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xanabertolo's review against another edition
4.0
Este livro intrigou-me desde o início e conseguiu surpreender-me no final. Sabia que algo se passava de muito errado na estória, mas nunca adivinharia.
Muito bom.
Tenho tido sorte com as minhas leituras este ano :) poucos, mas bonzinhos..
Muito bom.
Tenho tido sorte com as minhas leituras este ano :) poucos, mas bonzinhos..
liz_ross's review against another edition
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
"You can't build true happiness on someone else's misery."
I was so excited for this book. It was one of those book I really was looking forward to read, because I really thought it would be awesome. But it only took me a couple of pages to realize that I was wrong. That this book wouldn't be awesome. In fact, it couldn't be further away from awesome.
I can see the potential of the story so clearly. It was there. The story, the idea had a lot of potential. It just wasn't delievered. The thing about unreliable characters is that they can't seem unreliable. The readers have to believe those characters, trust them. Even when we feel like they're unreliable, we can't have proofs, let alone certainties.
Now let me talk about the unreliable character of this book. If there's a thing the narration of the story made clear was that the character was not someone I could rely on. Since page one. So, if I can't trust her, why would I believe anything? And if I don't believe anything, guessing the whole story is like adding 2 plus 2. Easy, simple, boring. This story would have been more surprising if I had got to the ending and realized this character was telling the truth since the beginning. And I hoped that would happen for a while. But the narration made it so clear that something like that would never happen, that I had to let my hopes die.
So, bye-bye plot twists. They never stood a chance in a book written like this. It was like torture reading about the characters walking around, ignoring what's right in front of them, and the author pretending she didn't give away the whole story in the first 5 chapters.
And I know I've said this already, but the book had potential. It had a great pace and the writing style wasn't that bad. It's a shame none of them was used in this book's favour. The plot was preditable, boring, infuriating. The twists don't deserve to be called that. And the characters... I just have so many questions about the characters and what exactly was Abbott's point when she created them.
I have an unreliable character that is so obviously unworth of anyone's trust that it's a wonder she wasn't more annoying. The lawyer whose name I can't remember was such a great, clearly strong character, that the real question is - WHY COULDN'T I GET MORE ABOUT HER? I would have rather had more of her and no Stephanie at all than the book as it was.
Speaking of Stephanie, what's really her role in this story?! I have the first book in a series named after her. But she isn't the main character. I can barely say she is a side-character. She is almost a background character, only showing up when Abbott didn't have anything else to talk about and clearly with the sole objective of annoying me. Her whole existence in this story is pointless. She complains and complains about how she is in love with her boss, even if she thinks he doesn't deserve her love after being shocked for a moment when she delievered news like the ones she did out of the blue (obviously he didn't deserve a little bit to process what she had just said). Sure, she is a cop. Sure, she is the one meant to uncover the whole mystery. But to make her the one the series is named after because of that?! Especially when everything she discovered could have perfectly been discovered by one of the characters that was actually essential to the story?! I mean, WHY?!!
And then, there's Cleo. The way I see it (and considering the whole story), she should have been that one character easy to like. Or at least likable enough for the reader to feel sorry for her. But Abbott seems to have gone to such lengths to make her sound so annoying and worth of my hate that clearly I have to be mistaken. It's impossible not to hate that woman! And I really can't understand why would Abbott want anyone to hate Cleo as much as Evie. However, if that's her objective, she did an excellent job...
Overall, this was a HUGE disappointment. It had undeniable potential, but it wasn't delievered in any way. The plot is boring and predictable, the characters range from indifferent to annoying and there isn't one that I can save, the writing style by far not good enough to save anything (even if it isn't bad).
I was so excited for this book. It was one of those book I really was looking forward to read, because I really thought it would be awesome. But it only took me a couple of pages to realize that I was wrong. That this book wouldn't be awesome. In fact, it couldn't be further away from awesome.
I can see the potential of the story so clearly. It was there. The story, the idea had a lot of potential. It just wasn't delievered. The thing about unreliable characters is that they can't seem unreliable. The readers have to believe those characters, trust them. Even when we feel like they're unreliable, we can't have proofs, let alone certainties.
Now let me talk about the unreliable character of this book. If there's a thing the narration of the story made clear was that the character was not someone I could rely on. Since page one. So, if I can't trust her, why would I believe anything? And if I don't believe anything, guessing the whole story is like adding 2 plus 2. Easy, simple, boring. This story would have been more surprising if I had got to the ending and realized this character was telling the truth since the beginning. And I hoped that would happen for a while. But the narration made it so clear that something like that would never happen, that I had to let my hopes die.
So, bye-bye plot twists. They never stood a chance in a book written like this. It was like torture reading about the characters walking around, ignoring what's right in front of them, and the author pretending she didn't give away the whole story in the first 5 chapters.
And I know I've said this already, but the book had potential. It had a great pace and the writing style wasn't that bad. It's a shame none of them was used in this book's favour. The plot was preditable, boring, infuriating. The twists don't deserve to be called that. And the characters... I just have so many questions about the characters and what exactly was Abbott's point when she created them.
I have an unreliable character that is so obviously unworth of anyone's trust that it's a wonder she wasn't more annoying. The lawyer whose name I can't remember was such a great, clearly strong character, that the real question is - WHY COULDN'T I GET MORE ABOUT HER? I would have rather had more of her and no Stephanie at all than the book as it was.
Speaking of Stephanie, what's really her role in this story?! I have the first book in a series named after her. But she isn't the main character. I can barely say she is a side-character. She is almost a background character, only showing up when Abbott didn't have anything else to talk about and clearly with the sole objective of annoying me. Her whole existence in this story is pointless. She complains and complains about how she is in love with her boss, even if she thinks he doesn't deserve her love after being shocked for a moment when she delievered news like the ones she did out of the blue (obviously he didn't deserve a little bit to process what she had just said). Sure, she is a cop. Sure, she is the one meant to uncover the whole mystery. But to make her the one the series is named after because of that?! Especially when everything she discovered could have perfectly been discovered by one of the characters that was actually essential to the story?! I mean, WHY?!!
And then, there's Cleo. The way I see it (and considering the whole story), she should have been that one character easy to like. Or at least likable enough for the reader to feel sorry for her. But Abbott seems to have gone to such lengths to make her sound so annoying and worth of my hate that clearly I have to be mistaken. It's impossible not to hate that woman! And I really can't understand why would Abbott want anyone to hate Cleo as much as Evie. However, if that's her objective, she did an excellent job...
Overall, this was a HUGE disappointment. It had undeniable potential, but it wasn't delievered in any way. The plot is boring and predictable, the characters range from indifferent to annoying and there isn't one that I can save, the writing style by far not good enough to save anything (even if it isn't bad).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
gxllxxn's review against another edition
4.0
I don’t know if I’m getting good at solving mystery books or the author just shoved all the hints straight to my face because finally, I managed to solve the case (partly) before the big reveal even happens!
I honestly enjoyed reading this book. Usually, mystery books bore me out on the first half of the book then redeem themselves only on the last few pages for the giant fucking twist. But this book engaged me from start to finish because Rachel Abbott’s writing style is so easy to follow! I like the idea of how the perpetrator admitted to the crime from the start (definitely not your typical ‘who is the killer’ kind of mystery book), but what intrigued me the most is the court trial that happened after the murder regarding the punishment to be imposed. It was a conflicting case because you only had one side of the story since the other party was already dead. Add up the fact that some characters were being edgy and shady, so it's hard to differentiate which were the lies and which were not.
However, as much as I live for twisted plot twists, this book doesn’t really have it. The story became predictable near the end and you could easily guess where the ending would lead to (at least some of it) because the hints were already laid out for you and you just have to connect the dots. The main twist itself is a bit unrealistic because how could a person do that??? But then, humans are capable of doing the most unrealistic things in life especially if fueled by vendetta so I guess it’s possible.
Nonetheless, I really really enjoyed reading And So It Begins because it may not be perfect, but it is absolutely intense and gripping!
I honestly enjoyed reading this book. Usually, mystery books bore me out on the first half of the book then redeem themselves only on the last few pages for the giant fucking twist. But this book engaged me from start to finish because Rachel Abbott’s writing style is so easy to follow! I like the idea of how the perpetrator admitted to the crime from the start (definitely not your typical ‘who is the killer’ kind of mystery book), but what intrigued me the most is the court trial that happened after the murder regarding the punishment to be imposed. It was a conflicting case because you only had one side of the story since the other party was already dead. Add up the fact that some characters were being edgy and shady, so it's hard to differentiate which were the lies and which were not.
However, as much as I live for twisted plot twists, this book doesn’t really have it. The story became predictable near the end and you could easily guess where the ending would lead to (at least some of it) because the hints were already laid out for you and you just have to connect the dots. The main twist itself is a bit unrealistic because how could a person do that??? But then, humans are capable of doing the most unrealistic things in life especially if fueled by vendetta so I guess it’s possible.
Nonetheless, I really really enjoyed reading And So It Begins because it may not be perfect, but it is absolutely intense and gripping!
booksbesideyourbed's review against another edition
4.0
E o que posso dizer sobre este livro? A verdade é que estava com expectativas muito elevadas, devido à sinopse e a ter ouvido coisas fantásticas sobre ele aqui. E a verdade é que me desiludiu um bocadinho
♥️O que gostei:
-O facto de demonstrar diferentes pontos de vista de diferentes personagens, assim ficamos a conhecer cada vez melhor as personagens, os seus pontos de vistas e todas as informações que elas nos dão. Assim, conseguimos criar as nossas teorias e motivos
-Algumas personagens: Devo ter sido a única que gostou/simpatizou com a Evie e não gostou nada da Cleo. Apesar disto, não estava à espera do desfecho de ambas
-O ambiente de dúvida e incerteza que a autora descreve. Nunca sabemos se o que aconteceu é verdade ou será tudo fabricado. A autora leva-nos a duvidar das personagens, mas também de tudo o que acreditamos ser verdade
♥️O que gostei:
-O facto de demonstrar diferentes pontos de vista de diferentes personagens, assim ficamos a conhecer cada vez melhor as personagens, os seus pontos de vistas e todas as informações que elas nos dão. Assim, conseguimos criar as nossas teorias e motivos
-Algumas personagens: Devo ter sido a única que gostou/simpatizou com a Evie e não gostou nada da Cleo. Apesar disto, não estava à espera do desfecho de ambas
-O ambiente de dúvida e incerteza que a autora descreve. Nunca sabemos se o que aconteceu é verdade ou será tudo fabricado. A autora leva-nos a duvidar das personagens, mas também de tudo o que acreditamos ser verdade
casacostello's review against another edition
4.0
I’ve been a fan of Rachel Abbott books for yonks so was very excited to read this. It did take me slightly longer to feel invested in the book once the dramatic opening sequence of the 2 blood covered bodies in the bed were introduced. Once I got my head round it not being a Tom Douglas book (would have helped if I had read the blurb) it did pick up for me. I liked the scenes inside the big White House and the courtroom. I really didn’t like the characters of Mark’s sister, Cleo but suspect I wasn’t supposed to. I did feel if anything, she was slightly contrived. Are people really that awful & obsessed about their brothers?
I like the character of the police officer, Stephanie & look forward to seeing how her character develops in future books.
Thanks to netgalley for providing an Advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I like the character of the police officer, Stephanie & look forward to seeing how her character develops in future books.
Thanks to netgalley for providing an Advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
chryssie's review against another edition
5.0
I had so many things I planned on doing today, but this morning I thought to myself ‘I’ll just read the first few chapters with my morning coffee before I get into the day’. Well... I finished the book by 4pm and other than making food for hungry kids and hanging out a load of washing in between pages, I did nothing else. Oops!
yetanothersusan's review against another edition
3.0
It is rare when you are reading a series and the main character is such a small part of the story. I kept waiting for it to pivot to more of Stephanie's story, but it never really did and when she did pop up it wasn't for long. I am not sure if that is why this book felt way too long and drawn out. The story kept building up to a climax and then going back to a slow pace like you would expect at the beginning of a book when you are setting a foundation to build up to a climax. Whole sections could have been severely condensed to keep the story moving and engaging.
kaz_loves_books's review against another edition
5.0
Oh wow, what an intriguing book to read, so full of twists and turns. Its great writing that keeps you so hooked, its hard to put the book down! The research has been done thoroughly and this shows throughout the book. The characters are written so well, you either love or hate them but it could change as more facts are gathered. A brilliant psychological thriller!