him creepy and evil, and pleased when it turned out that he's not the real villain. So, way to subvert the trope, ladies. Good on you.
In "tropes not subverted," though: another redheaded girl YA protagonist who doesn't care about her looks but is considered attractive to everyone? SERIOUSLY? I just complained about this exact same thing in The Brokenhearted. What is UP with all of these modest tomboy-but-naturally-pretty redheads?
Plot-wise, this reminds me of Party Games by R.L. Stine, but I like this book a lot more. I think the writing is better; it definitely feels more current. And I find the resolution more satisfying. But there's a similar setup: oddball rich teen boy invites a bunch of other teens to an isolated area for a party that everyone knows will be intentionally creepy. When people start getting killed, the host is a suspect, but acts as horrified as everyone else. What's really going on? For other recent "teens at a party getting murdered" fare, see Ten by Gretchen McNeil, who also blurbed this book.
Spoilers ahead!
I had sort of guessed that Kyle was involved in the kill-y business. This was mostly for meta reasons: the fact that no one else was suspicious of him made me suspicious. And then he tried to kill August with the electric fence, then tried to pass it off as rage and fear and having thought August was the killer. Which is totally believable, but it made me keep an even closer eye on him.
Also, I knew Drew wasn't dead. No body, no death.
I am SO HAPPY that August survives! Early in the book, I was kind of rolling my eyes, like, "Wow, you guys are making the teen with albinism be a creepy villain? You do know that 'Evil Albino' is a done-to-death trope, right?" And I was surprised that they went that route, given that August's physical characteristics suggested that the authors had done at least marginally more research on the condition than many. His eyes are pale grayish rather than pink or red. He even has brown hair - people with albinism don't always have white-blond hair! It's true! So I was surprised that they'd still make him creepy and evil, and pleased when it turned out that he's not the real villain. So, way to subvert the trope, ladies. Good on you.
In "tropes not subverted," though: another redheaded girl YA protagonist who doesn't care about her looks but is considered attractive to everyone? SERIOUSLY? I just complained about this exact same thing in The Brokenhearted. What is UP with all of these modest tomboy-but-naturally-pretty redheads?
April 13, 2015
The Rules is a multi narrator story, but it revolves more around Robin Brisset. Rules are important in life, we each have our own set and we have rules for pretty much everything in our life. Sometimes breaking the rules is the only way to win or in Robin'a case survive.
The "cool kids" in Robin's school like to have these scavenger hunt games with amazing prizes. This is the last hunt. Robin is invited out of a the blue by a old friend. As the reader, we know that something different is going to happen at this hunt. The host, August, is one of our narrators and he is planning a revenge hunt to pay back "this group of friends" that played a part in his sisters death. Within the first few minutes of the game players are missing and the normal players are not happy with the hunt. It is very different from the others and they know August is up to something.
When players start turning up dead, everyone begins to unravel and their secrets start coming out. The obvious murderer is August but he swears he did not plan the "accidents" that keep happening. He is freaked out because someone is seriously trying to hurt the group. Everyone but Robin seems like a suspect - I can usually figure out "the killer" but The Rules kept me guessing.
The Rules is a hard story to follow - it's choppy and disjointed and I found it hard to connect to any of the characters. I like a good murder mystery, but I was aggravated that some of my questions were left unanswered. Does Robin ever find out who hit her father?
posted on
www.pageturnersblog.com
The "cool kids" in Robin's school like to have these scavenger hunt games with amazing prizes. This is the last hunt. Robin is invited out of a the blue by a old friend. As the reader, we know that something different is going to happen at this hunt. The host, August, is one of our narrators and he is planning a revenge hunt to pay back "this group of friends" that played a part in his sisters death. Within the first few minutes of the game players are missing and the normal players are not happy with the hunt. It is very different from the others and they know August is up to something.
When players start turning up dead, everyone begins to unravel and their secrets start coming out. The obvious murderer is August but he swears he did not plan the "accidents" that keep happening. He is freaked out because someone is seriously trying to hurt the group. Everyone but Robin seems like a suspect - I can usually figure out "the killer" but The Rules kept me guessing.
The Rules is a hard story to follow - it's choppy and disjointed and I found it hard to connect to any of the characters. I like a good murder mystery, but I was aggravated that some of my questions were left unanswered. Does Robin ever find out who hit her father?
posted on
www.pageturnersblog.com
June 5, 2017
More of a 3.5
This book changed character views. A Lot. That for me is good and bad. I like to stick with 1 or 2 main characters, but it was also nice to know what everyone was thinking and doing at one point.
This book had an unexpected ending. An ending that I don't think really fit, and I especially didn't like.
**Spoilers past this point**
Augusts older sister, and his only real family member, died exactly one year ago. These certain people in whom he invited to the scavenger hunt, all had some part in bullying or doing something mean to her before her death. He invites them to the scavenger hunt in hopes of finding out who had big parts in her death. He had it all planned out.
Until his partial enemy decides to bring an unexpected guest. Robin. Robin had no part in his older sister's death so he had to throw her in someplace to play the game.
Later that night, people are dying unexpectedly. All phones are taken away for no cheating, and all of the car batteries have suddenly disappeared, so everyone was stuck. August also had it planned out on where to have this hunt. In a warehouse in the middle of nowhere. He thought of this so no one would complain of teenagers running around, hooking up, and drinking. Since everyone was stuck and scared for their lives, they all came together to try and find out who is killing people. The scavenger hunt turned from fun, to play my way or you die.
This book changed character views. A Lot. That for me is good and bad. I like to stick with 1 or 2 main characters, but it was also nice to know what everyone was thinking and doing at one point.
This book had an unexpected ending. An ending that I don't think really fit, and I especially didn't like.
**Spoilers past this point**
Augusts older sister, and his only real family member, died exactly one year ago. These certain people in whom he invited to the scavenger hunt, all had some part in bullying or doing something mean to her before her death. He invites them to the scavenger hunt in hopes of finding out who had big parts in her death. He had it all planned out.
Until his partial enemy decides to bring an unexpected guest. Robin. Robin had no part in his older sister's death so he had to throw her in someplace to play the game.
Later that night, people are dying unexpectedly. All phones are taken away for no cheating, and all of the car batteries have suddenly disappeared, so everyone was stuck. August also had it planned out on where to have this hunt. In a warehouse in the middle of nowhere. He thought of this so no one would complain of teenagers running around, hooking up, and drinking. Since everyone was stuck and scared for their lives, they all came together to try and find out who is killing people. The scavenger hunt turned from fun, to play my way or you die.
June 22, 2015
The best way I can think of to describe The Rules is a B-movie played on a cable network on a Saturday afternoon. Something you would never seek out on your own, but since it's already there you're just bored enough to settle in and enjoy the ride. This is not a book I would ever pick up in a bookstore, but since it was literally delivered to my door, I figured I might as well see what it was about. I doubt I have to actually tell you this, but don't go into this one expecting highbrow literature. Instead, imagine a slasher flick in book form, complete with severed hands, a budding rock band, a student impregnated by her teacher, teenagers who would rather make out than freak out over the killer in their midst, and a mountain lion. I love that The Rules took two people to create.
For the full review and more, head over to The Pretty Good Gatsby!
For the full review and more, head over to The Pretty Good Gatsby!
June 12, 2015
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, I was in no way compensated for this review.
I have been a fan of the writing duo Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie since the Wicked series very first published! I thought it was awesome! They were even my first writing duo and I was amazed--at that time, and honestly still am--that two authors could collaborate and write a book together! It never ceases to amaze me! So I went into The Rules expecting something completely and totally awesome and naturally, Nancy and Debbie delivered!
First off, I have to say that in order to truly enjoy these talented ladies' writing, you have to like or at least be able to handle, multiple points of view. At first, I did feel a little overwhelmed with all the characters taking a spin at the narration, but for Robin is one of main narrators and the rest maybe have 2-3 turns at it. And since there were quite a few characters, that's still a lot of points of view, but don't worry! Seriously! It's easy to follow along once the game gets rolling and what a game it was!
August is mad at the so called popular people at his high school. In a way, he's one of them by default by having rich and famous parents. But when it was because of these people, that his younger sister died, he's not happy. And he wants his revenge now. So he sets up one of his famous scavenger hunts, planning to exact that revenge, but things suddenly take a dark and horrible turn.
People start going missing, people start dying. August proclaims innocence. As to what his plans really were about, is a little unclear. But his revenge is pushed aside when it becomes clear that whoever this killer is plans to keep them here until he or she gets what they want. Their cell phones are gone. The batteries to their cars are missing. They are in an abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere--because that's where all the cool kids party apparently! Basically, they are trapped until the killer decides to let them go. Or kill them all.
Robin is sort of our main character. She isn't apart of the popular crowd, so the killer never really banked on her coming. But as Robin watches her friends get killed one by one, she is more determined then ever to escape. But the killer seems to have eyes everywhere and if they make one false move, game's over and people will be killed.
The Rules was INTENSE! Omigosh so freaking intense! I loathed to put the book down! Having to take care of other responsibilities was not optional! (Yet of course, I had to) I could've easily read this in one sitting and nearly did since I only read a few pages yesterday before feeling too sick and took a long nap! But today, I read and read and never sat the book down for long! Holy moly this read was SOOOOO good! I love a good thriller! As I said, in these stories, our "monster-creatures" are nothing more than humans. And that can be even scarier than a bloodsucking vampire in my opinion!
I don't want to get into too much more about this one. But I must commend the authors again on all the incredible characters! You could easily tell the characters apart. Everyone had their own agenda and personality, though the helpful chapter header of the narrator's rules was helpful in knowing whose head you were in (third person wise). The pacing was incredible too! It has a steady pace to begin, letting you think this is all about a simple boy's revenge for his sister and then boom, bang, blam! We're hit again and again with shocking events!
And the whodunit person...ohhh I fell for this once before and I cannot believe I let it happen to me again! But wow! Kudos Nancy and Debbie, kudos!! Basically I did not see the murderer coming. I had my own theory going, totally convoluted naturally, but yeah...wasn't banking on the way it turned out! LOL!
Now my biggest question is, after that ending...is this a standalone or duology or series? Something, because OMG!!! OMG!!!! Just as I felt things were wrapping up into a nice standalone, there was a mysterious kind of ending! And I'm still reeling! What just happened? What's going to happen? Is there more? Please tell me there is more!! Ah the joy authors receive in readers' pain and agony! LOL!
If you're looking for a deliciously creepy thriller this summer, I cannot recommend The Rules enough! It's chilling. It's dark and twisted. It's a must read!
Overall Rating 5/5 stars
The Rules releases on June 23, 2015
I have been a fan of the writing duo Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie since the Wicked series very first published! I thought it was awesome! They were even my first writing duo and I was amazed--at that time, and honestly still am--that two authors could collaborate and write a book together! It never ceases to amaze me! So I went into The Rules expecting something completely and totally awesome and naturally, Nancy and Debbie delivered!
First off, I have to say that in order to truly enjoy these talented ladies' writing, you have to like or at least be able to handle, multiple points of view. At first, I did feel a little overwhelmed with all the characters taking a spin at the narration, but for Robin is one of main narrators and the rest maybe have 2-3 turns at it. And since there were quite a few characters, that's still a lot of points of view, but don't worry! Seriously! It's easy to follow along once the game gets rolling and what a game it was!
August is mad at the so called popular people at his high school. In a way, he's one of them by default by having rich and famous parents. But when it was because of these people, that his younger sister died, he's not happy. And he wants his revenge now. So he sets up one of his famous scavenger hunts, planning to exact that revenge, but things suddenly take a dark and horrible turn.
People start going missing, people start dying. August proclaims innocence. As to what his plans really were about, is a little unclear. But his revenge is pushed aside when it becomes clear that whoever this killer is plans to keep them here until he or she gets what they want. Their cell phones are gone. The batteries to their cars are missing. They are in an abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere--because that's where all the cool kids party apparently! Basically, they are trapped until the killer decides to let them go. Or kill them all.
Robin is sort of our main character. She isn't apart of the popular crowd, so the killer never really banked on her coming. But as Robin watches her friends get killed one by one, she is more determined then ever to escape. But the killer seems to have eyes everywhere and if they make one false move, game's over and people will be killed.
The Rules was INTENSE! Omigosh so freaking intense! I loathed to put the book down! Having to take care of other responsibilities was not optional! (Yet of course, I had to) I could've easily read this in one sitting and nearly did since I only read a few pages yesterday before feeling too sick and took a long nap! But today, I read and read and never sat the book down for long! Holy moly this read was SOOOOO good! I love a good thriller! As I said, in these stories, our "monster-creatures" are nothing more than humans. And that can be even scarier than a bloodsucking vampire in my opinion!
I don't want to get into too much more about this one. But I must commend the authors again on all the incredible characters! You could easily tell the characters apart. Everyone had their own agenda and personality, though the helpful chapter header of the narrator's rules was helpful in knowing whose head you were in (third person wise). The pacing was incredible too! It has a steady pace to begin, letting you think this is all about a simple boy's revenge for his sister and then boom, bang, blam! We're hit again and again with shocking events!
And the whodunit person...ohhh I fell for this once before and I cannot believe I let it happen to me again! But wow! Kudos Nancy and Debbie, kudos!! Basically I did not see the murderer coming. I had my own theory going, totally convoluted naturally, but yeah...wasn't banking on the way it turned out! LOL!
Now my biggest question is, after that ending...is this a standalone or duology or series? Something, because OMG!!! OMG!!!! Just as I felt things were wrapping up into a nice standalone, there was a mysterious kind of ending! And I'm still reeling! What just happened? What's going to happen? Is there more? Please tell me there is more!! Ah the joy authors receive in readers' pain and agony! LOL!
If you're looking for a deliciously creepy thriller this summer, I cannot recommend The Rules enough! It's chilling. It's dark and twisted. It's a must read!
Overall Rating 5/5 stars
The Rules releases on June 23, 2015
May 30, 2015
A few years ago I read Holder and Viguie’s YA supernatural werewolf novel, Unleashed, and really liked it, so I thought that trying a YA Thriller from the pair would be a reading gamble that was sure to pan out. Unfortunately, this did not turn out to be the case.
It’s more like a teen horror novel than a teen thriller and not remotely supernatural. Set in Southern California, all the students depicted here fit nicely into the most stereotypically negative categories anyone could imagine from drugs, casual sex, materialism and greed. Gangs, murder and revenge are all causally treated here and the titular “rules” serve more as a quick way to introduce this rather large unpleasant cast of characters. Because none of them are likable, it’s hard to care when one after another turns up murdered. I wish that I would have set it aside when I first considered rather than finishing it. It’s a very adult YA novel and the characters are so repugnant that they are impossible to connect with. The book never improves and only becomes more and more ridiculous. Nothing whatsoever is redeeming about this one - and for all of the blood and guts, it is not even remotely spooky either. The characters are more like stock soap opera caricatures of people so there is nothing to promote any real tension in their deaths. To be honest, my grandfather’s joke of a spoiler-ending by saying, “And then they ALL died!” would have been a more appropriate of a conclusion. The plot’s twist is cheap and generally unfounded. The action by the ending devolves into a jumbled mess and I genuinely wish that I had not read this at all. What a disappointment!
It’s more like a teen horror novel than a teen thriller and not remotely supernatural. Set in Southern California, all the students depicted here fit nicely into the most stereotypically negative categories anyone could imagine from drugs, casual sex, materialism and greed. Gangs, murder and revenge are all causally treated here and the titular “rules” serve more as a quick way to introduce this rather large unpleasant cast of characters. Because none of them are likable, it’s hard to care when one after another turns up murdered. I wish that I would have set it aside when I first considered rather than finishing it. It’s a very adult YA novel and the characters are so repugnant that they are impossible to connect with. The book never improves and only becomes more and more ridiculous. Nothing whatsoever is redeeming about this one - and for all of the blood and guts, it is not even remotely spooky either. The characters are more like stock soap opera caricatures of people so there is nothing to promote any real tension in their deaths. To be honest, my grandfather’s joke of a spoiler-ending by saying, “And then they ALL died!” would have been a more appropriate of a conclusion. The plot’s twist is cheap and generally unfounded. The action by the ending devolves into a jumbled mess and I genuinely wish that I had not read this at all. What a disappointment!
May 26, 2015
Book #69 Read in 2015
The Rules by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie (YA)
At first glance, the premise of this story reminded me of I Know What You Did Last Summer. In reality, this book was so much creepier. August, a rich kid, is famous for throwing scavenger hunts. Before graduation, he wants to throw the ultimate one and also wants to get some revenge on those popular kids who were not nice to his sister, who died a year ago. He wants them to acknowledge their part of the bullying and tormenting that his sister faced. But someone is killing off these kids one by one...is it August? Another one of the party goers? Robin, who was not invited to the party but brought there by one of her friends, tries to figure out a way to get her friends to safety.
This book totally sucked me in and I read it in one sitting. The mystery had great twists and turns; I was never really sure who the killer would end up being. The characters were complex and had many layers; they were not always nice people but they were interesting with their flaws. This is the perfect summer read for teenagers and adults alike. I received a copy of this book from the Amazon Vine program in exchange for a honest review.
http://melissasbookpicks.blogspot.com
The Rules by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie (YA)
At first glance, the premise of this story reminded me of I Know What You Did Last Summer. In reality, this book was so much creepier. August, a rich kid, is famous for throwing scavenger hunts. Before graduation, he wants to throw the ultimate one and also wants to get some revenge on those popular kids who were not nice to his sister, who died a year ago. He wants them to acknowledge their part of the bullying and tormenting that his sister faced. But someone is killing off these kids one by one...is it August? Another one of the party goers? Robin, who was not invited to the party but brought there by one of her friends, tries to figure out a way to get her friends to safety.
This book totally sucked me in and I read it in one sitting. The mystery had great twists and turns; I was never really sure who the killer would end up being. The characters were complex and had many layers; they were not always nice people but they were interesting with their flaws. This is the perfect summer read for teenagers and adults alike. I received a copy of this book from the Amazon Vine program in exchange for a honest review.
http://melissasbookpicks.blogspot.com
February 10, 2016
2.5 stars
I was so excited to read this one. Saw meets I Know What You Did Last Summer. I mean come on! That's fucking awesome! Too bad it wasn't even close to what the blurb says it is.
My biggest problem with this book was all the damn POV's. I think I counted atleast 8. By the time I was halfway through the book, I was totally confused on who is who. They could have toned down on the insane amount of POV's in this book.
The writing was choppy as hell and the "killer" was just so random. Really didn't feel like the killer was supposed to be the real killer. It felt like the authors just added that in there to fuck with us.
It just sucks that I was really looming forward to this and it just flopped for me. Probably won't read any of her other books.
I was so excited to read this one. Saw meets I Know What You Did Last Summer. I mean come on! That's fucking awesome! Too bad it wasn't even close to what the blurb says it is.
My biggest problem with this book was all the damn POV's. I think I counted atleast 8. By the time I was halfway through the book, I was totally confused on who is who. They could have toned down on the insane amount of POV's in this book.
The writing was choppy as hell and the "killer" was just so random. Really didn't feel like the killer was supposed to be the real killer. It felt like the authors just added that in there to fuck with us.
It just sucks that I was really looming forward to this and it just flopped for me. Probably won't read any of her other books.
July 11, 2015
It was seriously like a terrible SyFy original movie in book form. Not even a teen slasher flick like I Know What You Did Last Summer, Halloween, or Friday the 13th. It was worse. Way worse. I'm talking the Sharknado of slasher. Without the comedic relief.
July 20, 2015
3.5
Loved the suspense!
Loved the suspense!
March 1, 2017
I finally fished another book! I really like these cheesy ya horror novels. this one reads like a b-teen horror movie & I enjoyed it.
February 2, 2016
HOLY CRAP THE BLOOD SHED! I had stayed up basically all night to finish this book, and I was not prepared for this book to turn out the way it did. When I first saw the cover of this book (I know, never judge a book by its cover, but this book's cover art was so haunting, I couldn't help it), my first reaction was "I NEED". Everything about this book signaled 'thriller", and I've been waiting for a decent thriller to turn up for months. So, I started reading the supplied summary to see if this book was as good as I assumed.
*Bloodred letters* Welcome to the hunt
Rule #1
Never trust the people you call friends.
Rule #2
Be prepared for some seriously dangerous situations.
Rule #3
Keep your eyes open, especially when it's dark.
Rule #4
You are your only lifeline.
Rule #5
Always follow the rules.
Okay so far so good. Sort of reminds me of that one movie with Abigail Breslin. There was hunting, and dying...
*First page of the book*
Everyone has Rules.
The Rules they play by.
The Rules they live by.
Here are your Rules:
Don't run
Don't scream
Play the game.
Break the Rules...
And you die
Yup, this is definitely going to be a good one, I can feel it
Synopsis:
Okay, so essentially the book picks up 14 hours prior to the main action of the book, probably this "hunt" as mentioned in the book summary, where you get a glimpse into this uber rich boy and his sister's lives. With ignorant parents who are always busy doing who-knows-what,the two siblings are practically their only true family, and as a result become inseparable. Then Alexa DeYoung, the elder, has a "serious breakdown", resulting in her deportation to rehab. Insert panicked parents, who practically thrust Alexa and her younger brother August straight out of their residence in New York to a miniature town in California: Callabrese. Of course, trouble is never truly gone, as Alexa tries with all her might to fit in with the "cool" kids of the town despite herself already being incredibly well-known and affluent. The students at her school merely shrug off her efforts, sometimes even thwarting her attempts to reach higher levels in their social hierarchy, and pretty soon, Alexa ends up dead in a pool during one particular party. "Drowned". Swearing vengeance on those who wronged his sister, August appears to become obsessed with created an elaborate plan to retaliate against his fellow peers. August forms a "Pact" with Beth Breckinridge, the girl who seems to know all in their school, and together August and Beth begin to climb the social ladder. They create and develop Callabrese High's annual scavenger hunt, a subtle tribute to Alexa who played scavenger hunts with August when they were younger, in which a select group of popular kids at the high school pair off in 2-man groups to seek out objects and win some incredibly expensive prize. Until one faithful night when August decides to create the final scavenger hunt without Beth, his typical sidekick and planner. Then, when one of the invited guests ends up dead, everyone in the game realize that the final hunt isn't just a fun little party game for an extravagant prize, but a test of survival against a rampaging murderer who's out for revenge.
(Don't worry about spoilers, most of that is mentioned in the first chapter).
Story starts:
As the story continues to unfold, people start dropping like flies, and it's now up to everybody at the party to find out who this ravaging murderer is, and how to stop him/ survive until next morning.
Naturally, this book already sounds like some cliche you'd find off a list of bad teen horror movies. But meh, I went along with it. Nevertheless, it DID end up turning into some bad teen horror novel, but there were SOME likable qualities to the book. For example, the switching points of view (POVs). Throughout the story, the various characters consecutively split up either by accident or on purpose (stupid either way...) and the different POVs helped the reader easily navigate what was happening in different areas and how it affected the others. For example, whenever someone was in trouble (i.e. kidnapped, hiding), or whenever someone made an important discovery (i.e. someone's murder). This was invaluable the story since the killer was traveling to various places in the story while the main character Robin was investigating somewhere else.
Of course, eventually the authors started abusing this power a bit, as there were times when the POV switched for no apparent reason other than to reassure the reader that a a certain group of characters were still alive.
As well, I also liked how captivating the writing was. I'll admit, the writing was not necessarily captivating in that the writing was good or sophisticated, but the text was put together in a way that kept my attention all night.
Now, onto the bad elements of the book
Oh gosh...
I understand that the whole point of the book was the rules, but I think the authors sort of milked the concept when the rules had absolutely no relevance to the situation that was unfolding or the general plot in any way.It was more distracting by the middle of the story rather than helping the story develop. Actually, scratch that. it was becoming distracting around the THIRD CHAPTER. Come one Nancy Holder, you can do better. there was the rule "Look out for number one" as the guy got stabbed. Huh? I mean, I guess they were there just to prove that each character was going against their "rules" or beliefs to help themselves survive in the circumstances, but really, was there no better way to portray this contrast in character?
And character development. The most character development I could get out of these rich teenagers was how ruthless they were before the hunt, having absolutely no problem using any means to get what they want, and transitioning into whimpering, sniveling kids that run away like scurrying squirrels at any apparent noise. Either way, they were running away from their real problems and looking for an easy way out. So basically, the characters weren't developing, they were revealing their inner selves. Of course, then there was the quiet, sweet smart girl who turns into a leader and main character, and the sweet, kind, honest person who became utterly insane. However, that honestly is not the best development I've ever seen. I'll give you authors credit though. You tried.
Then comes the actual backstory of the antagonist. Basically, it boils down to insanity, and hatred against someone who wasn't even present in the story. Why punish these kids if they never did anything to you? I don't know, sure they were all attention hoarders and took advantage of other, but they never so much as left a scar on you. I mean, if it was spontaneous murder like the trademark of some killers, then that would make a bit of sense. Trying to add the motive really didn't fit into the story the way it was intended to.
And then there was the mountain lions. And the rats. Was a disturbed killer not good enough? No, let's add some wild animals too! Yeah, man vs. nature conflicts! That'll work for sure!
And WHOSE idea was it to split up? I mean, the characters made references to curly red-haired Merida the Brave, so they are at least in modern 2012. And with all of these hormonal teenagers having the time to run around and hook up, doesn't at least one of them have the time to take another to see a horror movie? You know, where the main characters split up and get killed because of it?!
Overall, I started this book with high hopes, just as I began this review/ rant with a positive light. When I finally decided to write a review about the book, I found it harder and harder to dtermine what I actually liked about the book, and I slowly began to realize that this book wasn't even as good as I had previously though. Hidden behind an exciting book jacket and premise, this story turned out to be another one of those disappointments. Oh well, I guess I have to keep looking for that "decent" thriller I had in mind.
Rating: 2 stars for content; 3 stars because I kept reading and the first time through wasn't painful at all
*Bloodred letters* Welcome to the hunt
Rule #1
Never trust the people you call friends.
Rule #2
Be prepared for some seriously dangerous situations.
Rule #3
Keep your eyes open, especially when it's dark.
Rule #4
You are your only lifeline.
Rule #5
Always follow the rules.
Okay so far so good. Sort of reminds me of that one movie with Abigail Breslin. There was hunting, and dying...
*First page of the book*
Everyone has Rules.
The Rules they play by.
The Rules they live by.
Here are your Rules:
Don't run
Don't scream
Play the game.
Break the Rules...
And you die
Yup, this is definitely going to be a good one, I can feel it
Synopsis:
Okay, so essentially the book picks up 14 hours prior to the main action of the book, probably this "hunt" as mentioned in the book summary, where you get a glimpse into this uber rich boy and his sister's lives. With ignorant parents who are always busy doing who-knows-what,the two siblings are practically their only true family, and as a result become inseparable. Then Alexa DeYoung, the elder, has a "serious breakdown", resulting in her deportation to rehab. Insert panicked parents, who practically thrust Alexa and her younger brother August straight out of their residence in New York to a miniature town in California: Callabrese. Of course, trouble is never truly gone, as Alexa tries with all her might to fit in with the "cool" kids of the town despite herself already being incredibly well-known and affluent. The students at her school merely shrug off her efforts, sometimes even thwarting her attempts to reach higher levels in their social hierarchy, and pretty soon, Alexa ends up dead in a pool during one particular party. "Drowned". Swearing vengeance on those who wronged his sister, August appears to become obsessed with created an elaborate plan to retaliate against his fellow peers. August forms a "Pact" with Beth Breckinridge, the girl who seems to know all in their school, and together August and Beth begin to climb the social ladder. They create and develop Callabrese High's annual scavenger hunt, a subtle tribute to Alexa who played scavenger hunts with August when they were younger, in which a select group of popular kids at the high school pair off in 2-man groups to seek out objects and win some incredibly expensive prize. Until one faithful night when August decides to create the final scavenger hunt without Beth, his typical sidekick and planner. Then, when one of the invited guests ends up dead, everyone in the game realize that the final hunt isn't just a fun little party game for an extravagant prize, but a test of survival against a rampaging murderer who's out for revenge.
(Don't worry about spoilers, most of that is mentioned in the first chapter).
Story starts:
As the story continues to unfold, people start dropping like flies, and it's now up to everybody at the party to find out who this ravaging murderer is, and how to stop him/ survive until next morning.
Naturally, this book already sounds like some cliche you'd find off a list of bad teen horror movies. But meh, I went along with it. Nevertheless, it DID end up turning into some bad teen horror novel, but there were SOME likable qualities to the book. For example, the switching points of view (POVs). Throughout the story, the various characters consecutively split up either by accident or on purpose (stupid either way...) and the different POVs helped the reader easily navigate what was happening in different areas and how it affected the others. For example, whenever someone was in trouble (i.e. kidnapped, hiding), or whenever someone made an important discovery (i.e. someone's murder). This was invaluable the story since the killer was traveling to various places in the story while the main character Robin was investigating somewhere else.
Of course, eventually the authors started abusing this power a bit, as there were times when the POV switched for no apparent reason other than to reassure the reader that a a certain group of characters were still alive.
As well, I also liked how captivating the writing was. I'll admit, the writing was not necessarily captivating in that the writing was good or sophisticated, but the text was put together in a way that kept my attention all night.
Now, onto the bad elements of the book
Oh gosh...
I understand that the whole point of the book was the rules, but I think the authors sort of milked the concept when the rules had absolutely no relevance to the situation that was unfolding or the general plot in any way.
And character development. The most character development I could get out of these rich teenagers was how ruthless they were before the hunt, having absolutely no problem using any means to get what they want, and transitioning into whimpering, sniveling kids that run away like scurrying squirrels at any apparent noise. Either way, they were running away from their real problems and looking for an easy way out. So basically, the characters weren't developing, they were revealing their inner selves. Of course, then there was the quiet, sweet smart girl who turns into a leader and main character, and the sweet, kind, honest person who became utterly insane. However, that honestly is not the best development I've ever seen. I'll give you authors credit though. You tried.
Then comes the actual backstory of the antagonist. Basically, it boils down to insanity, and hatred against someone who wasn't even present in the story. Why punish these kids if they never did anything to you? I don't know, sure they were all attention hoarders and took advantage of other, but they never so much as left a scar on you. I mean, if it was spontaneous murder like the trademark of some killers, then that would make a bit of sense. Trying to add the motive really didn't fit into the story the way it was intended to.
And then there was the mountain lions. And the rats. Was a disturbed killer not good enough? No, let's add some wild animals too! Yeah, man vs. nature conflicts! That'll work for sure!
And WHOSE idea was it to split up? I mean, the characters made references to curly red-haired Merida the Brave, so they are at least in modern 2012. And with all of these hormonal teenagers having the time to run around and hook up, doesn't at least one of them have the time to take another to see a horror movie? You know, where the main characters split up and get killed because of it?!
Overall, I started this book with high hopes, just as I began this review/ rant with a positive light. When I finally decided to write a review about the book, I found it harder and harder to dtermine what I actually liked about the book, and I slowly began to realize that this book wasn't even as good as I had previously though. Hidden behind an exciting book jacket and premise, this story turned out to be another one of those disappointments. Oh well, I guess I have to keep looking for that "decent" thriller I had in mind.
Rating: 2 stars for content; 3 stars because I kept reading and the first time through wasn't painful at all
July 5, 2017
Tragic.
The cover of the book is what attracted me first. "Come out, come out...you won't get far." It's mind-boggling. What actually made me check out the book from the library is the first couple of pages. There were rules from every character on every couple of pages. Little did I know how tough it would be to get through this book because of the cheesy plot. This book is based off pure revenge, in the most disturbing way possible. It was creepy and I would get freaked out just by reading it. Some parts did peak my interest but there were so many characters, that it felt endless. The switching of character's point of view was not my forte even though it mainly focus on Robin Brissett.
August's character was the biggest let down of this book. He's the one that started this "last hunt", saying that it was going to be the best one but it turns out that he's just a punk. After the other characters realized what the hunt was actually for, August was crying because of his sister. I thought August was going to be the Alpha, be angry, upset and don't give a damn. But he was crying and then started wining about I didn't expect him to have so many emotions. I thought he was just going to be hardcore and not give a sh*t because of Alexa. I was so disappointed.
The big reveal of the person that started the alternative hunt was disappointing as well. There was nothing surprising about it because I knew it was them like midway through the book. The person would go outside the warehouse and return with no problem. No hassle. Immediately I knew something was wrong because if there's a killer on the loose, and you go out there ALONE. There's a 99% chance, you're not coming back. But that person did.
I guess I had too much hopes for this book and the cover and blurb got me excited.
The cover of the book is what attracted me first. "Come out, come out...you won't get far." It's mind-boggling. What actually made me check out the book from the library is the first couple of pages. There were rules from every character on every couple of pages. Little did I know how tough it would be to get through this book because of the cheesy plot. This book is based off pure revenge, in the most disturbing way possible. It was creepy and I would get freaked out just by reading it. Some parts did peak my interest but there were so many characters, that it felt endless. The switching of character's point of view was not my forte even though it mainly focus on Robin Brissett.
August's character was the biggest let down of this book. He's the one that started this "last hunt", saying that it was going to be the best one but it turns out that he's just a punk. After the other characters realized what the hunt was actually for, August was crying because of his sister. I thought August was going to be the Alpha, be angry, upset and don't give a damn. But he was crying and then started wining about I didn't expect him to have so many emotions. I thought he was just going to be hardcore and not give a sh*t because of Alexa. I was so disappointed.
The big reveal of the person that started the alternative hunt was disappointing as well. There was nothing surprising about it because I knew it was them like midway through the book. The person would go outside the warehouse and return with no problem. No hassle. Immediately I knew something was wrong because if there's a killer on the loose, and you go out there ALONE. There's a 99% chance, you're not coming back. But that person did.
I guess I had too much hopes for this book and the cover and blurb got me excited.
March 6, 2017
It is unfortunate that this is my 100th book of 2017. This was awful. The story read like a bad slasher movie from the Sci-Fi channel or a made for TV movie. It was bad, like House of Wax with Paris Hilton bad.
Full review can be found here: https://agingerlyreview.wordpress.com...
What in the actual did I read in this book. This was a level of bad I did not know existed and the level of bad that I actively try to avoid. I borrowed from my library as it was recommended to me. Please, do not let the blurb or the cover fool you – this book is really horrible. I listened to the audio and I liked the narrator, but that was not going to be enough to save this bomb.
Short blurb: Brother plans wicked game to get revenge against the people that helped to push his sister to killing herself. Things get worse and a new killer joins the game.
Wait… me typing it that way still makes it sound like a somewhat decent book. I’m here to tell you that is not the truth. This book was the like reading a slasher movie. A really badly written and produced slasher movie. Let’s start with the storyline: Awful. It was full of holes and just had too much going on. The plot had potential but it fell flat. It felt like the authors over complicated the plot by leaps and bounds. They added so many red herrings in order to throw people off that I truly became lost with what was going on. When I became lost, I lost my ability to care what was going on. Was the brother, August, really the mastermind and the killer? *shrug* Who cared. This story was told in alternating chapters so you had nearly every character with their own chapter. Which means you had their flimsy backstory and take on the fight to save their lives. (I use that sentence tone with heavy sarcasm. There was no suspense in this entire story.) The thing that really started to bother me was how every chapter started with “{Character Name} Rule Number {whatever}” and then that person’s rule would be given. Since these character did not have back to back chapters, the reason behind giving each rule was lost. They were always foreshadowing what was going to happen in the chapter so there really was no tension or suspense. It felt predictable the entire way through the book.
The characters were the other thing that made me strongly dislike this story. There were far too many. There must have been close to 10 characters and every one of them had some convoluted backstory that tied them to August’s sister in some way. *yawn* Do I care? No. It seemed to have an odd place in the story because it is another story and illegal act all on its own. I also did not care about the girl who was head over heels for the lead singer of a band, but they only dated in private. The girl didn’t like that and wanted more. Snoozefest. Then there is the band with the most unmemorable group of people. Apparently the song writer stole the songs and was determined to make it big no matter what. Who cares? That sounds like every other band from a small town. Let’s try to forget the very successful jock that took steroids or the cheerleader that thought she was too fat. This entire group of misfits could be from any high school in America. They were so stereotypical, nothing about them stood out. Oh, I forgot to mention there is a mountain lion. Throughout the story the mountain lion is talked about. I was cheering for the lion.
Please, do not go into this expecting some amazing thriller or raving suspense because you won’t find it here. This is a cheesy B-movie type story that you would find on a lesser cable channel that you settle on watching because there is nothing else on TV. I am really surprised that it took two people to write this story. I do wish I had DNFd but I somehow I was able to finish. I kick myself for doing that. I want these hours of my life back.
Full review can be found here: https://agingerlyreview.wordpress.com...
What in the actual did I read in this book. This was a level of bad I did not know existed and the level of bad that I actively try to avoid. I borrowed from my library as it was recommended to me. Please, do not let the blurb or the cover fool you – this book is really horrible. I listened to the audio and I liked the narrator, but that was not going to be enough to save this bomb.
Short blurb: Brother plans wicked game to get revenge against the people that helped to push his sister to killing herself. Things get worse and a new killer joins the game.
Wait… me typing it that way still makes it sound like a somewhat decent book. I’m here to tell you that is not the truth. This book was the like reading a slasher movie. A really badly written and produced slasher movie. Let’s start with the storyline: Awful. It was full of holes and just had too much going on. The plot had potential but it fell flat. It felt like the authors over complicated the plot by leaps and bounds. They added so many red herrings in order to throw people off that I truly became lost with what was going on. When I became lost, I lost my ability to care what was going on. Was the brother, August, really the mastermind and the killer? *shrug* Who cared. This story was told in alternating chapters so you had nearly every character with their own chapter. Which means you had their flimsy backstory and take on the fight to save their lives. (I use that sentence tone with heavy sarcasm. There was no suspense in this entire story.) The thing that really started to bother me was how every chapter started with “{Character Name} Rule Number {whatever}” and then that person’s rule would be given. Since these character did not have back to back chapters, the reason behind giving each rule was lost. They were always foreshadowing what was going to happen in the chapter so there really was no tension or suspense. It felt predictable the entire way through the book.
The characters were the other thing that made me strongly dislike this story. There were far too many. There must have been close to 10 characters and every one of them had some convoluted backstory that tied them to August’s sister in some way. *yawn* Do I care? No. It seemed to have an odd place in the story because it is another story and illegal act all on its own. I also did not care about the girl who was head over heels for the lead singer of a band, but they only dated in private. The girl didn’t like that and wanted more. Snoozefest. Then there is the band with the most unmemorable group of people. Apparently the song writer stole the songs and was determined to make it big no matter what. Who cares? That sounds like every other band from a small town. Let’s try to forget the very successful jock that took steroids or the cheerleader that thought she was too fat. This entire group of misfits could be from any high school in America. They were so stereotypical, nothing about them stood out. Oh, I forgot to mention there is a mountain lion. Throughout the story the mountain lion is talked about. I was cheering for the lion.
Please, do not go into this expecting some amazing thriller or raving suspense because you won’t find it here. This is a cheesy B-movie type story that you would find on a lesser cable channel that you settle on watching because there is nothing else on TV. I am really surprised that it took two people to write this story. I do wish I had DNFd but I somehow I was able to finish. I kick myself for doing that. I want these hours of my life back.
October 12, 2017
Oh...My....Gosh!
So this book was so surprising! I just wasn't expecting any of it.
Someone killed Alexa at least that is what her Brother August thinks so he plans on getting back at the people that he feels are responsible. He had spent a year getting into the popular crowd which isn't very hard because he is ridiculously rich. He throws parties, more of scavenger hunts with elaborate gifts to the winners.
So for his final party, he finally is ready for his revenge. He sets up a whole party and everyone shows up even one that he didn't invite.
So through the whole night, people are dying off and clues are being left. People being hung, people getting eaten by rats and lions. The kicker...August swears it's not him. He admits that he was going to get revenge on everyone but never kill anyone.
Can you say "there is a killer in the house?"
So they are stuck for a whole night in an empty warehouse with no phones, no cars and someone trying to kill them.
Then when you think you know who it is....ITS NOT THEM!!!
So this book was so surprising! I just wasn't expecting any of it.
Someone killed Alexa at least that is what her Brother August thinks so he plans on getting back at the people that he feels are responsible. He had spent a year getting into the popular crowd which isn't very hard because he is ridiculously rich. He throws parties, more of scavenger hunts with elaborate gifts to the winners.
So for his final party, he finally is ready for his revenge. He sets up a whole party and everyone shows up even one that he didn't invite.
So through the whole night, people are dying off and clues are being left. People being hung, people getting eaten by rats and lions. The kicker...August swears it's not him. He admits that he was going to get revenge on everyone but never kill anyone.
Can you say "there is a killer in the house?"
So they are stuck for a whole night in an empty warehouse with no phones, no cars and someone trying to kill them.
Then when you think you know who it is....ITS NOT THEM!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 2, 2017
This book was definitely one that I judged by it's cover. It looked to me more like a creepy ghost story than a story of revenge and murder. I totally went into reading it expecting one thing to happen, and then the book took a completely different turn. Although I was a little bit disappointed that the killer wasn't who I thought it would be, I was overall very happy with this book. It was an entertaining read to say the least! Perhaps the book wasn't expertly written, nor would I call it an absolute favorite of mine, but it's a great read if you're into horror/slasher/thriller type books or just looking for a short read at the beach. the plot was pretty good overall. No plot holes that I noticed which is sometimes tough to pull off when writing a mystery novel, so kudos for that! You're kept guessing as to who the killer is throughout the whole book. there's many different characters to consider, but only one can truly be the killer, and if you figure out who it is before the climax of the story, i would be impressed! overall, the book was a good read. pretty good storytelling, great leadup to the reveal of the killer. the only thing that keeps this book from 5 stars is the end. I just wanted more for the surviving characters and honestly, i really would have preferred if one of them died haha. but anyways, give this book a shot! you just might like it!
September 17, 2019
Total brain candy book in the style of a teen slasher flick. This was a fun read, not heavy on plot, lots of teens being horrible & then dying horribly, twists and turns, and a reveal that I definitely guessed. This would be a perfect beach read or for a day when you just want to turn your brain off and not have to strain. If you don't go in with super high expectations, you will probably have fun reading this one.
February 3, 2020
This sucked. The beginning had me hooked, made me fall in love with August and his devious plans. I will say that it had a great raising, but did horribly on the falling. The characters are well developed, few quirks here and there. It was great, until the ending. Heavily cliche, like it wasn’t necessary. I would have given it a 2.5 but I can’t do that in here, so I gave it a 3 to given it a shred of credit.
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