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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked it a lot. I liked the switch back and forth with the podcast. I liked the mystery and the satisfying ending. I liked the suspense-fulness of it.
2.75 Stars.
If it wasn’t for the audiobook, I wouldn’t have made it to the end of this book. I had such high hopes going into this since I love the Good Girls Guide To Murder series and this was meant to be inspired by that series, but there is a difference between being inspired but something and just outright copying half of Holly’s ideas.
The only main difference between this book and the GGGTM series are the characters (not in a good way) and the way everything was organised (if I can even call it that) everything was. That bothers me so much. it's fine to be inspired by something, but don't outright reuse someone's work.
Everything was so disorganised and the characters never acted their ages. this book was filled with cliches and I pretty much guessed everything before it was revealed. If you are going to write fictional crime, make sure you're readers can't guess everything that's happening.
As for the characters, my god they drove me nuts. No character had development throughout or by the end of the story. I just felt as though everyone got dumber and didn't learn anything. I also felt as though no one had a personality but rather their sexuality was their personality. I felt like that was all I knew about them. I don't mind when there is diversity amongst the cast, in fact, I actually encourage it given the times we are living in, but when that's all the characters are is their sexuality, that's not going to cut it and isn't good enough for me.
As for Sammy, my god she was so annoying. I got so sick of her blubbering and fumbling by the end of the book. I was like "Shut up and stop crying. I don't care." She really reminded me of Hermione in the final Harry Potter book.
Overall, I found this book not only really disappointing but so boring. I couldn't help but zone out when I had the audiobook going.
I can safely say I won't be reading another book by this author and am upset this was my final book of April.
If it wasn’t for the audiobook, I wouldn’t have made it to the end of this book. I had such high hopes going into this since I love the Good Girls Guide To Murder series and this was meant to be inspired by that series, but there is a difference between being inspired but something and just outright copying half of Holly’s ideas.
The only main difference between this book and the GGGTM series are the characters (not in a good way) and the way everything was organised (if I can even call it that) everything was. That bothers me so much. it's fine to be inspired by something, but don't outright reuse someone's work.
Everything was so disorganised and the characters never acted their ages. this book was filled with cliches and I pretty much guessed everything before it was revealed. If you are going to write fictional crime, make sure you're readers can't guess everything that's happening.
As for the characters, my god they drove me nuts. No character had development throughout or by the end of the story. I just felt as though everyone got dumber and didn't learn anything. I also felt as though no one had a personality but rather their sexuality was their personality. I felt like that was all I knew about them. I don't mind when there is diversity amongst the cast, in fact, I actually encourage it given the times we are living in, but when that's all the characters are is their sexuality, that's not going to cut it and isn't good enough for me.
As for Sammy, my god she was so annoying. I got so sick of her blubbering and fumbling by the end of the book. I was like "Shut up and stop crying. I don't care." She really reminded me of Hermione in the final Harry Potter book.
Overall, I found this book not only really disappointing but so boring. I couldn't help but zone out when I had the audiobook going.
I can safely say I won't be reading another book by this author and am upset this was my final book of April.
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
medium-paced
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think this book had a lot of good elements. I loved the side characters and the first half of the story but somewhere around the middle it started dragging. I thought the end reveal was anticlimactic and then the ending after the reveal felt like it was going on forever without really addressing everything I wanted to know. I’ve never read AGGGTM so I can’t compare this to it. I loved the queer rep, obvi. I thought the end sentence was cringe and didn’t make any sense with the rest of the story. I also thought the sheer amount of times it was mentioned that Lea (sp? I listened to the audiobook so idk!) had six fingers per hand was incredibly excessive. It was like in every scene with her and it felt weird to focus on that so much. Also maybe it’s just me but I was also confused on if she was Asian or adopted or not? It doesn’t matter to the story of course but I felt like it could’ve been mentioned to aid in the characterization of Lea. But anyway, it was entertaining and I will keep a lookout for what Wlosok puts out next!
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
How to Find a Missing Girl genuinely surprised me in honesty. I found the opening chapters to be tedious in the extreme, yet by the end of the novel I was genuinely enjoying it. Don't get me wrong, the novel has flaws - largely the reliance on a podcast that added little or nothing to the plot throughout. It also leaned far too heavily on it's obvious reference point - A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (GGG) - and felt like a copycat gimmick for too much of it.
If there one thing GGG did well, it was incorporating the 'bonus material' including the podcast, interviews and diary-esque extracts. Everything felt like it had a place and was relevant. This... tried to use the same methodology but only used podcasts and they were so darn dull that it was a chore to read. Other plot points could have been directly lifted from GGG and whilst I didn't see the exact responsible party, I could guess at some of it solely due to the similarities. And I was not wrong. I did think the final reveal was done well though, so bonus points for that.
Where this excelled was in the secondary characters - and they were the ones who drew me into the narrative. There's a wealth of diversity on display here, and it's done well with genuine relationships and some wonderful characterisations. Occasionally it was thrown into your face in a blatant manner, but mostly it was humans being humans, loving who they love and being who they are. That was a delight to read. I also liked the depictions of parenthood - particularly Iris's aunt, who was thrust into parenthood rather than choosing it. The teenage angst directed at her from Iris felt real as well.
It's a pity that Iris's character as a whole didn't quite work. She's made being a detective the key part of her personality, no matter what boundaries she stomps and who she hurts. I can kind of see it. She's a teenager who lost her mum and her sister in close succession and knows her aunt never wanted kids. But it's also probably the most boring MC role to focus on. Any one of her LGBT friends would have been better, they at least had actual personalities beyond being annoying.
All in all, this is absolutely a rip-off of GGG, but it was an entertaining one by the end at least. It could have been better by being a little more original and having a more relateable MC. And cutting the podcasts out.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my free review copy of this title.
If there one thing GGG did well, it was incorporating the 'bonus material' including the podcast, interviews and diary-esque extracts. Everything felt like it had a place and was relevant. This... tried to use the same methodology but only used podcasts and they were so darn dull that it was a chore to read. Other plot points could have been directly lifted from GGG and whilst I didn't see the exact responsible party, I could guess at some of it solely due to the similarities. And I was not wrong. I did think the final reveal was done well though, so bonus points for that.
Where this excelled was in the secondary characters - and they were the ones who drew me into the narrative. There's a wealth of diversity on display here, and it's done well with genuine relationships and some wonderful characterisations. Occasionally it was thrown into your face in a blatant manner, but mostly it was humans being humans, loving who they love and being who they are. That was a delight to read. I also liked the depictions of parenthood - particularly Iris's aunt, who was thrust into parenthood rather than choosing it. The teenage angst directed at her from Iris felt real as well.
It's a pity that Iris's character as a whole didn't quite work. She's made being a detective the key part of her personality, no matter what boundaries she stomps and who she hurts. I can kind of see it. She's a teenager who lost her mum and her sister in close succession and knows her aunt never wanted kids. But it's also probably the most boring MC role to focus on. Any one of her LGBT friends would have been better, they at least had actual personalities beyond being annoying.
All in all, this is absolutely a rip-off of GGG, but it was an entertaining one by the end at least. It could have been better by being a little more original and having a more relateable MC. And cutting the podcasts out.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my free review copy of this title.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes