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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
Okay, there has to be something in the water in the land Down Under because every novel I've read by an Australian young adult author (e.g., Melina Marchetta, Jaclyn Moriarty, Cath Crowley) were fantastic, well-written read. Every Breath was no different.
I knew I was going to love Every Breath and I was right. It's actually one of those books where I love it so much that I have a hard time putting my love for the book into words. So, if this review is wonky and does not really make sense, well, basically I want you to get out there and get your hands on this book because it's friggin' good and you need it in your life.
I love Rachel! She's so relatable and... human. She's one of those characters who are imperfectly perfect. She acted her age--made mistakes and bad decisions along the way (she's teen!) but she learned from them. I really enjoyed watching her character develop and grow and mature throughout the novel. Mycroft, too, was fantastic. I wasn't sure of him at first because I had Cumberbatch's Sherlock (because, honestly, he's not that great of friend) in my head and I was wondering how good of a friend Mycroft will be to Rachel. But he's the best! He was eccentric and self-centered like Cumberbatch's Sherlock but he was never mean or a jerk to Rachel or any of their other friends Mai and Gus.
I love Rachel and Mycroft's dialogue. I love the sexual tension between them, which was present right from the very first chapter, when Rachel was cleaning up Mycroft's bloody face--at that scene I was full on shipping the two of them. But most of all I love their friendship. I love that it was already established that they're best friends. If you visit this blog enough, you know that I like my romances and I like them big and all-encompassing. However, in Every Breath it's more a slow burn with lots of fantastic, tangible sexual tension. I was fine with that--my favorite was actually watching their friendship and partnership slowly become more.
I also enjoyed the secondary characters, especially Mai, Gus and Rachel's brother Mike. They added to the story. I also appreciated that Rachel's parents were there and involved in their children's lives.
The mystery really keeps you on your toes. I was right there with Rachel and Mycroft as they investigated and gathered clues and tried to figure things out. We also get some really grisly scenes from the murder but nothing too crazy. The author did a good job keeping up the suspense because the feeling of danger and fear was evident and I was glued to the pages. I was able to work out the mystery before the end of the novel but that's just how I am when reading a whodunit novel. My mind constantly works putting together the clues or guest that the least suspecting person is the killer. However, my figuring out the mystery early did not deter my enjoyment of the novel--I was still too way into the book.
Overall, there's nothing to dislike and everything to love about Every Breath. Fleshed out, realistic characters, a riveting mystery, excellently written and just a totally absorbing read. I cannot gush about it enough. Rereading this review, everything I wrote feels so trite but I really don't have the words--I'm not eloquent enough. Just: YOU NEED TO READ EVERY BREATH. Seriously.
I am so excited for book 2, Every Word. I need it in my life right now. Anyone from Australia can get me a copy? Because I am way too impatient to wait another year for it to release here in the US.
I knew I was going to love Every Breath and I was right. It's actually one of those books where I love it so much that I have a hard time putting my love for the book into words. So, if this review is wonky and does not really make sense, well, basically I want you to get out there and get your hands on this book because it's friggin' good and you need it in your life.
I love Rachel! She's so relatable and... human. She's one of those characters who are imperfectly perfect. She acted her age--made mistakes and bad decisions along the way (she's teen!) but she learned from them. I really enjoyed watching her character develop and grow and mature throughout the novel. Mycroft, too, was fantastic. I wasn't sure of him at first because I had Cumberbatch's Sherlock (because, honestly, he's not that great of friend) in my head and I was wondering how good of a friend Mycroft will be to Rachel. But he's the best! He was eccentric and self-centered like Cumberbatch's Sherlock but he was never mean or a jerk to Rachel or any of their other friends Mai and Gus.
I love Rachel and Mycroft's dialogue. I love the sexual tension between them, which was present right from the very first chapter, when Rachel was cleaning up Mycroft's bloody face--at that scene I was full on shipping the two of them. But most of all I love their friendship. I love that it was already established that they're best friends. If you visit this blog enough, you know that I like my romances and I like them big and all-encompassing. However, in Every Breath it's more a slow burn with lots of fantastic, tangible sexual tension. I was fine with that--my favorite was actually watching their friendship and partnership slowly become more.
I also enjoyed the secondary characters, especially Mai, Gus and Rachel's brother Mike. They added to the story. I also appreciated that Rachel's parents were there and involved in their children's lives.
The mystery really keeps you on your toes. I was right there with Rachel and Mycroft as they investigated and gathered clues and tried to figure things out. We also get some really grisly scenes from the murder but nothing too crazy. The author did a good job keeping up the suspense because the feeling of danger and fear was evident and I was glued to the pages. I was able to work out the mystery before the end of the novel but that's just how I am when reading a whodunit novel. My mind constantly works putting together the clues or guest that the least suspecting person is the killer. However, my figuring out the mystery early did not deter my enjoyment of the novel--I was still too way into the book.
Overall, there's nothing to dislike and everything to love about Every Breath. Fleshed out, realistic characters, a riveting mystery, excellently written and just a totally absorbing read. I cannot gush about it enough. Rereading this review, everything I wrote feels so trite but I really don't have the words--I'm not eloquent enough. Just: YOU NEED TO READ EVERY BREATH. Seriously.
I am so excited for book 2, Every Word. I need it in my life right now. Anyone from Australia can get me a copy? Because I am way too impatient to wait another year for it to release here in the US.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Amazing! I loved the plot (which didn't seem as stupid as most murder mysteries do to me), the characters (Rachel and Mycroft and Mai and the Watts family!), and everything was just well done.
Every breath is a blend of everything I love in a narrative: crime, mystery, romance and a whacked sense of genius. I instantly fell in love with the characters, especially James and Rachel. I love their chemistry and the tension which they had at the beginning. The characters are very well developed, with each of them being quirky in their own way, and the plot was very well set out. I adored the detail displayed on the whole process of figuring out the murder. The blooming romance is absolutely incredible. All in all, this book was great and I loved every page of it.
I will be reviewing this one soon, along with the sequels once I binge them too. I really, really, really enjoyed this. And, OH MY, I ship Watts and Mycroft so much that it hurts. I just want to squish those two, they are so frigging cute! I like the detective/Sherlock Holmes aspect to it as well. But, let's be real for a second, it's all about the adorableness of Mycroft and Watts.
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
This review was originally posted on my blog, Paperbacks & Protagonists.
I love this book. I absolutely love it. I devoured it in one sitting, and boy, was I glad to have the second book propped up and ready to read. Such a strong debut and a fantastic novel. This trilogy is definitely going to end up being one of my favourites.
I loved Rachel. She reminded me a lot of myself, although as much as I am a "country girl," I'm also a "city girl." Rachel is a strong character, and she knows what she wants. She is very realistic and although she can make impulsive decisions, she always knows what the right thing to do is.
Mycroft, on the other hand, is just perfect. He is my second favourite book boyfriend and I just adored his character! He has an obsession with forensics, which I loved, as I also am interested in forensics (so much that I'm going to be studying forensic science next year), and I just can't even explain how much I love him. Just read the book for yourself and you'll understand what I mean. (Also, did I mention that he's British?)
Rachel's parents and brother, Mike, and Watts and Mycroft's friends, Mai and Gus were all enjoyable characters and although they are not present in the novel a great deal, they all felt very realistic and well thought-out. The police detective, Pickup, was also a well thought-out character, even though he was not the most agreeable man. In fact, all of the secondary characters all felt very realistic and extremely well-written.
I absolutely loved the plot! Ellie Marney doesn't waste time getting to the nitty gritty. I'm a big fan of murder mysteries, and this one certainly doesn't disappoint. If only there were more of them in YA...I didn't guess the murderer either, so that was a bonus. All of the little connections to the Sherlock stories were done well, and they were all very, very enjoyable.
I loved how the book was set in Melbourne - I don't think I've ever read a novel set in Melbourne before, and it was such a cool experience to do so as I knew where everything was and what everyone was talking about.
The relationship development between Watts and Mycroft was perfect, like so many other elements of the story. Their relationship didn't move too fast, and it wasn't too slow either - it was just right and it was very enjoyable.
The pacing and the writing of the novel were, once again, very satisfying - I never once got bored or thought things happened too fast.
Every Breath is a very strong debut and I think Ellie Marney is a force to be reckoned with.
This review was originally posted on my blog, Paperbacks & Protagonists.
I love this book. I absolutely love it. I devoured it in one sitting, and boy, was I glad to have the second book propped up and ready to read. Such a strong debut and a fantastic novel. This trilogy is definitely going to end up being one of my favourites.
I loved Rachel. She reminded me a lot of myself, although as much as I am a "country girl," I'm also a "city girl." Rachel is a strong character, and she knows what she wants. She is very realistic and although she can make impulsive decisions, she always knows what the right thing to do is.
Mycroft, on the other hand, is just perfect. He is my second favourite book boyfriend and I just adored his character! He has an obsession with forensics, which I loved, as I also am interested in forensics (so much that I'm going to be studying forensic science next year), and I just can't even explain how much I love him. Just read the book for yourself and you'll understand what I mean. (Also, did I mention that he's British?)
Rachel's parents and brother, Mike, and Watts and Mycroft's friends, Mai and Gus were all enjoyable characters and although they are not present in the novel a great deal, they all felt very realistic and well thought-out. The police detective, Pickup, was also a well thought-out character, even though he was not the most agreeable man. In fact, all of the secondary characters all felt very realistic and extremely well-written.
I absolutely loved the plot! Ellie Marney doesn't waste time getting to the nitty gritty. I'm a big fan of murder mysteries, and this one certainly doesn't disappoint. If only there were more of them in YA...I didn't guess the murderer either, so that was a bonus. All of the little connections to the Sherlock stories were done well, and they were all very, very enjoyable.
I loved how the book was set in Melbourne - I don't think I've ever read a novel set in Melbourne before, and it was such a cool experience to do so as I knew where everything was and what everyone was talking about.
The relationship development between Watts and Mycroft was perfect, like so many other elements of the story. Their relationship didn't move too fast, and it wasn't too slow either - it was just right and it was very enjoyable.
The pacing and the writing of the novel were, once again, very satisfying - I never once got bored or thought things happened too fast.
Every Breath is a very strong debut and I think Ellie Marney is a force to be reckoned with.
This is a trimmed down version of my review, to view the full review visit The Book Ramble.
Rachel Watts and James Mycroft are a modern day Sherlock and Holmes, in fact they hope to be just like them. When their friend is murdered the two work hard to find out who killed him and why, facing off against cops, murderers, the school, their parents, and even lions. The pair make a charming modern take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic duo, there's wit, charm, and sexual tension which make this story fun and charming against a thrilling and terrifying murder mystery.
I really enjoyed this so much. It was a bit of a slow start for me, but then once I got into it I devoured it as quickly as I could. I just found this books fun and witty and cute and sweet and really, very interesting as Sherlock Holmes related stuff tends to be. It wasn't perfect but the things I want to complain about don't really merit removing any stars. I loved this book too much.
I really liked Rachel Watts as a narrator. I found her interesting. I liked her backstory because it was very realistic. Her family has recently moved to the city after being farmers forever, and she doesn't like the city. Her anxiety about the city, and her frustration with her family about responsibility and finances was really realistic and created a lot of really excellent depth to Watts's character.
James Mycroft was really...great? I really just loved him to bits. His backstory, the possible murder of his family, was really interesting and much darker than Watts's, which really works well to form Mycroft as he is. I found Mycroft maybe a more manageable version of Sherlock, which worked well within the confines of a YA books. There was definitely something charming and kind of sexy to the mystery of his character.
The chemistry between Watts and Mycroft is excellent. They have some good banter and witty discussion, which really means that the book could have gone without the romantic relationship bit, because they were excellent friends. That being said, the romance is so sweet. Slow building and then explosive. Fantastic. I loved the building up of small touches and glances. It was really sweet. I cannot wait for more of this in the sequels.
The murder mystery was really interesting and hard to stop reading. I really enjoyed it. Yes, it was sort of predictable and I identified the murderer as soon as they were introduced, but(!!) it was still very interesting and exciting to read.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. I am definitely going to buy the sequels when they're released in North America. If you like Sherlock I think you'd probably like this book.
Rachel Watts and James Mycroft are a modern day Sherlock and Holmes, in fact they hope to be just like them. When their friend is murdered the two work hard to find out who killed him and why, facing off against cops, murderers, the school, their parents, and even lions. The pair make a charming modern take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic duo, there's wit, charm, and sexual tension which make this story fun and charming against a thrilling and terrifying murder mystery.
I really enjoyed this so much. It was a bit of a slow start for me, but then once I got into it I devoured it as quickly as I could. I just found this books fun and witty and cute and sweet and really, very interesting as Sherlock Holmes related stuff tends to be. It wasn't perfect but the things I want to complain about don't really merit removing any stars. I loved this book too much.
I really liked Rachel Watts as a narrator. I found her interesting. I liked her backstory because it was very realistic. Her family has recently moved to the city after being farmers forever, and she doesn't like the city. Her anxiety about the city, and her frustration with her family about responsibility and finances was really realistic and created a lot of really excellent depth to Watts's character.
James Mycroft was really...great? I really just loved him to bits. His backstory, the possible murder of his family, was really interesting and much darker than Watts's, which really works well to form Mycroft as he is. I found Mycroft maybe a more manageable version of Sherlock, which worked well within the confines of a YA books. There was definitely something charming and kind of sexy to the mystery of his character.
The chemistry between Watts and Mycroft is excellent. They have some good banter and witty discussion, which really means that the book could have gone without the romantic relationship bit, because they were excellent friends. That being said, the romance is so sweet. Slow building and then explosive. Fantastic. I loved the building up of small touches and glances. It was really sweet. I cannot wait for more of this in the sequels.
The murder mystery was really interesting and hard to stop reading. I really enjoyed it. Yes, it was sort of predictable and I identified the murderer as soon as they were introduced, but(!!) it was still very interesting and exciting to read.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. I am definitely going to buy the sequels when they're released in North America. If you like Sherlock I think you'd probably like this book.
adventurous
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:
Yes