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A review by frasersimons
A Peculiar Combination by Ashley Weaver
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This was a pretty fun spy fiction meets will-they-won’t-they between a young woman burglar and her… handler? I guess. As a job goes south and she’s pressed into service, she begins to find reasons of her own to stick around and help the war effort in an unusual way.
It’s pretty good at knowing when to subvert tropes and when to use them. The writing moves along at a good pace. It’s not particularly evocative or interesting at a prose level, very much feeling like commercial fiction, but there’s nothing wrong with that. It clearly knows what it’s doing and executing on that.
There was a section that felt a bit clumsy in its choreography and I didn’t actually care about the final twist concerning the traitor. There’s a back and forth between them when they’re described as basically fighting for their lives, quite unconvincing. Pretty hard to have a conversation while you’re tangled up and being throttled.
Otherwise it was a good time. Better than expected.
It’s pretty good at knowing when to subvert tropes and when to use them. The writing moves along at a good pace. It’s not particularly evocative or interesting at a prose level, very much feeling like commercial fiction, but there’s nothing wrong with that. It clearly knows what it’s doing and executing on that.
There was a section that felt a bit clumsy in its choreography and I didn’t actually care about the final twist concerning the traitor. There’s a back and forth between them when they’re described as basically fighting for their lives, quite unconvincing. Pretty hard to have a conversation while you’re tangled up and being throttled.
Otherwise it was a good time. Better than expected.