Seven Dirty Secrets by Natalie D. Richards
Product details
Web ID: 14717396Great book!!
I first read one was lost by this author and I loved it so much that I got this book by her next. It was great. she really knows how to pull the reader in and I just have really loved the books I have read by her. I’m not a big reader, at all, so I’m glad this author got me back into reading
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Just OK
Told in first person point of view from Cleo, the reader is introduced to so many characters that I found it not only hard to keep it all straight, but started to get dizzy with all the who did what and to who merry-go-round. In a nutshell, one year after her abusive boyfriend dies on a rafting trip, on her eighteenth birthday, Cleo finds a box in her home after she gets out of the shower. As she was the only person in the home, she has no idea who the sender is and the contents and clues are an invitation to a scavenger hunt. Sounds pretty interesting, right? Especially as the clues all point to her dead boyfriend, Declan, and the threat that if she doesn’t complete the scavenger hunt in time, this unknown person will ruin her life and tell everyone what really happened. Cleo ran track in high school and is looking to get into college to study forensics, so she has a lot to lose. Of course, I immediately assumed that Declan wasn’t dead, but has decided being the abusive jerk is fun and wants to torment Cleo, but that got old really quick and the only thing motivating me to continue was to just find out who was behind this and why. There are several flashback scenes where the reader gets more than a passing introduction to Declan and the levels he would go to hurt Cleo, often without remorse. Major trigger warning for me and to be honest, pushed some hot buttons that nobody noticed what was happening to Cleo. It shouldn’t have surprised me as Cleo, her brother and all these so-called friends keep a lot of secrets, themselves. I didn’t rate this book higher than I am because I felt almost zero sympathy or compassion for any of them and when the identity of the person behind it is finally revealed, it wasn’t a surprise and really anti-climactic. The narration performance by Natasha Soudek was well done. She demonstrated appropriate levels of emotion and tension to make the situation Cleo and her friends are going through realistic. My Final Verdict: This was my first book by this author and though overall, I found the book to be just OK, I would be willing to read more of her work. The premise of the story was amazing and is what drew me to the story in the first place, but the delivery left me disappointed.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
This was a great YA mystery/thriller
This was a great YA mystery/thriller! I immediately got sucked in by the intriguing storyline. I loved the scavenger hunt aspect of the story and I flew through this book in a day! The book was a bit predictable, but it was so good that I didn’t care. There were also a few scenes that felt a bit rushed, but overall it was a wonderful read! If you like young adult mysteries and thrillers you should definitely check this one out!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Decent plot, characters too perfect
I liked the plot of this one, though I had some issues with the entire execution of it. The characters were a bit too "perfect" with few flaws shown. Characters that want to work directly with law enforcement were terrified of police even being in the same room as a black character (who ironically wants to be a lawyer, yet thinks all cops are out to get him); somehow that overshadowed a threatening stalker at times. I guess the author's exposure to law enforcement is sensational media headlines and not much else. Anyway, the writing started out feeling a little stilted, but that could have been because I had read an adult book before this one. Once the book got further into the story, the writing felt less awkward and more polished; yet the characters were so perfect, they didn't really feel too real. The ending was pretty good, and I didn't see it coming; however, my physical copy had a couple grammatical/structural errors toward the end, and then two paragraphs of an editor's notes were left in, right around the climax of the book. It took me a second to realize what I was reading. I've never encountered that before. It wrapped up nicely despite that, and even though the characters were a bit unrealistic, I still want to try another book by this author. Overall, the writing was pretty good, the plot tense and sad, and some nice twists here and there.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Amazing
This is hands down one of the best books I have ever read. I finished it in one day. One you started finding out more you just can’t stop reading. This is one jaw dropper.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Great read
This book is so good! It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time and the ending?! Wow did I not see that coming!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Good Read
I really enjoyed this book. It was suspenseful. Not my typical reading choice but I ended up picking up the book and…it turned out pretty good.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Great book
When I bought this book a few months back I didn't think I was gonna like it butt... this book is a totally great storyline...you think one person is it and then in the end it's the total opposite and the person who actually is it comes out of left field...it's great. 2 thumbs up for me :)
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com