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doo_reads's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
achoward's review against another edition
2.0
It pains me to do this, but two stars out of five.
I normally reserve that for the end of the review, but I thought I should just get it out of the way.
All that Remains is billed as a paranormal romance with a mystery at its heart, which I don't normally read. I thought I'd take a chance on it, since it's billed as a romance/mystery. I'd see if it is, and if this one would break out from the pack of those I've read before, all of which I've not liked.
It is not, and it did not.
First, the story: a killer on the loose who gnaws on the bones of his victims after he has killed them. OK, so here's our mystery. Who is he and why does he do this. Well, he's a werewolf. Literally, a werewolf. And the mystery is torpedoed less than 20% into the story by switching to him and his POV. Then it just becomes a catch me if you can story between the POVS that I just didn't like because there's no story there. He's a psychopath with zero redeeming features, no tragic backstory, and leaves clues all over the place. So much for being smarter than the rest of the pack.
If the mystery had been a real mystery, even with paranormal elements that didn't come to light until toward the end of the book, that would have been better, with o without the romance tied in.
Second, the romance: if the author had made the book primarily about the romance between the two female leads and developed that aspect more, tamping down the "mystery" into something else, the book would have been much improved. As it is, their romance just isn't there in the sense of what the romance genre expects.
Thanks to Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley for the reading copy.
I normally reserve that for the end of the review, but I thought I should just get it out of the way.
All that Remains is billed as a paranormal romance with a mystery at its heart, which I don't normally read. I thought I'd take a chance on it, since it's billed as a romance/mystery. I'd see if it is, and if this one would break out from the pack of those I've read before, all of which I've not liked.
It is not, and it did not.
First, the story: a killer on the loose who gnaws on the bones of his victims after he has killed them. OK, so here's our mystery. Who is he and why does he do this. Well, he's a werewolf. Literally, a werewolf. And the mystery is torpedoed less than 20% into the story by switching to him and his POV. Then it just becomes a catch me if you can story between the POVS that I just didn't like because there's no story there. He's a psychopath with zero redeeming features, no tragic backstory, and leaves clues all over the place. So much for being smarter than the rest of the pack.
If the mystery had been a real mystery, even with paranormal elements that didn't come to light until toward the end of the book, that would have been better, with o without the romance tied in.
Second, the romance: if the author had made the book primarily about the romance between the two female leads and developed that aspect more, tamping down the "mystery" into something else, the book would have been much improved. As it is, their romance just isn't there in the sense of what the romance genre expects.
Thanks to Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley for the reading copy.
althea's review against another edition
2.0
2.5/5 Stars
This was my first book by Sheri Lewis Wohl and, although I didn't love my reading experience, it probably won't be my last. I've been meaning to pick up something by this author for a while now and so I jumped at the chance to read an ARC copy (even though I ended up getting to it a little late - oops!). This is a paranormal thriller featuring werewolves, which are two things in general that I don't read a lot of, so I was intrigued to see how Sheri Lewis Wohl would tackle it. I didn't love that from the beginning we knew who the killer was and got to see inside their head, and I think in this sense it might have worked better as a tv show than a book. In fact, it meant that there was very little suspense as we already knew exactly who did it all. There were also a tonne of plot holes throughout, though this may have been fixed prior to publication, and I found a lot of the dialogue to be a bit cringey, like you'd never hear anyone actually say those words aloud in real life.
Other than that, though, I didn't find myself slogging my way through the book and it was a relatively enjoyable read, so I will be picking up more by this author in the future!
Thanks to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an eARC in return for an honest review!
Want more sapphic books? You can find me here: Book Blog | Twitter | Instagram
This was my first book by Sheri Lewis Wohl and, although I didn't love my reading experience, it probably won't be my last. I've been meaning to pick up something by this author for a while now and so I jumped at the chance to read an ARC copy (even though I ended up getting to it a little late - oops!). This is a paranormal thriller featuring werewolves, which are two things in general that I don't read a lot of, so I was intrigued to see how Sheri Lewis Wohl would tackle it. I didn't love that from the beginning we knew who the killer was and got to see inside their head, and I think in this sense it might have worked better as a tv show than a book. In fact, it meant that there was very little suspense as we already knew exactly who did it all. There were also a tonne of plot holes throughout, though this may have been fixed prior to publication, and I found a lot of the dialogue to be a bit cringey, like you'd never hear anyone actually say those words aloud in real life.
Other than that, though, I didn't find myself slogging my way through the book and it was a relatively enjoyable read, so I will be picking up more by this author in the future!
Thanks to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an eARC in return for an honest review!
Want more sapphic books? You can find me here: Book Blog | Twitter | Instagram
khylabevibin's review against another edition
3.0
All that remains by Sheri Lewis Wohl follows search and rescue volunteer Johnnie Lancaster and forensic anthropologist Shantel Kind as they investigate a serial killer per the request of the sheriff office.
I don’t really have much to say about this book, it was a bit repetitive and inconsistent. First of all, why is the sheriff office getting two civilians involved in such a serious investigation? Yeah I know it seems as though they both have their connections to the sheriff office, it just doesn’t make sense. Its the need of the plot I guess. We also see the serial killers point of view in this which another reviewer mentioned added to the repetition and I agree. But also the fact that Shantel explained the same things over and over.
The character’s seemed a bit underdeveloped and the plot a bit lacking in certain places. The killer seemingly had a more complex build than the main characters. Any perfect book has the right mix of mystery, romance, thriller and humor. This book barely had two of those.
Now interesting enough, I really enjoyed this writing style. I imagine with a more sound plot I could really like this author.
Do I recommend? I’m not sure if I’m going to be honest. It was an okay read that could probably be a light one for anyone else.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in return for the honest review!
I don’t really have much to say about this book, it was a bit repetitive and inconsistent. First of all, why is the sheriff office getting two civilians involved in such a serious investigation? Yeah I know it seems as though they both have their connections to the sheriff office, it just doesn’t make sense. Its the need of the plot I guess. We also see the serial killers point of view in this which another reviewer mentioned added to the repetition and I agree. But also the fact that Shantel explained the same things over and over.
The character’s seemed a bit underdeveloped and the plot a bit lacking in certain places. The killer seemingly had a more complex build than the main characters. Any perfect book has the right mix of mystery, romance, thriller and humor. This book barely had two of those.
Now interesting enough, I really enjoyed this writing style. I imagine with a more sound plot I could really like this author.
Do I recommend? I’m not sure if I’m going to be honest. It was an okay read that could probably be a light one for anyone else.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in return for the honest review!
khieeae's review against another edition
3.0
All that remains by Sheri Lewis Wohl follows search and rescue volunteer Johnnie Lancaster and forensic anthropologist Shantel Kind as they investigate a serial killer per the request of the sheriff office.
I don’t really have much to say about this book, it was a bit repetitive and inconsistent. First of all, why is the sheriff office getting two civilians involved in such a serious investigation? Yeah I know it seems as though they both have their connections to the sheriff office, it just doesn’t make sense. Its the need of the plot I guess. We also see the serial killers point of view in this which another reviewer mentioned added to the repetition and I agree. But also the fact that Shantel explained the same things over and over.
The character’s seemed a bit underdeveloped and the plot a bit lacking in certain places. The killer seemingly had a more complex build than the main characters. Any perfect book has the right mix of mystery, romance, thriller and humor. This book barely had two of those.
Now interesting enough, I really enjoyed this writing style. I imagine with a more sound plot I could really like this author.
Do I recommend? I’m not sure if I’m going to be honest. It was an okay read that could probably be a light one for anyone else.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in return for the honest review!
I don’t really have much to say about this book, it was a bit repetitive and inconsistent. First of all, why is the sheriff office getting two civilians involved in such a serious investigation? Yeah I know it seems as though they both have their connections to the sheriff office, it just doesn’t make sense. Its the need of the plot I guess. We also see the serial killers point of view in this which another reviewer mentioned added to the repetition and I agree. But also the fact that Shantel explained the same things over and over.
The character’s seemed a bit underdeveloped and the plot a bit lacking in certain places. The killer seemingly had a more complex build than the main characters. Any perfect book has the right mix of mystery, romance, thriller and humor. This book barely had two of those.
Now interesting enough, I really enjoyed this writing style. I imagine with a more sound plot I could really like this author.
Do I recommend? I’m not sure if I’m going to be honest. It was an okay read that could probably be a light one for anyone else.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in return for the honest review!
onceupon_a_bookdream's review against another edition
2.0
[I received a digital arc for an honest review]
I don't even know where to start with this book except to say it was painfully boring. It was a mystery that stopped being a mystery a few chapters in when we are told who the killer is and given his point of view. I guess you could call it an FF romance, except there's not much of that there either.
The story , which I'm not going to describe because it was eye roll inducing, is told by alternating between the two female leads and the killer's POV. The killer whose homophobia is strong with comments such as " no chance that he'd fall for someone not 100% hetero". In all the books I have read where you see through the eyes of the killer there's a purpose to it. Whether to get the reader to sympathize with them in some way by revealing a tragic backstory or connect with them on some level, but that wasn't the case here. The killer is literally a psychopath. He's a werewolf, lone wolf, who thinks he's better than other werewolves and he's just the WORST. I found myself skimming through all his chapters, who cares about his "plans" or his job or his first kill. He's surprisingly stupid leaving one of our leads clues that he's the killer still thinking he'd get away with it , it just didn't make sense.
Then we have the paranormal aspect of the book which tried to be unique but ended up cliche and cheesy, so that didn't work for me either. The only thing that was mildly interesting was the relationship between Johnnie Lancaster and Shantel King. It's innocent and kind of sweet, they are intimate once but besides a kiss it's off page.
In the end , it was a sigh of relief to finish this book and unfortunately this author is just not for me.
I don't even know where to start with this book except to say it was painfully boring. It was a mystery that stopped being a mystery a few chapters in when we are told who the killer is and given his point of view. I guess you could call it an FF romance, except there's not much of that there either.
The story , which I'm not going to describe because it was eye roll inducing, is told by alternating between the two female leads and the killer's POV. The killer whose homophobia is strong with comments such as " no chance that he'd fall for someone not 100% hetero". In all the books I have read where you see through the eyes of the killer there's a purpose to it. Whether to get the reader to sympathize with them in some way by revealing a tragic backstory or connect with them on some level, but that wasn't the case here. The killer is literally a psychopath. He's a werewolf, lone wolf, who thinks he's better than other werewolves and he's just the WORST. I found myself skimming through all his chapters, who cares about his "plans" or his job or his first kill. He's surprisingly stupid leaving one of our leads clues that he's the killer still thinking he'd get away with it , it just didn't make sense.
Then we have the paranormal aspect of the book which tried to be unique but ended up cliche and cheesy, so that didn't work for me either. The only thing that was mildly interesting was the relationship between Johnnie Lancaster and Shantel King. It's innocent and kind of sweet, they are intimate once but besides a kiss it's off page.
In the end , it was a sigh of relief to finish this book and unfortunately this author is just not for me.
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