Reviews with content warning for Murder - Some of It Was Real

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Some of It Was Real by Nan Fischer

7 reviews

mefrias's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

I don’t quite know how to feel about this book. The story was interesting and engaging enough to keep me reading. I especially liked the first half. But I didn’t quite like the characters or the romance aspect of it, despite having picked up this book because I thought it was a romance. And I think that there was a lot of plot and twists but not enough dissection thru the characters’ POVs or conversations to kind process events with and for the reader. Which ultimately made me feel like the protagonists weren’t connecting or engaging with the story themselves, just going thru the motions and setting up for the next big reveal and twist.

I think it’s worth a read overall though. Definitely read thru the trigger warnings first tho.

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irenetrexqueen's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

This is my kind of romance, it is there but there is a story that is driving the book. I love that there is so much to the story and it being set down the street from me didn't hurt.

All characters felt like real people and not just ends to a means or ways to more the plot.

I will warn there is a part that I cried and many others would if they have had similar experiences. So be warned it is now all rainbows and romance.

If you love mystery, the supernatural, big dogs, old cats, or Portland Metro you may find a piece of this one you will like.

****Note***
I will say this book talks a lot about death, in MANY ways, as well as the things that cause it. So make sure you're in the right mindspace for this before jumping in.

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ashleyoop's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

My favorite read of the year so far. These characters are so well written in my opinion. Their actions, their pain, their connection. I also love that the romance isn’t the main storyline. In short, it’s a story that shows just what you can face when you have someone that has your back despite your differences.

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eggqueen's review

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2.25

Had high expectations for this book, but was really let down. The writing was odd, the characters were lacking, and there were pretty heavy religious aspects to the book that I did not enjoy and really wasn’t expecting. This was the most aggressively “meh” book I’ve read in 2023 so far, considering the main character was a psychic, the plot included a murder mystery, and there was (supposedly??) a ‘steamy’ romance. How was this boring?????? I don’t know, but it still somehow managed.

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jpmindful50's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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jennastopreading's review

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emotional hopeful mysterious

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book is a perfect example of, "I didn't see that coming." And in this case, it was absolutely a good thing. I never knew that reading a book about a psychic-medium (Sylvie) that is chasing down the truth of her past would keep me so engaged, but here we are.

What I love about Fischer's writing is the way she crafts her characters. This dual POV story gave us the ability to get inside the minds of both Thomas and Sylvie, in turn giving us the unique perspective of two people trying to find out the details of a story - but for totally different reasons. Sylvie is seeking self discovery while Thomas is trying to fulfill an agenda, but both are equally driven and straightforward. They contain flaws, they own them, and they converse like real adults - not like book adults, if you know what I mean. The conversations didn't feel forced or unrealistic, and that made Sylvie and Thomas very believable characters.

Secondly, this entire story was incredibly unique. While classified right now on Goodreads as a romance, it really read more to me like a mystery through the bulk of it. It was a well paced mystery, though, with lots of character development that had me WANTING to find everything out. By pacing it the way that she did, Fischer made it compelling. Instead of a mystery jumping off the page at the very start, there was time to get invested and curious before really digging into the nitty gritty,

This was the second book I've read by this author and the second one I've given 5 stars to. I look forward to reading more from her in the future!

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shel_conn's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

It was really easy to get into this book, especially with the sort of mystery around whether Sylvie actually has powers as well as her enigmatic background. I thought the pacing was spot-on, so their conflicting feelings about one another felt believable despite the rather short timeframe that they spent together. I loved all of the layers to each of their pasts and how they entwined to bring Sylvie and Thomas together. There is a lot of heart in this book, and there's also a lot of pain, but the writing was deft and delicate, so the story didn't feel overly heavy despite that.

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