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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
informative
lighthearted
It’s been a while since I’ve read a choose your own adventure style book, but it was a lot of fun! The interactiveness of the story was interesting and I liked that the author included puzzles throughout to solve. Did I always figure out the puzzles? No. I did enjoy myself though!
I will admit, that the magical aspect of the book was not what I expected. It did take me a moment to really delve into the book. I had a good time reading it and I really did enjoy the characters, but I did struggle with all of the multiple POVs. It was a fun time, but maybe it just isn’t for me right now.
✨This ARC was provided by Harlequin Trade Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.✨
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Lured out to a mysterious island for a job she didn't apply for, Destiny Whip fights to learn out about her family and ends up embroiled in a mystery.
After not leaving her apartment for a year Destiny receives a hand delivered letter with a hidden message promising answers about her family. Unable to pass up the opportunity she heads to Eerie Island a place ensconced in bad weather and no electricity. After meeting many in the Scruffmore family and some of those in town, Destiny is asked to help solve a murder.
Many murder mystery novels have an almost immediate death with the rest of the book used to figure out who did it. In "A Most Puzzling Murder" you don't know who is going to be murdered and you also don't know who the murder is. The reader can solve puzzles along with the narrators (the story is told from multiple points of view), but you can easily look at the answers (I solved some and looked at the answers for other since I tend to listen while I drive).
What makes or breaks a mystery for me is how clever the author is. Bianca Marais is CLEVER and there were very few times in the book where I knew where things were going. With how many characters and viewpoints there were I did unfortunately feel like the characters felt flat with their main traits only being revealed if it was useful to the story.
Overall, it was an amazing book and I was enthralled the entire time.
After not leaving her apartment for a year Destiny receives a hand delivered letter with a hidden message promising answers about her family. Unable to pass up the opportunity she heads to Eerie Island a place ensconced in bad weather and no electricity. After meeting many in the Scruffmore family and some of those in town, Destiny is asked to help solve a murder.
Many murder mystery novels have an almost immediate death with the rest of the book used to figure out who did it. In "A Most Puzzling Murder" you don't know who is going to be murdered and you also don't know who the murder is. The reader can solve puzzles along with the narrators (the story is told from multiple points of view), but you can easily look at the answers (I solved some and looked at the answers for other since I tend to listen while I drive).
What makes or breaks a mystery for me is how clever the author is. Bianca Marais is CLEVER and there were very few times in the book where I knew where things were going. With how many characters and viewpoints there were I did unfortunately feel like the characters felt flat with their main traits only being revealed if it was useful to the story.
Overall, it was an amazing book and I was enthralled the entire time.
i was not expecting magic in this book, and it was a weird twist. overall, the plot felt super cramped.
the characters are either dull or evil (and not in a fun way, more so a cookie cutter way).
i wanted to like this, but unfortunately it's not for me.
**thank you to The Hive for the ARC copy
the characters are either dull or evil (and not in a fun way, more so a cookie cutter way).
i wanted to like this, but unfortunately it's not for me.
**thank you to The Hive for the ARC copy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent
Moderate: Eating disorder
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you MIRA and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for a free and honest review.
Former child prodigy and current world-renowned enigmatologitst, Destiny Whip is very alone in the world. That is until an invitation to interview for the Scruffmore family historian arrives on her doorstep with a hidden message, promising to reveal family secrets. The catch is Destiny never applied for this job and even the internet yields no answers of who the Scruffmore’s are. Through puzzles and adventure Destiny must solve all the puzzles to get to the heart of the Scruffmore mysteries.
To begin with I thought the premise of this book was so fun. I loved we had to solve the same puzzles Destiny was given to continue the plot. I will always be a fan of unique formatting and adding the reader right into the plot through chose your own path chapters and puzzles was thrilling. This novel also kept me guessing the whole time of what was actually happening. The fun part was all of the clues to the final reveal was sprinkled through the book so if you looked hard enough all of the answers were right there to be discovered. Onto of the fun puzzles I loved the overall story as it was ultimately a story of family and finding ones place in the world. I loved that all the characters were complex and even a little messy. It felt like the family story blended perfectly with the murder mystery.
Final thoughts are that I probably will buy myself a physical copy after publication to mark up and love as I solve the mystery and puzzles with Destiny all over again
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Have you every thought that your actions might have unintended consequences? Well, this book will certainly leave you questioning your own?
This book is very different to anything I’ve read recently. Do you remember those « Choose Your Own Adventure » books? This is kind of like that. It makes the reading experience very interactive and immersive.
Destiny Whip is vulnerable and she receives a mysterious invitation to interview for a historian position on an island. She didn’t apply for this position and is convinced it has something to do with her family. The island is called Eerie, a name, that certainly reflects the atmospheric and secretive nature of the story. It turns out, she must solve a murder that hasn’t happened yet. Intriguing isn’t it?
It’s part mystery, part gothic, part fantasy, part journey of self discovery and part coming of age, in a way.
This will certainly appeal to lots of readers. What didn’t work as well, for me, were the number of puzzles and characters, which slowed the pacing and disrupted the flow a bit.
Still, it’s a creative, unusual read that kept me thinking about cause and effect, and how the past always finds a way of circling back.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing/MIRA for the ARC.
mysterious
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Destiny Whip is in the middle of a breakdown when she gets an unusual letter. Her application for employment as a family historian at a remote island compound has been accepted. She's invited to sit for an interview. It's baffling, because Destiny is not qualified for such a position and never applied. The message is a code, however, and that is something Destiny is quite good at.
'A Most Puzzling Murder' is a mystery novel with a splintery family dynamics and a lot of magic. It's also a challenge to readers to solve codes, make choices and interact at a high level with the novel itself. It's Choose Your Own Adventure, Encyclopdia Brown, Meg Mackintosh and Murdle mixed up with a layered plot and better than average characters.
I enjoyed this a lot. There are some answers at the back of the novel and additional content that you e-mail for with the correct answers to some puzzles. This was fun and should stand out among the big wave of adult interactive novels coming out this year.
'A Most Puzzling Murder' is a mystery novel with a splintery family dynamics and a lot of magic. It's also a challenge to readers to solve codes, make choices and interact at a high level with the novel itself. It's Choose Your Own Adventure, Encyclopdia Brown, Meg Mackintosh and Murdle mixed up with a layered plot and better than average characters.
I enjoyed this a lot. There are some answers at the back of the novel and additional content that you e-mail for with the correct answers to some puzzles. This was fun and should stand out among the big wave of adult interactive novels coming out this year.
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes