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becca_todaro's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It was obvious who all the players were and that had to be quite a bit suspension of disbelief to read this
ameserole's review against another edition
3.0
Swipe Right for Murder was a pretty interesting and entertaining book. It definitely had a ton of action from start to finish but sometimes I still felt a bit bored with what was going on. Or maybe a little confused as to why something happened the way it did. Either way, I finished it and still thought it was a pretty good book.
In it, you will meet Aidan. Eh, he was an okay character that went through some pretty shitty situations. Or dealt with a lot of rough stuff in his life. Not sure how I would feel if I lost a sibling like he did.. but for some reason I couldn't fully connect with him. Maybe it's because of the spy-like things he did.. that didn't make sense to me. Kind of made him seem like he's the kid-version of John Wick.
If you've seen any of the movies, they all mentioned that he killed someone with a pencil. A PENCIL! So yeah, I can see that happening.. but a paperclip? Not so much. Unless that paperclip was attached to a bomb.. then maybe.
Then there's the mafia.. oh man. I honestly have nothing to say about it.. but I just couldn't get behind that one bit. Especially because they seemed like a complete hot mess throughout the book.
In the end, I was shocked by what happened and a bit confused as well. All I can say is that this was a very interesting book..
In it, you will meet Aidan. Eh, he was an okay character that went through some pretty shitty situations. Or dealt with a lot of rough stuff in his life. Not sure how I would feel if I lost a sibling like he did.. but for some reason I couldn't fully connect with him. Maybe it's because of the spy-like things he did.. that didn't make sense to me. Kind of made him seem like he's the kid-version of John Wick.
If you've seen any of the movies, they all mentioned that he killed someone with a pencil. A PENCIL! So yeah, I can see that happening.. but a paperclip? Not so much. Unless that paperclip was attached to a bomb.. then maybe.
Then there's the mafia.. oh man. I honestly have nothing to say about it.. but I just couldn't get behind that one bit. Especially because they seemed like a complete hot mess throughout the book.
In the end, I was shocked by what happened and a bit confused as well. All I can say is that this was a very interesting book..
jamiedee24's review against another edition
3.0
This book was an absolute mess. But I loved it. It was funny but also ridiculous with an over the top plot that included spies, drones, dead men, messy families, and a whole lot of queerness. If you want to laugh at something that is both amusing and absurd, this is the book for you. How did a seemingly innocent hook up lead to being chased by both the FBI and a cult that takes out homophobes? You'll have to read to find out. Ha.
paragraphsandpages's review against another edition
2.0
This book was a lot, and not in a good way. It's kind of disappointing because I felt like it had a really strong start, but it just didn't follow through for me (or followed through way too much).
I love betrayals in thrillers, especially when they keep you so unsure of the side characters around the MC (and sometimes even unsure of the MC themselves), that you also have no idea who to trust, and what's going to happen next. This book definitely achieved that, but unfortunately, it just kept on going beyond that. It overshot the mark of 'uncomfortably aware of how untrustworthy everyone is' straight on to 'I can't even keep track of it all anymore, so what does it even matter.' It was here the book fully lost me, as the confusion could've made me enjoy the book even beyond the other issues I had with it.
I think I overall liked having LGBTQ+ history and issues being the core of this book, even beyond just having a few queer characters, but it felt a little heavy-handed at points too. I like that our main character struggled with the morality of the situation he found himself in, and that the book tried to tackle the 'is it really a crime if the victim deserved it?' without leaning too far into victim-blaming, but sadly this dilemma was solved by just making the villain commit crimes against innocents too, thereby nullifying any potential for him to be empathized with.
I also felt mildly uncomfortable the entire time due to the many minor/adult relationships/romantic or sexual encounters in this book, and while the book sort of tries to wrap this up properly in the end, the middle either ignored the ramifications of it too much or weirdly worded it. It wasn't even until the end that the MC really admitted there was something wrong with these relationships, and his role as a victim in them, which can be fair enough on it's own. However, it's coupled with the main character's friends constantly talking about how he's reckless and constantly getting himself into these difficult situations (often being relationships/encounters with older men) that sometimes came off as victim-blamey, and this was never really reconciled. I definitely feel like this aspect was done better than in some other books I've read, but I still didn't like it.
Overall, this book was a wild ride, and I feel like it could've been a pretty good read if it just toned it down a little bit more. I'm generally able to suspend disbelief in these sorts of stories, but there's always that tipping point where I go 'oh come on, that's just too much now', and unfortunately this book shot straight past that.
I love betrayals in thrillers, especially when they keep you so unsure of the side characters around the MC (and sometimes even unsure of the MC themselves), that you also have no idea who to trust, and what's going to happen next. This book definitely achieved that, but unfortunately, it just kept on going beyond that. It overshot the mark of 'uncomfortably aware of how untrustworthy everyone is' straight on to 'I can't even keep track of it all anymore, so what does it even matter.' It was here the book fully lost me, as the confusion could've made me enjoy the book even beyond the other issues I had with it.
I think I overall liked having LGBTQ+ history and issues being the core of this book, even beyond just having a few queer characters, but it felt a little heavy-handed at points too. I like that our main character struggled with the morality of the situation he found himself in, and that the book tried to tackle the 'is it really a crime if the victim deserved it?' without leaning too far into victim-blaming, but sadly this dilemma was solved by just making the villain commit crimes against innocents too, thereby nullifying any potential for him to be empathized with.
I also felt mildly uncomfortable the entire time due to the many minor/adult relationships/romantic or sexual encounters in this book, and while the book sort of tries to wrap this up properly in the end, the middle either ignored the ramifications of it too much or weirdly worded it. It wasn't even until the end that the MC really admitted there was something wrong with these relationships, and his role as a victim in them, which can be fair enough on it's own. However, it's coupled with the main character's friends constantly talking about how he's reckless and constantly getting himself into these difficult situations (often being relationships/encounters with older men) that sometimes came off as victim-blamey, and this was never really reconciled. I definitely feel like this aspect was done better than in some other books I've read, but I still didn't like it.
Overall, this book was a wild ride, and I feel like it could've been a pretty good read if it just toned it down a little bit more. I'm generally able to suspend disbelief in these sorts of stories, but there's always that tipping point where I go 'oh come on, that's just too much now', and unfortunately this book shot straight past that.
mango123's review against another edition
3.0
This is a fun quasi-suspense novel, as long as you're willing to suspend your disbelief and ignore a few plot holes.
shespeakslyrics's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyable. But just eh. Not a whole lot stood out to me.
jayyduhh's review against another edition
4.0
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Still shocked I won my copy from a Goodreads giveaway! I was excited to sit down and read this book. Murder, a cult, random hookups - all thrilling topics. The story line is fast paced and kept my attention but at some points I found myself questioning how likely it would be for the events to happen in real life.
Still shocked I won my copy from a Goodreads giveaway! I was excited to sit down and read this book. Murder, a cult, random hookups - all thrilling topics. The story line is fast paced and kept my attention but at some points I found myself questioning how likely it would be for the events to happen in real life.
shemyshines98's review against another edition
5.0
I finished this book in 3 days! Definitely not what I expected. Aidan is this gay, snarky, sarcastic but very caring guy. Who gets caught up in some messed up shit. And I mean, some very messed up shit. Each time I thought "Ok, after this, everything will be fine! " Not! He gets more tangled up in the shit and from a readers standpoint, it is thrilling. For some reason, what I like about the ending was that Aidan gave us an update on what was life for him afterward. I liked to be filled in! When I read books, characters are no longer just characters to me, they're real, especially if I relate to them. Overall, I loved this book! Definitely adding it to my library.
Fav quotes: " I feel too much for people, even awful people, because they're just people. Human beings are frightened ignorant complex creatures."
" But we can't hold on to so much fury that we succumb to pure evil and become worse than those we hate. Then WE'RE the hypocrites."
Fav quotes: " I feel too much for people, even awful people, because they're just people. Human beings are frightened ignorant complex creatures."
" But we can't hold on to so much fury that we succumb to pure evil and become worse than those we hate. Then WE'RE the hypocrites."