Reviews

If She Wakes by Michael Koryta

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allyreids's review against another edition

slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

I read this for book club and honestly only finished it so I could fully explain all my complaints with the book during our group discussion.

I always find it fascinating when audiobooks are written from majority female characters POV but narrated by men. However, for this book it made sense as these female characters were so obviously written by a man. This read as a man writing women who had never actually had any interactions of any substance with women.

For instance our first introduction to the character Lisa Boone in the second chapter focuses on the man near her at a bar who is fat, how much she hates fat men and enjoys killing them. It was such a bizarre focus of the chapter that made no sense in the overall context of the rest of the story, other than to make it clear these female characters were written by a man.

The story as a whole was very long winded with a million side stories. The book could have used some serious editing.

joelette's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced

4.25

This kind of book is right up my alley. I loved this thriller!

jadamichellemather's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

mtnest's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

magyklyxdelish's review against another edition

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2.0

1.5 rounded up

This one just dragged too much for me. I couldn’t connect to any of the characters and it just became long winded and repetitive. Extra half point for being interesting enough for me to finish. This one just wasn’t for me.

k_lenn's review against another edition

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2.0

Disappointingly, especially because I did enjoy the writing, I just couldn't get into this story. At all. Too many side stories, and too many characters that I didn't care about. I'll have to look into other novels by Koryta because If She Wakes surely can't be his best work.

If She Wakes begins with Tara Beckley, a senior in college, driving an important man to an event. A horrific accident occurs, which leaves the man dead and Tara in a coma with locked-in syndrome, seemingly brain dead to onlookers. Abby, an insurance investigator, is hired by the college to see if they could be blamed for the accident. She discovers that the "accident" story doesn't quite line up and it must've been a deliberate attack. Next thing she knows, she's being chased by a teenage hitman named Dax.

The ending wasn't as satisfying as I'd hoped it'd be. The book really could've been shortened, too, since it dragged on at some places.