Another gripping read by this author. Family politics at its best. As you read this book, if you’re anything like me, you will have millions of questions zipping round your head- why did she leave? What will happen to them now? Why invite them back now? As the story about the Storys unfolds you will not be disappointed. Very twisted, but we’ll thought out. When all the pieces come together, I guarantee you’ll be shocked. Great book!

A Karen McManus book is never destined to stay on the library shelf very long, sometimes they never even make it there before being snatched up by an eager reader! 'The Cousins' will be met with open arms by the McManus fans old and new. Whilst the story is more of a family drama, with secrets aplenty, than previous books, the mysteries are there to untangle, romance may be on the cards for some characters and there's plenty of twists to keep readers guessing.

I liked this, it had just the right amount of intrigue and family drama - and teen angst of course! The Story family are infamous, yet cousins Milly, Aubrey and Jonah have never met their grandmother,as their parents were disinherited before they were born. So when a letter arrives, inviting them to work at the summer resort their grandmother owns, they're shocked and curious. As soon as they arrive, it's clear that there are secrets to be discovered. And they're going to find out what they are. Entertaining with plenty of twists and turns.

Thank you for the advance copy. I'm delighted to see that Karen McManus is bringing out another book as her books are very popular with the libary's teen readers. This book like her others is fast paced and exciting and the characters leap of the page as if watching a movie. I will certainly be including it in the recommended teen/ya reads for the library.

Another fantastic book by this author. Kept me guessing until the end and still threw in some surprises! I did get confused a few times with characters but that’s probably just me, I confuse easily... Loved it. Super exciting and also entertaining. Honestly, you can’t go wrong with a Karen McManus book if you’re looking for YA edge of your seat stuff!

Scheduled for release in December 2020, I don't have to stress how excited I was to get approval for this on NetGalley. McManus has quickly become one of those authors that seems a guaranteed winner for a story that draws you in and leaves you feeling more than satisfied with what you've read. Having just finished The Cousins earlier this morning, I can safely say that she's onto what I think will be another hit.
Having raced through the previous books by McManus, I was struck by the relatively slow-paced start to this. We are in a very different world, but one in which characters are just as duplicitous and where we are waiting for the secrets to be unearthed from the moment we start reading.
Our main characters are Aubrey, Millie and Jonah - cousins who are not close, and who haven't really seen each other in years. But when they each receive a letter asking them to go and work for their grandmother's resort for the summer you can't help but be curious. Even more so when we realise that the cousins have no relationship with their grandmother, and that she cut off her children years earlier (after the sudden death of their father) and has refused contact with them since.
Each of the characters has their own reasons for deciding to agree to this mysterious demand. Once they arrive at the resort, however, it is evident that their grandmother had no idea they were coming. Her best friend seems determined to keep the cousins away from her, and an old man in town - the family doctor - drops a hint that there is more to this story than anyone has been prepared to let on.
Once we get our teeth into the mystery things pick up. We have sections of the story from years earlier, giving details of the original children and their interactions, which offer little clues as to what might have happened and how it might be resolved in the present. As our main characters start to piece together the events leading to the family break-up, the pace really cranks up...until I found myself racing to finish and find out exactly what had happened.
By the time I got near the end I was already knowing this would be a read I'd heartily recommend to others. Rather unexpected, and it offers some resolution of a potential issue with the book, but it also offers a delightful hint that we might not be fully done with this world just yet.

I loved this book, it's the first I've read from Karen McManus and certainly won't be the last. Family secrets come crashing down when three cousins go to stay on their Grandmas island after her request for them to go and work there for the summer. What are people willing to hide or to try and forget? And how far will people go for revenge? Really good page turner and unputdownable.

Many thanks for giving me the opportunity to read this novel, will definitely be recommending to friends and family.

The Cousins is a brilliantly crafted YA book interweaving the three narrative points of view of the titular Cousins, as well as interludes into the past. What happened to the Storey family? Why did their mother disinherit them and why now does she want to meet her grandchildren?
There are plenty of plot twists and reveals to keep you guessing until the end, with the usual sprinkling of teenage angst, young love and a search for knowing where you belong. McManus is well skilled at writing for the youth market and I'm sure that this will yet again prove a great hit. Highly recommend.

I LOVED IT! I am so grateful that I got the chance to review this book in exchange for my honest opinions because, honestly, I can't rave enough about it.

I loved McManus' other books, and was so excited to read something else written by her not in the 'one of us...' universe. And it didn't diasppoint! I was really taken to a place, the setting was well described and the characters were well-rounded and believeable. Family stuff is so tough sometimes, and it just so happens that this family has even more secrets and issues than normal.

Recommend highly!

Ok so the premise of this was really interesting. The setting of the gull cove island was different and intriguing. The story is told from the point of view of the three cousins. Usually you’d find one of the main characters irritating or prefer one to the other but I enjoyed reading Jonah, Aubrey and Milly’s chapters. Every so often there is a chapter from the point of view of Milly’s mum when she was younger and these add another aspect to the story. They also help you piece together why Mildred Story may have disowned her children. As a Karen McManus story of course there are twists and the ending was nothing I would have ever guessed!

Exactly what you’d expect but it felt a bit tired this time around. Three cousins head to a holiday dairy to try to win over the Rich grandmother who downed their parents, without an explanation, before they were born. It wa a fun easy read, but The characters felt too familiar, the reveal was a bit clunky and the actual explanation of what/ why/ how was weak.

Another triumph of twists and turns from Karen M McManus in what may be her most thrilling story yet.

Milly, Jonah and Aubrey are the Story cousins and they've barely spent any time together since their family fell apart. Disinherited parents, an elusive grandmother and a mysterious island resort mix up a cocktail of thrills and bombshells that will delight any lover of mysteries.

My favorite part of the book was how real and sometimes unlikeable all of the main characters were. KMM has a gift for writing relatable, fleshed out characters who aren't 100% perfect and frequently make you question their motives.

I devoured this book because I was desperate to know more, and the spectre of the "You know what you did" letter hangs over every page until the climax of the story. This book does not disappoint and will be one of my top three reads if 2020.

Cousins Aubrey, Milly and Jonah Story have barely met. Their parents, two brothers and a sister, are part of the Story family, owners of the largest property on an East Coast island. Powerful but dangerous, the siblings were disinherited decades ago and have never heard from their mother since. That is until the three cousins are invited to work on the island for a summer, and to meet the grandmother who has never seen them. The trio feel they have no choice – but what awaits them is intrigue, lies and big decisions. It’s clear that some secrets deserve to be kept hidden. A great read, tying the fact that the protagonists are 18 with adult themes nicely. A perfect YA book.

Cousins Milly, Aubrey and Jonah receive an invitation from their Grandmother Mildred to spend Summer on her island home. Not unusual? But as Mildred had cut off their parents from all contact with her 24 years previously, her grandchildren had never met her. Plus it comes with stipulations that they work as part of the team recruited to serve the tourists on holiday on the island. None are particularly happy about this, but all parents see it as their opportunity to reconnect with the Mother who cut them off with no explanation from all contact including any likely inheritance.
Although the cousins had met one another previously it was a while ago, so the ferry over to the island is the first time they and the reader start to get to know one another.
All the island’s wealth comes from the Story family investments in the tourist resort, so everyone gets to know who they are. But some things don’t quite add up, and as the days and weeks pass, another ‘fact’ gets blown out of the water.
Meanwhile, back in their respective homes life is continuing to implode around their parents as the secrets are not just contained on the island.
The chapters alternate among the cousins’ point of view with the occasional chapter from young Allison’s perspective over 24 years ago when it all started to go wrong.
With characters who are very different from one another - one with confident girl power, another downtrodden and lacking confidence while the last cousin is not what he appears to be, this book has all the McManus twists, turns and big reveals which characterise a thrilling read and compel the reader to race through to discover what really happened to cause such a family schism.

This was my second wish granted in two days - thank you NetGalley for all the excitement! I love Karen McManus' previous three novels with their clever twists and turns, especially 'One of us is lying'. Despite it being slow to get going, the intrigue and drama of 'The Cousins' lived up to its predecessors.

Twenty-four years ago, Mildred disinherited her four children, barring them from ever setting foot on Gull Cove Island again, the location of their childhood home. In the present day, out of the blue a letter arrives inviting three cousins to spend their summer working on their grandmother's island. As the mystery unfolds, the reader is drawn into the secrets and lies which haunt the Story family, attempting to uncover why the reclusive grandmother suddenly wants to forge relationships with her grandchildren. There is definitely more to this fraught reunion than meets the eye...

The story is narrated in turn by the three cousins, Milly, Aubrey and Jonah, with some flashbacks to Milly's mother in 1996. The variety of narration drip feeds clues for the reader, gradually uncovering the family's sordid past. I felt the mystery took a while to get going but the quality of the twists raised my enjoyment considerably. I had many theories (some of which were half right) but the main revelations are very unexpected and kept me on my toes which was great, leading to a quite unexpected ending.

Overall, this was classic twisty McManus with a healthy dash of Lockhart's 'We Were Liars' and Jackson's 'A Good Girl's Guide to Murder'. A worthy new contribution to the YA mystery/ thriller genre and a recommended read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed The Cousins. It was faced paced and kept me reading late into the night - this in my opinion is the sign of a good book.

The novel tells of three cousins:
Milly - spoilt rich girl
Aubrey - swimming superstar
Jonah - science geek

who receive a letter from their estranged wealthy grandmother - but all is not at it seems. Each cousin has a secret - each has a rather fraught relationship with their parent. Intrigued by the letter, the cousins travel to their grandmother's hotel and this is where the drama unfolds.
We learn about why their parents are estranged from their grandmother and why she cut off all contact.

The book flows well, the characters are realistic and believable and there is an unforeseen twist at the end of the story.

This book threw me. I wasn’t sure I was going to like it when I started it. The book is as well written as macManus’ previous offerings, but I just wasn’t feeling it.
Then BAM! We get to the island and I was hooked and all in. I couldn’t put it down.

You know what you did.

Another excellent thriller from Karen McManus, with a great blend of character intrigue and mistery

The Cousins, Karen M McManus. 4/5. ⚓️

The Storys are the envy of their neighbours, four rich, beautiful siblings who rule the stunning island resort they own the biggest property on. Until one day it all falls apart. Banished by their mother with a single note “you know what you did”

The siblings grow up and grow apart.

Years later their children, three cousins, Aubrey, Milly and Jonah receive invitations to the island resort, their parents leave them no choice but to go and meet the woman who has been an enigma their entire lives. But this is a summer that will change everything, the Story legacy is built on lies and these cousins are about to pull them out of the dark.

The Queen of YA thrillers returns. Honestly Karen M McManus writes such smart, believable leads and whilst she adds romantic subplots, they don’t overwhelm the suspenseful arch of the story.

The Cousins is McManus’s tried and tested formula of several narratives, Milly, Aubrey and Jonah all have unique perspectives and whilst Milly can often be the domineering voice, I think this is often the case with a duel perspective.

The other elements here that just work are the big, ominous house. Creepy, shadowy relative, lots of family secrets and a town teeming with secrets. This YA thriller would pair nicely with Megan Mirandas The Last House Guest.

I could not see where this one was leading, those final plot drops caught me completely off guard. The medium of suspense thrills in YA fiction has to tread a careful line. It needs to be smart enough and dark enough to keep interest without crossing into the kind of depravity that adult fiction handles. McManus is brilliant at walking the line between YA and Adult fiction, understanding that the age range she writes for know, understand and have likely experienced sex, miscarriage, death etc. and writes this in an age appropriate way. Its one of the reasons I appreciate her YA fiction.

The Cousins just solidifies what i already knew. Karen M McManus is a must read for YA Fiction.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #PenguinRandomHouse for my ARC of The Cousins.

I enjoyed the subversion of the rich people behaving badly trope. This is a quick Fast read. Didn’t guess the ending.