The Cousins: a review

Q U I C K S T A T S

Characters-⭐⭐⭐
Setting-⭐⭐
Writing style-⭐⭐
Overall rating- ⭐⭐⭐

// Content Warning: Alcohol use (including underage drinking) / Arson / Cheating / Child abuse (emotional/psychological) / Death of a loved one / Drugging / Emesis / Gambling addiction (mentioned) / Incest (inferred) / Miscarriage / Murder / Parental neglect / Pregnancy//

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Age group: Young Adult

Genre(s): Mystery

Pub date: December 3rd 2020

P R E M I S E

Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah Story are cousins, but they barely know each other, and they've never even met their grandmother. Rich and reclusive, she disinherited their parents before they were born. So when they each receive a letter inviting them to work at her island resort for the summer, they're surprised... and curious.

Their parents are all clear on one point—not going is not an option. This could be the opportunity to get back into Grandmother's good graces. But when the cousins arrive on the island, it's immediately clear that she has different plans for them. And the longer they stay, the more they realize how mysterious—and dark—their family's past is.

The entire Story family has secrets. Whatever pulled them apart years ago isn't over—and this summer, the cousins will learn everything.

M Y R E V I E W

The Cousins follows... cousins? They are invited by their filthy rich grandma (go queen) to spend all paid summer getaway in her private island. And of course. none of the kids are allowed to refuse because a) she's rich and b) nobody likes to leave an old woman hanging.

First, we've got Millie (short for Mildred) who is Allison's daughter. She's observant and smart and kind of reminds me of my own grandmother when she's being picky (she is named after her grandmother after all). Then we've got Aubrey, the daughter of some fancy writer who sounds like he watches cows for fun. Lastly, we've got Jonah, the only character I could tolerate. The cousins were fine but honestly, I didn't like any of them (except Jonah... if you know what I mean).

I loved the whole aesthetic and summer vibe going on but I felt like the flashbacks contributed nothing to the actual storyline. It basically explores and explains one particular summer which lead to the division of the A-siblings. On its own, it would make a fantastic story. Merged with this one, no. I understand that the two stories are related, but I personally would have preferred it if the flashbacks were told through journal entries or if they were in sync to the present.

Let's be honest, the plot twist was far from satisfactory. If the build-up and execution was a graph, it would look something like this:

(Don't question it, it was the best I could do).

The romance was kind of weird to me, especially because he called her 'princess' multiple times throughout the story. I don't know about you but Jennifer L. Armentrout's From Blood and Ash ruined it for me and that nickname is now an automatic red flag for me.

T R O P E S

Enemies to lovers (kind of)

R E P R E S E N T A T I O N

Biracial main character (Japanese and white)

S I M I L A R B O O K S

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart (When I said twin, I meant that these books are literally the same).