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A review by jubaju
Knife Edge by Malorie Blackman
2.0
To quote the Pussycat Dolls, be careful what you wish for ‘cause you just might get it. I spent the last book hoping we’d get a little more of Jude, if only to escape from all the romance going on, but now that I did, I hated it.
Malorie Blackman writes in the introduction of this book Jude is a character whose actions definitely sent a chill down my spine as I was writing , but he spends almost the entirety of his chapters dating Cara and falling for her. I was expecting some great villainous mastermind, and all the « scheming » I got was a boy using someone else’s plan to get himself out of jail.
His whole romance with Cara could have taken his character development down a whole different path, but instead we see growth, followed by a 180° shift where he goes back to who he was at the beginning of book 1. If you’re going to write about something for 150 pages, make it count.
Jude’s « laws », as he calls them, or life rules, were ridiculous. Never allow yourself to kill. Feelings kill. They build up this cold and heartless character which would have honestly made him an amazing antagonist, but all the while we watch him fall in love with a girl he considers his enemy, and then kill her for it. He could have become a great villain because of that, but instead he spent another dozen chapters moping around and wallowing in regret.
The writing didn’t get much improvement, and neither did the characterisation. They all felt flat and without any substance, to the point where they became interchangeable in my mind. The recurrent use of [character] read my mind was just plain awkward, and the dialogues in general were a pain to read.
I was expecting more action, more world building, less romance, and less angsty drama, and instead got the same exact thing as book 1.
I will be continuing on with this series after that cliffhanger, but I’m not raising my expectations as I did at the end of Noughts and Crosses. We will probably get another rapid start followed by a 300 page lull and then as much action crammed into the last 50 pages as possible.
Malorie Blackman writes in the introduction of this book Jude is a character whose actions definitely sent a chill down my spine as I was writing , but he spends almost the entirety of his chapters dating Cara and falling for her. I was expecting some great villainous mastermind, and all the « scheming » I got was a boy using someone else’s plan to get himself out of jail.
His whole romance with Cara could have taken his character development down a whole different path, but instead we see growth, followed by a 180° shift where he goes back to who he was at the beginning of book 1. If you’re going to write about something for 150 pages, make it count.
Jude’s « laws », as he calls them, or life rules, were ridiculous. Never allow yourself to kill. Feelings kill. They build up this cold and heartless character which would have honestly made him an amazing antagonist, but all the while we watch him fall in love with a girl he considers his enemy, and then kill her for it. He could have become a great villain because of that, but instead he spent another dozen chapters moping around and wallowing in regret.
The writing didn’t get much improvement, and neither did the characterisation. They all felt flat and without any substance, to the point where they became interchangeable in my mind. The recurrent use of [character] read my mind was just plain awkward, and the dialogues in general were a pain to read.
I was expecting more action, more world building, less romance, and less angsty drama, and instead got the same exact thing as book 1.
I will be continuing on with this series after that cliffhanger, but I’m not raising my expectations as I did at the end of Noughts and Crosses. We will probably get another rapid start followed by a 300 page lull and then as much action crammed into the last 50 pages as possible.