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3.18 AVERAGE
3.18 AVERAGE
Just read this in one sitting on a Friday night. WOW I love Peter Swanson!!!
George Foss is enjoying drinks with his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Irene, in a Boston bar when he is convinced he has spotted his college girlfriend, Liana. When George returns later that evening, his suspicions are confirmed. George hasn't seen Liana for twenty years, since she disappeared in a cloud of uncertain (and illegal) circumstances after their first semester freshmen year. As such, he knows that Liana has probably been on the run for the entire period. She quickly asks George for help, and he finds himself embroiled again in Liana's drama. Quickly he wonders if his safety (and hers) is at sake.
This is the second book I've read by Swanson now, and I've liked them both well-enough, but haven't been overly impressed with either. So many people seem to love him, so I was kind of disappointed that I didn't enjoy this one more. I never connected with any of the characters, and the book just sort of meandered about, taking a while to get to its various points. Yes, it certainly has some twists and turns, and some "aha" moments, but I was always waiting for some big shocking moment that never came. Instead, the plot was rather straightforward. George was a rather spineless creature who seemed to get into trouble easily, while Liana was never fully fleshed out. I would have liked to learned more about her - besides the fact that she was "heartless."
Overall, while I found the plot for this one intriguing, it didn't wow me, and I don't think this one will stay with me very long.
I received this novel via a Goodreads Giveaway in return for an unbiased review - thank you!
This is the second book I've read by Swanson now, and I've liked them both well-enough, but haven't been overly impressed with either. So many people seem to love him, so I was kind of disappointed that I didn't enjoy this one more. I never connected with any of the characters, and the book just sort of meandered about, taking a while to get to its various points. Yes, it certainly has some twists and turns, and some "aha" moments, but I was always waiting for some big shocking moment that never came. Instead, the plot was rather straightforward. George was a rather spineless creature who seemed to get into trouble easily, while Liana was never fully fleshed out. I would have liked to learned more about her - besides the fact that she was "heartless."
Overall, while I found the plot for this one intriguing, it didn't wow me, and I don't think this one will stay with me very long.
I received this novel via a Goodreads Giveaway in return for an unbiased review - thank you!
Having really looked forward to The Girl With A Clock For A Heart I was so disappointed for a number of reasons. The main reason was it felt as though I'd read the exact same book five years previously, I even correctly guessed most of what was going to happen before it did :(
Kept me attentive throughout, and the detail afforded is commendable, but the ending...? Should we be expecting a sequel?
George is left devastated after the girl he had a fling with commits suicide whilst on break from college. Fast forward to twenty years later, and there she is, sat in a bar opposite him.
I simply did not like this book. George felt wimpy and unrealistically trustworthy of the girl who had apparently faked her own death. The girl had so many name changes that I couldn't keep up. Half the time, I had no idea what was even going on or who was involved. There are characters who have the same name but are different people, or the same person with different names. Jeez, it got complicated.
The story is told through flashbacks - entire chapters in italics. I think it would have been better to give the chapters dates so that half of the book isn't italicized. The structure made the book very disjointed. Halfway through an action packed scene, it'd cut to a flashback and when that was finished, the tension and supposed impact of the scene was completely gone. Plus, the ending is really ambiguous and open, and doesn't resolve a lot.
Overall, I found it really hard to finish this book. I got sent an early copy from Waterstones to read and review, which I'm very thankful for, but I didn't enjoy the novel at all.
I simply did not like this book. George felt wimpy and unrealistically trustworthy of the girl who had apparently faked her own death. The girl had so many name changes that I couldn't keep up. Half the time, I had no idea what was even going on or who was involved. There are characters who have the same name but are different people, or the same person with different names. Jeez, it got complicated.
The story is told through flashbacks - entire chapters in italics. I think it would have been better to give the chapters dates so that half of the book isn't italicized. The structure made the book very disjointed. Halfway through an action packed scene, it'd cut to a flashback and when that was finished, the tension and supposed impact of the scene was completely gone. Plus, the ending is really ambiguous and open, and doesn't resolve a lot.
Overall, I found it really hard to finish this book. I got sent an early copy from Waterstones to read and review, which I'm very thankful for, but I didn't enjoy the novel at all.
Thank you to Peter Swanson and William Morrow publishing house for a free copy of the advance edition for this novel, and my deepest apologies for being unable to review it prior to its release in February. I've just come off half a year of absolute insanity, and now that my life has finally settled back down I should be better about timely reviews going forward.
George is just a guy. Nearly forty, well established in his loft and his career, and with an on again off again girlfriend who doubles as his best friend, George has stayed exactly the same since his first semester of college. Maybe that's why Liana seeks him out. Whereas George is solidly constant, Liana is constantly shifting through personalities and identities and getting deeper into trouble each time. So when Liana shows up at George's favorite local bar one evening, he knows that his college best friend is about to make his life so much more complicated.
The Girl with a Clock for a Heart is the perfect summer read. Whether you're lounging poolside or kicking back over a cold drink after a long, hot day working outside, the novel has enough twists and turns to keep you guessing the whole time. Much like Liana herself, the novel is constantly redefining itself as readers discover new information and pieces of the puzzle. At times this convolution does feel overdone - as a reader I like to be able to follow clues alongside the protagonist and work each one out with them, but in this novel events aren't clearly enough connected and the reader is left at the end of the novel with a several page account by George of what he thinks happened that feels like a deus ex machina - and there were a few moments where repeated phrases or situations stood out to me as trite. That aside, the weaknesses did not overshadow the story and I enjoyed the time I spent reading this book fully.
Recommended for anyone who loves mysteries, film noir setups, or just looking for an engaging summertime read!
George is just a guy. Nearly forty, well established in his loft and his career, and with an on again off again girlfriend who doubles as his best friend, George has stayed exactly the same since his first semester of college. Maybe that's why Liana seeks him out. Whereas George is solidly constant, Liana is constantly shifting through personalities and identities and getting deeper into trouble each time. So when Liana shows up at George's favorite local bar one evening, he knows that his college best friend is about to make his life so much more complicated.
The Girl with a Clock for a Heart is the perfect summer read. Whether you're lounging poolside or kicking back over a cold drink after a long, hot day working outside, the novel has enough twists and turns to keep you guessing the whole time. Much like Liana herself, the novel is constantly redefining itself as readers discover new information and pieces of the puzzle. At times this convolution does feel overdone - as a reader I like to be able to follow clues alongside the protagonist and work each one out with them, but in this novel events aren't clearly enough connected and the reader is left at the end of the novel with a several page account by George of what he thinks happened that feels like a deus ex machina - and there were a few moments where repeated phrases or situations stood out to me as trite. That aside, the weaknesses did not overshadow the story and I enjoyed the time I spent reading this book fully.
Recommended for anyone who loves mysteries, film noir setups, or just looking for an engaging summertime read!
MY RATING⇢ 3 STARS | GRADE C
FEATURING⇢
Twisted Scheming
Switching Identities
Blah Characters
With Audio Performed by Paul Boehmer
MY THOUGHTS⇢
I haven't been reading the Mystery genre for all that long now...I only ventured into it because I was not feeling Romances so much, they are starting to be the same story over and over. I find that my tastes in murder mysteries don't always tend to be what everyone else really likes. Maybe, it's that this is under the elusive category of Noir (I still haven't figured out what makes a mystery a noir). Maybe, I don't like Noir styled stories. It also could be about the Narrator...I didn't really like him, after all.
Basically, I was unable to really get invested in this story or the characters...especially the characters. It was well written and it was very twisty, with a cleverly crafted title (I always like when the title doesn't really make sense until you read the book). But...it just wasn't for me.
THE BREAKDOWN⇢
Plot⇢ 4/5
Narration Performance⇢ 3/5
Characters⇢ 2/5
The Feels⇢ 2/5
Pacing⇢ 2.7/5
Addictiveness⇢ 2/5
Theme or Tone⇢ 2.5/5
Flow (Writing Style)⇢ 4/5
Backdrop (World Building)⇢ 3/5
Ending⇢ 3.5/5 Cliffhanger⇢ Nah...just an open ending.
_____
Book Cover⇢ Meh...
Setting⇢ Boston, Massachusetts
Source⇢ Hoopla Audiobook (Library)
Length⇢ 8 hours, 39 minutes
FEATURING⇢
Twisted Scheming
Switching Identities
Blah Characters
With Audio Performed by Paul Boehmer
MY THOUGHTS⇢
I haven't been reading the Mystery genre for all that long now...I only ventured into it because I was not feeling Romances so much, they are starting to be the same story over and over. I find that my tastes in murder mysteries don't always tend to be what everyone else really likes. Maybe, it's that this is under the elusive category of Noir (I still haven't figured out what makes a mystery a noir). Maybe, I don't like Noir styled stories. It also could be about the Narrator...I didn't really like him, after all.
Basically, I was unable to really get invested in this story or the characters...especially the characters. It was well written and it was very twisty, with a cleverly crafted title (I always like when the title doesn't really make sense until you read the book). But...it just wasn't for me.
THE BREAKDOWN⇢
Plot⇢ 4/5
Narration Performance⇢ 3/5
Characters⇢ 2/5
The Feels⇢ 2/5
Pacing⇢ 2.7/5
Addictiveness⇢ 2/5
Theme or Tone⇢ 2.5/5
Flow (Writing Style)⇢ 4/5
Backdrop (World Building)⇢ 3/5
Ending⇢ 3.5/5 Cliffhanger⇢ Nah...just an open ending.
_____
Book Cover⇢ Meh...
Setting⇢ Boston, Massachusetts
Source⇢ Hoopla Audiobook (Library)
Length⇢ 8 hours, 39 minutes
This is the story of George Foss, an Average Joe from Boston, prone to bouts of severe gullibility, especially when it comes to women. Or one woman in particular...
I think I would have liked this novel more had I read it before Swanson's second novel, [b:The Kind Worth Killing|25820446|The Kind Worth Killing|Peter Swanson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1435611407s/25820446.jpg|41240456]. This author clearly has a thing for femme fatales, masquerading as damsels in distress and seducing gullible men into doing their bidding; however it's The Kind Worth Killing that shows Swanson's growth as an author, with shocking twists and more satisfying character development. This novel had the potential to be brilliant, and a plot that kept me interested until the end, but I found many of the characters to be flat and the plot didn't seem to really twist in any particular direction.
The title was a bit gimmicky, it was referenced a couple of times before the end but it wasn't particularly natural - it's not exactly something that someone commonly says, and it felt like it was in there to justify the title
I found the ending was particularly dissatisfying - he gets all the way down to Mexico and is gripped with the conviction that Liana is alive...and...that's it? He already thought that (and we all knew it), so instead of leaving us guessing in an ultimately exciting way, it fell into a flat anti-climax that seemed lazy. Without confirming that Liana was alive (or at least having George glimpse a woman that could be her), it was just another example of George's foolishness, chasing the ghost of a woman down to Mexico and...what next George?
Perhaps my rating is biased because I know how brilliant Swanson can be, so I'm looking more favourably on what is quite an average novel; but likewise its good qualities might have been diminished by comparison to its successor.
I think I would have liked this novel more had I read it before Swanson's second novel, [b:The Kind Worth Killing|25820446|The Kind Worth Killing|Peter Swanson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1435611407s/25820446.jpg|41240456]. This author clearly has a thing for femme fatales, masquerading as damsels in distress and seducing gullible men into doing their bidding; however it's The Kind Worth Killing that shows Swanson's growth as an author, with shocking twists and more satisfying character development. This novel had the potential to be brilliant, and a plot that kept me interested until the end, but I found many of the characters to be flat and the plot didn't seem to really twist in any particular direction.
The title was a bit gimmicky, it was referenced a couple of times before the end but it wasn't particularly natural - it's not exactly something that someone commonly says, and it felt like it was in there to justify the title
I found the ending was particularly dissatisfying
Perhaps my rating is biased because I know how brilliant Swanson can be, so I'm looking more favourably on what is quite an average novel; but likewise its good qualities might have been diminished by comparison to its successor.
I hated every character and that made what would have been a 4 star book a 3 star book. I almost didn’t finish. Awful. Very disappointed.