A review by mellow_mikan
Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer

dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

1.0

I wanted to like this...especially in the beginning! The main character - a cybersecurity expert bodybuilder woman - was not one you see often, and I thought she was a fun voice to inhabit, at first.

But I really grew to dislike her by...not even by the end, it only took a few chapters, because none of her choices made sense. All in all it was pretty boring, and the main character's motives really felt ridiculous.

Like, all it takes is a mild curiosity of why someone would mail her a taxidermied hummingbird to get her to the point where she'd literally not only abandon her husband and daughter, but steal money from them, and suffer permanent bodily damage

. I really couldn't get on board with her because of that.The ending was also...frustrating. It felt like maybe that could have been the first chapter in a different book I would have enjoyed more.