Reviews

The Scorpion's Head by Hilde Vandermeeren

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emilylove0824's review

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

annaavian's review

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4.0

A fast-paced and captivating thriller that will keep you invested until the very last page.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley.

ciarafrances's review

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

esther1987's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

emlo's review

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adventurous tense fast-paced

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

3.0

As I was reading this I kept thinking it would make a better film than a book. There's lots of fast paced action but it's hard to care about the characters when they seem so one dimensional. It's like a kind of Saturday night blockbuster that you watch for the action set pieces and then instantly forget.

Content Warnings

carolines's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

marleens's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

I received an eARC of The Scorpion’s Head by Hilde Vandermeeren on Netgalley.

First of all I absolutely flew through this book. The writing is very easy and quick to read, the sentences are short, the pace is high and there’s lots of fun action and chase scenes. It’s also very cinematic. I could definitely see this becoming a movie, and some of the scenes gave me Bourne Identity vibes.

I liked our two main characters, but liked Gaelle’s parts a bit more than Michael’s, because I sympathized a lot more with her than with him and could understand her motivations better. Of the different side characters Michael’s boss Dolores intrigued me the most and I wish we would have had a lot more of her. Please, give me a whole prequel on Dolores and how she became the person she is in this book!

The resolutions of the different parts of the plot were a bit too quick in my opinion. I think especially the final confrontation could have been longer and more interesting. It felt like a bit of a missed opportunity because the setting and situation at that point had a lot of potential, but it was over before I knew it.

All in all I give this book 4 stars. Although I would have liked some longer plot resolutions and confrontations, I had a blast while reading, and am glad I happened to come across this book. Being Dutch it would have made more sense for me to read this in the original Dutch, but now that I’ve discovered Vandermeeren I will for sure check out some of her other books in Dutch.

Content Warnings

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