Killer Vocals – Alan Shivers

2 stars

I’m really conflicted about Killer Vocals. There were a lot of things that I liked, but a lot of things that didn’t quite land with me.

Let’s start with the things that I liked. I really loved the competition theme of the book. It was something new for me, and I enjoyed the idea of a talent competition gone wrong. Though I did think the girls were all a bit naive for not being at least a little suspicious of the whole thing with all mysterious lack of information and secrecy.

I liked the scenery described in the book as well. It all sounded so pretty! I’ve not had the opportunity to travel much, so I love living vicariously through books and getting to learn about places I’ve never been.

Now, one thing I did notice is that the characters were all fairly similar. While the girls were all different physically, their inner thoughts were fairly alike across the board. It made it hard for me to remember specific details about each of the girls because they all kind of blended together. Some of the plot points/themes felt almost recycled from The Namaste Slasher; this wouldn’t be a problem necessarily if you had some space in between reading the books, but having come straight from TMS, I almost felt like I was reading that book over again but with a slightly different set of circumstances (RIP to anyone in a relationship or who has any kind of connection with another character).

And the ending. I’ll start by saying I’m not a huge fan of a cliffhanger ending, but I can set that aside when it’s done right. This one felt abrupt. I don’t feel like I got much resolution or answer for what was going on or the motivations of the people involved. Maybe I’m trying to connect this book too much with The Namaste Slasher, but I’m really confused about how these events connect, the timeline they occur, and what the actual reasons are for what Ivan does.

All that being said, I’d still be happy to read more of this series when it comes out. It kept me engaged enough to want to know what will happen despite my issues with the book.