Reviews with content warning for Murder - Infamous

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Infamous by Lex Croucher

18 reviews

laurel616's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Was the protagonist the densest, least observant person imaginable? Yes. Did I for some reason still love her? Also yes. I really liked this book, and I felt like the ending was very satisfying. There were some plot threads that completely dropped off, but nothing that overly bothered me.

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jodiexmae's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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fictionalportal's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A fun read for the most part, though the protagonist Eddie is very difficult to stick with after a point. It's worth mentioning a few major content warnings, since the tone of the book shifts very abruptly in the third act. Spoilers below.

The way Eddie speak to her love interest, Rose, is rather lacking in empathy and a touch manipulative at times, which makes it hard to get into their relationship at first. This dynamic does shift over the course of the book, fortunately. Early on, Eddie often says things like "You don't feel this way, do you?" rather than asking a straightforward question. I understand that she's relatively young, but her voice read more consistently like a sixteen year old than a twenty-two year old in terms of emotional maturity.

Massive content warning for multiple instances of non-consensual sexual advances and attempted sexual assault. There's also a very confusing sequence fueled by hallucinogenic mushrooms that really ruined the last part of the book for me. In short, the main character is coerced into doing shrooms, and then it's unclear whether she hallucinates being assaulted or if she's actually assaulted. Then she hallucinates the man who tried to assault her shooting someone who interfered during the incident. Tonally, it didn't fit at all with the rest of the book, and honestly it was a very upsetting turn for an otherwise very lighthearted and fun story.

Overall, I enjoyed this book up until the last 80 or so pages, including the lackluster epilogue. The book is very well written, the dialogue is compelling, and the characters have really strong voices, but it seemed like the author ran out of ideas for plot and needed to contrive a way to raise the stakes at the end. While there was character- and plot-based setup for the events that occurred in those last 80 pages, it didn't feel necessary to go that direction, and it really tarnished an otherwise very enjoyable read for me.

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celisabell's review against another edition

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challenging funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Couldn't stop reading it. I loved both of Lex's novels.

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heather_freshparchment's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I had mixed feelings about Lex Croucher's first book, but I am a sucker for Regency historical fiction, so I entered this book with a little bit of trepidation. I actually liked this one better! Eddie is a completely unlikeable main character and yet Croucher lets you feel close to her and care about her welfare - an incredible feat! The bacchanalia felt well-balanced by (mostly) sober daytime adventures, too, and the racial and sexual/gender diversity felt truer to Regency culture and still ring true to modern society. The brief references to real historical figures, like William Wilberforce and Mary Shelley and characters very much modeled on Anne Lister or who were probably influenced by Rousseau and Wollstonecraft kept me grounded in the period. The villain was a believable scoundrel (even if his last appearance was a bit melodramatic), and the heroine got to go on a very Austen-esque journey of self-discovery. A very enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to more, if there will be more from this world.

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