THEWRITEREADS BLOG TOUR of THE COUSINS by Karen McManus

G’day friends! Today, I am here with a brand new review for TheWriteReads blog tour!

It is for The Cousins by Karen McManus and it was a surprising novel with many twists and turns as well as being an entertaining read!

Also make sure to check out the other stops on the blog tour – there have been some awesome reviews!

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Being my first Karen McManus novel, ‘The Cousins’ is a book filled with twists and turns, the uncovering of secrets and an overall entertaining plotline. Though it did take me some time to get into this novel, the last 30 per cent is where much of the major elements of the plot begin to unfold or explode onto the scene, should I say.

The novel is told from four different perspectives with the three cousins written in first person. The premise centers and unfolds around a mystery and is told through two timelines. It is a novel about the Story family wherein a remote island is both their fortress and empire. To say that the Story family is rich would be an understatement, but it is the fact that in the late 1990s, the matriarch of the family kicked her four children out of the house and did not speak to them ever again. Until…the grandchildren receieved a letter from the matriach herself, Mildred Story. Thus begins the true focus of the story. Or the Story family, I should say.

The grandchildren, Milly, Aubrey and Jonah, are to send the summer at the family resort and are interested in finding out the family mystery. The setting-building of suspense and intrigue was one quite well which was inevitably portrayed when the cousins came together and realised immediately that something was not right.

I would not categorise this novel as predictable but I wouldn’t consider it as an entirely unique plotline. Some aspects of the twists frustrated me as the way that the secrets or the twist was covered up or concealed were done in the exact same way two or three times. It did take me a while to fully get engaged with the story and the ending felt similar and not all that unique, which links to what I previously stated. Though the plot was nuanced and the way that McManus was able to weave such a large cast of characters in a way that was rich and engaging, there were times where I was bored in waiting for something more to happen. Although it did get more fast-paced in the last 30 per cent of the novel.

Overall, a well thought-out and mulit-layered yound adult thriller which will engage readers. It is a fun and entertaining read which I recommend to readers who enjoy stories such as The Cousins.

3.5 stars.

That’s it! Until next time, happy reading!

all the love,

allie

xx

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