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liz_ross's review against another edition
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
"You can't build true happiness on someone else's misery."
I was so excited for this book. It was one of those book I really was looking forward to read, because I really thought it would be awesome. But it only took me a couple of pages to realize that I was wrong. That this book wouldn't be awesome. In fact, it couldn't be further away from awesome.
I can see the potential of the story so clearly. It was there. The story, the idea had a lot of potential. It just wasn't delievered. The thing about unreliable characters is that they can't seem unreliable. The readers have to believe those characters, trust them. Even when we feel like they're unreliable, we can't have proofs, let alone certainties.
Now let me talk about the unreliable character of this book. If there's a thing the narration of the story made clear was that the character was not someone I could rely on. Since page one. So, if I can't trust her, why would I believe anything? And if I don't believe anything, guessing the whole story is like adding 2 plus 2. Easy, simple, boring. This story would have been more surprising if I had got to the ending and realized this character was telling the truth since the beginning. And I hoped that would happen for a while. But the narration made it so clear that something like that would never happen, that I had to let my hopes die.
So, bye-bye plot twists. They never stood a chance in a book written like this. It was like torture reading about the characters walking around, ignoring what's right in front of them, and the author pretending she didn't give away the whole story in the first 5 chapters.
And I know I've said this already, but the book had potential. It had a great pace and the writing style wasn't that bad. It's a shame none of them was used in this book's favour. The plot was preditable, boring, infuriating. The twists don't deserve to be called that. And the characters... I just have so many questions about the characters and what exactly was Abbott's point when she created them.
I have an unreliable character that is so obviously unworth of anyone's trust that it's a wonder she wasn't more annoying. The lawyer whose name I can't remember was such a great, clearly strong character, that the real question is - WHY COULDN'T I GET MORE ABOUT HER? I would have rather had more of her and no Stephanie at all than the book as it was.
Speaking of Stephanie, what's really her role in this story?! I have the first book in a series named after her. But she isn't the main character. I can barely say she is a side-character. She is almost a background character, only showing up when Abbott didn't have anything else to talk about and clearly with the sole objective of annoying me. Her whole existence in this story is pointless. She complains and complains about how she is in love with her boss, even if she thinks he doesn't deserve her love after being shocked for a moment when she delievered news like the ones she did out of the blue (obviously he didn't deserve a little bit to process what she had just said). Sure, she is a cop. Sure, she is the one meant to uncover the whole mystery. But to make her the one the series is named after because of that?! Especially when everything she discovered could have perfectly been discovered by one of the characters that was actually essential to the story?! I mean, WHY?!!
And then, there's Cleo. The way I see it (and considering the whole story), she should have been that one character easy to like. Or at least likable enough for the reader to feel sorry for her. But Abbott seems to have gone to such lengths to make her sound so annoying and worth of my hate that clearly I have to be mistaken. It's impossible not to hate that woman! And I really can't understand why would Abbott want anyone to hate Cleo as much as Evie. However, if that's her objective, she did an excellent job...
Overall, this was a HUGE disappointment. It had undeniable potential, but it wasn't delievered in any way. The plot is boring and predictable, the characters range from indifferent to annoying and there isn't one that I can save, the writing style by far not good enough to save anything (even if it isn't bad).
I was so excited for this book. It was one of those book I really was looking forward to read, because I really thought it would be awesome. But it only took me a couple of pages to realize that I was wrong. That this book wouldn't be awesome. In fact, it couldn't be further away from awesome.
I can see the potential of the story so clearly. It was there. The story, the idea had a lot of potential. It just wasn't delievered. The thing about unreliable characters is that they can't seem unreliable. The readers have to believe those characters, trust them. Even when we feel like they're unreliable, we can't have proofs, let alone certainties.
Now let me talk about the unreliable character of this book. If there's a thing the narration of the story made clear was that the character was not someone I could rely on. Since page one. So, if I can't trust her, why would I believe anything? And if I don't believe anything, guessing the whole story is like adding 2 plus 2. Easy, simple, boring. This story would have been more surprising if I had got to the ending and realized this character was telling the truth since the beginning. And I hoped that would happen for a while. But the narration made it so clear that something like that would never happen, that I had to let my hopes die.
So, bye-bye plot twists. They never stood a chance in a book written like this. It was like torture reading about the characters walking around, ignoring what's right in front of them, and the author pretending she didn't give away the whole story in the first 5 chapters.
And I know I've said this already, but the book had potential. It had a great pace and the writing style wasn't that bad. It's a shame none of them was used in this book's favour. The plot was preditable, boring, infuriating. The twists don't deserve to be called that. And the characters... I just have so many questions about the characters and what exactly was Abbott's point when she created them.
I have an unreliable character that is so obviously unworth of anyone's trust that it's a wonder she wasn't more annoying. The lawyer whose name I can't remember was such a great, clearly strong character, that the real question is - WHY COULDN'T I GET MORE ABOUT HER? I would have rather had more of her and no Stephanie at all than the book as it was.
Speaking of Stephanie, what's really her role in this story?! I have the first book in a series named after her. But she isn't the main character. I can barely say she is a side-character. She is almost a background character, only showing up when Abbott didn't have anything else to talk about and clearly with the sole objective of annoying me. Her whole existence in this story is pointless. She complains and complains about how she is in love with her boss, even if she thinks he doesn't deserve her love after being shocked for a moment when she delievered news like the ones she did out of the blue (obviously he didn't deserve a little bit to process what she had just said). Sure, she is a cop. Sure, she is the one meant to uncover the whole mystery. But to make her the one the series is named after because of that?! Especially when everything she discovered could have perfectly been discovered by one of the characters that was actually essential to the story?! I mean, WHY?!!
And then, there's Cleo. The way I see it (and considering the whole story), she should have been that one character easy to like. Or at least likable enough for the reader to feel sorry for her. But Abbott seems to have gone to such lengths to make her sound so annoying and worth of my hate that clearly I have to be mistaken. It's impossible not to hate that woman! And I really can't understand why would Abbott want anyone to hate Cleo as much as Evie. However, if that's her objective, she did an excellent job...
Overall, this was a HUGE disappointment. It had undeniable potential, but it wasn't delievered in any way. The plot is boring and predictable, the characters range from indifferent to annoying and there isn't one that I can save, the writing style by far not good enough to save anything (even if it isn't bad).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
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