One Was Lost

When I first picked up this book, I was excited to read a contemporary thriller. After reading The Merciless by Danielle Vega, I wanted to read more contemporary thrillers and horror stories. This book started off with interesting characters and plot development, but as I kept reading, this book really bored me. I kept reading 'till the end to find out what happens, but the ending was beyond ridiculous.

First off, the main character's name is Sera, which really annoys me because for years I've never had to correct anyone on how to spell my name, Sarah. Now, there's more and more people who have switched to Sara and are experimenting with new spelling of the name. This isn't just an issue with my name. I've witness the name Carly being spelled like Karli. As the saying goes, if it's not broke, don't fix it. Experimentation can be cool, but if an old name is spelled in a new way that makes it weird to look at or pronounce, then just leave it as it is.

Second, I really didn't like the awkward romance between Sera and Lucas. Apparently, the two of them went out for one date, kissed, and never spoke again. So, there's some sort of tension between the two, but the way Sera handles the issue is annoying. She basically leads him on, then pushes him away because she doesn't want to be like her cheating mother going after younger and troubled men. It's obvious from the beginning that Sera and Lucas end up together by the end which doesn't help.

I was also having issues with Jude. I understood why he was so mean to everyone, but I would have liked to see more of a character development by the end, some kind of arc. Jude is a troubled teen due to his two dads. He endures prejudice which results in his bitterness. Not only that, but he's super rich. He's in one percentile at his school, so it's hard for him to feel understood by anybody. His character had a lot of room for development, but by the end, he only changes to being friendly towards Emily, Sera, and Lucas because of the life threatening incident they endured.

There were a lot of events that didn't make sense. The drugging didn't really get explained later in the story. It was assumed that the person who drugged them was out to kill them. But, the actual person who did it, didn't explain what for. There was also an issue with the strange dolls they encountered, (the cover art for the book). That moment felt a lot like a scene from the show Pretty Little Liars. Half of the book was just the characters trying to figure out what was going on, so there was less action and more talking. Which is a huge no-go for thrillers.

I'm not sure if I would recommend this book for anyone looking for a thrilling story. This book had too many slow scenes and little action to make this a thriller story. It was more like a mystery story with an unsatisfactory climax.

#OneWasLost #mystery