Elle Kennedy’s debut YA thriller, that follows the daughter of a serial killer navigating her senior year in the town where the murders took place.
The Setup 📖
Thornbird tells the story of Ryan. 10 years ago she left town after her father confessed to killing multiple women. Ryan, now 17 is back in her home town after her Grandmother’s death, with a new identity to finish highschool.
Ryan is hoping to keep a low profile and finish school with no drama, but this town is obsessed with wanting answers.
Where are the bodies? Why did the murders happen? and what happened to Gabriella Thorn?
3 Things I Loved ❤️
1. The FMC being the daughter of a serial killer.
Ryan is complicated, messy and everything you’d expect her to be considering who she’s related to and what she witnessed, it was very interesting to read about her lived experience.
2. The Love Triangle
These usually aren’t for me but this book managed to do it fairly well and it didn’t have the usual frustrations I usually find with love triangles.
3. The Writing
I loved how easy this was to read, it’s a heavier topic than I would normally sway towards and how its written is a huge part of the reason I finished it so quickly. It easily sucked me in and the intrigue of the storyline kept me seated.
3 Things That Didn’t Fully Land 🫤
1. The foreshadowing
So I managed to figure out the biggest question the story was asking halfway through the book. I don’t know if it’s because this is YA but it just seemed obvious to me… I was screaming at Ryan at some points.
2. Side Characters
There were some genuinely cool side characters but others were a lot harder to like. Ryan’s Cousin Jasmin for example was just so irritating – like girl get it together!! Then there was the podcaster, who had zero tact (his name alludes to me now), so unlikable!
3. Romance
I mentioned that the love triangle was handled well, but the actual depths of those relationships weren’t done any justice. As much as I liked who Ryan ended up with, the relationship just felt a little hollow, it needed to have a bit more depth.
What lingered after finishing 🧠
I did enjoy reading from Ryan’s POV, she suffered great trauma and she’s handling the best way she knows how. This book left me feeling hopeful. The conclusion was satisfying and the one thing that I liked was that justice was eventually served and people got closure, which I think is important.
Final Verdict and Rating 🌠
When authors decide to genre hop there’s always a risk it won’t land but I think Elle Kennedy did an excellent job with this debut. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next for her in this category.
Rating:
Should you read this ? 👀
Yes, if you love:
- Family Secrets/Betrayals
- Small Town Secrets
- True Crime Vibes
If you want to pick up a copy, you can find it here
Final Thoughts 💬
This book did exactly what I wanted to and I’m excited to see what everyone else thinks.
Will you be reading this one?
*I received an ARC of this book from Publisher/Author in exchange for an honest, voluntary review
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