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lisaanne's review against another edition
2.0
I loved Martina Cole 20 odd years ago so thought I'd revisit her books as I've not read one in years.
I don't know if it's me and my tastes have changed, or it's this book, but I really didn't enjoy this one.
A lot of her storylines are repetitive but this one just seemed so poorly written.
I didn't think the storyline was that strong either.
Overall it was a huge disappointment and I doubt I'll revisit anymore of these books.
I don't know if it's me and my tastes have changed, or it's this book, but I really didn't enjoy this one.
A lot of her storylines are repetitive but this one just seemed so poorly written.
I didn't think the storyline was that strong either.
Overall it was a huge disappointment and I doubt I'll revisit anymore of these books.
sophs92's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
eleri_j's review against another edition
2.0
So. Bad.
I haven't read any of her books before and I don't think I'll bother with anymore.
I had some hope for it because I'd heard so many good reviews and I liked the basic premise. The only reason it's not lower rates is because I had a day off to get through it so that it wouldn't sit about for weeks due to lack of interest. I hate not finishing books even if I'm not enjoying them.
Bad writing. Cliches. About 3000 c-words (which I'm not generally offended by, I just felt it was largely unnecessary and tacky)
And so much repetition! It just made me feel like the author had a very limited vocabulary which made the whole thing feel very unintelligent and boring.
A story like this needs to challenge you and throw some twists and turns in, but all this did was go through the motions. There wasn't even any big climax to it.
It just left me feeling a bit sad honestly - not sympathetic, sad.
I haven't read any of her books before and I don't think I'll bother with anymore.
I had some hope for it because I'd heard so many good reviews and I liked the basic premise. The only reason it's not lower rates is because I had a day off to get through it so that it wouldn't sit about for weeks due to lack of interest. I hate not finishing books even if I'm not enjoying them.
Bad writing. Cliches. About 3000 c-words (which I'm not generally offended by, I just felt it was largely unnecessary and tacky)
And so much repetition! It just made me feel like the author had a very limited vocabulary which made the whole thing feel very unintelligent and boring.
A story like this needs to challenge you and throw some twists and turns in, but all this did was go through the motions. There wasn't even any big climax to it.
It just left me feeling a bit sad honestly - not sympathetic, sad.
joeri81's review
2.0
Michael Flynn is the don in the organized crime world in London. As a young guy he got himself into crime and got himself noticed by Patrick Costello, the former don. Patrick Costello made sure Michael was properly trained so he was ready to steadily take on larger tasks. Once Costello died it was the logical step for Michael to follow into his footsteps. In that position nobody dares challenge Michael ... and then, his daughter disappears.
At this point the story is being picked up. It is becoming quickly clear that it’s a disturbing disappearance and Michael pulls out all his resources to find his daughter. What follows next is the story about Michael. How he became the big shot in the crime world, what he had to do for it and which enemies he made during his road to success. During the story several candidates are provided who could all have had a motive to hurt Michael and his family.
Martina Cole has a fluid writing style and so the book reads quick and easy. What did bother me however is that a lot of events reoccur. Martina Cole really exaggerates in repeating a lot of stuff. The only goal would be to highlight certain events. It however annoyed me a lot as reader and it does the story more bad then good. The story also lacks some creativity. The kidnapping happens, possible suspects are provided and in the end, one of them turns out to be the culprit. For me there never actually was more than one suspect. In the end my assumption turned out to be correct. So no unexpected twists and turns in this book. I did hope for them, but the more I read, the less I thought it possible.
The characters were distinct enough but I never really cared for them. They aren’t really sympathetic and some are even plain annoying.
I can’t really recommend this book. I wouldn’t say it was a total waste of time, but I can’t say that it was pleasant read either. The story just isn’t very exciting; it’s most a recollection of events. Maybe Martina Cole provided better work in the past, but with Revenge I’m not convinced to pick up any other work from her (4/10).
At this point the story is being picked up. It is becoming quickly clear that it’s a disturbing disappearance and Michael pulls out all his resources to find his daughter. What follows next is the story about Michael. How he became the big shot in the crime world, what he had to do for it and which enemies he made during his road to success. During the story several candidates are provided who could all have had a motive to hurt Michael and his family.
Martina Cole has a fluid writing style and so the book reads quick and easy. What did bother me however is that a lot of events reoccur. Martina Cole really exaggerates in repeating a lot of stuff. The only goal would be to highlight certain events. It however annoyed me a lot as reader and it does the story more bad then good. The story also lacks some creativity. The kidnapping happens, possible suspects are provided and in the end, one of them turns out to be the culprit. For me there never actually was more than one suspect. In the end my assumption turned out to be correct. So no unexpected twists and turns in this book. I did hope for them, but the more I read, the less I thought it possible.
The characters were distinct enough but I never really cared for them. They aren’t really sympathetic and some are even plain annoying.
I can’t really recommend this book. I wouldn’t say it was a total waste of time, but I can’t say that it was pleasant read either. The story just isn’t very exciting; it’s most a recollection of events. Maybe Martina Cole provided better work in the past, but with Revenge I’m not convinced to pick up any other work from her (4/10).
haroldstee101's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I had mixed opinions about this book. At times I hated it and it was boring and wanted it to be over, but other times it was getting interesting and enjoyable. This was a genre I usually don't read, it was about Michael Flynn and how he is the boss of one of the biggest criminal empires.
It was also one of the longest books I've read and to be honest it didn't really entertain me that much. Although the occasional moments were it was good had deep moments and was engaging. the amount of swearing was kind of pissing me off though "fucking" was used in every other line, not even exaggerating.
The lives that these characters were living was described vividly by the author though:
"Her ankles were so painful, the shackles had rubbed most of her skin away, and she could actually see her ankle bones poking out, the metal rings that held her in place were covered with dried blood and hardened lumps of her skin, a constant reminder of her predicament."
This stood with me while reading this book.
Overall, I give it 3 stars.
It was also one of the longest books I've read and to be honest it didn't really entertain me that much. Although the occasional moments were it was good had deep moments and was engaging. the amount of swearing was kind of pissing me off though "fucking" was used in every other line, not even exaggerating.
The lives that these characters were living was described vividly by the author though:
"Her ankles were so painful, the shackles had rubbed most of her skin away, and she could actually see her ankle bones poking out, the metal rings that held her in place were covered with dried blood and hardened lumps of her skin, a constant reminder of her predicament."
This stood with me while reading this book.
Overall, I give it 3 stars.
boodlez's review
3.0
This book was a disappointment from Martina Cole. It starts strongly, yet becomes muddled and woolly as it moves on, causing me to wonder whether Cole merged two originally disparate plot ideas / book concepts into one. I see another reviewer has questioned whether she had a ghost writer for this novel: a reaction which I can identify with. Whilst the book is worth a read, the plot was unimaginative and - as other reviewers have pointed out - the text needed a decent edit to cut out all the repetition. It was as if Cole had a word limit to reach and trotted out the same lines over and over, at the expense of any novel information. This meant that it was exhausting to read at points and I would find myself skimming sections which offered nothing new. Some characters were significantly under-developed, particularly Josephine, who was hard to relate to or understand. This was a shame, as firming up this character would've added so much more depth to the storyline, and would help the reader to empathise with her as events unfolded. If you are a Cole fan, then it's probably worth a go, but if you are considering reading your first by Cole, stick with The Take or The Runaway, which are spectacular books, in a different league altogether.
kanzajamil's review
4.0
It was good except the ending. I was hoping for a plot twist somewhere and there was none. The book was too straight. Everything was expected.. what I did love was the writing style and the journey and the effort put in to the side characters. It was beautiful.
It was probably realistic, Karma doesn't always work. Bad people get away with no consequences, specially when they are intelligent bad people.
It was probably realistic, Karma doesn't always work. Bad people get away with no consequences, specially when they are intelligent bad people.
sukhkaur's review
3.0
The start and the end was ‘just fine’ but the mid was slack. It was stretched a bit too much. I started off with good note but there was a point when I was so bored and on urge to give up on this book. But anyhow managed to finish this off. The story is so repetitive.