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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
I absolutely loved this book. It was a fun and entertaining book overall and the mystery in t kept me hooked- I was on my toes and kept away from predictability until nearly the end - by the time which I laid out the pieces and solved the puzzle - but maybe it was that I never actually trusted the killer.
This is the first "Sherlock" in YA book I've read and I think it was great. Everything was great , great .
This is the first "Sherlock" in YA book I've read and I think it was great. Everything was great , great .
A hard-going book that picked up a bit towards the end. At first I thought this was a story set in the near-future with invented vocabulary, but nope, just strange Australian setting. I didn't love the characterization of Mycroft (seemingly unnecessary overdone backstory), but was interested in the growth of country-born Watts and her family's transition to city life.
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Actual rating: 4.5 stars
Not gonna lie, I was scared of this book. I mean, everyone has been loving it and I have been known, very occasionally, to be the black sheep of my little corner of the interwebs. For the record, I hate being the black sheep. Every Breath seemed a bit suspect too, because, while the thrilling word “ship” came up a lot, it came hand in hand with the word “Sherlock.” It’s not that I’m anti-Sherlock of any variety. However, what I know about Sherlock comes almost entirely from the Wishbone version of Hound of the Baskervilles. I did watch the first movie with Jude Law and RDJ, but I don’t even remember it. Until the book reminded me, I couldn’t remember who the heck Mycroft was in Sherlock Holmes. What if Sherlock love was essential for Every Breath love? My fears, guys.
You’ve probably guessed by now that Sherlock love was not necessary to love Every Breath, and I really really do. For a while I was afraid that I would just like it, but not reach the passionate, shouty levels of my dear friends. I’m not sure if took some time to take off for everyone or if that was just a me thing, but either way I ended up in the same location. That location being the docks. Where I boarded a ship. A Wattscroft ship made of science and practicality.
Every Breath has some of the very best friendship to love romance that I’ve ever experienced. When the novel opens, they’re very firmly friends with scarcely a tension-filled moment. There are some Freudian slips here and there, but mostly they’re cool and comfortable with each other. The thing is that I totally get why they didn’t realize they should be making out. For one thing, Rachel hasn’t been in the city for that long and, for another, she doesn’t want to stay. Mycroft knows that she’s hoping to head right back out to the country, that she doesn’t want to get attached, and they’re both basically resisting messy romantic feelings. People vainly trying to resist attraction is basically my call to ship.
Throughout Every Breath, Rachel has to weigh her feelings for Mycroft and her feelings about the city. I love how much Rachel loves farming and how much she will not let people disparage it. Along her emotional arc, Rachel says a lot of really mean things to people she loves, the barbs calculated to hurt the most. She also is incredibly loving and sweet and thoughtful, the sort of girl who makes sure Mycroft has enough to eat and will go hang out with Mycroft’s friend Homeless Dave.
Speaking of Homeless Dave, may he rest in peace. The mystery of the novel crops up early. Mycroft and Rachel, who totally have no romantic feelings for each other no sir, go to visit Dave and find his throat slashed. It’s a grisly, painful scene. Mycroft, though fascinated by forensics, throws up; it shows a lot about their dynamics that Rachel actually handles this better in some ways and not in others. The two begin investigating the case together and they’re really such a perfect team. When he’s flagging, she’s got a new idea and vice versa. Their talents and ways of thinking are quite different, so they complement one another well. Also, they trust one another, which is essential.
Mysteries are not usually my thing, but I actually really liked this one. There’s a bit of Scooby Doo-ness in the meddling kids solving the mystery, but it also really worked. Unlike some YA or MG mysteries, I think it makes a lot of sense for the teens to be the ones to solve the case. The circumstances are such that it truly is unlikely that the police force would look so closely. It’s a sad truth that the murder of a homeless man wouldn’t be looked into as closely.
Back to the romance, because that’s obviously the most important part. I already adored the other half of Mycroft and Watts group, Mai and Gus, but they’re even better for being the biggest shippers on the whole planet. Actually, almost everyone is trying to get those kids to realize the truth, except for Rachel’s parents and the school administration. Both of the latter have pretty good reasons for being concerned, and, in the case of Rachel’s parents, I think it resolves really smoothly.
The first kiss is shippy perfection and holy shit I could barely put the book down from that point on. Basically, it hit one of my very favorite tropes and just yes. Also, the passion and the swoons in this book. I cannot even.
My reservations are minor and petty. Mostly I just could not handle the character named Gray Jetta. His actual first name is Graham, but he goes by Gray. How does no one comment on the fact that this guy is a car? There’s also a teacher named Mrs. Ramen. Again, students would totally have some nickname for her or snicker about that or something. On top of that, there are way too many comma splices, which hurt my grammar loving soul, at least until I got sucked in enough to not notice anymore. Other than those things, my only issue was that it took a bit of time for the book to hook me, but once it did it did not let go.
I may have already preordered the second book even though it doesn’t come out until September. Why oh why will it finish in Australia before book two even comes out here? More importantly, why must the Australian covers be so incredibly ugly. Now I have to wait ages and I am sad. Or I’ll give in and buy the ugly covers, but I really really don’t want to. ARGH.
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
Not gonna lie, I was scared of this book. I mean, everyone has been loving it and I have been known, very occasionally, to be the black sheep of my little corner of the interwebs. For the record, I hate being the black sheep. Every Breath seemed a bit suspect too, because, while the thrilling word “ship” came up a lot, it came hand in hand with the word “Sherlock.” It’s not that I’m anti-Sherlock of any variety. However, what I know about Sherlock comes almost entirely from the Wishbone version of Hound of the Baskervilles. I did watch the first movie with Jude Law and RDJ, but I don’t even remember it. Until the book reminded me, I couldn’t remember who the heck Mycroft was in Sherlock Holmes. What if Sherlock love was essential for Every Breath love? My fears, guys.
You’ve probably guessed by now that Sherlock love was not necessary to love Every Breath, and I really really do. For a while I was afraid that I would just like it, but not reach the passionate, shouty levels of my dear friends. I’m not sure if took some time to take off for everyone or if that was just a me thing, but either way I ended up in the same location. That location being the docks. Where I boarded a ship. A Wattscroft ship made of science and practicality.
Every Breath has some of the very best friendship to love romance that I’ve ever experienced. When the novel opens, they’re very firmly friends with scarcely a tension-filled moment. There are some Freudian slips here and there, but mostly they’re cool and comfortable with each other. The thing is that I totally get why they didn’t realize they should be making out. For one thing, Rachel hasn’t been in the city for that long and, for another, she doesn’t want to stay. Mycroft knows that she’s hoping to head right back out to the country, that she doesn’t want to get attached, and they’re both basically resisting messy romantic feelings. People vainly trying to resist attraction is basically my call to ship.
Throughout Every Breath, Rachel has to weigh her feelings for Mycroft and her feelings about the city. I love how much Rachel loves farming and how much she will not let people disparage it. Along her emotional arc, Rachel says a lot of really mean things to people she loves, the barbs calculated to hurt the most. She also is incredibly loving and sweet and thoughtful, the sort of girl who makes sure Mycroft has enough to eat and will go hang out with Mycroft’s friend Homeless Dave.
Speaking of Homeless Dave, may he rest in peace. The mystery of the novel crops up early. Mycroft and Rachel, who totally have no romantic feelings for each other no sir, go to visit Dave and find his throat slashed. It’s a grisly, painful scene. Mycroft, though fascinated by forensics, throws up; it shows a lot about their dynamics that Rachel actually handles this better in some ways and not in others. The two begin investigating the case together and they’re really such a perfect team. When he’s flagging, she’s got a new idea and vice versa. Their talents and ways of thinking are quite different, so they complement one another well. Also, they trust one another, which is essential.
Mysteries are not usually my thing, but I actually really liked this one. There’s a bit of Scooby Doo-ness in the meddling kids solving the mystery, but it also really worked. Unlike some YA or MG mysteries, I think it makes a lot of sense for the teens to be the ones to solve the case. The circumstances are such that it truly is unlikely that the police force would look so closely. It’s a sad truth that the murder of a homeless man wouldn’t be looked into as closely.
Back to the romance, because that’s obviously the most important part. I already adored the other half of Mycroft and Watts group, Mai and Gus, but they’re even better for being the biggest shippers on the whole planet. Actually, almost everyone is trying to get those kids to realize the truth, except for Rachel’s parents and the school administration. Both of the latter have pretty good reasons for being concerned, and, in the case of Rachel’s parents, I think it resolves really smoothly.
The first kiss is shippy perfection and holy shit I could barely put the book down from that point on. Basically, it hit one of my very favorite tropes and just yes. Also, the passion and the swoons in this book. I cannot even.
My reservations are minor and petty. Mostly I just could not handle the character named Gray Jetta. His actual first name is Graham, but he goes by Gray. How does no one comment on the fact that this guy is a car? There’s also a teacher named Mrs. Ramen. Again, students would totally have some nickname for her or snicker about that or something. On top of that, there are way too many comma splices, which hurt my grammar loving soul, at least until I got sucked in enough to not notice anymore. Other than those things, my only issue was that it took a bit of time for the book to hook me, but once it did it did not let go.
I may have already preordered the second book even though it doesn’t come out until September. Why oh why will it finish in Australia before book two even comes out here? More importantly, why must the Australian covers be so incredibly ugly. Now I have to wait ages and I am sad. Or I’ll give in and buy the ugly covers, but I really really don’t want to. ARGH.
3.5 casi cuatro. Es una historia adictiva y entretenida. Los personajes son carismáticos y me gustó la normalidad de la amistad de Mycroft y Watts.
Ahora, a nivel de misterio es super básico y un tanto predecible. Se siente como un buen contemporary con un misterio barato.
Ahora, a nivel de misterio es super básico y un tanto predecible. Se siente como un buen contemporary con un misterio barato.
4.5 Stars.
This was such a great YA crime novel, with the perfect blend of wit, romance and mystery!
The writing was excellent, the characters were fully fleshed out and highly likeable, and the crime neatly layed out. Ellie Marney did a great job of writing realistic characters within a realistic setting, and added the perfect amount of drama to the story. Would highly recommend and am really looking forward to continuing with the series!
This was such a great YA crime novel, with the perfect blend of wit, romance and mystery!
The writing was excellent, the characters were fully fleshed out and highly likeable, and the crime neatly layed out. Ellie Marney did a great job of writing realistic characters within a realistic setting, and added the perfect amount of drama to the story. Would highly recommend and am really looking forward to continuing with the series!
I was a bit slow in starting the book at the beginning but before I knew it I couldn't put it down. This book never has a dull moment; action packed and fast-paced. This is my second time reading and I loved it even more than the first! I can't wait to read the rest of the series.
Really enjoyable YA take on Sherlock Holmes with a very strong narrator and characterization. A cute romance, too.
For me this book was another case of good concept, bad execution. This is all my own personal opinion, of course, but I just really didn't like any of the artistic choices the author went with when it came to taking a pre-existing and well known fictional character and re-inventing them in a contemporary story.
I'm not an enormous Sherlock Holmes fan, so I can't really argue whether or not she truly did the character of Mycroft any sort of justice, but I think that's mostly irrelevant since the character of Mycroft in this book isn't actually supposed to be Mycroft from Sherlock Holmes at all, he's just a boy who happens to have a similar name and also be of a genius-level intellect. Kind of disappointing, if you ask me. I think it would have actually been more fun and interesting to have had a look at what a modern-Mycroft would be like, with his more famous brother in the background, and all.
The mystery plot was, in itself, engaging enough. Pretty straight forward and hit all the familiar marks a mystery plot often does (ie: this doesn't make any sense, wait we've got a lead, now a twist, we're lost again, now we've figured it out, wait new information, new twist + big dramatic reveal!). Like I said, it was alright and it was interesting enough to keep me reading just to see the entire mystery plot through, but it wasn't very groundbreaking, edge-of-your-seat type stuff either.
Another problem was that I found the characters to be somewhat lacking in depth and development and it was hard for me to grow very attached to them, which probably is the main reason why I just couldn't fully get into the book at any time. Rachel's POV was...strange. I couldn't ever truly get a grip on who she was. I hate to say this about a female MC because I feel like it's usually an unfounded criticism, but she really didn't have much of a personality. She was just so one-dimensional to me. And the other characters weren't much better. Though I did like Mai from time to time, but she and her boyfriend Gus reeked of POC best friends that pop up when it's convenient to be sassy or helpful and then disappear again, and that gets stale pretty fast.
I wasn't the biggest fan of the writing style, either. The descriptions of people, their clothing, and their appearances often read as amateurish and repetitive. And then there was the sweepingly dramatic passages that just seemed to come out of nowhere which really took me out of the story.
My last gripe is the romance plot. I just really was not feeling the romantic chemistry between Mycroft and Rachel at all. I honestly think their relationship would have been more touching and powerful to me if they had just remained platonic best friends throughout the whole story. Maybe if down the line, since of course this is a series, the tension would have gradually started to build up, that could have worked. But as of the first book I found it very rushed and really cringe to experience.
I probably won't be continuing this series, but I can definitely see the appeal for others. Perhaps if you're new to the mystery genre and want something light to start off with, give this one a try.
I'm not an enormous Sherlock Holmes fan, so I can't really argue whether or not she truly did the character of Mycroft any sort of justice, but I think that's mostly irrelevant since the character of Mycroft in this book isn't actually supposed to be Mycroft from Sherlock Holmes at all, he's just a boy who happens to have a similar name and also be of a genius-level intellect. Kind of disappointing, if you ask me. I think it would have actually been more fun and interesting to have had a look at what a modern-Mycroft would be like, with his more famous brother in the background, and all.
The mystery plot was, in itself, engaging enough. Pretty straight forward and hit all the familiar marks a mystery plot often does (ie: this doesn't make any sense, wait we've got a lead, now a twist, we're lost again, now we've figured it out, wait new information, new twist + big dramatic reveal!). Like I said, it was alright and it was interesting enough to keep me reading just to see the entire mystery plot through, but it wasn't very groundbreaking, edge-of-your-seat type stuff either.
Another problem was that I found the characters to be somewhat lacking in depth and development and it was hard for me to grow very attached to them, which probably is the main reason why I just couldn't fully get into the book at any time. Rachel's POV was...strange. I couldn't ever truly get a grip on who she was. I hate to say this about a female MC because I feel like it's usually an unfounded criticism, but she really didn't have much of a personality. She was just so one-dimensional to me. And the other characters weren't much better. Though I did like Mai from time to time, but she and her boyfriend Gus reeked of POC best friends that pop up when it's convenient to be sassy or helpful and then disappear again, and that gets stale pretty fast.
I wasn't the biggest fan of the writing style, either. The descriptions of people, their clothing, and their appearances often read as amateurish and repetitive. And then there was the sweepingly dramatic passages that just seemed to come out of nowhere which really took me out of the story.
My last gripe is the romance plot. I just really was not feeling the romantic chemistry between Mycroft and Rachel at all. I honestly think their relationship would have been more touching and powerful to me if they had just remained platonic best friends throughout the whole story. Maybe if down the line, since of course this is a series, the tension would have gradually started to build up, that could have worked. But as of the first book I found it very rushed and really cringe to experience.
I probably won't be continuing this series, but I can definitely see the appeal for others. Perhaps if you're new to the mystery genre and want something light to start off with, give this one a try.
Book review up on the blog: https://fromthelibraryofemily.wordpress.com/2016/08/08/every-series-by-ellie-marney/