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michalice's review against another edition
4.0
I have had Bombmaker sitting on my shelf waiting to be read since I received it at a blogger event, so I finally picked this up to read, and I could not put it down. The first chapter lets us see Lizzie in action, putting a bomb together and then getting the hell out of there. At first glance this action alone would put Lizzie in your 'dislike' list, but as the chapter continues you find out that Lizzie isn't what she seems and she does this to survive, she is owned by Alexander, a very rich and powerful person, who with the click of his fingers can hang a death sentence over your head. Lizzie is trapped, forced to live with Alexander and follow his every whim, or try to escape and end up dead. Below is a passage from the book that explain Lizzie's situation.
The economy has crashed and Great Britain had to choose to be ruled by Germany and France, or break away. The choice was made and Great Britain broke away, but this plan soon ended up making Great Britain bankrupt, the final straw was breaking the UK apart, each country for themselves, and England closed its borders to Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. The punishment for trespassing into England without a visa was a tattoo placed on your face. Get caught again and already be branded is an instant death sentence.
Lizzie is a Celt, she was caught sleeping rough for one night and now has a tattoo branded on her cheek, she has no family to go home to and if she is caught again faces certain death. While her life with Alexander isn't exactly the life of luxury, it is a life of safety while Alexander deems her necessary.
Bombmaker was an explosive read, it kept me engrossed and wanting to read, to keep going till the last page. My heart pounded with every mission Lizzie was sent on, worried whether she would make it or not, and I don't think it slowed down during the last few chapters, even when I have finished reading I still can't rest fully. It can't have been that easy or that simple and I am pretty sure that what they think is a new life, is certainly not as safe as they expected.
Bombmaker is an unputdownable book that I could not read fast enough. The characters are either very likeable, or very easy to dislike and they all stand firmly in their category.
I wish I had read Bombmaker sooner than I have so that I could actually have read and enjoyed this much sooner, but I am also glad I left it for a while, I leaves less waiting time for the next instalment which is being written right now
I was his. Not his wife, or his girlfriend. I was something he owned, like the building, or the sleek silver Jaguar he drove.........In fact, I was less than that, because he cared a great deal more for his fancy toys then he did for me.
[Page 17 uncorrected proof]
The economy has crashed and Great Britain had to choose to be ruled by Germany and France, or break away. The choice was made and Great Britain broke away, but this plan soon ended up making Great Britain bankrupt, the final straw was breaking the UK apart, each country for themselves, and England closed its borders to Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. The punishment for trespassing into England without a visa was a tattoo placed on your face. Get caught again and already be branded is an instant death sentence.
Lizzie is a Celt, she was caught sleeping rough for one night and now has a tattoo branded on her cheek, she has no family to go home to and if she is caught again faces certain death. While her life with Alexander isn't exactly the life of luxury, it is a life of safety while Alexander deems her necessary.
Bombmaker was an explosive read, it kept me engrossed and wanting to read, to keep going till the last page. My heart pounded with every mission Lizzie was sent on, worried whether she would make it or not, and I don't think it slowed down during the last few chapters, even when I have finished reading I still can't rest fully. It can't have been that easy or that simple and I am pretty sure that what they think is a new life, is certainly not as safe as they expected.
Bombmaker is an unputdownable book that I could not read fast enough. The characters are either very likeable, or very easy to dislike and they all stand firmly in their category.
- Lizzie has survived so much, and come so far from her meagre existence in Scotland. To live how she lives, under the rule of an egotistical, power hungry man, yet still come out fighting for her freedom is a sign of a true heroine.
- Alexander leaves a lot to be desired, and while he has people falling all over him to do things for him, to jump to his every command, part of me wonders who actually wants to be there for the right reasons, and who is actually scared not to be there.
- Samuel is Lizzie's rock throughout Bombmaker, however his unwavering loyalty to his brother makes it hard for Lizzie to see him as anything more than Alexander's brother, his henchman, and someone who she can't fully trust. As the story progress we see that Samuel can be loyal to people other than his brother, and he risks so much to keep Lizzie safe from harm, and from death.
I wish I had read Bombmaker sooner than I have so that I could actually have read and enjoyed this much sooner, but I am also glad I left it for a while, I leaves less waiting time for the next instalment which is being written right now
@MuchLovedBooks Hopefully! Writing it RIGHT NOW. Well, I'm meant to be. A good day today, though. 4k in the bag :)
— Claire McFall (@mcfall_claire) April 6, 2014lornluna's review against another edition
5.0
This book was ten times better than I was expecting! I enjoyed that it was a dystopian set in Great Britain and felt that the reason for the uk falling apart could genuinely happen.
rebeccazh's review against another edition
Good writing but didn't quite hook me in.
meganwi's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
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? Yes
3.75
ray_ray2's review against another edition
4.0
4/5 explosive stars.
I was looking for a stand alone book that would grab me from the beginning and not let go till the last page. This book delivered. It was a real page turner. Characters left a bit to be desired in that they were a bit one dimensional but all in all it was good.
I was looking for a stand alone book that would grab me from the beginning and not let go till the last page. This book delivered. It was a real page turner. Characters left a bit to be desired in that they were a bit one dimensional but all in all it was good.
nunu_noodles's review against another edition
4.0
So....Well
I did really enjoy this book.
Lizzie is a celt; branded and outcast, living on borrowed time in England & trying to survive being a tool for a heavy hitting 'freedom fighter'/gang boss Alexander.
Good, great, wonderful. It was an interesting premise, and I felt like the author made some effort to fill out some background characters that would normally get missed out in a debut authors book. Well done Clare.
I just really hated that she was so creepily attached to her new love interest. And that he treated her like an abused little puppy that he'd found on the side of the road. And it was probably the whole point, to show that she was abused and didn't know any other way to be, I get that, but it just tickled me in an uncomfortable way.
He blatantly only wanted her because she had always belonged to his brother. Or maybe I'm just reading too much into that, I don't know. Uncomfortableness. Shh, it's a word.
I can't figure out how to convey it with some finesse so we'll just say that I liked the book until the end, where Samuel and Lizzies relationship struck an off chord with me.
I did really enjoy this book.
Lizzie is a celt; branded and outcast, living on borrowed time in England & trying to survive being a tool for a heavy hitting 'freedom fighter'/gang boss Alexander.
Good, great, wonderful. It was an interesting premise, and I felt like the author made some effort to fill out some background characters that would normally get missed out in a debut authors book. Well done Clare.
I just really hated that she was so creepily attached to her new love interest. And that he treated her like an abused little puppy that he'd found on the side of the road. And it was probably the whole point, to show that she was abused and didn't know any other way to be, I get that, but it just tickled me in an uncomfortable way.
He blatantly only wanted her because she had always belonged to his brother. Or maybe I'm just reading too much into that, I don't know. Uncomfortableness. Shh, it's a word.
I can't figure out how to convey it with some finesse so we'll just say that I liked the book until the end, where Samuel and Lizzies relationship struck an off chord with me.
beeoe's review
adventurous
tense
fast-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
3.5
ragwortreads's review against another edition
4.0
Suspenseful and always on the edge of my seat. Definitely a Page tuner! I could hardly put it down to sleep.
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