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marigale's review against another edition
4.0
This got a little slow towards the middle-ish, but then picked up almost frantically (though perhaps a little predictably - but maybe that's the point) again at the end. The very beginning unfolds slowly with some really beautiful, descriptive writing. Very dark and violent, but also excellent. Also: it's a book about lesbians Doing Things without being angsty about being queer, which is awesome.
vkshiro's review against another edition
3.0
Unfortunately, I had read the second book of this series first, when it was released. So I knew what was going to happen at the end of this book. I also figured out pretty early on who the "bad guy" was. I definitely think I would have enjoyed this book more if I hadn't read the 2nd book first.
One gripe I have, that I often have with books/movies, is when characters fall madly, deeply in love in a very short time. Sure, it's possible to fall in love that quickly but love has to prove itself over time. Anybody can "love" someone for a week, for a month but what about for a year? For a decade? That's real love and if it's taken away, that's real pain.
All of that being said, I did like the book, and liked Aud better once she got to Norway. I'll re-read the second book of this series and am looking forward the the last book.
One gripe I have, that I often have with books/movies, is when characters fall madly, deeply in love in a very short time. Sure, it's possible to fall in love that quickly but love has to prove itself over time. Anybody can "love" someone for a week, for a month but what about for a year? For a decade? That's real love and if it's taken away, that's real pain.
All of that being said, I did like the book, and liked Aud better once she got to Norway. I'll re-read the second book of this series and am looking forward the the last book.
eatenbysharks's review against another edition
3.0
Beautifully written in terms of description and imagery but I found the story hard to break through.
airrhodes's review against another edition
4.0
SPOILERS! Sad sad sad sad sad... Why does the writer have to be so good as to make me utterly sympathize with the main character (Aud) so as to become her in the story, and through her fall in love with the perfect Julia, only to lose her and have my heart broken? SAD SAD SAD! Why can't there be a lesbian story with a happy ending?
justiceofkalr's review against another edition
3.0
Okay, so most of this book was just kind of meh for me and then that ending just ripped my heart out and mercilessly crushed it, which made me like the book a lot better. One problem that I had with most of the book was it seemed liked it was just too split between being a mystery and a romance and both of them suffered for it. The mystery isn't that hard to figure out and the romance seems to just kind of happen out of nowhere and go straight to instalove. I'd rather it had focused on one or the other more instead of letting them both suffer.
poachedeggs's review against another edition
3.0
Griffith is great at communicating a sense of place - whether it's the fjords of Norway or the humidity of Atlanta she is describing. This read easily, with a flow to the violence that is hypnotically poetic.
I felt that the plot was a little messy though - bits and pieces of this and that were woven into Aud's narrative as she hurtled from escorting a shy Spaniard daughter-of-a-Minister to advertising agencies to her nightmares to flying over the Atlantic with her new-found mate. The mystery was not too compelling, and nor was Aud herself, unfortunately. The surface of this story is sleek, shiny, and I can't quite see beneath it.
I felt that the plot was a little messy though - bits and pieces of this and that were woven into Aud's narrative as she hurtled from escorting a shy Spaniard daughter-of-a-Minister to advertising agencies to her nightmares to flying over the Atlantic with her new-found mate. The mystery was not too compelling, and nor was Aud herself, unfortunately. The surface of this story is sleek, shiny, and I can't quite see beneath it.
foggy_rosamund's review against another edition
3.0
Have you ever wanted to either be or date a six-foot tall Norwegian lesbian who knows 100 different ways to kill a person? Then is this ever the book for you! Aud is wealthy, sophisticated, intelligent, strong and quick-thinking. She is emotionally distant from everyone around here, but when Julia, a beautiful young art dealer, asks her for help, Aud can't help but be drawn in. This book feels very much like wish-fulfillment: Aud is a superhero character, larger-than-life. Unfortunately for me, I've never either wanted to be or date Aud, and her lack of moral accountability makes me uncomfortable, but I can see how this book could be extremely cathartic. Griffith is also a skillful writer, who manages to create some truly beautiful moments -- both in her descriptions of place and landscape, and in her evocation of emotion. I found this book compelling and enjoyable, even though it didn't really feel like it was for me.
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
3.0
Huh. Not really sure what I expected from this one. The author had written two well known well thought of sf books, that I remember liking. And that was it until it recently. So I figured I'd chase down what I missed. Which apparently included this thriller set in Atlanta and Norway. The Atlanta parts had me checking maps - I apparently lived like 5 blocks from Aud during the time this book took place. The writing was good, the characters believable and the sense of location strong and fun. But I saw the ending coming a long way off and that's never a good thing. And this really isn't what I'm looking for in a book. But not bad and definitely readable and I'll likely read the sequel.
reasie's review against another edition
3.0
It was as interesting as I'd hoped? A good brainless thriller, but I couldn't really relate to the main character.