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oneoftheemilies's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kenziem's review against another edition
Listened to the audiobook read by the author- no offense to the author but this would have been better with a different narrator. Also, I didn’t feel attached to any of it personally and the premise wasn’t promising enough. An okay book but I have books I’m more excited to read so DNF.
cerahutch's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
bitkingdt's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
angelthelover's review
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
mementolore's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
pipa_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
bargainsleuth's review
3.0
For this and other book reviews, visit www.bargain-sleuth.com
I loved the premise of this book. A former kid sleuth like Trixie Belden or Encyclopedia Brown being sucked back into the sleuthing world after trying to give it up was intriguing. While on the whole I liked the book, I’m not sure it was executed the best. Let me try to explain.
Lottie Illes became famous after she started solving mysteries at a young age. When she grew up, she gave up sleuthing for a more normal life, went to college and got a job. But now she’s 25 with no job, living at home with her mother, having a quarter-life crisis. She’s gay but not in a relationship, has two best friends, one hetero and one bi trans, and they definitely provide the comic relief as well as support throughout the book. I’m not sure if this is a YA book or not, but it definitely gives off those vibes with the young people’s relationships.
Charlotte’s brother’s girlfriend has a mystery to solve involving her work. She’s convinced to “take a look around” but insists she’s not putting on her sleuthing hat again. What follows is an investigation that left me wanting. Throughout the investigation, there’s a lot of dumb decisions made by Charlotte, and not knowing what to do until she discusses it with others, and her best friend Lucy seems more level-headed and sleuth-like. But maybe that’s the point of the story: she’s second-guessing herself and isn’t sure what path to take in life.
I’m also a bit confused how Charlotte and her friends can afford to eat out and go out for drinks all the time. She’s unemployed, where is she getting her money from? Her friend Gabe is a social media manager for a mattress company and without much effort is making a splash, yet it’s a small company so it’s doubtful he’s making a lot of bank. It’s something like this that bothered me throughout the narrative. It was unrealistic.
So, what turned out to be a fantastic concept turned out to be a mediocre mystery. After reading the book, I found out that this book was inspired by a series of Tik Tok videos, and I hate to say it, but any book I’ve happened to read that was a Book Tok sensation was a disappointment. Maybe it’s a generational thing.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Kensington Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
I loved the premise of this book. A former kid sleuth like Trixie Belden or Encyclopedia Brown being sucked back into the sleuthing world after trying to give it up was intriguing. While on the whole I liked the book, I’m not sure it was executed the best. Let me try to explain.
Lottie Illes became famous after she started solving mysteries at a young age. When she grew up, she gave up sleuthing for a more normal life, went to college and got a job. But now she’s 25 with no job, living at home with her mother, having a quarter-life crisis. She’s gay but not in a relationship, has two best friends, one hetero and one bi trans, and they definitely provide the comic relief as well as support throughout the book. I’m not sure if this is a YA book or not, but it definitely gives off those vibes with the young people’s relationships.
Charlotte’s brother’s girlfriend has a mystery to solve involving her work. She’s convinced to “take a look around” but insists she’s not putting on her sleuthing hat again. What follows is an investigation that left me wanting. Throughout the investigation, there’s a lot of dumb decisions made by Charlotte, and not knowing what to do until she discusses it with others, and her best friend Lucy seems more level-headed and sleuth-like. But maybe that’s the point of the story: she’s second-guessing herself and isn’t sure what path to take in life.
I’m also a bit confused how Charlotte and her friends can afford to eat out and go out for drinks all the time. She’s unemployed, where is she getting her money from? Her friend Gabe is a social media manager for a mattress company and without much effort is making a splash, yet it’s a small company so it’s doubtful he’s making a lot of bank. It’s something like this that bothered me throughout the narrative. It was unrealistic.
So, what turned out to be a fantastic concept turned out to be a mediocre mystery. After reading the book, I found out that this book was inspired by a series of Tik Tok videos, and I hate to say it, but any book I’ve happened to read that was a Book Tok sensation was a disappointment. Maybe it’s a generational thing.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Kensington Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.