lokasreads 's review for:

Codename Villanelle by Luke Jennings

3.75

adventurous tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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I enjoyed the writing style and the book itself and plan on reading the sequel, but the author struggled with telling instead of showing for almost anything that wasn't Villanelle's character/personality, most notably things centering Eve. Her character and personality was only proven much later in the book; her growing distance from Niko and mirrored growing obsession with Villanelle felt very abrupt, without basis, and I reread previous pages trying to see if there was something I missed that would explain it. This disjointedness was distracting enough to bring the overall rating of the book down.

Also, as someone coming to the book from the show, I wish we had more Konstantin.