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gia_c14's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-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? No
3.0
onlyone's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
jkanen's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
kristinakg's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.0
elizafiedler's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
briarhoes's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I love mysteries, specifically puzzle mysteries, and read every single one I come across. I've been obsessed with the genre since I was a kid, and I like to consider myself somewhat of an expert in it. I take great joy in collecting these kinds of books. That being said, though it was a fine read, I don't think I'll be adding this to my collection.
I found myself confused and surprised that the main character is apparently nearly thirty, as both her character and the writing itself seem young. The book reads as if it was intended for juvenile audiences, like a true YA book, but it's marked as adult. It has a tendency to overexplain things that you could easily draw a conclusion of, making the act of reading this more than a little tedious. When it isn't tedious, it's outright annoying - I very nearly shut the book and put it down for good when a character used "OMG" in spoken dialogue, and I really questioned my decision to keep going when they started talking about "stans" and "twitter haters". Writing like this is exactly why I DNF'd Dead Romantics, and I think I finished this more out of obligation than interest in the story.
To be honest, the mystery premise is misleading. For 200 out of 341 pages, no progress gets made at all on the mystery, with everyone instead circling around repeating "It's impossible" for 3/4ths of the book. The majority of this book is made up not of a story or plot, but assorted random fun facts about characters that are either irrelevant themselves, or that the facts are utterly irrelevant about. I'm all for building characters, but when you put your plot on hold for a hundred and fifty pages to detail for paragraphs and paragraphs the house that the characters stop in for one scene, or the detailed backstory of someone who's there to deliver one unimportant line and disappear, it gets grating. I actively avoiding picking this book back up to continue reading it because it dragged on so much. The only reason I'm forgiving the constant long descriptions of food is because the author included recipes at the end.
The climax of the book was uninteresting to me and though it was exciting for a second, I ultimately couldn't bring myself to care about the resolution of the mystery, because the mystery barely existed at all. The book mostly consisted of the main character - who was grating herself - walking around saying she was going to solve the family curse. I got tired of it after the exact same scene and dialogue started repeating for the third or fourth time. I don't know if they were trying to fill up space, or what, but it felt like a waste of time.
I don't think I'll read any of the author's other books, but I didn't hate this one. It just lost my interest because it didn't seem interested in holding onto it.
I found myself confused and surprised that the main character is apparently nearly thirty, as both her character and the writing itself seem young. The book reads as if it was intended for juvenile audiences, like a true YA book, but it's marked as adult. It has a tendency to overexplain things that you could easily draw a conclusion of, making the act of reading this more than a little tedious. When it isn't tedious, it's outright annoying - I very nearly shut the book and put it down for good when a character used "OMG" in spoken dialogue, and I really questioned my decision to keep going when they started talking about "stans" and "twitter haters". Writing like this is exactly why I DNF'd Dead Romantics, and I think I finished this more out of obligation than interest in the story.
To be honest, the mystery premise is misleading. For 200 out of 341 pages, no progress gets made at all on the mystery, with everyone instead circling around repeating "It's impossible" for 3/4ths of the book. The majority of this book is made up not of a story or plot, but assorted random fun facts about characters that are either irrelevant themselves, or that the facts are utterly irrelevant about. I'm all for building characters, but when you put your plot on hold for a hundred and fifty pages to detail for paragraphs and paragraphs the house that the characters stop in for one scene, or the detailed backstory of someone who's there to deliver one unimportant line and disappear, it gets grating. I actively avoiding picking this book back up to continue reading it because it dragged on so much. The only reason I'm forgiving the constant long descriptions of food is because the author included recipes at the end.
The climax of the book was uninteresting to me and though it was exciting for a second, I ultimately couldn't bring myself to care about the resolution of the mystery, because the mystery barely existed at all. The book mostly consisted of the main character - who was grating herself - walking around saying she was going to solve the family curse. I got tired of it after the exact same scene and dialogue started repeating for the third or fourth time. I don't know if they were trying to fill up space, or what, but it felt like a waste of time.
I don't think I'll read any of the author's other books, but I didn't hate this one. It just lost my interest because it didn't seem interested in holding onto it.
eternity21's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
4.25
bluegrover82's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
The premise of the book was intriguing. It focuses on Tempest, a stage magician, returns home after an illusion gone wrong destroys her reputation. She believes it was sabotage by her stage double, and she vows to prove it. We meet her various family members. Her mom disappeared under suspicious circumstances five years prior, and Tempest is wondering if it's the family curse (the family has a history of strange deaths and disappearances. Her dad owns a construction company that builds secret rooms and passageways in customers' homes. During the most recent project, a dead body falls out of an opened wall. Now Tempest will need to solve the murder and clear her name while trying to stay out of trouble.
The book started off well. It was unlike any mystery I've read, and it kept my attention. About halfway through, the story stalled. It started to sound almost redundant. The author reminds the reader of the same info over and over. That may be done to keep it fresh in our minds, but to me it was frustrating. Finally, the story picked up again in the last quarter of the book as she drew closer to uncovering the murderer. I found the "big reveal" lacked luster. To me, it fell flat.
In summary, the book is a decent read, a good "light" mystery, which was what I was looking for. While I wasn't blown away by it, I would read the next installment in the series to find out what happens with Tempest. Also, the author has written other mystery series which I will check out as well.
The book started off well. It was unlike any mystery I've read, and it kept my attention. About halfway through, the story stalled. It started to sound almost redundant. The author reminds the reader of the same info over and over. That may be done to keep it fresh in our minds, but to me it was frustrating. Finally, the story picked up again in the last quarter of the book as she drew closer to uncovering the murderer. I found the "big reveal" lacked luster. To me, it fell flat.
In summary, the book is a decent read, a good "light" mystery, which was what I was looking for. While I wasn't blown away by it, I would read the next installment in the series to find out what happens with Tempest. Also, the author has written other mystery series which I will check out as well.