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A review by adjnn
Birthday Presents by Dianne Hartsock
3.0
I enjoy reading books that are dark, violent, and really push the limits. Books that deal with things you don't often find in more "mainstream" books. However, I find that a lot of this type of book have the same problem: lack of character development. There is drama and action and suspense and more action, but at the sacrifice of fully fleshed out characters. I liked the characters of Tracey, Gene, Kyle and Daniel, but I didn't feel like I really got to know them outside of the superficial.
This book is just too short. I don't mind being dropped right in the middle of the story in the beginning, but then I need more from them at the end. Those moments where everything slows down for a minute so that our characters can breathe. These are the moments when we can really dive into who these characters are, and get a deeper sense of understanding of them. I want to KNOW these characters, not just know ABOUT them. The book ends soon after the climax, so we don't really get to see a lot of the aftermath, and how these characters are holding up, how they are dealing with the trauma (esp. Kyle!). If I don't care about the characters, how can I care about what happens to them? The book was just not that impactful. It's like one of those slasher movies. It's fun to watch the group being terrorized by the killer, but when it's done you're left thinking: meh.
It's a good time in the moment but there's not much substance or depth.
So, 3 stars. I did enjoy reading it, the writing was good, but I wanted so much more from it.
This book is just too short. I don't mind being dropped right in the middle of the story in the beginning, but then I need more from them at the end. Those moments where everything slows down for a minute so that our characters can breathe. These are the moments when we can really dive into who these characters are, and get a deeper sense of understanding of them. I want to KNOW these characters, not just know ABOUT them. The book ends soon after the climax, so we don't really get to see a lot of the aftermath, and how these characters are holding up, how they are dealing with the trauma (esp. Kyle!). If I don't care about the characters, how can I care about what happens to them? The book was just not that impactful. It's like one of those slasher movies. It's fun to watch the group being terrorized by the killer, but when it's done you're left thinking: meh.
It's a good time in the moment but there's not much substance or depth.
So, 3 stars. I did enjoy reading it, the writing was good, but I wanted so much more from it.