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beanjoles's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
guppyur's review against another edition
2.0
Not great. Prose is noticeably weak. Interesting premise, but until very near the end I didn't feel like the author had done all that much with it.
trangmar's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
mbenzz's review against another edition
3.0
I loved this book in the beginning. I plowed through the first 50% in about a day. The latter half did slow down a bit, but it still held my interest. The ending though...what was that all about? There WAS no ending. It just...stopped. I HATE when authors do that, and I wish they'd knock it off. I don't know if they think they're being all deep and thought-provoking when they just leave everything unfinished, but they're not. It's annoying.
You take the time to read a book, get to know each character, follow them through life's ups and downs, whatever they may be, but then are left with nothing? Not cool. What happens to everyone?! Where did Laurie go? Did they let her live, or did they kill her and dump her somewhere? Did Tom ever meet up with Christina? What happens with Nora and Kevin? Do they raise the child together, or does she end up leaving as she planned? Did the law enforcement ever figure out who was murdering the Watchers, or did they just not care?
The only story that seemed to have a conclusion was Aimee's, and her's was a minor story, to begin with. I also had a really hard time believing Tom could do what he did at the end. It was completely out of character from the sweet, caring young man he'd been portrayed as throughout the book. And I really got tired of Nora always whining about how she was sick of people walking on eggshells around her, that she wished people would talk to her like a normal person instead of the damaged, mentally unstable woman they thought she was. Yet when someone actually does try and have a normal conversation with her (Kevin, when they were at dinner), she freaks out!
In the end, it felt like the author just got tired of writing, or that he had reached the desired length and just wrapped it up. It's a shame because the first half of the book was so good (which is why I'm giving it 3 stars). It moved at a nice pace and I really cared about the characters. Too bad Mr. Perrotta got lazy with the ending.
You take the time to read a book, get to know each character, follow them through life's ups and downs, whatever they may be, but then are left with nothing? Not cool. What happens to everyone?! Where did Laurie go? Did they let her live, or did they kill her and dump her somewhere? Did Tom ever meet up with Christina? What happens with Nora and Kevin? Do they raise the child together, or does she end up leaving as she planned? Did the law enforcement ever figure out who was murdering the Watchers, or did they just not care?
The only story that seemed to have a conclusion was Aimee's, and her's was a minor story, to begin with. I also had a really hard time believing Tom could do what he did at the end. It was completely out of character from the sweet, caring young man he'd been portrayed as throughout the book. And I really got tired of Nora always whining about how she was sick of people walking on eggshells around her, that she wished people would talk to her like a normal person instead of the damaged, mentally unstable woman they thought she was. Yet when someone actually does try and have a normal conversation with her (Kevin, when they were at dinner), she freaks out!
In the end, it felt like the author just got tired of writing, or that he had reached the desired length and just wrapped it up. It's a shame because the first half of the book was so good (which is why I'm giving it 3 stars). It moved at a nice pace and I really cared about the characters. Too bad Mr. Perrotta got lazy with the ending.
peaknit's review against another edition
3.0
I hope this couldn't happen, but was interesting to imagine. Well written.
kishma_'s review against another edition
2.0
This was extremely... underwhelming. I was intrigued at the beginning but that fizzled out pretty quickly. If it weren't for the audiobook on 2x speed, I might not have finished it. There were storylines I wish we saw more of and storylines I wish we spent less time on... All in all it was a "meh" book to me.
gillybourne's review against another edition
Fantastic world, took a while to get going
Loved the concept, the narrative, and the way of writing, but the plot took a little while to intrigue- and it hasn't got a satisfying end. Will there be a sequel?
Loved the concept, the narrative, and the way of writing, but the plot took a little while to intrigue- and it hasn't got a satisfying end. Will there be a sequel?
classicadg's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5