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cait's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, Gore, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Cursing, Violence, Body shaming, Cancer, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Grief
atamano's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Grief, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Sexism
Minor: Abandonment
thebakerbookworm's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This book had such an intriguing premise—female assassins in their sixties who are suddenly being hunted by their own organization? Sign me up! However, the execution here left much to be desired.
First off, we have four main characters but we only spend time in the head of one of them, and I thought this really made it hard to get to know our characters. The other three felt interchangeable to me, and even the narrator didn't do much to make me care for her or believe she cared for anyone else. The present storyline is interspersed with flashback scenes, and I enjoyed the trips to the past, where we see more of the assassins and learn a bit more about their motivations. That being said, their motivations never get much development beyond "troubled childhood and recruited at eighteen." I guess I wanted a deeper introspection into these characters' lives among all the action, and that's not what this book is.
I read this for a buddy chat and during our discussion someone pointed out that this book might make a better movie, and I agree! I think this kind of story would work better on the screen. I lot of it was hard for me to imagine too, and I couldn't figure out if it was a me-problem or the writing style.
Anyways, I'd probably still recommend if you're into the premise, but I would just caution that it might not live up to the idea you have in your head.
First off, we have four main characters but we only spend time in the head of one of them, and I thought this really made it hard to get to know our characters. The other three felt interchangeable to me, and even the narrator didn't do much to make me care for her or believe she cared for anyone else. The present storyline is interspersed with flashback scenes, and I enjoyed the trips to the past, where we see more of the assassins and learn a bit more about their motivations. That being said, their motivations never get much development beyond "troubled childhood and recruited at eighteen." I guess I wanted a deeper introspection into these characters' lives among all the action, and that's not what this book is.
I read this for a buddy chat and during our discussion someone pointed out that this book might make a better movie, and I agree! I think this kind of story would work better on the screen. I lot of it was hard for me to imagine too, and I couldn't figure out if it was a me-problem or the writing style.
Anyways, I'd probably still recommend if you're into the premise, but I would just caution that it might not live up to the idea you have in your head.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Gun violence
Moderate: Sexism and Grief
Minor: Cancer and Pregnancy
bwwilhelm's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I didn't know I needed a book about retiring lady assassins in their 60s, but here we are. And it was *good*. Funny and cathartic and genuine in that way that only really excellent fiction can be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, and Death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, and Cursing
Minor: Gun violence, Cancer, and Fire/Fire injury
It's a book about assassins. There's plenty of violence and death, but none of it really feels gratuitous.chaotically_katie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Violence, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Blood, Misogyny, Grief, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Cancer, Death, Sexism, Cursing, Chronic illness, and Sexual assault
There are Nazis mentioned. There’s onemelodyseestrees's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Blood, Cursing, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence
Moderate: Drug use, Sexism, Grief, Misogyny, Abandonment, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Cancer, Racism, and Pregnancy
helliepad's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
A charming story! It delivered its premise of "retired female assassins get targeted by their company. actions to follow" good enough that it kept me reading. The sheer novelty of reading about old women kicking ass and taking names is great, and while the book didn't have much drama or tension between its main characters, it was fine, because they were facing enough challenges due to their age and the amount of action it takes to get through a simple mission of theirs.
What I love most about the stories is how kind it is to women, and the relationships they formed. The main characters have been assassins for over four decades. I love the little bits of history, of grief from dead people and love at the wrong time. There are sexually active old women, a heavily pregnant woman in charge of heavy operations, a teenage girl doing her best, a childless woman who survived their partner, a childless woman with her wife and their cat, a childless woman who chose career over love— and they weren't shamed by the narrative for their characters. Indeed, there weren't any serious academic discussions about sexism and misogyny and ageism although the women do experience it, and yet it doesn't matter because that's not the point of the book.
The point of the book was to show these senior citizens bludgeon and lie and cheat and work together to get their rightful pensions– and the book delivers beautifully on that end. 👏
What I love most about the stories is how kind it is to women, and the relationships they formed. The main characters have been assassins for over four decades. I love the little bits of history, of grief from dead people and love at the wrong time. There are sexually active old women, a heavily pregnant woman in charge of heavy operations, a teenage girl doing her best, a childless woman who survived their partner, a childless woman with her wife and their cat, a childless woman who chose career over love— and they weren't shamed by the narrative for their characters. Indeed, there weren't any serious academic discussions about sexism and misogyny and ageism although the women do experience it, and yet it doesn't matter because that's not the point of the book.
The point of the book was to show these senior citizens bludgeon and lie and cheat and work together to get their rightful pensions– and the book delivers beautifully on that end. 👏
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Blood and Violence
Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Misogyny, and Sexism
paulasnotsosecretdiary's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The girl gang of my middle-aged dreams. Five women, trained killers, must put their skills to the test when they become targets for assassination by the agency that employs them. Through flashbacks, readers learn how these women came to be killers and how they were trained. Once on the run, the women must learn to trust each other again after their resources are stolen and their covers burned. While we learn something about each killer, some characters' backgrounds are filled in better than others. Still, an exciting well-paced story about never underestimating or undervaluing older women.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Blood, Gore, and Sexism
serena_hien's review
adventurous
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Violence, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Grief
starglitters's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Fun, funny, and entertaining. It was a nice lighthearted read; the characters work really well together, and their dynamics with one another is one of the highlights of the book. The action was great, the way they execute their assassination was very fun to read.
It was, in general, an okay enough read. I think I was mostly disappointed as the premise was highly promising but the execution was quite underwhelming. The plot, while really fun and satisfying, was predictable enough. … To be honest, my one disappointment is the motive of the main antagonists’. It was definitely commonplace and believable enough, but let’s be honest, there are a lot of conflicts that could be focused on from a Western-centric spy/assassin agency’s constant intervention in non-Western countries. But I understand that it would have made this book a very different type of book.
This would however make a fantastic movie. I really hope it gets a movie adaptation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Grief, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Cancer, Pregnancy, and Grief