i gave this author two chances and went into this with zero expectations and somehow still got disappointed lmao you had a chance to improve and you missed it!! like, is a good mystery with fleshed-out characters and a sense of urgency and suspense too much to ask?

this book was more about dylan and paige vrushing on each other, being "cute" and their silly relationship drama, than it was about the mystery. this would've been better if paige had a crush on audrey and not on dylan. i don't even know why i'm supposed to root for them. it was totally unnecessary and brought nothing to the plot. even when they were in danger, there wasn't this sort of, oh my god, this person i love is in danger i'm going insane feeling. they should've just stayed friends, it would've been more fun.

the teenage angst drove me insane. the dialogue was cringy and unnatural and when the author wanted to come off as funny, i just wanted to smash my skull open with a hammer. like, i'm supposed to still be the target audience of these ya books? i'm not an old hag? i just started uni? so why is all of this so juvenile. it feels like the author doesn't know how to write teenagers.