This is a mostly enjoyable novel. My criticisms is that it started out pretty slow but about halfway through it really picked up. Also, you really have to suspend belief for the ending. But it’s fine. My biggest thing was I couldn’t really remember which of the children belonged to which cousin. I mean I guess it didn’t really matter, but it bothered me. Anyway.. three and a half stars (rounded down this time)

I am a huge fan of Karen M. McManus! I have thoroughly enjoyed her other books (such as "One of Us is Lying" and "Two Can Keep A Secret") and this one did not disappoint.

This book is told in different points of view as 3 cousins (that are practically strangers) are invited by a grandmother who they have never met to spend the summer with her at her resort. Why now? Why does this woman want to meet her grandchildren after she disinherited her own children 24 years ago? And why did she cast aside her own children all those years ago?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I like how each of the cousins have totally different personalities and upbringings. I really liked that each cousin is having to deal with their own home life issues. I also liked that each of the parents that was disinherited is pushing their child to take the grandmother up on her offer even though none of the children want to have anything to do with a grandmother that cast aside their parent. I loved the surprise characters that showed up and that not everyone is who they claim to be. This book had some really good twists!

This book does contain some underage drinking, language, reference to sex (no details), and teenage pregnancy.

Could. Not. Put. Down.

Milly, Aubrey and Jonah have been summoned by their grandmother to spend the summer “working” at her posh resort on a small island on the East Coast. The cousins have never met each other OR their elusive grandmother, Mildred Story. 24 years prior, Granny cut off their parents (Alison, Adam and Anders, as well as brother Archer) in a spectacular fashion and hasn’t spoken to any of them since.

When the trio arrives on the island, they have several brief encounters with their Grandmother. They also delve into the history of the island and the other longtime inhabitants.

This Story family novel is gripping, funny and a bit cutthroat a times. It’s also a bit dark. I loved getting to know each character and their specific nuances— especially whipsmart Milly.

I’m <i>always</i> down for a good YA mystery and this next one by McManus<u>delivers</u>. It’s been a very long time, friends, since I’ve been surprised by a book and an even longer time that I was smiling at the last paragraph. This is a MUST READ.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I loved the characters and the vibe but I found the resolution ludicrous. I really enjoyed the deepening relationships between the cousins. Each of them felt distinct. However, the flashbacks to Milly's mother Allison didn't really work for me and I found everything about Hazel to be too convenient by half. Still, I found the ambiance engrossing and enjoyed the writing.

Fans of Karen McManus will not be disappointed with #TheCousins. Much like her other novels, The Cousins is full of twists and turns that will keep readers guessing. The story follows three young people who come together after they receive a letter from their grandmother, who has disinherited the family. They are invited to work for a summer on their grandmother's island, which serves as an upscale resort. Because of the family history, and because they have not seen each other in a long time, family secrets abound as the story unfolds.

The start to the book is slow. Much of the first several chapters are character development, exploring the characters and their families, which can get a little confusing due to the number of characters in the book. Around halfway through the book, the clues to one mystery begin to expose many more until the exciting conclusion of the book.

Many thanks to the publishers and #NetGalley for this advanced copy.

Fun and thrilling, great beach read for teens, even if some of the plot twists are a little too convenient.

The Cousins is a phenomenal YA thriller from the author that brought us One of Us Is Lying.

Three teenage cousins barely know each other when they each get an invite from the wealthy grandmother none of them have met to work at her island resort for the summer. Each of their parents were disinherited before the cousins were even born and each insists their child accept the invite. However, the second the cousins arrive, nothing is at they thought it would be. And each has their own secrets and reasoning for coming to the island in the first place. Will the cousins find out what happened with their parents twenty years earlier to cause them to get disinherited? Will any of the cousins get their parent back in dear old grandma’s good graces?

The island setting is full of atmosphere and interesting characters. There are plenty of twists to keep readers guessing. The family dynamic aspect is a nice change from the usual YA mystery. McManus has officially cemented herself as a MUST READ author. Be sure to check out The Cousins today!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book! I was hooked from Page 1 and am so happy I read this! The characters were well-developed and I loved getting to know all of them. The STORY line was intriguing and I kept wanting to read more. I wanted to finish it and then I didn't, because I did not want the STORY to be over!!!! At the end of one chapter my mouth literally dropped and I just had to read the next chapter to find out more!! I will recommend this book to others! Thank you again to NetGalley and I look forward to the future books and going back and finishing One of Us is Lying and reading the rest of McManus' books!

This was pretty different from Karen McManus’ earlier books. There’s still the mystery element, but this one is more of a cold case than a situation of constant, current danger. I liked the setup, with three teenaged cousins being invited to spend the summer working at a resort owned by their grandmother, who has been estranged from their parents since before they were born. I liked the pacing and the slow but steady revelation of information leading up to a fairly explosive ending.

While I really enjoyed the twist in this book, it took way too long to get there! I read all of Karen M. McManus's other books and loved the suspense and twists, so I was looking forward to reading this one too. I read it in a couple days, but I just kept waiting for the shoe to drop! I think the book could have moved faster than it did, but it was still an enjoyable read.

Rating 5

"The Cousins" is the first book I have read by Karen M. McManus and I am so happy that I did. I loved the cover of this book and thought it would be a perfect read for October and I wasn't wrong. What is nice about this book is it has a little bit of everything such as family drama, mystery, romance, comedic reliefs, and even thrills. The story is about three cousins who have to spend a summer on an island to get "in" with their grandmother. The thing is none of these cousins have met and their grandmother is a complete stranger to each of them. It was interesting to see how things unfolded with the family and each character individually. The story is being told from four different point of views, the three cousins Milly, Jonah, and Aubrey with the occasional chapter from Alison Milly's mother. I loved having these different point of views because it helped keep the mystery going. While also at the same time we got to learn more and more about each individual character. Another thing I loved about this story was the overall mystery. In my opinion, it wasn't easy to figure out and while I thought I knew what the end was going to be I was wrong and I love that. Overall, this is an enjoyable read that goes fast because it makes you want to get to the end to see what happens.

Should you read "The Cousins"?
Yes! Like I said this book is filled with all of the right things. Give it a try, I promise you will not be disappointed.

**Received an advanced copy through NetGalley in return for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **

I've read every book that McManus has published, and THE COUSINS did not disappoint. While her previous novels tend to focus on friends, the dysfunctional family drama was a nice change. I really enjoyed all the perspectives in this book (there are three), and the loyalty between Milly, Jonah, and Aubrey, all of whom are very likable characters while still exemplifying the mistakes teenagers can make when they don't put too much thought into their actions.

I keep thinking about the ending and that cliffhanger! I hope we get another story about the Storys.

This was a great YA thriller. McManus' is really great at a multi-POV narrative and her pacing is great. There is a lot of family trauma, as per usual, with a lot of family secrets. Enjoyable. Fans of McManus will love it.

Another read-in-one-sitting home run from McManus. I kept flipping pages needing to know what happened next. YA readers are sure to love this as much as her previous works.

This one definitely kept me reading well into the wee small hours of the morning. I really enjoyed the familial relationships in this one. It was not necessarily a good sibling book but it was a good cousin book.

McManus does it again! I loved the twists and turns of this book and simply didn't see the ending coming. This is definitely a book I will recommend to my middle and high schools for purchase.

A solid YA mystery to add to the McManus canon. Family drama, summer vibes, and a heavy dose of atmosphere make this a must read for fans of her previous titles, and a must own for high school and teen collections.

Karen McManus delivers another average read. It's not something that is for me, clearly but I think a lot of teens will enjoy this entry. The plot is pretty forgettable for me. In the end, not my cup of tea.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review - Here goes...
This book deviates from earlier McManus YA mystery series in that the characters are (wait for it...) cousins (not classmates). This is an interesting slant because who doesn't love reading family drama that happens to take place in a ritzy seaside resort? Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah Story are estranged from their wealthy grandmother who disinherited their parents over 20 years ago. So why has Grandmother reached out to her descendants after all those years? And why did she disinherit her own children? The three cousins must accept jobs at the resort for the summer in order to begin piecing together answers to these questions. They bring with them their physical luggage and emotional baggage that they inherited from their parents who exhibit varying forms of dysfunction. From being emotionally detached to professionally reckless, these parents have done a number on their children. From the moment they arrive at Gull Cove, nothing is as it seems. The cousins have to decide one thing: are they allies or adversaries? If they are allies, they can work together to discover once and for all why their grandmother disinherit their parents. If they are adversaries, they will need to ingratiate themselves to their grandmother (and her lawyer, and her lawyer, and her assistant) in order to become her favorite grandchild and to lay claim to the family fortune.

What I liked: This is quintessential McManus. Few YA writers can keep such focus on plot - mystery plot at that - without devolving into politics, agendas, and whatnot. That is what makes her writing solid and keeps readers from feeling alienated. Her plot twists are so well executed that even the most seasoned "who-done-it" reader will likely not sniff out all of them. Also, not only are her plots solid, they are many things, but never canned. These are not played out retellings - they are 100% original McManus. This is a great story with believable characters, and I know my students will enjoy the plot as well as the characters.
What was hard: McManus has identified on Twitter that she has MANY characters. This particular story adds the challenge of all of the adult siblings having first names that start with "A." It was different to keep the Archer/Anders characters separate for me, but not Allison (the only sister) and Adam. This is not at all an indictment on the writing - maybe it says more about me as a reader. So while there were many characters in the story, having so many who had names beginning with the same letter made me need a flow chart (not present in the digital ARC I read).
All in all: a great story!

McManus has done it again. The three Story cousins - Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah, are all called to the island resort their estranged grandmother owns. Their parents had suddenly been disinherited over 20 years before, and none of them know why. They simply got a letter from their mother's lawyer which read "You know why." Each of the cousins accepts the invitation (begrudgingly) but has their own reasons why and are holding their own secrets close to their chests.

The 2/3 of the book are more about the cousins relations to each other, with the occasional flashback to Milly's mother, Allison, in the summer of 1996, the year before the Story kids were disinherited. Even so, I was compelled by their family dynamics and growth as characters. Once the mystery started to kick in, however, I absolutely could not put the book down. Maybe not as nail-biting as her other books, but just as well-written, so I was hooked from page one.