Truly Devious Book ARC Review

Welcome to my Truly Devious book ARC review with its exciting Truly Devious romance + mystery combo. Prepare to step into Ellingham Academy, where secrets abound and danger lurks in every corner. In this captivating novel, Johnson masterfully combines the elements of mystery and romance, creating an irresistible blend that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Join me as we delve into the Truly Devious book’s enigmatic storyline, unravel clues, and experience the exhilaration of uncovering the truth. Get ready for a suspenseful journey filled with unexpected twists, complex characters, and a dash of romance. Whether you’re a fan of mysteries or love stories, or simply enjoy a riveting read, “Truly Devious” promises to deliver an unforgettable experience. Let’s dive in and discover the intriguing world of this captivating book! If you are interested in other book reviews like I’ve done, please feel free to check those out as well.

About Truly Devious Book

View on Goodreads

Ellingham Academy is a famous private school in Vermont for the brightest thinkers, inventors, and artists. It was founded by Albert Ellingham, an early twentieth-century tycoon, who wanted to make a wonderful place full of riddles, twisting pathways, and gardens. “A place,” he said, “where learning is a game.” Shortly after the school opened, his wife and daughter were kidnapped. The only real clue was a mocking riddle listing methods of murder, signed with the frightening pseudonym “Truly, Devious.” It became one of the great unsolved crimes in American history.

True-crime aficionado Stevie Bell is set to begin her first year at Ellingham Academy, and she has an ambitious plan: She will solve this cold case. That is, she will solve the case when she gets a grip on her demanding new school life and her housemates: the inventor, the novelist, the actor, the artist, and the jokester. But something strange is happening. Truly Devious makes a surprise return, and death revisits Ellingham Academy. The past has crawled out of its grave. Someone has gotten away with murder. 

Truly Devious Book ARC Review

I received a free copy of the Truly Devious book for an honest review.

*Sigh*

Where do I start?

I don’t get it. I don’t get it. What went wrong? The Truly Devious book’s synopsis seemed so good. There were no clear things to “hate” about this book, but it just…failed to keep my attention. Reading this book, I failed to experience the Adrenaline rush, the “not being able to put the book down” feeling that I get when I read a book that I truly enjoy. Was it the romance’s fault? Or were my standards for murder mysteries too high? A book that I don’t even hesitate to think, “Wow, I goddam love this Truly Devious book”.

My experience with this Truly Devious book is more so like I keep putting it down and I keep forgetting about it. And when I try to pick it back up I literally cannot remember anything about what I just read even when I swore I did actually read it. When I finished the book, I sit on it for a while before I wrote my review because I wanted to talk about it with a clear mind. But before I knew it, days passed, and weeks passed. Whenever I tried to review it I realized I am forgetting more and more about it…

This is so sad. But here we go (I had to rescan this book multiple times for this review).

The Truly Devious book follows the protagonist Stevie. Stevie was a huge murder mystery fan, and this was her passion. It’s also the thing that got her into Ellingham Academy, the mysteriously gifted academy that everyone wants to get into. Looking back, I did not realize the giant logic plot hole behind this school’s entire existence. I saw the words “academy” and I lost all sense of logic. It was only reading this book that really got me to realize how this school’s existence kind of…made absolutely no sense.

First off, Ellingham Academy is completely free. Only the most intelligent, capable students are admitted. Sounds reasonable right? But is it just me or is it…completely unrealistic? A school like this would never exist in real life. I have never heard of or don’t think there would ever be a prestigious school that is completely free purely for the sake of education.

Sorry, no offence, but in the world of American capitalism that is never going to happen. And since this book is a contemporary YA novel, I’m going to judge this from the basis of a real-world perspective, because that’s what contemporary is.

Okay, but because this is a novel and interesting plot-line-worldbuilding are necessary, I am more than willing to temporarily forget I have a brain and throw it out of the window for the sake of just enjoying the book, which I’ve done countless times before.

But something else caught me off-guard. The writing style. This book’s unique writing style reminded me heavily of Furyborn. If you remember, Furyborn is a story about two queens who were thousands of years apart, but both their stories had a direct impact on each other. This book is written alternatively between the actual events in the past that Stevie is investigating in the present.

This should be a good thing, because non-linear writing styles can be really cool and eye-catching, right?

But here’s the thing: I never really…liked the Furyborn books as much as other readers.

If I didn’t lose my memory, I gave Furyborn a decent review because just like the Truly Devious book, I want to give both books credit for the obvious hard work the authors put into the writing, story, and characters. But both failed to capture enough of my attention for me to love it.

However, I would finish it. This series was not horrible enough for me to be like “I would rather remove my eyeballs than read it again”. So because I have all three copies, me being (such) a frugal person, I don’t want to waste the three books. So look forward to those. So this series definitely still have a chance of transforming my opinion immensely. Let’s see how it goes.

(please be good I actually want to give you a chance)

About the Author

Maureen knew from an early age she wanted to be a writer. She went to high school at an all-girls’ Catholic school and graduated from the University of Delaware with a degree in writing. She now lives and writes in New York City. Many of the adventures Maureen’s characters face in her books are based on real-life stories. Maureen has traveled all over Europe, and is a Secret Sister to vlog brothers Hank and John Green.