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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This grabbed me from the very beginning and I was thoroughly enjoying it! It's a very dark humor, you know, dealing with murd-I mean, deleting and all. I didn't think I was going to enjoy it as a whole as much as I did, but it had a very unique and funny feel to it despite the premise of it. But in the last 1/3 of the book, where everything ties together, I just felt really meh about it. Well.. No. OK...
No spoilers here. But the story follows 3 POV's. One of which is a man named Cliff. And the other two are Doria and Gemma. But Cliff was my favorite and stood out far more for me. In the audiobook (which I highly recommend, btw), Cliff's POV was read by Neil Patrick Harris and he was so great, as he typically is. I think what made me not care for the other two POV's was how they were woman characters and they were read by Simon Vance. No taking away from him! He was superb as well. But I would've loved if there was more changes to the POV's when listening to it. I feel like I probably would've followed along more and cared more if I was reading the actual book instead of getting distracted by trying to figure out who it was I was following in what chapter.
That said, Cliff's POV was so well done and so interesting and fun to follow, it is worth the 4 stars on its own. It's so smartly written you have to stop and think how much did Rupert REALLY think about all of this lol.
The story takes place in a school where everyone is taught how to effectively "delete" their target. Which brings a whole new meaning to the trope of Dark Academia, and I'm here for it!
This was my last halloween themed read for the year and I can't complain about it.
No spoilers here. But the story follows 3 POV's. One of which is a man named Cliff. And the other two are Doria and Gemma. But Cliff was my favorite and stood out far more for me. In the audiobook (which I highly recommend, btw), Cliff's POV was read by Neil Patrick Harris and he was so great, as he typically is. I think what made me not care for the other two POV's was how they were woman characters and they were read by Simon Vance. No taking away from him! He was superb as well. But I would've loved if there was more changes to the POV's when listening to it. I feel like I probably would've followed along more and cared more if I was reading the actual book instead of getting distracted by trying to figure out who it was I was following in what chapter.
That said, Cliff's POV was so well done and so interesting and fun to follow, it is worth the 4 stars on its own. It's so smartly written you have to stop and think how much did Rupert REALLY think about all of this lol.
The story takes place in a school where everyone is taught how to effectively "delete" their target. Which brings a whole new meaning to the trope of Dark Academia, and I'm here for it!
This was my last halloween themed read for the year and I can't complain about it.
This was a fun read!!! I wish I would have done the ebook tho, it was a bit confusing to follow while listening to the audiobook in the car. If I had read the ebook, I think this would be a 4 star for me!
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Overall: Cute read with all the elements I am looking for but not something I would read a second time. I would love to see this book be picked up for a screen adaption because the premise was that fun.
"After all, when the behavior of another person leaves you no choice but to kill them, their murder is simply involuntary suicide."
Synopsis: Cliff, Gemma, and Doria have murder on the mind (or as McMasters would put it- deletion). Cliff has a terrible ex-boss; Gemma is being blackmailed for things in her past; and Doria has a producer sabotaging her stardom. All three characters find their way to ultra secret McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts (some more willing than others). McMasters teaches students the art of deleting ones target through a rigorous course of studies tailored to each students thesis. At McMasters they are guided by four simple questions: 1) is the murder necessary? 2) have you given your target every last chance to redeem themselves? 3) what innocent person might suffer by your actions? and 4) will this deletion improve the life of others? This book follows these three characters as they attend McMasters, learn murderous skills, and return to society to attempt their thesis.
Things I Loved about this book
- The humor was punny and witty. I found myself giggling at the murder puns in a non morbid way.
- The school was basically a trade school for murderers. It taught them everything from how to wear a disguise, how to poison lipstick, how to seduce ones target, and other common things one might need to know if they want to kill someone.
- I love how the story is partially written as Cliff's journal so readers can see what he is thinking as someone who was involuntarily forced into the conservatory.
- Murder is not your typical forms of violence in this book. This book makes murder some long process that requires skill.
Things I liked less in this book
- World Building. This book needed to be longer than 390ish pages. I wanted more time at the school. The premise is so cool that I felt as if the author could have given us more. We get inside one or two classes and then read about students participating in the hunter/prey game. However, when the students were leaving, as a reader, I did not feel that the author convinced me they were ready to complete their thesis.
- I wanted more time with Gemma and Doria. Cliff was the main character in this book and I felt like I could follow along his journey. Gemma kept me in the dark on her thesis and when she performed it I felt unsatisfied with how the author delivered Gemma's story to readers.
- Jud Helkampf. How could a school rival die in such an anticlimactic way? He deserved the worst of the worst. The sub-basement to never be seen again was not enough of a punishment for me.
Overall: Cute read with all the elements I am looking for but not something I would read a second time. I would love to see this book be picked up for a screen adaption because the premise was that fun.
"After all, when the behavior of another person leaves you no choice but to kill them, their murder is simply involuntary suicide."
Synopsis: Cliff, Gemma, and Doria have murder on the mind (or as McMasters would put it- deletion). Cliff has a terrible ex-boss; Gemma is being blackmailed for things in her past; and Doria has a producer sabotaging her stardom. All three characters find their way to ultra secret McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts (some more willing than others). McMasters teaches students the art of deleting ones target through a rigorous course of studies tailored to each students thesis. At McMasters they are guided by four simple questions: 1) is the murder necessary? 2) have you given your target every last chance to redeem themselves? 3) what innocent person might suffer by your actions? and 4) will this deletion improve the life of others? This book follows these three characters as they attend McMasters, learn murderous skills, and return to society to attempt their thesis.
Things I Loved about this book
Spoiler
This author gave me almost everything I could want as a reader. Rivalry, little pieces of potential love, revenge, and this weird sense of morality where yes they are deletists but they are not a sloppy killer. "By all means commit murder but not by all means!"- The humor was punny and witty. I found myself giggling at the murder puns in a non morbid way.
- The school was basically a trade school for murderers. It taught them everything from how to wear a disguise, how to poison lipstick, how to seduce ones target, and other common things one might need to know if they want to kill someone.
- I love how the story is partially written as Cliff's journal so readers can see what he is thinking as someone who was involuntarily forced into the conservatory.
- Murder is not your typical forms of violence in this book. This book makes murder some long process that requires skill.
Things I liked less in this book
Spoiler
Obscure References. I randomly felt as if I had skipped a few pages accidentally because the author would use weird references as if they are a big pop culture thing or less prominent characters. I found myself repeatedly turning back to reread just to make sure I did not miss anything.- World Building. This book needed to be longer than 390ish pages. I wanted more time at the school. The premise is so cool that I felt as if the author could have given us more. We get inside one or two classes and then read about students participating in the hunter/prey game. However, when the students were leaving, as a reader, I did not feel that the author convinced me they were ready to complete their thesis.
- I wanted more time with Gemma and Doria. Cliff was the main character in this book and I felt like I could follow along his journey. Gemma kept me in the dark on her thesis and when she performed it I felt unsatisfied with how the author delivered Gemma's story to readers.
- Jud Helkampf. How could a school rival die in such an anticlimactic way? He deserved the worst of the worst. The sub-basement to never be seen again was not enough of a punishment for me.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
funny
slow-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
Full of double entendre, this book creates some very creative murder scenarios. Fun concept with a secret "college" for teaching murder.
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced