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�� 2.75 stars

never thought i would be giving a low rating to a book written by Holly Jackson but here we are... sighs.

i absolutely loved the A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder trilogy (i gave 5 stars to all the three books) so i was sure i would love this one too �� and well, as you can see, i didn’t. it wasn’t as captivating as i thought it would be and i am so disappointed to say this. even though this book is fast paced and filled with twists and turns, i was incapable of finding it exciting. i tried, but i couldn’t enjoy the setting and the concept of the story. not for me i guess.

the blurb really sounded intriguing and after seeing seeing so many people talking about how good this book was i decided to give it a try. i thought that this thriller would keep me hooked from beginning to the end, but that’s not what happened. in general, the story is sadly so bland and uninteresting. which is ironic because i was enjoying it at the beginning and i believed it had potential to be a five star read, but then i quickly changed my mind after reading a few pages. i simply lost all my interest.

i have to mention that, surprisingly, the story managed to make me interested again at 60% or so, i finally felt like it was going somewhere when a few things that i definitely didn’t see coming started happening and suddenly i was invested. but guess what? my interest didn’t last long. when i was close to reach the 85% mark it became boring again and i realized i wasn’t invested in the story anymore. i just wanted it to be over.

however, for some stupid reason, i still had some hopes for the big reveal and the ending �� and now i regret that because i was left unsatisfied with both. was the reveal surprising? yes (i’d be lying if i said it wasn’t) but it was not that surprising given the fact that i guessed part of it. as for the ending; i don’t know exactly what i was expecting, but it was definitely not that. all i can say is that it left much to be desired. it wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t good either. a mediocre ending to say the least.

as for the characters, i don’t have a lot to say about them since i didn’t like any of them so i’ll be quick.

starting with the main character, Red; i found her dull for the majority of the book, and at times she was irritating. i didn’t enjoy reading her inner monologues at all, they were too monotonous and long for no reason. also, she was constantly mentioning her mother and i don’t know if i’m too insensitive (perhaps i am) but i actually didn’t care about that. look, i’m sorry her mom died, i really am, but she was always bringing it up at every chapter and it was too repetitive. i think that’s why it was hard to sympathize with her. i can see why the author thought that showing her trauma was important �� however, it was not necessary to mention it all. the. time. like, girl, we get it, your mom is dead! dear lord. i was tired of reading about that.

Arthur, Simon, Reyna and Maddy were just... there? they weren’t awful, they were unremarkable. to me, none of them had interesting personalities that stood out. insignificant characters.

now Oliver... hated him with all my heart. he won the award for the most annoying character in this book. i wanted to throw my kindle away every time he appeared (which was a bunch of times). i’m still trying to understand why the other characters just accepted him as the leader and followed his stupid orders without even thinking twice. that was so pathetic. i got mad at them for not standing up for themselves and i got mad at him too for being so bossy and infuriating. the positive thing is that at least he made me feel something �� hatred? yeah. but hey! it’s still something! �� and the rest of the characters failed at it since they were all a bunch of tedious people. (view spoiler)[i’m glad Oliver got what he deserved at the ending by the way. if someone asked me what was my favorite moment i would say that it was when he died. (hide spoiler)]

all in all, Five Survive was a big letdown. to state the obvious: Holly Jackson is a wonderful and talented writer, but this was definitely not her best work. i’m still very excited to read her next book coming out next year, though. hopefully it will be better than this one.

and huge thanks to Roro for buddy reading with me. 🥹 sadly, we didn’t love the book, but sharing theories and thoughts was super fun! excited to do another buddy read with you in the near future bestie. 🫶🏼

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pre-review:

starting this one because i haven’t read a thriller book in awhile and i feel like reading something different will help me with my slump 🤧

buddy read with my sweet Roro 🤍