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3.01 AVERAGE
3.01 AVERAGE
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I don't think I am smart enough for this book, I feel like my brain is mush now.
This starts off as a courtroom thriller and slowly descends into a mind-bending, reality-questioning conspiracy theory thriller? I can't say I hated the trajectory, but I think there was too much going on for me to really comprehend it all. By the end I was just pushing through to be finished because it all became a little too convoluted (and yet... I still kind of like the overall outcome?)
Lila comes to awareness in the middle of the courtroom with no knowledge of who she is or how she got there- but she quickly discovers that she is the public defender for a mass murder trial. In trying to uncover what happened to her, Lila starts down a road of conspiracy theories that tangle her up more than anything. And then she finds herself in the center of a second murder investigation.
This was giving Shutter Island vibes BIG TIME (from the semi-racist remarks, to the island isolation and potential for reality to be skewed). It took a different turn that I wasn't quite expecting, which helped divert it from the Shutter Island idea, but that's also when things became a little too twisty for me to follow. There is a LOT of legal jargon to wade through in here, and I didn't understand half of the big words. Did that ruin it? No, not really, I just glossed over some things which may have come in handy toward the end??
For a few content warnings since I did not see any listed in my ARC copy: This ends up involving neo-Nazi characters and themes, discussions of terrorism, mass murder via bombs, and psy-ops with distortion of reality.
Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced copy of this title. My review is completely voluntary, completely my own, and always completely honest.
This starts off as a courtroom thriller and slowly descends into a mind-bending, reality-questioning conspiracy theory thriller? I can't say I hated the trajectory, but I think there was too much going on for me to really comprehend it all. By the end I was just pushing through to be finished because it all became a little too convoluted (and yet... I still kind of like the overall outcome?)
Lila comes to awareness in the middle of the courtroom with no knowledge of who she is or how she got there- but she quickly discovers that she is the public defender for a mass murder trial. In trying to uncover what happened to her, Lila starts down a road of conspiracy theories that tangle her up more than anything. And then she finds herself in the center of a second murder investigation.
This was giving Shutter Island vibes BIG TIME (from the semi-racist remarks, to the island isolation and potential for reality to be skewed). It took a different turn that I wasn't quite expecting, which helped divert it from the Shutter Island idea, but that's also when things became a little too twisty for me to follow. There is a LOT of legal jargon to wade through in here, and I didn't understand half of the big words. Did that ruin it? No, not really, I just glossed over some things which may have come in handy toward the end??
For a few content warnings since I did not see any listed in my ARC copy: This ends up involving neo-Nazi characters and themes, discussions of terrorism, mass murder via bombs, and psy-ops with distortion of reality.
Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced copy of this title. My review is completely voluntary, completely my own, and always completely honest.
Interesting concept but really convoluted execution. I didn’t love where the story went at all
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was kinda always confused. I understood most times what was happening, but it often seemed like chapters weren’t connected to each other. Not terrible, but could definitely be better.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It wasn't bad per se... but there was a lot going on at once and I was pretty confused throughout the whole thing. The ending didn't really satisfy me either.
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Complicated
I spent most of this book saying “wait…what?” It was constantly throwing curveballs, and not always in a good way. The premise was great, and the twists kept me going—I was dying to know how it ended, but I found it confusing and hard to follow most of the time. If I hadn’t been doing a buddy read I might have DNFd it. But the ending was very intriguing and I’m glad I stuck through it!