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emmareese's review against another edition
1.0
( 2 stars )
This book was... underwhelming. I didn't really find it as gripping as it's made out to be, but I'll admit it still had me questioning a lot of things. I was so excited for it because the build up in the first few chapters seemed great, but the rest of the story was a bit of a let down. The concept is interesting, but I didn't love it as much as I had hoped I would.
I thought the ending was rather horrible. It barely cleared up anything, and only left me with more questions. I suppose that's what mysteries are supposed to do, but nothing was resolved whatsoever. Maybe it's a set up for a sequel, and as much as I'd like one so I can find out what happens, I'm not sure if this book is successful enough for Bates to pull off a sequel.
I kind of resented Emmy. She was whiny, narrow-minded, and not at all a strong character in my opinion. The only thing I liked about her was her witty comebacks during altercations with Sebastian...I would have liked to see more development between those two as well, but alas, we can't all get what we wish for. I think Sebastian was what made me actually enjoy this book, otherwise this rating would be lower.
It was a decent book. I don't know if I'd recommend it to just anyone, but I don't completely hate it either. If there's a sequel, hopefully it will be better.
This book was... underwhelming. I didn't really find it as gripping as it's made out to be, but I'll admit it still had me questioning a lot of things. I was so excited for it because the build up in the first few chapters seemed great, but the rest of the story was a bit of a let down. The concept is interesting, but I didn't love it as much as I had hoped I would.
I thought the ending was rather horrible. It barely cleared up anything, and only left me with more questions. I suppose that's what mysteries are supposed to do, but nothing was resolved whatsoever. Maybe it's a set up for a sequel, and as much as I'd like one so I can find out what happens, I'm not sure if this book is successful enough for Bates to pull off a sequel.
I kind of resented Emmy. She was whiny, narrow-minded, and not at all a strong character in my opinion. The only thing I liked about her was her witty comebacks during altercations with Sebastian...I would have liked to see more development between those two as well, but alas, we can't all get what we wish for. I think Sebastian was what made me actually enjoy this book, otherwise this rating would be lower.
It was a decent book. I don't know if I'd recommend it to just anyone, but I don't completely hate it either. If there's a sequel, hopefully it will be better.
mkschoen's review against another edition
I tried! Started the book, got through a few chapters, put it down for a bit and just...never picked it back up. It starts off with a big mystery premise: young girl in a coffee shop is accosted by a man she's never met, told she has to be careful, and then he's murdered right in front of her. Meanwhile he slips a secret device into her pocket. In the police station she runs into a strange boy he tells her she needs to switch schools, and what? it just got to be too much, too improbable, and the characters weren't engaging enough for me to stick around and wait to see what was going on.
batsinthecastle's review against another edition
2.0
I received this from LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review.
I really wanted to like this book. I loved the cover and the idea, but it fell a little flat and there was a whole prep school plotline I wasn't expecting. Nothing against prep schools, it's just a little over done for the mystery genre.
Anyways, Em is cool and quirky and writes romance novels in her spare time. She's an interesting lens for this story, though it is too bad the story was a bit wahmp wahmp. It's too bad much of what she is up against is so over the top and hard to believe, otherwise it might have really worked. Unfortunately, this book didn't jive with me.
I really wanted to like this book. I loved the cover and the idea, but it fell a little flat and there was a whole prep school plotline I wasn't expecting. Nothing against prep schools, it's just a little over done for the mystery genre.
Anyways, Em is cool and quirky and writes romance novels in her spare time. She's an interesting lens for this story, though it is too bad the story was a bit wahmp wahmp. It's too bad much of what she is up against is so over the top and hard to believe, otherwise it might have really worked. Unfortunately, this book didn't jive with me.
hmoser15's review against another edition
2.0
I don't remember the last time I've given a 2-star review, but ugh this book.
It just seemed unfinished and the characters did everything, no questions asked, like no normal person would do.. This book bothered me. I couldn't get into it.
It just seemed unfinished and the characters did everything, no questions asked, like no normal person would do.. This book bothered me. I couldn't get into it.
foreveryoungadult's review against another edition
Graded By: Mandy C.
Cover Story: Old Timey
BFF Charm: Meh
Swoonworthy Scale: 2
Talky Talk: Missing Somethings
Anti-Bonus Factor: Open Ending
Relationship Status: Swipe Left
Read the full book report here.
Cover Story: Old Timey
BFF Charm: Meh
Swoonworthy Scale: 2
Talky Talk: Missing Somethings
Anti-Bonus Factor: Open Ending
Relationship Status: Swipe Left
Read the full book report here.
samantha_randolph's review against another edition
3.0
When Emmy Danvers sat down to work on her romance novel at Starbucks, she thought her major concerns would be dialogue and character growth. Instead, she gets tackled by an old man who says mysterious things to her and then promptly dies. After Emmy finds a tablet he stuck in her pocket, she realizes that she might be in serious dangerous, and she is coerced into a new private school for protection, though it may end up being the place she should fear the most.
What I Loved:
DIAL EM FOR MURDER is a fun, quirky mystery. Emmy is a delightfully sassy protagonist, and her wit had me laughing out loud more than once. With creepy texts, dangerous pasts, and deadly motives, the suspense chills, but what I most admire are the underlying issues beyond the suspense. Though they are minor problems, Bates creates wonderful nuances as Emmy struggles with her friends after switching schools and keeping secrets, unrequited love, and trying to do well in a school known for its competitive students.
What Left Me Wanting More:
Though the suspenseful moments are strong, the overall mystery fell a little flat for me. Emmy sometimes makes dramatic conclusions without any evidence to support it. While the unrequited love Emmy experiences with her close friend is a nice addition to the story, the on-and-off side flirting from Sebastian is weird and often distracts from the plot.
Final Verdict:
Though it has its flaws, DIAL EM FOR MURDER is a solid pick for mystery lovers looking for a fun, hilarious book with sass and suspense.
Originally posted at YABC: https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/27150827-dial-em-for-murder
What I Loved:
DIAL EM FOR MURDER is a fun, quirky mystery. Emmy is a delightfully sassy protagonist, and her wit had me laughing out loud more than once. With creepy texts, dangerous pasts, and deadly motives, the suspense chills, but what I most admire are the underlying issues beyond the suspense. Though they are minor problems, Bates creates wonderful nuances as Emmy struggles with her friends after switching schools and keeping secrets, unrequited love, and trying to do well in a school known for its competitive students.
What Left Me Wanting More:
Though the suspenseful moments are strong, the overall mystery fell a little flat for me. Emmy sometimes makes dramatic conclusions without any evidence to support it. While the unrequited love Emmy experiences with her close friend is a nice addition to the story, the on-and-off side flirting from Sebastian is weird and often distracts from the plot.
Final Verdict:
Though it has its flaws, DIAL EM FOR MURDER is a solid pick for mystery lovers looking for a fun, hilarious book with sass and suspense.
Originally posted at YABC: https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/27150827-dial-em-for-murder
nataliesboooks's review against another edition
3.0
This reminded me a bit of The Inheritance Games, and I wasn’t really expecting that — I was expecting more of a straightforward mystery. The main character Emmy had a unique narrative voice, but the story was pretty convoluted and hard to follow and the secondary characters weren’t as flushed out as they could have been. The ending was VERY open and I’m not really a fan of that, so that detracted for me as well.
bookharlot's review against another edition
1.0
Mediocre mystery with boring stock characters along with several unfortunate word choices for insults mean I won't be reading anything else by this author.
aquaflowerchild's review against another edition
I remember being really interested in reading this solely due to the title and tagline on the cover. It says, "She wanted to write a mystery, not live it." However, the character writes romance? This just didn't make any sense to me. Why write this and have the character be interested in a totally different genre!? Overall, I was not too impressed with the book.
kinglee's review against another edition
1.0
I am really confused on where the mystery in this book was. It started off interesting, but as soon as she got to Emptor Academy I had completely forgotten that it was a mystery at all. I thought I was simply reading a story about a girl getting through high school while day dreaming about becoming a writer.
I WAS SO BORED.
Even during the climax I found myself thinking "I really don't care" or "How much is left of this book?" It was such a drag which really pains me to say.
There were ten pages left of the book and instead of finishing it I got up and went to get food. Not because I was really hungry, but I was bored. I didn't care how it ended. Truthfully, the ended just makes me hate the book more. I don't know if this is supposed to turn into a series, but if not Bates left one thing in particular unanswered that for a majority of the book seemed like it was going to play a role in how things tied up. But, it didn't.
This is not a book I would recommend. It was slow and completely lacked the mystery aspect to me for a book promising a mystery.
I WAS SO BORED.
Even during the climax I found myself thinking "I really don't care" or "How much is left of this book?" It was such a drag which really pains me to say.
There were ten pages left of the book and instead of finishing it I got up and went to get food. Not because I was really hungry, but I was bored. I didn't care how it ended. Truthfully, the ended just makes me hate the book more. I don't know if this is supposed to turn into a series, but if not Bates left one thing in particular unanswered that for a majority of the book seemed like it was going to play a role in how things tied up. But, it didn't.
This is not a book I would recommend. It was slow and completely lacked the mystery aspect to me for a book promising a mystery.