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veereading's review
1.0
I really wanted to like this novel. The beginning of this story was full of excitement and I got a rush from reading about their hasty flight out of town. This story was told from the perspective of both Oliver and Kaia, which I thought was a nice touch; we get to see what the assassins' daughter feels and the civilian. However, the longer I kept reading, the more incredulous I found the whole thing. There are so many things that happen to them, so many weird connections made, and things just didn't add up. At various points in the story, I had to put the book down and just try to move past all of the inconsistencies. While there was definitely tons of action, I felt no connection with the characters, and just couldn't get into this absurd plot. For me, this novel did not live up to expectations.
I received this novel as an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received this novel as an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
kellyhager's review
Kaia isn't like other girls. Her parents are former CIA and now basically hitmen. Or they were. A year ago, she and her mom were in a hotel room when their dad texted, telling them to run. Seconds later, her mom was shot. Now orphaned, she lives with "her grandparents," an older couple who used to work with her parents. It's a decent life and she has a boyfriend now. Except her old life has just caught up with her.
This book is crazy fun. You'll need to suspend disbelief (like hardcore suspend it) but it's really fun. She's basically the teen girl version of Bryan Mills and who wouldn't want to read that?
There are twists, a plethora of villains (including a big bad), a sweet romance and enough action to keep anyone happy. How could you not enjoy this?
This book is crazy fun. You'll need to suspend disbelief (like hardcore suspend it) but it's really fun. She's basically the teen girl version of Bryan Mills and who wouldn't want to read that?
There are twists, a plethora of villains (including a big bad), a sweet romance and enough action to keep anyone happy. How could you not enjoy this?
ruthsic's review
4.0
3.5 stars
Pretty Fierce has a high-speed on-the-run plot, filled with danger and assassins, with the alternating voices of Kaia and Oliver. This alternating POV helped, because on one hand you have Kaia, the experienced daughter of two ex-CIA-operatives-turned-private-assassins, and on the other you have Oliver, who literally is a fish out of water in this scenario. The first half of the book had me hooked - they were on the run from leagues of thugs coming after her, and trying to stay one step ahead and figuring out the why of it. Oliver and Kaia, though deeply in love, had hidden things about their pasts from each other, so in a way, this is like them learning new stuff about each other, painful things that they didn't bring out. The second half is where it sort of fell apart for me, because if until that time the plot was mildly-believable in its Jason Bourne glory, it got a bit more unbelievable. Ironically, the first half was more unpredictable than the first, and the second was mostly what I would expect from a standard action flick.
As for the writing, Scott always impresses with her characterization. You can see the painful loneliness in Kaia, the desire to hold on to family, and you can see Oliver's helplessness in the situation, his fear that he won't be enough for her. Their relationship is a very comfortable one, and though there are fights arising from miscommunication, they behave realistically and resolve it, instead of creating unnecessary angst. And even though they are romantic partners, this book doesn't feel heavy on romance at all, which was a nice change. The danger took the main focus of the plot, as it should have. The ending, however, was a bit out there with everything wrapped up so fast in the last two chapters, and though I was already sure what was going to happen, I ended up disappointed. It is also left open-ended, which considering what the plot had revealed just towards the end, did not sit well with the implication on their lives.
Overall, though, if you love spy-like thrillers, with car chases and hiding out, you are probably going to love this book.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from Sourcebooks Fire, via Netgalley.
Pretty Fierce has a high-speed on-the-run plot, filled with danger and assassins, with the alternating voices of Kaia and Oliver. This alternating POV helped, because on one hand you have Kaia, the experienced daughter of two ex-CIA-operatives-turned-private-assassins, and on the other you have Oliver, who literally is a fish out of water in this scenario. The first half of the book had me hooked - they were on the run from leagues of thugs coming after her, and trying to stay one step ahead and figuring out the why of it. Oliver and Kaia, though deeply in love, had hidden things about their pasts from each other, so in a way, this is like them learning new stuff about each other, painful things that they didn't bring out. The second half is where it sort of fell apart for me, because if until that time the plot was mildly-believable in its Jason Bourne glory, it got a bit more unbelievable. Ironically, the first half was more unpredictable than the first, and the second was mostly what I would expect from a standard action flick.
As for the writing, Scott always impresses with her characterization. You can see the painful loneliness in Kaia, the desire to hold on to family, and you can see Oliver's helplessness in the situation, his fear that he won't be enough for her. Their relationship is a very comfortable one, and though there are fights arising from miscommunication, they behave realistically and resolve it, instead of creating unnecessary angst. And even though they are romantic partners, this book doesn't feel heavy on romance at all, which was a nice change. The danger took the main focus of the plot, as it should have. The ending, however, was a bit out there with everything wrapped up so fast in the last two chapters, and though I was already sure what was going to happen, I ended up disappointed. It is also left open-ended, which considering what the plot had revealed just towards the end, did not sit well with the implication on their lives.
Overall, though, if you love spy-like thrillers, with car chases and hiding out, you are probably going to love this book.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from Sourcebooks Fire, via Netgalley.
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