Reviews with content warning for Adult/minor relationship - What Have We Done

Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

What Have We Done by Alex Finlay

10 reviews

fanboyriot's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

Honestly I didn’t really care for this book. I couldn’t get into the plot and I just overall didn’t like the characters all that much.

Spice Level: n/a

POV: Multiple, Third Person

Release Date: 07, March 2023

Rep: n/a

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ksamaine95's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Great intro into Alex Finlay. Almost too many odd twists for me. But well played.

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coyotecasket's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

2.5

I did enjoy this book, but it was just okay to me. I enjoy books with multiple POVs, but this one fell a little flat for me. The author kept explaining the same events multiple times with different characters and it became very confusing to me. Also, the characters all seemed a little flat to me. We didn't really get what the characters very feeling, only what they were doing. It was very much "this happened, then this happened" instead of "this happened and these are the emotions I'm feeling as this chatacter" Something else that bothered me is that all of these characters are supposed to be from foster care and all of this... yet all of them basically won the lottery of life. We have a billionaire, a pretty successful Rockstar (washed up sure but he was making it big at one point), a producer of a hit show, a rich judge, and an ex assassin who married well. Im not saying this doesn't happen to foster care kids or that they can't be successful, but all 5 of them seems very far-fetched for me. Capitalism ya know. Furthermore, in a lot of the circumstances, it was obvious that the author was speaking from an outsiders perspective and didn't really understand how an addict or someone going through what the characters were going though would act.

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yvo_about_books's review against another edition

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4.0

Finished reading: September 14th 2023

“In the dark, the gentle boy utters the words none of them will ever forget: 'What have we done?'”

I'm a big fan of Alex Finlay's writing, and I've been looking forward to read his newest story. It's true that I was a bit worried when I saw the lowish rating, and I decided to go in with low expectations just in case... I shouldn't have worried though, because once again I ended up having an excellent time with his writing. I do understand why What Have We Done has a lower rating though, because it does have a different feel compared to his previous books. It's a story that won't work for everyone, but if you like your thrillers on the action-packed, dark and exhilarating side this is the book for you. It took me a little while to properly warm up to the plot, but once I did I was completely hooked. This is one of those books where it's just best to sit back and enjoy the ride... Things can be said about the credibility of it all and the plot being over the top, but it sure provides one heck of an entertaining ride. I loved learning more about the past as well as the present, and the multiple POV structure worked really well to add tension to the plot. What Have We Done will get pretty dark and twisted along the way, so make sure to brace yourself for a wild ride... There were also a couple twists I didn't see coming, which is always a bonus. All in all, while not my favorite Alex Finlay, I still had a blast reading this story.

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morethanmylupus's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

My face at the end of this book probably resembled the "mind exploding" emoji. I absolutely did not predict at least 2/3 of the big reveals at the end. This book kept me on my toes. This book has a rotating series of perspectives. We get the viewpoints of each of the individuals who lived in the very shady group home (all of whom have somehow done exceptionally well for themselves). We also get the viewpoint of the big bad's hired assassins. The plot dragged a bit in places and there were some details we didn't need and were probably supposed to be red herrings, but it didn't slow me down enough to feel inclined to stop reading.

Bottom line? Finlay, as always, delivered a thriller that I absolutely couldn't put down.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

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spaghettii's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense 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

4.5

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zosiablue's review

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dark tense medium-paced

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

3.25

A liiiiitle weak compared to his other stuff. I liked the orphan-turned-assassin & I think she could've had her own book - the rest got overly complicated and in the way. Also, it felt like most of the book was centered around the author's discovery of a cattle bolt stunner as a weapon. It was mentioned so many times that I never want to read about it again. Despite this, it was a page turner and it had heart. The final twist didn't really track but I'd read these characters again.

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amobrien's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

This is a fast-paced multi-POV thriller and while it is certainly entertaining, I found the characters to be a little hard to believe. They all seemed to have interesting individual lives and I feel like they had so much potential, but they were written one-dimensionally. My favorite perspective to read from was Jenna as we were able to see a bit more from her than the other characters, next was Donnie and last was Nico. If you love a good action story with some mystery, you might really enjoy this, but I prefer more character development in my stories so I found this to be lacking at times.

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

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justacatandabook's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-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

4.0

As kids, Nico, Benny, Jenna, and Donnie bonded at Savior House, a group home for kids. Their time there was full of trauma, as kids disappeared regularly, and they were bullied by the owner's son. However, they've all gone on to lead "regular" lives--with several of them even becoming famous. But soon they realize that someone is coming after them and has succeeded in killing Ben, a judge. As attempts are made on the others, the survivors must reunite and try to figure out why they are being targeted, even if it means returning to the horrors of Savior House.

I have come to really love Alex Finlay's books and while this one was a little different from the others I've read, it did share one trait: it was a total page turner. You have to suspend a little disbelief to fully enjoy WHAT HAVE WE DONE--it reminded me a little bit of a hellbent Rio Youers thriller at times. But it's a fun, crazy read and offers a great mystery.

DONE opens up with the Savior House kids committing a terrible deed as teens--jumping to their present-day lives, we see how that act (and their time at the home) has formed them into adults. We also can't help but wonder if the recent killing is related to what they've done. Not all of them are the most lovable characters, but each is interesting in their own way. We learn about Benny, a distinguished lawyer and judge, through his friends' memories. Nico is a producer for a reality show about coal miners (yup). Jenna has an interesting past and is concentrating on motherhood. And Donnie is a washed up rock star. While they might not all be close now, we see the power of their childhood friendship and how strong kids can be. The book covers some serious topics, including a range of abuse.

There's a lot going on in DONE and sometimes it seems like a little bit much. The short chapters always kept me reading, but the multiple POV and flashbacks to the group home could be overwhelming. Still, this was an exciting read that kept me guessing until the very end.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Minotaur Books in return for an unbiased review.

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rainbowbean's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

I received this as an eARC from NetGalley and St. Martins Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you both for this opportunity! There are no ending spoilers in this review.

I gave this 4.5⭐'s. Rounded up to 5 on Goodreads since they do not allow partial stars like Storygraph does. This was a fast paced excellent mystery.

+1⭐ Writing:

I found the chapters and writing both to flow together well. There's a lot to take in here and the author did a good job of weaving the story without being repetitive or infodumping. Language reads real and current.

+1⭐ World Building:

Excellent job of modern world building and showing not telling. Easy to place myself in the middle of this. Accurately describes the DMV area. lol.

+1⭐ Plot:

Excellent mystery with a very unique and intriguing story.

-.25⭐Plot Hole I was just slightly bothered by the lack of explanation surrounding the disappearance of the person killed in the past and also the whereabouts of the person nextdoor. It didn't ring n the story for me, just felt like that piece was missing.

Plot Twists:

I feel like I saw it coming, however there was enough to make me wonder if the twist would happen so I was still surprised.

+1⭐ Character Development:

Told from multiple POV's and I was here for every one of them. I wanted to put the pieces together so bad. Every chapter the characters' back and current story get even deeper. The character with the writer following him was a clever way to tell the backstory.

I enjoyed getting to know each of them.

-.25⭐ Representation:

A good bit of representation here across several groups. I really could have done without the slurs though. They were unnecessary and lost star points because of that.

+.5⭐Pace:

Full speed ahead this was a rapidly moving story I could not stop. It was so good I finished it the day I started it.

Ending:

Great and tidy but not annoying ending. I liked it.

Overall:

This could be adapted into an excellent mini series. I would watch it for sure. I would recommend reading and buying this. I would be interested in other works by this author.

(As always to be fair: I am extremely picky about purchasing books for my limited shelf space and choose 4-5 stars from my personal ratings and only if I love it, want my children to read some day, or want to re-read.)

Trigger Warnings:

LGBTQIA+ Slurs

Human Trafficking

Rape

Child Abuse

Torture/Violence

EDITING FEEDBACK: Does not affect my rating as this is an eARC that clearly states it is still in the copyedit process.

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