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oxfordcommas91's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I’m genuinely sad about giving this book 3 stars, because I felt fairly certain it was going to be a 4 star read for me when I was about halfway through. This book had a lot of promise for me - lots of female main characters, interwoven stories, multiple art heists, WWII - all the right themes and ingredients were theoretically there. I was sucked in rather early on and was enjoying watching the story unfold.
Unfortunately the last 25 percent really crashed and burned in terms of my enjoyment. The characters became true caricatures in this last quarter. We had the naive but plucky protagonist and the cartoon psychopathic villain on a collision course. The antagonist was evil for no real reason and the depths of her depravity were confusing at times. And our heroine was one of the dumbest smart characters I’ve ever read. She was the cute blonde in the horror movie who decides to go down into the basement alone when she hears something go bump in the night.
The end only partially worked for me, though there are major plot points that are just left swirling around.
The goods - I was fairly hooked until I wasn’t, Ellis’ character arc (especially as relates to his grandson Adam), female representation in journalism.
Unfortunately the last 25 percent really crashed and burned in terms of my enjoyment. The characters became true caricatures in this last quarter. We had the naive but plucky protagonist and the cartoon psychopathic villain on a collision course. The antagonist was evil for no real reason and the depths of her depravity were confusing at times. And our heroine was one of the dumbest smart characters I’ve ever read. She was the cute blonde in the horror movie who decides to go down into the basement alone when she hears something go bump in the night.
The end only partially worked for me, though there are major plot points that are just left swirling around.
The goods - I was fairly hooked until I wasn’t, Ellis’ character arc (especially as relates to his grandson Adam), female representation in journalism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Death, Murder, Sexual assault, Suicide, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Addiction, Blood, Bullying, and Drug use
Moderate: Cancer, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, and Medical content
Minor: Vomit and Grief
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