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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
Why couldn't I like this one. I wanted to like it so bad but I just didn't. I've seen alot of good reviews for this story and I was excited when I found it on my kindle. But it didn't do anything for me and I couldn't take it anymore so I had to give up. I try not to rate books I don't finish because I sometimes reread them but I had to force myself to read the part that I did. So I don't think that will happen with this book.
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
Reread 2023: I still love the uniqueness and Aussieness of this book so much :D
Read 2014: LOVED THIS BOOK!!
Hard to define all the elements that made the novel work so perfectly: a nice pace and rhythm that made it easy to read, there was humour, the terrible murder of Dave which drew you in and made you yearn for justice. But I think what really made this book so wonderful was the excellent character development. I fell in love with Mycroft & Watts. Their strengths, their vulnerabilities, their friendship and budding romance, were all revealed and explored so intimately and beautifully that I completely understood these characters and the motivations behind their actions. And I just can't wait to read what happens to them next!
Read 2014: LOVED THIS BOOK!!
Hard to define all the elements that made the novel work so perfectly: a nice pace and rhythm that made it easy to read, there was humour, the terrible murder of Dave which drew you in and made you yearn for justice. But I think what really made this book so wonderful was the excellent character development. I fell in love with Mycroft & Watts. Their strengths, their vulnerabilities, their friendship and budding romance, were all revealed and explored so intimately and beautifully that I completely understood these characters and the motivations behind their actions. And I just can't wait to read what happens to them next!
"I used to pretend, all the time, so I can spot it a mile away. If you're feeling shit, then just say so. I don't need to know the reason, it might be none of my business—"
"I'm feeling shit.”
4 Stars for gender bent Watson and Australian teenage Mycroft
I will admit that the only exposure that I have to Sherlock Holmes is the BBC TV series and Elementary; I haven’t read the original Sherlock Holmes tales though I’ve been meaning to, but I was interested to see how Sherlock Holmes would translate when adapted to modern times in Australia with a gender bent Watson and the detective duo as teenagers in high school .
It took a while to get into the book (and by while I mean about 40 or so pages though I haven't really pinned down exactly why I wasn't immediately hooked; I may have just been a little tired since I took a nap), but once I did I was hooked. It’s a clever adaption ; you don’t need to have read Sherlock Holmes to enjoy it and if you have an even basic understanding of the stories and characters in the original Sherlock Holmes then you’ll understand the references to the original work.
Rachel Watts and James Mycroft make a great pair, and they’re also great characters individually . Watts calls out Mycroft when he’s gone too far, and offers new perspectives to counter him. They have hilarious, interesting banter, and the romantic tension is a plus for the romantic in me. Even though their attraction is obvious from the start, I liked seeing their relationship dynamic before their romance fully developed because it allowed me to see them separately as characters.
The mystery plot was interesting, though not glued to the book, dying to know the truth interesting. I wasn’t surprised by the truth reveal, but the mystery wasn’t completely clear cut and there were quite a few unexpected twists and turns.
My favorite part was definitely Watts and Mycroft’s relationship and exploring their characters. I was often more interested in how the investigation would impact their relationship than the mystery itself, but I’m excited and interested in reading the rest of the series to unravel some of the mysteries that were mentioned in this book that will be delved in further in the sequel.
More 4.5 than 5 - better than expected. Wish they had been more subtle with the Morcroft name thing, it is too clunky for a story that has finesse.
Okay! I admit it- THIS BOOK WAS REALLY GOOD. It seriously grew on me, and now I absolutely cannot wait to read the next one! 4 stars :)
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
For fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and Stalking Jack the Ripper.
3.5 stars for sure and I want MORE Mycroft and Watts! They were so cute, dancing around each other. I love Watts and her tough attitude. Mycroft is so broken though, I worry about it. I'm told the series only gets better so I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the next one.
4.5 Stars
I won this in a Christmas giveaway run by the YA division of the publisher Allen & Unwin. I entered for this book based solely on the recommendation of Kirsti from Melbourne on my Mind/Ravenclaw Reading Room and my girl did not disappoint!
10 pages in I realised this was a Sherlock retelling with a female Watson set in Australia and I particularly hyperventilated from excitement. Over the next two busy days I sent every spare second devouring this story and what a way to end the year. I adored everything about Mycroft and Watts relationship and their friendships with Mai and Gus. I ship them all so hard!
The author absolutely nailed the various stages of grief and loss and the trauma of discovering the body of someone you care for and the emotional journey of trying to make sense of their absence in your world. There was so many instances of fantastic representation and diversity of world view, culture and race.
There was one or two instances were things weren’t quite right, a character describing a distance in feet instead of metres, there being no school uniform (very abnormal for schooling in Australia) etc but they are minor quibbles!
I would commend Marney for not using a single one of the YA tropes I hate. No sudden release of a breathe she didn’t know she was holding, Watts’ family cares about what she’s doing and who she spends time with and calls her out on a number of occasions!
Overall, I would highly recommend this book. Buy it, read it, love it!
I won this in a Christmas giveaway run by the YA division of the publisher Allen & Unwin. I entered for this book based solely on the recommendation of Kirsti from Melbourne on my Mind/Ravenclaw Reading Room and my girl did not disappoint!
10 pages in I realised this was a Sherlock retelling with a female Watson set in Australia and I particularly hyperventilated from excitement. Over the next two busy days I sent every spare second devouring this story and what a way to end the year. I adored everything about Mycroft and Watts relationship and their friendships with Mai and Gus. I ship them all so hard!
The author absolutely nailed the various stages of grief and loss and the trauma of discovering the body of someone you care for and the emotional journey of trying to make sense of their absence in your world. There was so many instances of fantastic representation and diversity of world view, culture and race.
There was one or two instances were things weren’t quite right, a character describing a distance in feet instead of metres, there being no school uniform (very abnormal for schooling in Australia) etc but they are minor quibbles!
I would commend Marney for not using a single one of the YA tropes I hate. No sudden release of a breathe she didn’t know she was holding, Watts’ family cares about what she’s doing and who she spends time with and calls her out on a number of occasions!
Overall, I would highly recommend this book. Buy it, read it, love it!
The first book in the Every Breath series, and what a great read! This is supposed to be a “what if Sherlock lived next door” type of story, but really, the link was fairly tenuous, and if you took it out, the book would not have been any worse for it.
I really enjoyed the energy and the voice of the story, it had a really good pace, and I liked both Watts and Mycroft, even if Watts had her little whiny moments here and there (in particular with the family drama).
The plot was interesting and fun, and even if I worked out the killer and the method fairly early on, the motive was a bit of a mystery and that was probably the most interesting part anyway. I liked that Watts and Mycroft didn’t stupidly put themselves in danger, they thought about what they were doing (well, most of the time – there were a couple of fly off the handle moments) and I didn’t start cursing the characters for being TSTL.
Watts and Mycroft had great chemistry, and the developing relationship between them was well paced (although, I might have even slowed it down some to spread it across the series. I do love a good slow burn romance though). I liked that they were flawed characters, who didn’t always behave nicely and that each of them had burdens of them emotionally that they had to work through.
The secondary characters were well done was well, I particularly liked Mai and all in all I thought it was a cracker of a book. Thoroughly enjoyed it and I plan on reading the rest!!
I really enjoyed the energy and the voice of the story, it had a really good pace, and I liked both Watts and Mycroft, even if Watts had her little whiny moments here and there (in particular with the family drama).
The plot was interesting and fun, and even if I worked out the killer and the method fairly early on, the motive was a bit of a mystery and that was probably the most interesting part anyway. I liked that Watts and Mycroft didn’t stupidly put themselves in danger, they thought about what they were doing (well, most of the time – there were a couple of fly off the handle moments) and I didn’t start cursing the characters for being TSTL.
Watts and Mycroft had great chemistry, and the developing relationship between them was well paced (although, I might have even slowed it down some to spread it across the series. I do love a good slow burn romance though). I liked that they were flawed characters, who didn’t always behave nicely and that each of them had burdens of them emotionally that they had to work through.
The secondary characters were well done was well, I particularly liked Mai and all in all I thought it was a cracker of a book. Thoroughly enjoyed it and I plan on reading the rest!!