Lauren
3.5 I feel like this really should have been a novella and then it would have been a 5 star read. Spending so much time in Louis’s head really didn’t serve the book. You could have cut a 1/3 of his inner monologue and had a much more compelling and terrifying story. It wasn’t until 75% that I was finally into what was happening. A disappointing reading experience because of all the hype surrounding the book.
Pet names really give me the ick. But the story was very unexpected with solid twists and lots of intense spice. I really didn't like the mental illness rep in this. It was an unnecessary element and the behavior that resulted from it could have happened for other reasons. There is already so much stigma around mental illness, authors really need to not weaponize it when there can be other ways to achieve your character arcs. Be sure to check the content warnings before you dive into this.
3.5 If you are a fan of Sherlock Holmes and all the modern adaptations, this is a good twist on the series. I think my favorite part though was the definitely all the little details about Chinese life and the atmosphere of London at the time this was taking place. For anyone familiar with the influence of opium on China during this time and England's role in that will appreciate the weaving of it into this story.
I did find the action scenes a bit hard to follow on audio, which is why I'm rounding down my rating, but it's a solid mystery and I would certainly be willing to pick up book 2 in the series and give it a shot.
***Thank you to RB Media for providing me with the Audiobook for free via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
If you're a fan of the Finlay Donovan series, I think you will probably enjoy this. It's funny and puts a unique spin on the mystery genre. I always think it's fun when the MC engages with the reader. I think there will be a lot of cozy mystery readers who will like this series.
With that said, I personally didn't enjoy this very much. The tone and humor just wasn't for me, and the mystery just felt way too obvious from the beginning.
***Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing me with the Audiobook for free via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
I will say...kudos to Holly Jackson for taking such a daring and bold turn with this installment because it was a divisive choice since it's such a beloved series.
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SPOILERS
With that said, the thing the irked me about this isn't the thing that bothers a lot of readers. I understand people are upset because they feel like the favorites characters made choices that were not in alignment with who they have been presented to be and that would be very hard for a reader to accept.
Honestly, I'm fine with the twist into vigilante and revenge. It's the reasoning behind it that I'm struggling with. Pip twists reality in such an unnecessary way to fit her narrative. Ok, she doesn't trust the police. So she does, what she does. BUT come on, there was definitely enough evidence to get you off. JUST OWN THE FACT YOU'VE ENTERED YOUR VILLIAN ERA and take down Max. Trying to justify her choice because the police wouldn't believe her is just BS.
THEN, the breakup and cutting people off thing. WTF. Again, such an outrageous twisting of reality to create needless conflict and suffering. How many times did she talk about not wanting to miss out of every moment with her family and friends and then she self imposes it? Nah, doesn't work for me.
AND THE HEADPHONES. Really? Just say you dropped them on your run with your phone. You forgot them at an interview. You thought your brother had them. Literally anything besides what Ravi said. So dumb.
2.5 and rounding up
This has an intriguing premise, but it was a lackluster read, and something about the writing style was very disorienting. I was listening on audio, and by the time we were half way through I still was having trouble differentiating between the characters. They all felt like the same person, and there were many times within a POV that it felt like the POV switched even though it didn't. It was a frustrating listening experience.
The comparison to SIX OF CROWS has been mentioned to death, I do agree they have similar vibes, which I certainly would have counted it as something in it's favor, however, the things that make the found family/heist thing work in SIX OF CROWS, just didn't come together very well in this one.
I think a young YA audience will probably love it, more than someone like me who only dips in and out of YA and is comparing it to something like SIX OF CROWS.
I do want to mention that the voiceover did a great job, and it was nothing on their end that made the listening experience difficult, that is fully the responsibility of the author's writing style.
***Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing me with the Audiobook for free via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
2.5 and rounding up.
Many will like this...I was not one of them.
I was on board for a good portion of it and if you love a slow burn this will hit that for you.
With that said....
Miscommunication/assuming what others are thinking/ is one of my biggest pet peeves in romances and this one has it in spades. Also, pet names immediately before or after a hookup always gives me a huge ick. I didn't mine the pop culture references, but it really started to feel very unbelievable that Matthew literally didn't know anything about anything in the that vain. It's not like he doesn't have a brother and best friend and others around him that would have exposed him to those things. It was funny and quirky at first, and then just felt so over the top by the end.
A mix of stream of consciousness, self reflection, anecdotes, and a dash of contradiction. I walked into this memoir not knowing much about the personal details of Boy George's life and Culture Club, so I was looking forward to hearing more about the behind the scenes of their career.
While George certainly covered a lot of his life in the book much of it felt surface level and a bit hard to follow since the story isn't told in a linear way. So if you don't have a working knowledge of the people being referenced it can be hard to understand who they are in the context of the story and also when things were happening. I left feeling like I needed a timeline in the back to reference.
It was cool that new music was incorporated into the audiobook, and I think that's a great thing for musical artists to do.
***Thank you to Dreamscape Media for providing me with the Audiobook for free via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
2.5 Honestly, I was expecting to like this book much more than I did. I love Agatha Christie, and especially the Miss Marple series, so the premise of the book really intrigued me. I have to say that I really did enjoy the Senator's character a lot and there are definitely people out there that would enjoy it because the mystery part of it was fine, but based on what didn't work for me, I really wasn't the right person for this one.
Now onto the stuff I didn't enjoy. Unfortunately, the MC just didn't do it for me. They were slotted into the classic bumbling sidekick role, yet the entire time we're constantly told that the MC is really smart and super into true crime, but the author doesn't show us any ingenuity on their part at all.
I really struggled with the tone/voice of the MC a lot because many of the character descriptions were fatphobic. For me, it feels like lazy writing to try and get the reader to dislike a person based on how nastily you describe their appearance. The way someone looks is morally neutral and doesn't determine what kind of person they are.
This next part really hurts me to say since I am leftist and agree with the ideas the characters bring up, but something about the way it was written made it seem like the AUTHOR was trying so hard to show how progressive THEY the writer are, so it came off just a bit heavy handed and inauthentic/white-knighting for my tastes. I got the vibe that the author really needed the reader to know that they are “a good liberal.”
And the romance aspect felt out of place and over the top. The objectification of the body guard was really out of left field.
Overall the whole thing was tedious and a bit smug.
***Thank you to RB Media, Recorded Books for providing me with the Audiobook for free via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
This was a fun ride and I couldn't stop listening. It hit a lot of my favorite things about the mystery/thriller genre. A snarky MC, small town setting, lots of hidden family and friend secrets, A PODCAST tie in, lost memories, and an excellently woven mystery.
I would highly recommend the audiobook. It was dual narration and definitely brings the podcast element to life.
***Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing me with the Audiobook for free via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
A queer-tastic retelling and much spicer than I was expecting.
As someone who loved LOVE ACTUALLY 20 years ago, but feel it really hasn't aged well, this was a lovely treat to come across. A set of LatinX centric short stories that follows the basic outline of the original film, and improves what has been lacking regarding consent, body image, queerness, diversity, communication and toxic relationships.
Really enjoyed this one!
***Thank you to Dreamscape Audio for providing me with the Audiobook for free via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
2.5 and rounding up.
This was a slow start for me, but once we got got a few chapters in I was invested to keep going. The premise was a very compelling idea, but overall I felt disappointed with our heroine. It felt like she was suppose to be this empowered and enlightened feminist, but that kept falling short for me with the wild assumptions she kept making about Duncan. Her absolute refusal to confront that situation head on or have a simple conversation to clear things up was absolutely infuriating and the antithesis of what someone trying to solve a mystery would do. It was hard for me to take her seriously as an MC because it felt like that was a purposeful obstacle to serve the book rather than something the character would do.
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I've always been interested learning more about how women have been declared hysterical and institutionalized as a way of controlling them and with the recent #FreeBritney movement this topic feels very relevant to explore in fiction. I wish there was even more involved with exploring this, and the ending felt very tidy which is not surprising for the genre but a bit meh for me as a reader. The final line really made me roll my eyes. Because now we are going to have a whole second book doing main grievance I voiced in this review. The lack of communication and honesty with Duncan. Hard pass for me.
A charming mystery featuring a free little library, and multi POVs including that of a cat name Mortimer, what more could you want?!
This is a lovely middle grade book, that would have hit all my sleuthing buttons a child with even a little sprinkling of cozy spooky, so no scary elements (that was always a deal breaker for me as a young reader).
Highly recommend for the kiddos who like mysteries and books.
***Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an unbiased review.
This was first time reading something from this series, and I enjoyed this so much I plan to go back and listen to the others. I was pleasantly surprised to find this historical cozy mystery to have a lot of character depth and a fairly complex and twisty plot line. Not something I typically see in the genre.
Lily Adler is a great MC and I look forward to diving into the backlist and seeing where she started. Also, I loved seeing all the unexpected LGBTQ+ rep.
If you are a fan of Jane Austen and Agatha Christie, I think you'll have fun with this.
***Thank you to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an unbiased review.
This was an interesting historical true crime recounting. It explores the murder of a young female factory worker and the frenzied aftermath that was dubbed the “crime of the century.” From the murder investigation to a church sex scandal to celebrity trial this story gripped the American public's attention in 1833.
What I most enjoyed about this was the author's very balanced storytelling. I have found that many non-fiction writers tend to reveal their bias in the narrative and often fall into the trap of inserting additional commentary that I tend to find off putting.
Bruce Dorsey does a great job of holding up a critical lens to the misogyny that was very prevalent in the media's coverage and the ensuing interviews and testimony. As well as the troubling behavior of the church to protect their leaders over everything else regardless of guilt or innocence.
If you enjoy true crime this was a fascinating snapshot of a part of American life that I didn't know a lot about.
***Thank you to Tantor Audio and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an unbiased review.