#118 The Cousins

 The Cousins by Karen M. McManus 

Ive been a big fan of Karen M McManus for a while and have read all of her other books so i was so stoked when i was given the opportunity to be a part of this blog tour run by @TheWriteReads for her new book The Cousins. 

The Cousins follows the story of the Story family who reside at Gull Cove Island on the East Coast. When the matriarch of the family Mildred invites her three gandchildren whom shes never met to spend the summer working at her resort its too much of a mystery to pass up. The grandchildren Milly, Aubrey and Jonah want to find out what happened many years ago to fracture their family, all they have to go on is that Mildred dis-inherited them by sending a letter stating 'I know what you did'. 

Mildreds children are Adam, Anders, Allison and Archer. Allisons daughter is Milly, Adams daughter is Aubrey and Anders son is Jonah making up the 3 grandchildren/cousins. The family tree is a bit complicated but luckily its included at the beginning of the book, not very handle when its an e-arc as its not that easy to flip back and forth but definitely a nice touch that it was included. 

No one writes a YA mystery like Karen M McManus, her books are all superbly written and The Cousins was no excpetion. It had all the elements of a great book, interesting premise, relatable characters and an intriguing mystery. I was kept on my toes throughout, there was so many twists and turns and i was so engrossed. If life hadnt got in the way then i would have read this in one sitting. There was so many twists that i just didnt see coming, not a single one (which is a bit embarrassing but oh well). I really loved the theme of family and how they can shatter so easily, i applaud McManus for not leaving it as a happy ending which is so customary for YA that eveything is fine and dandy at the end but in this book the siblings are still not harmonious at the end of the story, made it feel a lot more real to me. I also would have enjoyed more of Allison's chapters from the past and a greater look into the childrens relationship with their mother, i did enjoy the brief glimpses into the past that we did get. 

A massive thank you to Penguin Platform, Karen M. McManus, Dave from TheWriteReads and also Netgalley for letting me read one of my most anticipated books of the year early. This book was fast paced, interesting and fun. It reminded me in a way of The Inheritance Games which was another blog tour i was part of last month for TheWriteReadsTours. I really liked the characters of Milly, Aubrey and Jonah but i must admit i did get their parents mixed up especially Archer and Anders. I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes books such as The Inheritance Games and A Good Girls to Murder. 

4.5 stars