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sarah984's review
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
This was a very weird book experience for me. I thought the concept of a group of teenage girls working together on a high seas heist sounded fun and exciting, but unfortunately somehow not much happens. The characters are all kind of bland and same-y (except that one had this constant low key racist mental monologue going on, which was kind of weird for a character who was clearly meant to be sympathetic) and a lot of things are glossed over. The characters made inexplicable decisions (why would seeing a scary guy heading your way make you decide to get out of the life boat?????) and the use of real people felt borderline disrespectful, particularly matron Wallis (who steals something from one of the girls for no reason) and Phillips.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, Death, and Confinement
Minor: Body shaming, Classism, Misogyny, Racism, and Abandonment
evelynyle_88's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? No
5.0
HELLA...
This book came out of my mind eventually. I didn't know why suddenly I want to read or listen to it. The crossover between Titanic and Ocean's 8 make it intriguing. I love the process of understanding every characters.
Josefa; the thief... I love her so much even sometimes I feel like her strategy is risky for four of them. But, I must say... she's brilliant.
Violet; the actress... if not for her brother... I am sure; she won't join Josefa's crazy idea to board on a ship like that
Both Hinnah and Emilie... sometimes I feel conflicted but, I love them being rational.. especially Emilie and her fear.
Overall, this book gave me different feel of historical fiction should like... but I also love the heist part. Great job, Adiba!
This book came out of my mind eventually. I didn't know why suddenly I want to read or listen to it. The crossover between Titanic and Ocean's 8 make it intriguing. I love the process of understanding every characters.
Josefa; the thief... I love her so much even sometimes I feel like her strategy is risky for four of them. But, I must say... she's brilliant.
Violet; the actress... if not for her brother... I am sure; she won't join Josefa's crazy idea to board on a ship like that
Both Hinnah and Emilie... sometimes I feel conflicted but, I love them being rational.. especially Emilie and her fear.
Overall, this book gave me different feel of historical fiction should like... but I also love the heist part. Great job, Adiba!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Classism, and Confinement
Moderate: Violence, Death of parent, and Racism
Minor: Sexism, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
imstephtacular's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Abandonment, Child death, and Death
roseamongstories's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
A heist by four ingenious young women aboard the infamous Titanic? Count me in!! This book's premise and cover alone can attract any reader who's parched for an adventure that features a sapphic romance subplot.
However, I hate to admit that this one felt rather short of the grand heist it promised. Top of mind, here are the reasons why I think the book could be better:
However, I hate to admit that this one felt rather short of the grand heist it promised. Top of mind, here are the reasons why I think the book could be better:
- The sapphic romance is too insta-lovey for me; either that, or I have outgrown the formulaic will they-won't they-trope in YA romance.
- The execution of the actual heist was rather juvenile and very convenient, in favor of our MCs. I guess that's why this is labeled as YA. But I would have liked more and higher stakes (not including the impending doom the passengers of the ship will suffer though, of course)
- The short chapters lent to the characters being less fleshed-out and more like caricatures and 2D sketches. Most of the characters' motivations in participating in the heist were clear, but it was made to appear that all their personalities just revolved around one single thing, namely:
- Josefa, finally getting to avenge for himself and taking down an old friend turned archenemy
- Violet, with her longing to be with her brother, which ultimately
led to her demise, which still saddens me tbh - Hinnah, with her thirst for finally belonging and having someone to call family, after being shunned by her own <spoiler alert!!>
her death shook me - Emilie and her desire to make peace with her father's death and re-connecting with art
The above motivations were laid out clearly, like crystal, alright. But it seemed like apart from the heist, it felt like nothing else was going on with them, which I think, if we were to be historically accurate, would be far from the truth. I just wished the author gave us more ground to root for these characters!!
I read this one as an audiobook so take everything I say with a grain of salt. Either I was fast asleep when one of my points of contention above was actually satisfied in the novel, or I was too focused on the other activity I was doing while listening, to care enough for what was happening. Which already says a lot about the story as a whole.
All in all, I appreciate that a more diverse take on the otherwise euro-centric story of Titanic is out there and accessible to many. But it left me with so much to be desired. I might as well rewatch Our Flag Means Death for that swashbuckling queer romance yearning to be sated.
All in all, I appreciate that a more diverse take on the otherwise euro-centric story of Titanic is out there and accessible to many. But it left me with so much to be desired. I might as well rewatch Our Flag Means Death for that swashbuckling queer romance yearning to be sated.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Racism, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship
novelty_reads's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
When someone mentioned the words "heist" and "the Titanic" in the same sentence, I just knew I had to read A Million to One.
I was immediately drawn to the premise. Having read this author's debut, The Henna Wars and having enjoying that, I was sure this book would be a delight. You should've seen me when I got the e-galley copy, I was over the moon and excited to start reading.
Unfortunately, this seemed to be a case where the concept didn't match up with the execution.
The book follows four girls, con artist and leader of the group, Josefa, circus performer, Hinnah, actress, Violet and aspiring artist, Emilie who board the Titanic to steal a rare and priceless book, The Rubaiyat from one of the First Class passengers. I was expecting a fast paced novel, high stakes and a slow romantic build up (since I knew there would be a sapphic pairing months before reading). But unfortunately, this book didn't live up to my expectations.
For starters, I had a few issues connecting with the characters. With Josefa, from the very start she annoyed me for some reason, and the way she was trying to get the girls to join her on her heist for the Rubaiyat just irked me. If you're trying to get someone to join you on a dangerous mission, especially when two of the said people joining you, you've never really talked to before, please sell their part in the mission as more than just "we need you, I've seen the work you do, there is nobody else in the world who can do [blank] as well as you can!" I don't know... if I were those girls I think I would've refused straight away. It takes a lot of trust and loyalty to a person to literally put your life on the line for them and for them to do so, and so willingly for someone they could classify as a stranger didn't really make sense to me. Even though the backstories were revealed as to why they were willing to go on this heist, to me, it didn't seem justifiable enough, especially for some of the other characters.
I didn't mind Hinnah and Emilie's characters but I still didn't feel connected to them despite the elaborate backstories about their personal lives. Violet was probably the character I connected to the most and even that is a far stretch. She had a brother she left in Croatia who she was trying to help and support as much as she could and I could see that desperate love in every chapter in which she mentioned Marko. But that being said, there were a few parts to her character that I didn't understand. She seemed to be very prickly towards Emilie for no real reason and it seemed like a petty sort of hatred, kind of like the two girls were pitted against each other for no other reason than dramatic purpose. At one point I thought how cool it would be if Violet and Emilie ended up in a relationship together as an enemies-to-lovers/grumpy-sunshine couple, having to work together against all odds to steal the Rubaiyat. The drama would've made more sense then, but unfortunately no reasoning apart from an annoyance at having an amateur con artist to help execute the heist, was used to justify Violet's unfair treatment towards Emilie.
Being a high stakes book featuring a heist, I would've expected the book to have been quite fast paced and action packed. The book however, followed a rhythm which looked something like 200 pages being on developing the characters and letting the reader in to their backstories and the last 74 pages being fast paced as the plot (and Titanic's unfortunate fate) played out which arguably was the most adrenaline filled part. I wished the high stakes and suspense of whether their plan would succeed or fail was continued throughout the entire book because by the time the book picked up the pacing, I just wasn't interested anymore. Because the start of the book fell so flat, I found I wasn't as emotionally invested in August's pursuit of the girls and the ultimate fate of their heist and their lives. When the ending occurred, while it was sad, I was so disinterested that the emotional aspects of the books didn't pack an emotional punch as much as I would've liked.
Now onto the romance. I felt like it was rushed. The two girls wanted to get to know each other and they already had some feelings developed before the events of the book, but the romance felt incredibly surface level without a desired build up of chemistry or romantic tension which I hungered for. I must admit though, the epilogue was very cute and it actually was the best part by far of the entire book.
The other aspect of note was that I never felt truly transported to the world of 1912 Ireland and the Titanic. The setting was never really prominent not when the girls were still living in their Irish boarding house nor when they were on the Titanic among more wealth than they have ever seen in their lives. Considering these girls came from poverty and from the poorer areas of Ireland, I would've expected more emphasis on the decadence of the Titanic to create this sort of fantasy-like dream of a ship, but that historical allure was barely there at all and I felt the remnants of a missed opportunity here.
All in all, I really wanted to love this book, it was a hotly anticipated novel for me but it unfortunately fell flat a bit with the pacing, romance, characters and setting. I do see a lot of things other readers may like, after all, a book sometimes isn't for everyone. Sadly, that is the case with me and A Million to One.
ACTUAL RATING: 2 STARS
When someone mentioned the words "heist" and "the Titanic" in the same sentence, I just knew I had to read A Million to One.
I was immediately drawn to the premise. Having read this author's debut, The Henna Wars and having enjoying that, I was sure this book would be a delight. You should've seen me when I got the e-galley copy, I was over the moon and excited to start reading.
Unfortunately, this seemed to be a case where the concept didn't match up with the execution.
The book follows four girls, con artist and leader of the group, Josefa, circus performer, Hinnah, actress, Violet and aspiring artist, Emilie who board the Titanic to steal a rare and priceless book, The Rubaiyat from one of the First Class passengers. I was expecting a fast paced novel, high stakes and a slow romantic build up (since I knew there would be a sapphic pairing months before reading). But unfortunately, this book didn't live up to my expectations.
For starters, I had a few issues connecting with the characters. With Josefa, from the very start she annoyed me for some reason, and the way she was trying to get the girls to join her on her heist for the Rubaiyat just irked me. If you're trying to get someone to join you on a dangerous mission, especially when two of the said people joining you, you've never really talked to before, please sell their part in the mission as more than just "we need you, I've seen the work you do, there is nobody else in the world who can do [blank] as well as you can!" I don't know... if I were those girls I think I would've refused straight away. It takes a lot of trust and loyalty to a person to literally put your life on the line for them and for them to do so, and so willingly for someone they could classify as a stranger didn't really make sense to me. Even though the backstories were revealed as to why they were willing to go on this heist, to me, it didn't seem justifiable enough, especially for some of the other characters.
I didn't mind Hinnah and Emilie's characters but I still didn't feel connected to them despite the elaborate backstories about their personal lives. Violet was probably the character I connected to the most and even that is a far stretch. She had a brother she left in Croatia who she was trying to help and support as much as she could and I could see that desperate love in every chapter in which she mentioned Marko. But that being said, there were a few parts to her character that I didn't understand. She seemed to be very prickly towards Emilie for no real reason and it seemed like a petty sort of hatred, kind of like the two girls were pitted against each other for no other reason than dramatic purpose. At one point I thought how cool it would be if Violet and Emilie ended up in a relationship together as an enemies-to-lovers/grumpy-sunshine couple, having to work together against all odds to steal the Rubaiyat. The drama would've made more sense then, but unfortunately no reasoning apart from an annoyance at having an amateur con artist to help execute the heist, was used to justify Violet's unfair treatment towards Emilie.
Being a high stakes book featuring a heist, I would've expected the book to have been quite fast paced and action packed. The book however, followed a rhythm which looked something like 200 pages being on developing the characters and letting the reader in to their backstories and the last 74 pages being fast paced as the plot (and Titanic's unfortunate fate) played out which arguably was the most adrenaline filled part. I wished the high stakes and suspense of whether their plan would succeed or fail was continued throughout the entire book because by the time the book picked up the pacing, I just wasn't interested anymore. Because the start of the book fell so flat, I found I wasn't as emotionally invested in August's pursuit of the girls and the ultimate fate of their heist and their lives. When the ending occurred, while it was sad, I was so disinterested that the emotional aspects of the books didn't pack an emotional punch as much as I would've liked.
Now onto the romance. I felt like it was rushed. The two girls wanted to get to know each other and they already had some feelings developed before the events of the book, but the romance felt incredibly surface level without a desired build up of chemistry or romantic tension which I hungered for. I must admit though, the epilogue was very cute and it actually was the best part by far of the entire book.
The other aspect of note was that I never felt truly transported to the world of 1912 Ireland and the Titanic. The setting was never really prominent not when the girls were still living in their Irish boarding house nor when they were on the Titanic among more wealth than they have ever seen in their lives. Considering these girls came from poverty and from the poorer areas of Ireland, I would've expected more emphasis on the decadence of the Titanic to create this sort of fantasy-like dream of a ship, but that historical allure was barely there at all and I felt the remnants of a missed opportunity here.
All in all, I really wanted to love this book, it was a hotly anticipated novel for me but it unfortunately fell flat a bit with the pacing, romance, characters and setting. I do see a lot of things other readers may like, after all, a book sometimes isn't for everyone. Sadly, that is the case with me and A Million to One.
ACTUAL RATING: 2 STARS
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Body shaming, Confinement, Grief, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Abandonment, Racism, and Violence
rivulet027's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-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? Yes
5.0
I’ve been excited about this book since I first read about it on Twitter. It deserves so much hype! I’m a huge fan of Leverage and this felt very if Leverage pulled a heist off on the Titanic, with a bonus developing wlw pairing.
The four young women are amazing! Josefa is an accomplished thief who makes plans to steal a jewel encrusted book of poetry that’s being transported on the Titanic. Violet is an actress who often works with Josefa to supplement her income. She’s desperate to get enough money to support herself and her brother Marco, who’s about to age out of the orphanage he’d been abandoned to. Hinnah is an acrobat struggling to believe in herself. I loved discovering her backstory and her journey to becoming confident in herself. Emilie is an artist grieving the loss of her father. I loved this look at grief and how it affected Emilie and her artwork. I also loved the developing relationship between Josefa and Emilie. Adding in found family, a revenge plot, and a countdown to when the Titanic sinks made me wish I’d had the time to listen to it in one sitting! The ending was amazing, both sad and hopeful.
The audiobook I listened to was a computer generated narration, which meant that it was read without emphasis, so I’m really looking forward to listening to it again when it comes out with the actual narrator in December. I’ve already pre-ordered a copy and recommended it to my local library.
Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the advanced review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Death
Minor: Abandonment, Classism, and Sexism
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