The Sound

by Sarah Alderson

When aspiring music journalist Ren Kingston takes a job nannying for a wealthy family on the exclusive island of Nantucket, playground for Boston's elite, she's hoping for a low-key summer reading books and blogging about bands. Boys are firmly off the agenda.

What she doesn't count on is falling in with a bunch of party-loving private school kids who are hiding some dark secrets, falling (possibly) in love with the local bad boy, and falling out with a dangerous serial killer...

The gripping new stand-alone novel from the author of Hunting Lila. Out August 2013

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller, New Adult, Crime

310 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2013

About the author

Having spent most of her life in London, Sarah quit her job in the non profit sector in 2009 and took off on a round the world trip with her husband and princess-obsessed daughter on a mission to find a new place to call home. After several months in India, Singapore, Australia and the US, they settled in Bali where they lived for five years.

She finished her first novel, Hunting Lila (winner of the Kingston Book Award), just before they left the UK, wrote the sequel on the beach in India and had signed a two book deal with Simon & Schuster by the time they had reached Bali.

A third book, Fated, about a teenage demon slayer, was published in January 2012.

The Sound, a thriller romance set in Nantucket, was published in August 2013 and this was followed by the critically acclaimed Out of Control in May 2014.

Her first non-fiction book - CAN WE LIVE HERE? - based on her blog of the same name, was published in August 2015 by Blink.

She also writes New Adult romance for Pan Macmillan (UK) / Simon & Schuster (US) under the pen name Mila Gray.

You can find Sarah on facebook and at www.sarahalderson.com or follow her blog at www.canwelivhere.com

Reviews

[Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies · Rating 1 out of 5]

I lie down beside her and try to absorb everything she’s just told me about dead nannies, and about Tyler and Jesse almost killing each other over nothing. I’m glad I want to be a music journalist because I think I would suck at being an investigative one.

No shit. The main character is so fucking passive it drives me fucking nuts. It is NOT ok to play a victim, it is NOT ok to take shit just because your mama told you to. You do NOT have to be polite to someone who treats you like crap. Fuck what this book tries to sell.

Despite how rude he’s just been to me I have been conditioned by my mother to be polite at all times and so I smile at him in apology. He notices but doesn’t smile back at me, rather his eyebrows raise a fraction as though he’s taking my apology and wringing it by its neck before handing me back its broken corpse.

This book represents all that is wrong with YA contemporaries. The plot (a murder mystery) is bland, the character is the dullest hipster in the world. The characters are nowhere near realistic. There is ample slut shaming, terribly clichéd characters, a love triangle, complete with endlessly cringe-inducing observations about US culture and teens from the POV of someone who has clearly not lived here for very long. It mocks Twilight...

You want unicorns and rainbows and Care Bears in the sky and Twilight-style declarations of eternal love? Well— newsflash— it ain’t gonna happen, Ren.

...while falling right into the eternal luuurve and purity trap that made Twilight what it is.

Also, unlike Edward Cullen, the voice in my head pipes up, Jesse most certainly hasn’t fallen in insta-love with me and isn’t torturing himself over the fact that he can’t be with me in case he eats me.

This book has unrealistic, utterly stereotyped character, and truly atrocious writing (from the narrative POV of a girl who wants to be a writer, no less). For example, the description of a character.

He has dark, quiffy hair and wide-spaced eyes, though his skin is tanned as opposed to diamond sparkly white. He has a very square jaw with a dimple in the center of his chin but alas no jet pack. I note that his eyebrow is cocked and the smile on his face is half sneer, half smirk as if he’s laughing at Eliza but she doesn’t seem to realize.

Oh, and in case you're confused about the "jet pack" thing, it's because the guy being described looks like...

Robert Pattinson—if you genetically spliced him with Buzz Lightyear.

This book tries so ridiculously hard to be "hip," complete with numerous references to Facebook.

“I guess you could call it that. They hook up every summer, but it’s not like it’s Facebook official or anything.”

Urban Dictionary.

There are guys with attitude, and then there’s this guy. He needs his own special category in Urban Dictionary.

and several instances of extremely painful txting to name-dropping Perex Hilton (who is so 2000s), to teenagers abusing the use of "like." Which is so America. Cause, we, like, always, like, use "like" here, in like, every other, like, sentence. You know, like?

“Like, what are you doing?”

“Like, I’m renting a bike,” I answer. I’m still vaguely amused by the overuse of the word like. I thought it was something that Hollywood scriptwriters used to emphasize vacuity in female characters. Turns out that’s actually the way Sophie speaks.

That's really cute, making references to a stereotype only to use it yourself in a book.

This book is about a British music hipster/nanny (who does very little nannying) who takes every single opportunity to remind us of how utterly British she is, from reminding us that "nicked" means "steal," to telling us that she shops at Topshop and Oxfam, and that "college" is "university." This book is about a British girl who goes to America, only to discover that every single fucking stereotype about the United States is true. From beefy, red-necked men, to slutty size-0 girls who are terrified of carbs. CAAAAAAAARBS.

Don't get me wrong, I love the Brits. I am a self-professed Anglophile, but this book just tries too hard to portray a British girl. It doesn't feel authentic.

From extreme slut shaming, to girl-on-girl hate, to complete and utter failure of the Bechdel Test, to a four-year old girl with a mouth fouler than a sailor (or me).

“Did you make out with Jeremy last night?” she asks from her position perched on the bath.
“So you didn’t make it to first base? Or second? If you get to fourth base on a first date that makes you a dirty skanky ho.”

You heard me. Four years old. I'm not sure about you, but when I was 4, I was reading the Vietnamese equivalent of the alphabet book and I wouldn't know what a skank is if one bit me in the ass. A FOUR YEAR OLD. Goodness gracious me.



The Bechdel Test: For those who don't know, the Bechdel Test "asks whether a work of fiction features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man." This book fails so hard. Every single conversation between two female character has to be about a guy. This book didn't work. Every single girl is shallow (except for the virginal main character). Every girl in this book wants to talk about guys...

“Did you and Tyler hook up last night?”
“What?” Paige says. “It looked like you were about to bone him right there and then.”

...guys...

“No. He’s hooked up with Summer one time I think and maybe a few local girls—they put out way more: total skanks. But last summer he was dating this college girl. Total cougar. He got major props.”

...guys...

“Tyler’s the biggest player on the whole East Coast,” Eliza adds. “As if I’d get with that.” She rolls onto her back and wriggles her hips into the sand. “And anyway, I don’t do sloppy seconds.”

...and more guys.

With trepidation I open up my e-mail. Megan has sent me about a thousand messages all asking a variation of did you pull Jeremy?

Pull, is of course, British slang for kissing. Yet another reminder that she is soooooooo British.

The Skinny Bitches: There is nary a positive female presence in the book. It is cliché to end all mean slutty Queen Bee clichés. The main character is refreshingly size 10.

I’m a size ten to twelve with normal-size boobs—not ginormous, but not flat either. I have an average body with curves that, according to Will, are sexy.

While the rest of the characters in the book are mean, skinny bitches who are terrified of carbs. Of course, the main character is SO NORMAL because she has the nerve to eat bread. BREAD.

Eliza stares at it sitting on my plate and I realize that I must have committed some monumental carb faux pas. I reach for the butter and start to slather the bread with it, thinking bite me.

She keeps bringing up the fear of carbs. I don't get it. Is this a thing now? I mean, I confess that I watch my own food intake like a hawk, but I'm not gonna judge anyone for not eating what I eat. And the mean girls in this book just do not eat. Unlike the refreshingly plump and normal main character, who just gobbles it all up.

For lunch Matt went and bought up half the supermarket—dumping a pile of crisps (they call them chips just to confuse me), cans of Coke (no diet), and sandwiches onto a towel between us, which all the girls complained about and refused to eat (carbs).

The Slut Shaming: From the hideous examples of a potty-mouthed four-year old, we now have the utter slut shaming of almost every single girl in the book. Even girls who are going to Yale can act like sluts.

Eliza spins to face him and starts wriggling her way down him as though he’s a greased pole.

Even her best friend, back in the UK, is a slut (but she's a self-professed slut, so it's all good, right?).

Megan thinks anything with a Y chromosome is hot. She’s perpetually in heat. Even she admits as much (with a tonguelolling emoticon for emphasis).

Girls gyrate and slither all over guys, not the other way around. The guys are just innocents in all this. It's all the girls' fault, with their seductiveness.

She holds her hair over her shoulder and starts gyrating her hips and butt against a guy who has stepped into the ring of light. His hands, feeling their way along Eliza’s sides, are moving fluidly, but he isn’t groping at her.

Of course, the virginal heroine thinks the slutty girls are so fucking dumb.

Eliza then wraps her arms around his neck and leans pouting toward him, but the bottle is in the way and she clashes her nose against it.
Classy move, I think to myself, smirking.

The girls in the book all hate each other, they call each other names, even though they are friends.

“Eliza’s perfecting her Ice Queen routine.” Summer laughs, trying to break the tension.
“Better than perfecting a skanky ho routine,” Eliza snaps back, looking in Paige’s direction.

And breasts are to be shamed.

She is short and not as skinny as the other three, but her boobs are quite enormous, which I imagine makes her exceedingly popular with the boys.

How dare girls show their boobs.

Her breasts are having their own conversation with him, one hand rests on her jutting hip bone and the other plays with a loose lock of hair.

Unless they're the main character. Then it's totally OK to wear a bathing suit and show off your ass and have a cute guy rub sunscreen on you when you're in a bathing suit.

“Do you want me to put some sunscreen on your back?” he asks instead.

Clichéd Characters: There is not a single character in this book that felt realistic. They are all "lobotomised zombies" (spelled with an S because she's British!). The men are big. American big.

He’s in his forties and big in that way I imagine only American men can be, with a tanned face, thick graying hair and teeth so white they shine like headlights.

American couples dress alike!

Carrie and Mike are both wearing tan trousers—I didn’t think they were the type of couple to go in for matching, but they’re American and what do I know about how Americans dress?

Girls are bitches, boys are mindless idiots. Preppy slackers who drink beer and tequila and go to parties every single fucking night. Where were these people when I was a teen?

The Romance: Clichéd as all freaking hell. This book is not a contemporary, it is a fantasy. A fantasy in which the ordinary, plain girl get the attention of AAAAAALLL THE BOYS. From the golden, gorgeous pre-med Harvard boy to the grease-streaked asshole "serial killer" type (but he has a heart of gold).

"The mysterious, messed-up, bad boy with secrets. If I didn’t love him myself, I think I’d have to kill him for being such a cliché.”

You know, when someone looks like he's going to fucking kill you, you should probably not fall in love with him.

I glance upward. He’s still glaring at me, but not with irritation. He looks instead like he wants to kill me. His fingers twitch around the wrench. Unconsciously I have edged back toward the door.

When there is a serial killer killing nannies, you should probably stay away. When someone is rumored to have beaten up a kid so badly he had to have his mouth wired shut, you should probably stay away. Even if you constantly notice how hot his body looks when it's stained with grease. Of course there's a fucking love triangle.

But Jesse is so off-limits that if he were a place, he’d be a nuclear testing site. And Jeremy doesn’t make me not quiver. He kind of does. Is that enough? I’m so confused right now.

The Writing: The main character wants to be a writer, and her thoughts in this book are all sorts of atrocious. We have narratives like this, for the grease-stained-killer-wannabe-love-interest.

He is wearing jeans that fit well, but he swaggers a little in them and I wonder if he learned that in prison. He’s also wearing a white T-shirt that has a few grease marks smeared across it but which shows his muscles to obscene perfection. His whole attitude screams do not mess with me.

This book is all sorts of terrible. I wanted a nice romance with a mystery, all I got was a headache.

All quotes taken from an uncorrected galley proof subject to change in the final edition.

[Sarah Alderson]

Eeeeeek. I'm so excited that it's less than three months until The Sound hits bookshelves (at least in the UK, Can and Australia). It's out in the US in summer 2014. This is possibly my fave book yet. I spent a month nannying in Nantucket when I was 17 and I based bits of the book on that (other than the serial killer part...obviously).

Hope everyone likes Jesse as much as they like Alex! :)

We just made a trailer for the book and it was so much fun (especially the part in the garage with Jesse!) :)
check it out: click here to watch

[Melanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

See more reviews at YA Midnight Reads

Thank you Simon and Schuster Australia for sending me this copy. No compensation was given or taken to alter this review.

After reading Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas, I never really expected any other murder mystery to 'wow' me. Because quite simply, Dangerous Girls threw my future expectations for this sub-genre sky-high. So, I can't really leave the full blame on The Sound, saying that this was a horrible book but I never really found my enjoyment in here.

We start off with a potentially relatable main character, Ren Kingston. She's an aspiring music journalist from England, and has decided to take up a nannying job on an island just close by to Boston in America. Instead of just relaxing, listening to music and writing her blog, Ren finds herself stuck between a dangerous place and a rock. Because there have been reports of dead foreign nannies just on the shore of the beach. Who is the murderer? And is Ren the next target? For something that seemed so suspenseful and crazily hectic turned out to be a love story, to be honest. Here we are again, ladies and gents; yet another good potential gone splat.

Originally, I was going to list what I liked and didn't like about The Sound. Truth be told, I can't think of much to say in what I liked so I have just listed what did not work. This is not to say that everything was bad, it's just more helpful and efficient to list out flaws.


The characters:

I was swimming in a sea of clichés. They were absolutely everywhere and pissed me off to no end. I'm sure that this would have been a better read if the characters were actually somewhat bearable. Ren, is thankfully one of the okay ones. She questions most things and isn't as naive as I expected, I liked her curiosity but her curiosity and skepsism lead to her being awfully judgemental and having prejudice towards other members of the cast she's only just met. The 'friends', I won't say their names (because I have forgotten them already) but they were typical. We have the girls, giggly and only appearing to want to get in people's pants--guys particularly. And what shocked me more was that we have a four year old who swore and called people 'sluts' and 'hos'. We also have the best friend calling Ren a slut so frequently I almost threw the book across the room. What's more superficial about the best friend is that she kept on obsessing over 'The One'. Ugh. The male characters are no better. Majority of them wanted just wanted to hook up with girls, a different one each night. Did I mention that everyone on the island is dirty rich and beautiful?

 

The romance:

The Sound was powdered with romance. It was not only suffocating me, but also the book. About halfway through and the plot was practically non-existent due the romance being so over-powering. More reasons to not like the romance: love triangle. Angst. Insta-love. Jealousy. Obsessiveness. *head desk times 1000* I opened up this book for a murder mystery, not a romance with two typical love interests. One dark, mysterious and violent and one just trying to have fun and cute. JUST NO. But I must admit, I liked Jesse (the bad guy), he may have been stereotypically mysterious but his mystery is a touching one, which was the only main drive that made me read onwards. If not for the interest of wanting to know Jesse's past, I would have DNFed this early on.


The plot:

BORING. I was waiting it to come and when it finally did, I was already detached from the novel. Additionally, the culprit? I called it. Easy. Too easy because I normally suck at finding out who the culprit was.


To sum up:

Avoid. There are better murder mysteries in this world. If you're looking for a light romance-y but slightly thriller-y novel, this is the one for you. Other than that, like I say and will keep on saying, avoid. Avoid. Avoid.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much ohmygod.

The first few pages..


A few chapters in..


As the plot thickened..


At the end..

[Tobias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Babysitting auf einer schönen Insel mit vielen Überraschungen

In dem Buch die Bucht von Sarah Alderson, geht es um Ren, welche gerade ein Au-pair auf der Insel Nantucket macht, der Insel der Reichen und Schönen. Sie soll sich um Braiden dem Baby und um seine vierjährige Schwester Brodie der Familie Tripp kümmern. Eigentlich hat sie vorher noch nie auf ein Baby aufgepasst, aber mit Brodies Hilfe gelingt ihr das ganz gut. Gleichzeitig lernt sie auf der Insel den reichen Sohn Jeremy und später noch Jesse beim Fahhradverleih kennen. Für beide hat sie Gefühle, für wen entscheidet sie sich ? Außerdem gibt es noch einen Kindermädchenmörder, der schon letzten Sommer ein Kindermädchen getötet hat und diesmal fast schon wieder eins.

Meine Meinung:
Ich fand die Geschichte spannend geschrieben und flüssig zu lesen. Mir haben die Charaktere und auch die Geschichte gut gefallen. Kurzzeitig gab es vielleicht eine Dreiecksbeziehung, wenn man es so sieht, aber das stand nicht immer im Vordergrund. Es ging außerdem noch um Jesse, der etwas getan hat, weswegen ihn viele hassen und meiden, obwohl er teilweise nichts dafür kann. Den Grund von ihm kann man aber am Ende sehr gut nachvollziehen. Zwischenzeitlich gibt es noch eine kleine Mordserie und am Ende dazu eine spannende Auflösung.

Fazit:
Ein spannende Geschichte für den Sommer mit Romantik und einem kleinen Thriller Anteil.

[Rayne · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is not my first taste of Alderson's writing. I read Hunting Lila about a year ago, and though I was bored out of my mind, I recognized it was more of a 'it's not you, it's me' situation. I knew writing was not the problem and neither was her plotting, for, in both of my attempts at reading her novels, there has always been a truly fantastic story at the core of the book. Sadly, that potential usually gets overshadowed by a very unhealthy and bordering on pathetic obsession with boys by the protagonist. I could handle it somewhat in Hunting Lila, but here, it came with offensive stereotypes, girl hating and an appalling amount of slut-shaming.

I loath this YA trend of putting girls against each other and reducing any other female save the protagonist to jealous mean girls, sluts/sexual deviants/ or girls that throw themselves at guys to suffer the humiliation of being brushed aside like they are garbage, or the nice but gossipy, silly, loose and stupid ally. Those are the only three types of girls in this novel. Of course, minus the protagonist, who is the different, special snowflake that's simply better than every other girl in that place. When the hell is this going to end? Why do authors keep doing this, making their protagonists special at the expense of every other female character in their story? Where's the need to sink and deem worthless every other woman around and prolong this ridiculous competition between women? For what, a guy? Looks? This is all so shallow and demeaning! I'm not saying this doesn't happen, because of course it does! But why do you think that is? Because wherever they turn, girls get the message that to be special, every other woman around them is an enemy and competitor that must be devalued, especially if she dares to have some control of her sexual life.

Have you any idea of how much slut-shaming there is in this novel? Not two pages went by without someone being called or thought of a slut, a skank or a ho. Even a freaking 4 year-old was throwing 'skanky ho' and talking about bases like there'a absolutely nothing wrong with that. It came to the point that even some new terms were thrown in there to mix it up a bit, like 'skanktron' and 'slutbag'. Every girl that came along was treated this way, and the protagonist had a lovely tendency to just separate all women between virgins (her group) and definitely not virgins (the witches that even dare to look at Jesse - the bad boy and preferred love interest of the required love triangle).

Ren, our protagonist, is self-centered, disgustingly judgmental, and generally annoying. She gives this speech to Jesse about not judging people or labeling them when she's the first one to make fun of the preppies and 'bitchfaces' in the novel as soon as she met them and being all shocked when she discovered Jesse liked to read, because apparently, guys do not read and if they do, they are god-send ultra good guys completely incapable of harming a fly. Furthermore, she is whining for half of the book about how her ex dumped her for not wanting to have sex and not having the right body, indulging in speeches about how penises are evil and all men are the same, but when a girl tries to warn her about how her new group of friends is made up of some asshole guys, she immediately says that the chick is only saying that because one of the guys just dumped her and she's mad about that. Her hypocrisy doesn't stop there. She is so outraged that her ex dumped her for another, and yet she has no trouble two-timing the two guys in the story. Ren could've been a really awesome protagonist, but her judgmental self, her intense slut-shaming, her ridiculous obsession with guys, her selfishness and hypocrisy, - not to mention her constant references to Twilight -, made her a truly unlikable lead that ruined the whole story for me.

By the way, don't believe for a second that this book is truly about the mysterious deaths on the island. The killings don't come into the story until way past the 50% mark, and even then, they are nothing more than an afterthought. The story is so deeply centered on Ren's obsession with these two guys, that the whole mystery is absolutely irrelevant to the novel. They are mentioned twice, and at the end, when only a few pages remain, then the killer is revealed and it came from absolutely nowhere purely for shock value. The rest of the story is about how all men are evil and will use you for sex except for 'the one', for whom you have to save the only thing worthwhile in a woman: her v-card.

Ren's narration is repetitive, the writing juvenile, and the story is downright insubstantial and silly when you really think about it. The book makes an effort to send a message about no meaning no, but whatever appreciation I had for it crumbled down before the staggering amount of girl-hating and slut-shaming in the novel.

The Sound had a lot of potential. Had the novel focused more on the mystery and not on its ridiculous desire to be Mean Girls: Summer Time Edition, the novel would've actually been fantastic. But it didn't, and here's where I call it quits in my relationship with Alderson's books. This time, it is definitely you and not me.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Sound is fantastic! I'm in such awe by Sarah Alderson's work that I've come to this conclusion; anything she writes I'm going to love and The Sound just proves my point.

Following a 17-year-old British girl, Ren moves to Nantucket for the summer nannying for a wealthy family. While there, she tries to mend her broken heart and move on with her life, so when the rich and popular kids take interest in her, Ren's happy to have some friends in a country where she knows no-one. However, while renting a bike, she bumps into Jesse - the local town's bad boy, but is he really as bad as everyone says? Ren tries her best to keep out of trouble but in a town full of hidden secrets, a serial killer on the loose and trying to deny her growing attraction to Jesse, staying out of trouble is harder than it seems.

If you've read any of Sarah's previous work, then you'll notice that The Sound is not paranormal story, it's a YA Contemporary. I love both genre's so I was super excited to see where Sarah would take her first contemporary story, and looking back on the books I've read this year, The Sound is easily my favourite contemporary story for 2013!

As a British girl myself, I loved that Ren was British (there just isn't enough British protagonists in my opinion) and what I loved even more was how much Nantucket appealed to me as a reader. It is written beautifully, the sunsets and the views are to die for, and it made me really want to hop on a plane, and go a visit - minus the serial killer though. The story is jam-packed full of heat and swoon-worthy moments, it's exciting and so mysterious. Not only that but it's a fun story, but also one that deals with some serious issues too. There's nothing better when a story ticks all the right boxes, and The Sound did just that.

In all good stories you need good characters that are true to themselves, that have faults and stand up for what they believe in, and this is what you get with the characters from The Sound. Ren is a great girl, she's taken a huge step moving from England to Nantucket (even if it's only for the summer) she's taking on a job she knows nothing about, and anyone who has children knows how hard they can be at times, and most importantly, she's just trying to enjoy her summer. Her relationship with Braiden and Brodie is very cute at times and you can see how much she's taken to them. And making friends with the 'rich and popular' kids helps her to fit in but, she's determined to find out their hidden secrets and then, of course, we have Jesse. Jesse really does give Alex (from the Lila series) a run for his money and I'm honestly torn between the two. Sarah writes Jesse so freaking hot, it's impossible to not fall for him. All the way through the story, I was sticking my little page markers in, so I can re-visit my favourite Jesse moments/quotes. He's strong, broody and so misunderstood. He's full of good intentions and so very, very protective of Ren, that he just made me swoon pretty much all of the time.

Here are some of my favourite Jesse quotes;
"Did someone eat a thesaurus for breakfast? One adjective there would have sufficed. I like cocky. The way you say it has a nice ring to it."

"You know", he says in the softest, lowest voice imaginable......"you have the most incredible eyes. They're beautiful. As blue as the Sound and just as deadly."

“I can’t think about anything but kissing you… about being with you…’ He shrugs. ‘There, I said it. Need me to say it one more time?’

See, you need to read this book, if not just for the awesome story but for the Jesse moments you get!

In all, The Sound is a story that oozes with teenage romance, deadly situations and hot and steamy moments. It's a fantastic summer read and another cracking novel by a fabulous writer!

[Braiden]

My namesake is in this book – an eight-month old baby – so you better read it with me!

[Ria · Rating 4 out of 5]

FIVE OUT OF FIVE SOUND STARS. MUST READ FOR LOVERS OF YOUNG ADULT/CONTEMPORARY READERS

Just a tease of the opening sentences of the book below hehe.

"I’m running, running blind. Into the dark. Into the woods. Ricocheting off branches, tripping over tangled tree roots, gripping my arm as I stumble on, sobbing. Are those
his footsteps coming after me or is it the wind? A bird? An animal?..."

The Sound by Sarah Alderson takes place on a very exclusive island in America. Our main character 17-year-old Ren Kingston is from the UK. Shes just got out of a bad break-up with her douche of an ex-boyfriend and her mom arranges a babysitting gig for the summer to babysit for the Tripp's family. The island is basically for the very elite classed people to vacation on. A summer on an island far, far away from stupid ex-boyfriends, sounds like a good deal right? Ren expects this trip to be very quiet with no drama, e.g reading books and chilling by the beach with some music. Alone time. What she doesn't expect is to meet and befriend some elite teenagers and a very, very swoon-worthy local island boy. After spending time on the island she finds out that last summer a foreign nanny like her was murdered on The Sound aka (what the locals call the sea/beach) and during her stay another murder occurs, and the victim is yet another nanny. With a serial-nanny-killer on the loose Ren has more problems on her hands when the tension between the elites and locals escalate and turn destructive. No one on this island is what they seem like. No one.

What I thought (spoiler-FREE) : Well basically I loved this book. Love love loved it! I was recommended this book by a friend so if you're reading this, thanks Sonny! ;). Anyway moving on everything was well written especially the characters. I loved them! (even the baddies). I really loved the way she did them especially, it's as if you're viewing all of them through a foggy glass window. You see the basic outline of them and what they are on the outside, but you can't really 'see' see them for what they truly are clearly until the end. The writing style is fantastic. I thought that Sarah Alderson did a great job on the mystery aspect, dropping the subtle hints here and there. There's not much to be said about this without spoiling the plot line except it is worth reading. And you won't regret it! It also wasn't heavy read, I picked it up then set it down before but picked it uo again yesterday and finished it.

The only thing that annoyed me was the one-track-mindset that Ren had it was either jeremy jeremy jeremy, no jesse jesse jesse no jeremy no wait je... and the boy talk between the all the girls in this book. Boy talk 24/7 gets annoying as hell!

Side note: When the book begins in the prologue it starts with events that occur towards the end of the book, so you won't know why that scene is there until you reach towards the last few chapters of the book. I was confused while reading it since it started with that particular scene then switched to a different setting in chapter one. Just a heads up to anyone thinking of reading it (Yes you should read it)!

[Louisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I refuse to be a cliche. I refuse, point blank, to fall for the hot moody guy with anger issues. Is my name Bella Swan? Am I the protagonist of every paranormal romance lining the shelves of Waterstones? No. I am not.

Also, unlike Edward Cullen, the voice in my head pipes up, Jesse most certainly hasn't fallen in insta-love with me and isn't torturing himself over the fact that he can't be with me in case he eats me."

(That is a buuurn!)

Sadly, I found the book itself somewhat lacking. I thoroughly enjoyed Sarah Alderson's Lila series (Hunting Lila was one of my favourite YAs of last year), but The Sound lags far behind. The last quarter was enough to warrant four stars (who can forget yummy Jesse too?), only the rest felt rather monochrome. The Nantucket Nanny Serial Killer? Ehhh... I don't know what to think about Ren too. I liked her bookish and music journalist sides, but she made some pretty silly decisions. Pretty much the whole Jesse-Tyler plotline was the only thing keeping me interested.

Read this if you like contemporary YA mysteries, maybe? There are better written ones. At least Jesse's loyalty and outcast Abercrombie bod can totally get it.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of Sarah Alderson's writing style and particularly loved her action packed (and totally swoon worthy!) Lila series so when I found out she was writing a stand alone thriller / romance set on Nantucket it went straight to the top of my wish list. Once again she has hit the ball out of the park and created a story that will have you hooked from the very first page and reading from the edge of your seat.

After a nasty split from her ex Ren is looking forward to getting away for the summer and a job nannying in Nantuket is the perfect way for her to get out of England. She has dreams of becoming a music journalist so she plans to spend her time off listening to music and working on her music blog, considering how her last relationship ended the last thing she wants is a summer fling. That may change when she catches the eye of not just one but two very sexy boys though. First there is Jeremy, the son of a wealthy family that are friends with the people she is working for, he invites her to hang out with him and his friends and gives her the opportunity to see more of the Island. Then there is Jesse, the local bad boy who everyone keeps warning her away from but won't tell her the reason why, he shares her passion for music and she can't help feeling drawn to him even though she knows she should keep her distance. As if juggling the attentions of two very different boys wasn't enough she also has to try and avoid catching the attention of a serial killer, one who seems to be targeting foreign nannies who are working on the island. What if she becomes the next target?

I've already mentioned how much I love Sarah Alderson's writing style and that was no different in The Sound. I thought Ren was a fabulous character and I loved seeing a British character in an American setting and how uncomfortable she was surrounded by the wealth of the families she came into contact with. She was obviously completely out of her comfort zone and didn't know quite what to make of the rich kids and their attitudes to the locals. I appreciated the fact that she didn't immediately fit in and her clumsiness was highly amusing to watch. She does make mistakes and I was irritated by the way she was drawn to both Jeremy and Jesse but to be honest I think most of us would be flattered by the attention of two hot boys and would find it hard to make a choice between them.

I took an instant dislike to the majority of Jeremy's friends, it was obvious that most of them looked down on Ren and weren't happy to have them as part of their group. I have to say I wasn't a fan of Jeremy either, he came across as far too smarmy and I always worried that he had some kind of ulterior motive. My favourite character would have to be Jesse, I wasn't so sure about him at first because he has quite an attitude problem when Ren first meets him but as you get to know him and learn the reason why he really grew on me. I didn't always agree with Jesse's actions but when you find out exactly what happened I could understand why he did what he did and I think in his situation I'd probably have had a very similar reaction. He is incredibly protective of his family and you can't fault him for that.

I'll admit that there were some things I figured out well before Ren did but there were still a few surprising twists that I hadn't expected. I loved watching her figure out exactly what was happening and the fact that she was brave enough to confront the person she thought was behind the attacks. There is a fine line between bravery and stupidity but it's one I don't think she crossed - particularly considering she took backup with her. The Sound is another great story from Sarah Alderson and one I'm sure fans of her Lila series will love. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

[Breanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah! Okay. I was so excited for this book to come out. I had the highest expectations for it--and for Jesse.

For the first 35-40 percent of this book, it held my interest. I love Sarah Alderson's writing style and the way she creates her worlds and her characters. However, I was a little bit . . . bored. It held my interest and I didn't want to stop because it was very, very good. I just . . . I wanted to see more of Jesse in those beginning chapters. But after the first bit? Everything was happening and Jesse was there and so were other characters and secrets were coming out and everything was coming together and the drama began and the love started and it was just so good and I'm not even going to apologize for this run-on sentence because I regret nothing about not putting in a period or a comma or a semicolon or a dash to separate my ideas.

Instead, we got to see Jeremy, Parker, and Tyler. Ugh. Those boys. Absolutely disgusting. Yup. Nope.

The mysteries in The Sound were awesome. As were the plot twists! I have to admit, I knew what Jesse's secret was and the reasoning behind his actions. However, I was still surprised by everything that unfolded and the way in which it did. Sarah Alderson has a way of laying everything out slowly, letting everything unravel in the sexiest way.It's completely consuming.

Ren. I liked her very much. While there were things she did that I felt were not justified, I understood where she was coming from. I could relate to her. Her fire and her attitude and the way she just . . . is, is admirable. I am in no way disappointed with her.

Jesse. Swoooooooooooon. At first we see him as this dark, shielded person. He's afraid and angry and vulnerable. But he fights his fear and his anger and his vulnerability. He's protective and so not who anyone thinks he is. He's sweet and gentle. Oh, and did I mention protective? Oh. And sexy. Yes. He's definitely that. His bad boy exterior is caused by the gentleness of his heart. Ironic? Yes. Sexy as hell? Most definitely. I loved Jesse. Mmhmm. I did.

All of the secondary characters were also loveable (aside from the douche-baggy ones, of course). There were some that I wouldn't mind seeing more of like Matt and Sophie and Paige.

What I also wish? We could have seen the sexy time between Jesse and Ren. In no way am I ashamed to admit that. Maybe it's the NA thing speaking, but maaaan. I do wish that, I do.

Overal? So, so, so, so, SO FREAKING GOOD. 5/5. I will definitely be reading this again!

[liv · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had this book for a long time now, I picked it up because it was cheap and part of a deal (I know..) it had been sitting on my shelf since then with no motivation to pick it up and start it. I honestly thought I was never going to read it and it would stay on there until I got rid of it. But my English class got told we HAD TO READ A BOOK FROM THE SCHOOL LIBRARY over the two weeks off. Whilst browsing the shelves and finding nothing I fancied or could finish in that period of time I saw this book, knowing it was on my TBR shelf at home I picked it up (smart idea for once). And I loved it, if wasn't for that I wouldn't have read it. I loved the humor and setting, the main character was funny and connecting, sometimes she was annoying but that wasn't alot, I loved Ren as a character, she wasn't that dumb protagonist we always read about she knew what to do and used common sense. The mystery part was intriguing and I wanted to know who the nanny killer was. I didn't like the 'preppy' people she hung around with but that was the idea. I really liked Jesse and his humor, etc. I thought he was weird and dangerous at the beginning but once you found out the reason which I half guessed I wanted to kill Tyler too, I'm glad Jesse didn't though and Ren actually helped and did the sensible thing (applause a sensible and realistic protagonist), I didn't guess the killer either and I was worried she was going to die. Jesse is probably a new book boyfriend of mine (although I ship him so hard with Ren) he is funny, protective, caring, dreamy and gorgeous (like yes!), just amazing. I loved their relationship (friendship and romantically) and how it didn't go to fast and it was realistic, it also showed who they were as people(great). JESSE AND REN FOR THE WIN. I wanted them together throughout the whole book. They are great characters, the scenes were also amazing, don't forget her writing style. I would read a whole entire another book just about them. I loved this book and I'm so happy I got around to it, I have to read her other books after reading this I wanted another book just like it. I could write more about this book, but I don't know how to put my feelings into words expect I loved ALL OF IT, CHARACTERS PLOT, WRITING, HUMOR,EVERYTHING. I recommend this and I want to re-read it like RIGHT NOW. This is probably a new favorite. I'm going to stop now.

[Rav Grewal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhhhhhhhhh

This was such a great book, and as cliché as it sounds I really could not put it down. The intense plot and swoon-worthy intriguing characters left me wanting more. One of the things I really liked about this book was that, unlike many other YA novels, there was an air of mystery throughout the whole story and it wasn’t exactly predictable either.

Overall I rate this book a 5, and would definitely recommend it to anyone who is a fan of action packed thrillers with romance on the side!

[~maheen~ · Rating 1 out of 5]

(bites lower lip and whispers) I don't even remember what this book was about.

No, seriously, it's been, what? One and a half years (I think) and I stumbled across The Sound with the intention of reading it when I saw that I'd already rated it 3 stars and I don't even fucking recall rating it three stars. I don't even fucking recall picking up the bloody book! I'm terribly baffed.

(I'm sorry, I may have gone a bit overboard. No offence to those who enjoyed this book)

[Jessica (Odd and Bookish) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this book 4.5 stars which round up to 5.

I was pleasantly surprised with this book. It was a very exciting thriller. There were a lot of (slightly outdated but only because this book was published in 2013) pop culture reference which I enjoyed.

Jesse Miller was such a hottie. Like the scene where he meets Ren had me swooning over him.

[Shirley · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a thriller/murder- mystery, this was horrible. As a contemporary romance, I give it 5/5. Love Sarah Alderson's writing + swoony men!

[DrunkenCherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dieses Buch lag schon ewig ungelesen in meinem Regal und wenn ich ehrlich bin, hatte ich keine besonders hohen Erwartungen an die Geschichte. Im Nachhinein schäme ich mich ein bisschen dafür, denn bisher gefielen mir die Bücher von Sarah Alderson immer ziemlich gut und ich hätte wissen müssen, dass mich auch „Die Bucht“ begeistern kann.
Protagonistin Ren war toll. Sie ist ein ganz normales Mädchen, das ein Abenteuer auf Nantucket wagt. Neuer Job als Kindermädchen, neues Land, neue Leute.
Mir gefiel es, mit ihr diese Leute kennenzulernen und die Insel zu erkunden. Dabei war ich manchmal allerdings etwas überfordert, denn es wurden unheimlich viele Leute vorgestellt. Jugendliche und deren Eltern – und ich muss zugeben, dass ich bei manchen bis zum Schluss immer etwas überlegen musste, wer das nun war und wo er dazugehört.
Dadurch, dass viele Personen am Werk waren, war die Geschichte aber auch ziemlich spannend und einnehmend – und die auf dem Klappentext angekündigte Dreiecksgeschichte hat mich nicht genervt. Damit hatte ich gar nicht gerechnet, denn normalerweise mag ich diese Art der Liebelei-Erzählung nicht, aber hier hat es für zusätzliche Spannung gesorgt.
Wie für Geschichten von Sarah Alderson üblich gab es auch hier einen super süßen Side-Kick. Und zwar in Form der vierjährigen Brodie. Ich fand das kleine Mädchen echt Zucker und sie hat einige Situationen bravourös aufgelockert.
Das einzige, was ich am Buch zu bemängeln habe, ist, dass ich mir mehr Beschreibungen der Landschaft und von Nantucket allgemein gewünscht hätte. Das Inselfeeling hätte viel deutlicher hervor stechen können und ich finde, da wurde ein bisschen Potenzial verschwendet.
Insgesamt bin ich aber durch die Seiten geflogen und fand die Geschichte sehr unterhaltsam.

[Lina · Rating 3 out of 5]

schwache 3 Sterne

[Shambhawi P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Totally clichéd. Completely cheesy. Wholly predictable. Oh, and it has a love triangle.

So basically Not My Cuppa Tea.

But like all of Sarah Alderson books The Sound sneaks up on you, making you grin goofily and start drawing I <3 Jesse's on your notebook before you even realize it.

And I totally appreciate the fact that Sarah Alderson accepts this book is extremely cheesy and makes full references to that. And poking fun at Twilight. Just the book we love to hate.

Character wise, nobody stands out except Ren and Jesse. And most of the times I felt like decking them book with a mean right hook too. But that was the part of their charm except for the butterflies Ren got from Jeremy - I WANTED to pummel her then. And the plot was nothing to write home about either. A light fun read but with just the right amount of suspense to keep you hooked - doesn't mean it ain't totally guessable.

But I liked the way Alderson focused on little details on the writing. The setting was beautiful with the ocean and beach backdrop and makes the perfect summer read. I would've preferred to have more music references though - not that I'm complaining. But the best part of the book was the chemistry between Jesse and Ren. That was what actually won me over.

I thought I'd see at least something about Psys here (I'd heard rumors that this is in the same world as the Lila series) but this is a honest to god realistic fiction though Jesse is too good to be true. I really enjoy Alderson's quirky light way of writing so despite being a perfect embodiment of everything I detest in a book, I did kind of enjoy it.

You can call it my guilty pleasure. Haha

3.25 Stars - The extra quarter solely for Jesse.

Oh, and this is a New Adult book with no graphic sex but enough sexual tension. Another win.

[Shraddha · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a very different read. It was realistic, funny, mysterious and enjoyable. It was lovely and romantic, and can I just say I'm totally head-over-heels in love with Jesse Miller? He is amazing. And though the main character Ren didn't appeal very much to me in the starting, she grew on me and I ended up liking her a whole lot by the end of the book. I never liked Jeremy. I tried to like him, thinking that if Ren is with him, I should at least try to like him, but I swear I couldn't, and thank God I didn't and listened to my gut feeling.

The characters were really lovable and adorable, except for a select few. I loved the Tripps, especially Brodie because she was adorable and too all-knowing for a four-year old kid. Braiden gave Ren a hard time, but he was too adorable to be angry at! And let's see... I liked Ren as I already mentioned above. Aaaaaaandddd I'm totally in love with Jesse Miller, as I have already mentioned above. Mentioning it only once fails to satisfy me, and twice barely suffices, so here I go again: I love Jesse Miller! Third time's the charm, apparently. I almost immediately knew why he did that to Tyler when Ren found out that he has a little sister. The reason why he beat Tyler was like, right there. I hate Tyler. Disgusting piece of trash. What Jesse did to him was not enough. I would've wanted to kill the guy too. But, thanks to Ren, he got what he deserved, that bastard. . Jesse was so adorable and dangerous, so protective and caring. I wonder why bad boys are called bad boys when they end up being the nicest people.

Anyway, awesome book, read it in about two days(not frequently, otherwise I would've finished it in a few hours), had a blast, t'was mindblowing, and I'm so glad that this was my first Sarah Alderson book.

[Emily Donnellan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ren is an aspiring music journalist who runs a popular online blog. After a breakup she takes a summer job nannying for a wealthy family in Nantucket. The summer should be idyllic but the rich kids are hiding something and there is a serial killer targeting nannies. Summer is about to get interesting.

Initially, I had trouble getting in to this novel. It felt like I was watching an episode of gossip girl and every character was an American stereotype. Luckily, as I kept reading that feeling slowly melted away and I found myself being sucked in to The Sound.

My favorite aspect of this novel was the nanny murders. Unfortunately, the murders took up very little page time. The novel is mostly about Ren, the love triangle she finds herself in, and hanging out with rich kids. It seemed like the serial killer was added as an afterthought and the mystery, which took a while to establish, was rushed in the end.

I wasn’t keen on the love triangle that Ren found herself in. At first she crushed on rich boy stereotype, Jeremy, and then she realized she had more in common with townie Jesse and she tried not to crush on him. It was obvious that Jesse was better suited for her but, of course, it took Ren the entire book to figure this out.

Overall, The Sound was the type of book you read when you need a break. It is a light, beach read and with summer right around the corner you should definitely think about adding it to your beach bag!

[Fani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was expecting to hate this book. After reading the first chapters the main character gave me the impression of a shallow teenage girl who is prejudiced about the people who surround her at Nantucket Sound. I guess laughs on me because as i continued with the story i realized her character has more depth and even though at first she decided to hang out
with the rich kids and stay away from the "scary outsider" she soon realizes her mistake.

Of course there is no need to say that after finishing this book i ended up loving everything in this story, the romance, the mystery and the action scenes that i was surprised but very happy to see in this book.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

FOUR STARS.

One for Ren and three for Jesse. That boy.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

summer book #1

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read and loved Sarah Alderson’s Lila series I was eagerly awaiting this book. I had it on good authority that Jesse was even hotter than Alex (big call!) and Sarah was absolutely correct. I am in total book boyfriend heaven with Jesse.

This is the story of Ren, a 17 year old English girl who gets a summer job nannying on the island of Nantucket for a wealthy couple from Boston. I love that the only experience she had with kids before this was that she used to be one herself. The big twist in this story is that there is also a serial killer lurking on the island. The previous summer another nanny was brutally murdered and it seems that the killer is back again. I;m not going to mention anything about the killer except to say I was close and then worked it out a little bit before it was revealed.

I found that I was suspicious of everyone Ren came across right from the beginning of the book. Maybe I’ve read too many crime novels and watched too many crime shows and that is why I was suspicious.

Ren was a pretty good main character although she did have her moments of needing a good slapping. She is trying to get over the breakup with her boyfriend back in England (he cheated on her with her friend). She meets
Jeremy and his siblings early on in the book and a thing blossoms between them. That is until she meets Jesse and then she is just totally confused by her feelings for both boys.

Through Jeremy we meet his triplet siblings Matt and Eliza. Parker, Tyler, Sophie, Summer and Paige. They are all spoilt rich brats who have been spending their summers on Nantucket for as long as they can remember. All but Sophie and later on Paige seem to have that real “rich kid” aura about them. They think that they are the greatest things on earth and nobody else is as good as them. Especially Eliza and the boys. They all seem friendly to Ren (well expect for Eliza) but what is really lurking behind this “friendship”

Jesse is the local boy who beat the crap out of Tyler last year and spent time in Juvie because of it. Pity he didn't finish the job. He won’t say why he did it, although I had a pretty good idea and yes that was later confirmed. He really seems to like Ren but doesn’t want to get close to her. The flirting and sarcasm between the two of them is awesome and I totally fell for him after the 4th of July celebrations. I’m not going to spoil it for anyone by saying what he did but once you’ve read it you will know. He kind of reminds me of Holder from Hopeless by Colleen Hoover. He has that bad boy stigma attached to him but really is just totally gorgeous and awesome.

I loved Brodie, she was a cute little kid who seemed older than her 4 years. I’ve certainly learnt a few knew words thanks to her, mainly Skanktron.

As I had read the short story Tormenting Lila which links the 2 series together I got a bit confused early on about timelines, but I blame the cold medication I was taking for making my head a bit fuzzy. You don’t really need to read this short story before reading The Sound.

This is an awesome read, with lots of humour as well as drama and suspense. I recommend it for everyone. The only thing I did find was that the author really seems to have some issues with Twilight. Also not sure if it was intentional but there were a couple of errors in regards to characters from other books/tv/movies that were mentioned that I picked up on.

Having been a fan of the 80’s movie One Crazy Summer with John Cusack that was set on Nantucket, I was waiting for the Dew Drop Inn to appear in the book but it didn’t. Oh well!

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first encounter of the written works of Sarah Alderson and I like to say to all those who may have told me to read them sooner that 'I'm Sorry' I didn't but thank you for recommending this author. She has an amazing style of you connecting with the characters and the suspense of the Nannie Murders. Sarah standalone mystery, romantic novel, The Sound is the perfect novel to introduce to a refreshing glimpse of a YA contemporary.

Ren took an opportunity to nanny a family for the whole summer. She didn't quite realise that she would be in and out of love as well as a perfect victim profile of the Nantucket Nanny Murders. Life in a small town really couldn't be more eventful. Whilst learning to drive on the right side of the road, trying not to be puked on, on the first day and settle in with her neighbours. Ren grows as a person whilst absent from London and her family, taking on a whole new world prepares for what life can give...and can take. I really enjoyed seeing everything through Ren's eyes, I was particular envious of her courage and passion for more than just her music but her take of America. As a British person myself I would love to travel around particularly America, Sarah's writing truly captured the beautiful sunsets, beaches (not the Sound though) and the life of an american teenager.

In the first half of the novel, as a reader we see Ren enjoying the american life as a 17- year old after a rough break up with her ex-boyfriend. Whilst in the second part we see a different side of Ren, she has matured and can longer be seen a girl but an adult of the mind and far to focused into the Nanny murders. The mystery and suspense behind the novel reminded me of the stylistic writing of JLA from her novel, Don't Look Back. Sarah utilises the combination of the character relationships with the mystery of the killings to weave together a seamless plot-line.

What's a bit of mystery without a some romance though, and that's how it all really starts. When she meets the town's bad boy, Jesse. Wow he is very hot and swoon-worthy, some or most elements of their relationship is just too perfect. Despite the fact that the town hates him, Ren wants to protect him, to give Jesse the right justice he deserves for being the victim of the town's gossip. Ren clearly didn't want to listen to the town and I found that to be rewarding when she used her own initiative and trusted her feelings that Jesse is more than just a bad boy but a very courageous, protective and passionate man. I can't remember when I've read a novel with a seriously hot bad boy and Jesse certainly sufficed to say satisfied that element.

I think as far as contemporary writers go Alderson has created a a very impression with me. I'm already half-way through Come Back to Me and as far as New Adult writing goes, Sarah is very good at going between various genres. I'm looking forward to reading her debut series, Lila.

This review is also on my blog.

[Jessica (Jess Hearts Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a big fan of Sarah Alderson’s Lila series so The Sound was a book I was eagerly anticipating. I loved the synopsis, the gorgeous cover, and the promise of a contemporary thriller set against a beachy, summer backdrop. The Sound sounded like a book that I’d love but in reality it was a bit hit and miss for me, I’m afraid.

Like the Lila books I enjoyed the English girl in America storyline as Ren is nannying in Nantucket for the summer. I loved the setting and as always Sarah Alderson’s writing was on the money and quickly pulled me into the story. But after the first fifty or so pages I started to wonder when we were going to get to the good stuff and when we’d get to the thriller aspect of the book that I was waiting for. I know that Sarah Alderson is more than capable of writing thrilling, none stop action scenes having read the Lila series but unfortunately it was lacking in this book. The Sound read more like a summer contemporary than a thriller until the very end. The pacing for the thriller/murder mystery aspect wasn’t the best. Although I enjoyed the contemporary side to this story I was expecting more action and was constantly waiting for something to happen.

I had mixed feelings on Ren as a heroine. On the one hand I loved that she was bookish and a blogger and I could relate to that side of her personality. On the other hand she’d constantly go on about not wanting to be a “Bella” but would then go ahead and make dumb choices of her own. I’m sorry, but if there was a serial killer targeting young, foreign nannies in the area and I was a young, foreign nanny I would haul ass out of there! Hot guy or no hot guy!

Ren’s love interest Jesse on the other hand *takes a moment to fan self* he gets an A+. I’ve got to hand it to Sarah Alderson she knows how to write really hot guys and I came to love Jesse just as much as Alex from the Lila series. Jesse is a misunderstood and brooding character who is loyal to his family, a Nantucket misfit, plays in a band and reads books. It took some time to figure out if I could trust Jesse but as we get to know him I loved him more and more and he was without a doubt my favourite thing about this book.

The ending was pretty intense but I was sad to discover that I’d sussed out most of the twists along the way and the big who done it reveal which is always disappointing when it comes to a thriller because you want to be shocked and surprised. However, I was gripped regardless and loved the danger and action that was finally delivered. I just wish that it wasn’t all saved until the end and was paced throughout the novel.

Overall The Sound was a book that I wanted to love but ended up being a bit hit and miss for me. However, despite wishing there was more action and feeling like it took too long to get going I’d recommend reading this book for Jesse alone. He was a brilliant distraction from the things that I didn’t enjoy about this book.

[Sara Grochowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ren Kingston is happy to leave England and her ex behind and spend the summer nannying for a wealthy family on Nantucket Island. She's sworn off guys and drama, but her plans quickly go awry when she meets the alluring Jeremy and his trust fund friends. Jeremy is sweet, but Ren is drawn to the locals, especially Jesse, who she's constantly being warned away from. Despite Nantucket being picturesque, there's darkness in the shadows. The previous summer a foreign nanny was found dead on the beach and, for unknown reasons, Jesse nearly beat a trust fund vacationer to death. Ren's simple summer become complicated as she finds herself straddling the line between Jesse and Jeremy's worlds. Things only escalate when the Nantucket Nanny Killer strikes again.

This was my first read by Sarah Alderson, but it won't be my last. I was immediately hooked by the mystery and British expat main character who takes on dark rumors, mean girls, and a deadly killer during her time abroad.

I was highly amused Ren's commentary on American culture and her use of British colloquialisms. Ren has that stereotypical dry sense of humor and snark that I associate with Brits and I loved her for it. She also wasn't above mocking herself, like when she was drawn to Jesse. She basically comes out and tells herself not to be a Bella Swan.

It's such a bore when the killer can be determined within within a few chapters of starting a novel, but Alderson kept me guessing with THE SOUND. Things are much more complicated than they first appear and things take an even more serious turn than I expected. I mean, a serial killer is pretty serious, but, oddly, that didn't seem like the darkest part of the novel by the end.

My one issue with THE SOUND, which I'm still feeling divided about, was somewhat gratuitous slut shaming. I'm still working through my feelings about this aspect of the novel because, in ways, the slut shaming is actually integral to the development of some important events and character growth. Other times, however, it's used casually and I'm not sure how to feel about that. In the end, it gave me pause, but it didn't bother to the point of lessening my enjoyment of the novel.

Readers in search of high stakes mystery and a complicated romance will devour THE SOUND.

[Jen Ryland]

Overall, I enjoyed this romantic mystery. The protagonist is great and the romance is sweet, though I thought that the mystery, if examined too closely, begins to unravel at the seams like a discount bikini.

I really liked Ren, the main character. She's a British teenager who's come to Nantucket to work as a nanny for the summer. That part of the story was really fun -- watching Ren navigate the world of the rich kids who summer in Nantucket. The romance was good too -- not surprisingly, Ren falls for the brooding, troubled, not-rich bad boy. But at least she makes fun of herself for doing that, cracking a few Twilight jokes. Go, Ren! I also loved the fact that Ren helps out the very cute girl she babysits, who is being bullied. (Though she is four years old. Does bullying really start that young? That's horrifying.)

The book's mystery was much less believable, as the reader is asked to accept the fact that Nantucket, a tiny island with a population in the five figures, has not one but two serial attackers of women on the loose, and that Ren crosses paths with, you guessed it, both of them. Then there was the part in which, after Serial Attacker #1 tries to kill Ren, she (unknowingly) gets right into a car with Serial Attacker #2, and then immediately has a flash of realization that he IS S.A. Number #2 and has to be saved by someone who also, simultaeously, has a flash realization that this person is S.A. number two and Ren needs saving. Okaaaay...

But still, let's review the good points: sweet romance, fun British main character, broody love interest. If you're not a stickler about mysteries making perfect sense and are looking for a good beachy read, dive in!