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asreadbyakhila's reviews
23 reviews
Almost Surely Dead by Amina Akhtar
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
The Angel Maker by Alex North
2.75
Thank you to Netgalley & Celadon books for this ARC!
This is my first book by the author, Alex North, and I have heard good things about their work! This book started off strong, and definitely reeled me in. Katie feeling the weight of "what if I had done something different" from her teenage years into her adulthood was depicted well. I felt invested in her relationship with her brother Chris and wanted to know more about their dynamics even beyond what was given in the novel. The love she has for her brother paired up with the feeling of being left behind/feeling like her parents didn't worry about her in the same way was an interesting struggle that was written well and I wish they had gone into that more! Overall the story started out with good, creepy atmosphere, and it did leave me wanting to know what happened. There were moments of suspense and unsettling descriptions that were well done. There is philosophy intertwined in this book as well, and aspects of that were interesting to think about.
However, where the story lost me was when too many different characters and plots were added into the mix, and some plots skipped time without much warning. Within a single chapter, we would sometimes skip from present to past to present again. I didn't quite understand how some of the plots tied together, and felt the story could have benefitted from cutting some plots to tighten up the story. Even at the end when most of the storylines crossed, I had a hard time really fully understanding it. It felt like there was at once a lot going on, but the connections weren't clear enough for me as a reader to feel invested in most of the plots or characters.
Ultimately I think if you enjoy complex thrillers with lots going on you might like this book. I still want to check out other books by this author, especially The Whisper Man as that has very high praise. I think this specific book just did not work for me personally.