The Secret Office

Thank you to Orca Book Publishers for letting me read an ARC of this book through NetGalley!

The Secret Office
Overall Rating: ⭐ ⭐ .5 (2.5/5) or 4.85/10 overall

Characters - 5
The characters were likeable enough but they didn't have much depth. Part of that is certainly due to the length of the book, since it is difficult to develop and explore complex personalities in such a short book, but I still found them quite flat and unenjoyable.

Atmosphere - 5
The atmosphere was mediocre. There was enough description to maybe understand what the scenes looked like, and the pictures certainly helped with that, but there was just something lacking that made it hard to invest in the setting of the story.

Writing - 4
I didn't enjoy the writing style. There was something about the wording that just threw me off. Also, for some reason, the book is written in present tense, but in my opinion almost all the sentences become more digestible in past tense, which struck me as odd.

Plot - 5
The plot of this book was decent. It felt like it was trying to do too much and not enough at the same time. Many different characters and bits of the storyline were thrown in as what felt like an attempt to help readers become immersed in the story, but to me it felt much more chaotic and it made the plot more confusing and harder to follow.

Intrigue - 6
There was a fair bit of intrigue to this story. Even though this book felt quite bland, I still found myself invested enough to want to know what happened in the end.

Logic - 5
There was some logic in this book. I could understand most of the characters' motivations, but some of their interactions felt a tad unrealistic and simple.

Enjoyment - 4
Suffice to say, I didn't enjoy this book a lot. I think the best part was seeing how much the kids cared for their mom and otherwise there wasn't much to redeem it. Also, the end felt quite abrupt. :/