Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Breathless

I had high hopes for this one given the setting. Any sort of mountain climbing expedition promises all sorts of disasters. Adding in the elements of a thriller should only add to the intrigue. Unfortunately, I didn't find this to be the case with this book.

Cecily is a journalist who has been training for months to make a climb to interview Charles McVeigh. On top of already brutal conditions, a series of unsettling events occur throughout the trek. Death isn't necessarily unusual during climbs... but they start getting suspicious.

Despite such an exciting setup with so much potential, I felt that the story dragged on with very little happening. There were too many characters, most of whom didn't have enough importance to the story to spend as much time on them as they got. It's obvious a lot of heart and research went into this, so I feel bad that I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I was going to while reading the first few chapters.

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julienicole1106's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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ameliaj_adams's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I read this entire book in one sitting! The setting is so unique which makes for a really interesting read - are people dying due to difficult conditions or are they being murdered? Are certain characters crazy or are they being affected by altitude sickness? - which definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. The writing was brilliant, with a really tense climax, some great characters and a super engaging plot overall! I’ll definitely be reading more of her books!

Just thought I’d add a note that I read the book alongside Amy McCulloch’s Manaslu climb recap which is on her Instagram in her highlight reel! I would recommend doing this (particularly if you’re not a climber) as it definitely helped me visualise parts of the route and equipment described in the book and it was interesting to see the real life journey that the book is based on - her Instagram is @amymccullochbooks

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jess_westhafer's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

There were so many things I liked about this book. It was suspenseful, enthralling, and informative. But I found the ending to be a bit of a let down. After spending so much time carefully setting up 95% of the book the resolution ended up seeming too convenient.

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kylieqrada's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

This was a good time. Nothing spectacular, but I liked learning about mountaineering, and I don't regret picking it up.

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lpdx's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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