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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
This is my first book by this author and it was so goddamn well crafted that I'm now going to try to find the rest of her work. We get a fantastic onion of plot revelations the further in we go, and I will fully admit I am one hundred percent here for the full reveal on our main. I also ended up mainlining more and more of this the more I read of it, which is always a good sign in a book. Pick this up, go in knowing as little as possible, and enjoy the ride.
mysterious
tense
I finished this in a day; the setup and mystery of it all was pretty compelling, and the writing itself was solid.
But, I found the worldbuilding of this near-future to be a little lazy and incomplete, and was frustrated that solidly half of the book (or more?) was flashback/background, with the present-day action feeling a bit thin.
Did anyone else think thatSumter was giving Hank Scorpio (Simpsons character)? Just cartoonishly evil and crazy to the point that all credulity is lost.
But, I found the worldbuilding of this near-future to be a little lazy and incomplete, and was frustrated that solidly half of the book (or more?) was flashback/background, with the present-day action feeling a bit thin.
Did anyone else think that
There was something deeply funny about reading this novel while living in the Silicon Valley. Even though it takes place within Canada (and slightly beyond) it concerns the tech industry in the near future, and so much of it was a reflection of life here today, and an echo of what I hear people around me saying. Some of its critiques are scathing, even if it is fictional, and there's a sense of humor and lightness to it that contrasts nicely with being a thriller, and the fear the characters face.
The pacing is near perfect, which I so rarely see within the genre, and the sci fi elements sprinkled around like tasty little treats for the reader to discover. It's a cross-genre work- mostly said thriller, with those little elements thrown throughout, set in the near enough future that it all feels deeply plausible.
My only real critique is that the very ending- the last 20 or so pages- get a little muddled, the pace turned up to furious where it could have gotten away with merely being speedy. Overall, this will make a nice summer read for many- especially those in the tech cities.
The pacing is near perfect, which I so rarely see within the genre, and the sci fi elements sprinkled around like tasty little treats for the reader to discover. It's a cross-genre work- mostly said thriller, with those little elements thrown throughout, set in the near enough future that it all feels deeply plausible.
My only real critique is that the very ending- the last 20 or so pages- get a little muddled, the pace turned up to furious where it could have gotten away with merely being speedy. Overall, this will make a nice summer read for many- especially those in the tech cities.
The pacing in the flashbacks were very slow and boring. I might give it another try
This novel had it all: interesting and creepy characters, a deserted island, mysterious deaths, and multiple plot twists. Even though most of the time I couldn't put the book down, sometimes I found myself losing interest in the plot because of how predictable some of the revelations were, despite the fact that some of them were unexpected. More explanation of the world would have been helpful; the author provided us with so little information that I occasionally got lost and found it difficult to understand how their world functioned.
Of all the characters, I enjoyed Kristen's character the most, but I do wish we would get to see more of her thought process and the way she grew up. I think it would help us understand her character more,
I also wish we would get longer chapters about their lives on the island instead of the long chapters about the BEFORE. At times, I found myself skipping over some parts of the past because they were too long and didn't really offer the insight into Kirsten's life I was looking for.
Overall, I would really recommend this book to fans of mystery. It will have you hooked from the beginning until the end!
I would like to thank NetGaley and Tor Publishing Group for giving me a chance to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Of all the characters, I enjoyed Kristen's character the most, but I do wish we would get to see more of her thought process and the way she grew up. I think it would help us understand her character more,
Spoiler
and it would help me determine if she really was a sociopath or if she just went a bit crazy (I believe I know the answer).I also wish we would get longer chapters about their lives on the island instead of the long chapters about the BEFORE. At times, I found myself skipping over some parts of the past because they were too long and didn't really offer the insight into Kirsten's life I was looking for.
Overall, I would really recommend this book to fans of mystery. It will have you hooked from the beginning until the end!
I would like to thank NetGaley and Tor Publishing Group for giving me a chance to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
ARC review for NetGalley. I don’t know why I just could not follow this book? Maybe it’s because I took so long to finish it but I only took so long to finish it because I could not get into it. None of the characters were likable and even the twist at the end didn’t make this book worth my time!!!!
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes