Mini Reviews ft. Cooper Bartholomew is Dead, Every Move

Here's another couple of mini reviews.  I know I posted some others not too long ago, but I have another post coming at some stage that talks about these two books, so I've got to space them out!  As usual, if you've read either of these books, let me know what you thought.

Cooper Bartholomew is Dead by Rebecca James

I picked this book up because recently I've been getting more interested in mystery / thriller type stories, and according to the Goodreads genres, this book was exactly that.  Also according to these genres - this was my first New Adult novel!  You could tell that it was NA from the story too - the main characters are in university at all times during the book, and there's a little more description of certain things than you would find in a YA book, if you catch my meaning.
I have to say that I though I did enjoy this story, I didn't find it all that thrilling.  It didn't shock me - though there were many twists and turns, they didn't seem to surprise me, so the mystery element didn't do much for me.  However, I did become invested in the lives of a few of the characters, and I felt awful for them - this novel was so sad!  My favourite character would have to be Claire.  Even though I pretty much hated her, I was most interested in how her story was going to pan out.  As for the other characters... I liked adored Cooper (*sob*), just like everyone else, and I liked Libby (and her group of friends).  Sebastian was my least favourite character, mostly because he was too moody and materialistic for my liking (highlight for spoilers): [He was also way too obsessive over Cooper.  I understand he was annoyed that Cooper stopped attending his parties, but he didn't need to be so angry.  He just wanted Cooper for himself, and friendships - even relationships - just don't and can't work that way].  While I'm talking about that, [ it was more than a touch weird to find out that Cooper was Sebastian's dad's son.  While it wasn't much of a revelation - I'd picked up on the hints throughout the novel: Cooper's expensive presents, why Cooper was always involved in Sebastian's family's plans - it was strange to think that Sebastian had been pining after his half brother his entire life.  No wonder he was peed off when Cooper told him].  Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, it just wasn't as exciting as I had hoped it would be.

Every Move by Ellie Marney

This is the final book in the Every trilogy, so if you haven't read the first two books, there could be spoilers in this review.  I thought this was a wonderful conclusion to a trilogy that just kept getting better as it went along.  I've loved reading these stories set in my state, and I'm actually sad that I don't get to read any more about Rachel and Mycroft, who are two of my latest favourite characters ever.
So, yes, my favourite thing about this book was Rachel.  She's so real!  Well, a lot of the novel is real - there was a lot of swearing, but I felt it was appropriately placed and I would definitely be thinking the same things if I was in some of those situations!
Mycroft, as usual, got on my nerves a little, but it's all part of his charm.  He makes some stupid choices, but you're able to understand them which is something I like in books.  Go ahead, make silly decisions - but make sure you explain to me why you did.  [It was totally obvious that he was going to go down to the quarry without Rachel though].
Harris... he made me sigh in frustration.  He seemed like a weird addition for a final book in a trilogy, but I did end up appreciating his presence [though I think I could have gone without the kind-of-love-triangle aspect].
The final character I want to mention is Detective Pickup.  Despite hating him in the first novel, I actually grew to like his character.
Now onto the rest of the story.  I loved the action.  At times I couldn't put this down!  And I appreciated that injuries from previous books weren't just forgotten about - for example, Rachel's fingers and her leg.  The inclusion of the family drama with Rachel's mum was also great.  I really felt for Rachel.  [It must have been so hard not telling the truth about London to her mum and suffering for it].  Speaking of family drama, Mycroft had a lot of that too.  [I loved finally seeing Mycroft grieve over the deaths of his parents and doing something different on his birthday.  The letter he got from his parents made me tear up (which is a good thing).  It was good to see that the parents finally got justice].  Sorry to be making half of this review spoilers, but I have to mention another ridiculous reason why I loved this book.  I have literally had several dreams where the ending of this book has happened to me.  Let me explain: [I have had a lot of dreams where I have been hiding out at my grandfather's country property in order to escape some high-up people that want to kill me, only to look out the windows and see their car coming along the dirt track.  Or, I hear a helicopter descending in the front paddock.  If there's other people or the pet dogs with me, I usually go and hide with them in a shed or the laundry (for some reason), hoping that we don't get found.  If I'm there by myself, I make a run for it into the bush.  Anyway, you can tell that I've had a lot of variations of this dream and I found the part of the book where Rachel is at her old house so similar to them that I was a little freaked out!]
This was a great ending to a great trilogy and I am so privileged to have read it!