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A review by thebakersbooks
#murderfunding by Gretchen McNeil
3.0
3/5 stars — a premise that strained credulity despite a few redeeming features
#Murderfunding is, like the previous book in the series, a B-movie-esque celebration of campy horror. However, the kind of quirky premise that made #Murdertrending unique and interesting was stretched to its limits in the sequel. Bluntly, it wasn't believable and didn't work for me.
This gets three stars from me because a) it might appeal to readers who really loved the style/premise of the first book and those who enjoy a B-movie atmosphere, and b) the redeeming features mentioned above. Redeeming feature 1: the author's willingness to double down on the real-life United States' current problem with Russian interference in politics. Actually, I thought this went a bit too far;the idea of an American businessman demoing a live-action murder show as a way to sell it to Russia as "the newest state-sponsored program of capital punishment" again seemed too far-fetched Redeeming feature 2: the number of queer characters. The main character has two moms, she herself pursues a relationship with a girl throughout the book, and one of their fellow contestants is gay. This series very much buries its gays, often literally; only two of the queer characters survive the book. I don't take issue with this because of the overall death rate of named characters applies to straight ones as well.
My issues with the story outnumbered the parts I enjoyed, however. The attempt to invoke teen slang was outdated and clumsy, including characters unironically saying "For reals?" and "YOLO." The gay (male) character was portrayed as very effeminate and stereotypical, which, if I recall correctly, held true for the "Gucci Hangman" in the previous book as well.His death also felt empty and unnecessary. Most of all, I hated how the main character kept getting distracted by her attraction to her love interest, including mentally commenting on her "hotness" on the day of the MC's mother's funeral and later while they were actively trying to avoid getting killed. The romance between Becca and Stef wasn't believable; they knew each other five days and were actively antagonistic toward each other for the first two or three.
This book didn't work for me, but I hope it will appeal more to fans of slash-and-hack horror. If you really loved #Murdertrending or any of the author's other books, I suggest giving this a shot. Otherwise, I don't recommend it.
** I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. **
#Murderfunding is, like the previous book in the series, a B-movie-esque celebration of campy horror. However, the kind of quirky premise that made #Murdertrending unique and interesting was stretched to its limits in the sequel. Bluntly, it wasn't believable and didn't work for me.
This gets three stars from me because a) it might appeal to readers who really loved the style/premise of the first book and those who enjoy a B-movie atmosphere, and b) the redeeming features mentioned above. Redeeming feature 1: the author's willingness to double down on the real-life United States' current problem with Russian interference in politics. Actually, I thought this went a bit too far;
My issues with the story outnumbered the parts I enjoyed, however. The attempt to invoke teen slang was outdated and clumsy, including characters unironically saying "For reals?" and "YOLO." The gay (male) character was portrayed as very effeminate and stereotypical, which, if I recall correctly, held true for the "Gucci Hangman" in the previous book as well.
This book didn't work for me, but I hope it will appeal more to fans of slash-and-hack horror. If you really loved #Murdertrending or any of the author's other books, I suggest giving this a shot. Otherwise, I don't recommend it.
** I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. **