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megelizabeth's review
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
"He welcomed the baby to our world, which I couldn’t help but feel was a mixed bag right now. But he spoke, briefly, about the power of the earth to heal herself. And about the power of the dawn, every morning, birthing the world anew."
This was mostly a lot of fun. I really clicked with the humour and found the story clever and interesting. I enjoyed the characters for the most part too and I loved seeing Alice, the protagonist, grow and develop and form new friendships and head towards motherhood in a really honest and realistic and slightly messy way.
However, I wasn't a huge fan of Joe, Alice's partner, and wasn't sure if he was intentionally unlikeable or if it was just me (and I found it irritating that a fairly significant strand of the storyline relating to him was never really explained!). I also thought that the ending felt a bit 'off' as everything very suddenly got a lot darker and less cosy, whereas the cosiness had been part of what I liked so much about the rest of the book. I still enjoyed the reading experience overall; I don't know that I'll necessarily continue with the series, but it was on the whole a fun time!
This was mostly a lot of fun. I really clicked with the humour and found the story clever and interesting. I enjoyed the characters for the most part too and I loved seeing Alice, the protagonist, grow and develop and form new friendships and head towards motherhood in a really honest and realistic and slightly messy way.
However, I wasn't a huge fan of Joe, Alice's partner, and wasn't sure if he was intentionally unlikeable or if it was just me (and I found it irritating that a fairly significant strand of the storyline relating to him was never really explained!). I also thought that the ending felt a bit 'off' as everything very suddenly got a lot darker and less cosy, whereas the cosiness had been part of what I liked so much about the rest of the book. I still enjoyed the reading experience overall; I don't know that I'll necessarily continue with the series, but it was on the whole a fun time!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Cancer and Vomit
chloelj27's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Cancer
What I liked: • The humour. • The light-heartedness feel of the book. • The mystery behind the case and twists. As far as debut novels go, Kat Ailes has knocked it out the park! The Expectant Detectives is a murder mystery, but is filled with lightheartedness, laughter and diverse characters. Who would have thought that murder and pregnancy together would make such an enjoyable and funny book?! To say I thoroughly enjoyed this would be an understatement. All the characters within the book held their own personalities and that never got lost within the story. Alice’s character was hilarious with her remarks and thoughts throughout, while Hen was her polar opposite. I adored Poppy and Alisa was an intriguing character to follow too. It was definitely a group I would love to interact and become friends with. Overall, there were a lot of characters introduced, which got a bit confusing at first, but with time, it became easier to remember who was who. As mentioned, despite this being a murder mystery, it wasn’t a dark, tense vibe. It was a lighthearted feel with moments of unease. There were definitely a few twists chucked in for good measure, some small and some big, some a little predictable and some not so much. When the description on NetGalley said Motherhood meets Midsomer Murders, it couldn’t have been more precise! I could definitely see this as a TV show in its own right and I hope we get to see more of Penton (and Helen!) in future books of Kat’s. Thank you NetGalley, Kat Ailes and Bonnier Books for accepting me as an arc reader in exchange for an honest review.
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