I liked it, but this was a completely unnecessary sequel that was missing all the fun of the previous books. If it weren't for Grayson's sister, this I liked it, but this was a completely unnecessary sequel that was missing all the fun of the previous books. If it weren't for Grayson's sister, this book would have been a real slog.
This feels more like the beginning of a new trilogy than the continuation of the old one; the ending leaves no doubt that there will be more to come. I think if it was marketed that way, it might have changed my expectations going in, probably for the better....more
Not a big fan of the Amazon originals where what should probably be a novel is broken down into multiple short stories and sold individually.
This stoNot a big fan of the Amazon originals where what should probably be a novel is broken down into multiple short stories and sold individually.
This story was just an ok read for me. No character development means no reason to care about what happens. I unfortunately already bought all the books in this "series" so I'll probably read them eventually, but I won't be in a rush to do it....more
I loved the first two books in the series, but this one took a bit of a nosedive. The first part was a little tedious and a lot annoying, but it was sI loved the first two books in the series, but this one took a bit of a nosedive. The first part was a little tedious and a lot annoying, but it was still okay, even if there was a bit of retconning Andie. The second part was just dumb and everything was out of character and poor decisions. I kind of wish I'd skipped this book in the series. It wasn't a bad book and would have been fine as a stand alone; it just didn't really work for me as the finale to the series....more
I'm really enjoying this series. The first one was probably better, but this was still a worthy sequel. I think this was a bit more predictable, but tI'm really enjoying this series. The first one was probably better, but this was still a worthy sequel. I think this was a bit more predictable, but that might just be increasing familiarity with how the author writes.
My only real gripe is that almost everything in the book is important. There needs to be more false clues or ultimately unimportant details to throw things off. After writing that, this book did have some, but I feel like I saw thru them pretty quickly....more
I had a really hard time getting into this one. The writing style was pretty short and choppy and took about half the book for me to get used to. ThatI had a really hard time getting into this one. The writing style was pretty short and choppy and took about half the book for me to get used to. That combined with a main character that I really disliked made me want to stop this book several times. I'm glad I stuck it out, but probably won't ever read it again.
Once Jay gets swallowed by the whale, the book gets better. I'm having a hard time suspending my disbelief on the ending, but I can get over it. I really wish there'd have been an epilogue to this story, but it probably would have pushed it to the completely unbelievable....more
This one wasn't as awful as the bad reviews would have you believe; it's also not as good as the good reviews say, either. It's a middle of the road tThis one wasn't as awful as the bad reviews would have you believe; it's also not as good as the good reviews say, either. It's a middle of the road thriller that doesn't really bring anything new to the genre. It's the story of a vacationing family that runs afoul of a family of rednecks. Instead of the usual Appalachia setting, this is set in Australia to spice things up. I expected Australian wildlife to be a factor in the story, but they didn't really come into play at all. Sharks were a minor factor, but that could happen just about anywhere with an ocean.
This was an entertaining popcorn thriller, that runs about 100 pages too long and falls apart if you think about it much at all. The whole story relies on the vacationing family deciding to go to the creepy, isolated island with the extremely suspect Australian rednecks. The majority of people wouldn't do this for free, let alone pay $1000 for the privilege. Apparently, these Americans were lulled into a false sense of security by the likes of Steve Irwin, Paul Hogan and Hugh Jackman and believe that all Australians are the nicest people on Earth. My other problem was the writing for the children; they're supposed to be 12 and 14, but come across much closer to 17 and 15, in my opinion. Honestly, Heather felt like she was written younger than the children most of the time and she's 24.
I'd say this is worth a read if you TBR list is getting kind of bare, but it's nothing to run out and buy. There are other similar stories that do it better. Getaway by Zoje Stage fits the same genre, but is better written....more
I was really looking forward to this book coming out, but it ended up being a big letdown. I first read the blurb and was hoping for something like FaI was really looking forward to this book coming out, but it ended up being a big letdown. I first read the blurb and was hoping for something like Fantasticland. Instead, I got something more like Clown in a Cornfield, that took itself too seriously and got rid of the fun .
The first problem is way too many characters and almost all of them have POV sections in the story. I didn't go back and count, but there are at least 14 viewpoint characters in this book. It was a pain keeping track of who was who and the author would switch POV with no warning, so I had to re-read multiple sections when I got lost to figure out who had POV and who the hell they were. Since the book is just under 250 pages, character development gets skipped in favor of caricatures and stereotypes.
Second, the author gets pretty heavy handed with the social commentary. I'm shocked no one in this book uttered the phrase "okay, boomer." Most of the characters felt like they would be right at home on Reddit in subs like /r/antiwork or /r/teenagers. Sure they're supposed to be in their 20's but they're definitely written as teenagers. It felt like the author was trying to make a point about how boomers ruined everything for the younger generations, but then added a bunch of characters from said younger generation and wrote them to be the entitled and lazy people that senior citizens make Facebook memes about.
For me, the final straw was the lack of anything resembling an ending. The book just sort of stops in the middle of the action. I'm not a fan of ambiguous endings, but I can live with them when they're well done. This was not one of those. It isn't really even fair to call it ambiguous; it's more like the author got a wrist cramp and just said "screw it, close enough" and called it a day. So not only did the book skip what would have been the best part of the ending, what they kept didn't make a lot of sense. Apparently right before the "climax" of the book, our heroes signaled for a time out and all action stopped in order to speechify at the very end. It was like a movie where they show the bomb counting down the last 5 seconds, but 20 minutes worth of movie takes place in those 5 seconds. Our heroes talk and talk and right before the big payoff, the book ends. I was still planning on giving this 3 stars right up to the last few pages.
This is another case of good concept, but poor execution. Had the author limited the book to two or three viewpoint characters, spent more time on development of the important characters, and actually wrote a complete ending this could have been a decent read. I didn't hate it, but can't say I really liked it either....more
I've not had the best of luck with the third book in trilogies, but this one has bucked the trend. It felt like a fitting conclusion for the Bayview cI've not had the best of luck with the third book in trilogies, but this one has bucked the trend. It felt like a fitting conclusion for the Bayview crew, but there's still room for more if McManus decides to bring us back....more
3.5 rounded down, because Trump. It's been a frustrating couple of years and a book about "real-life" giant, monsters sounded like a great distraction3.5 rounded down, because Trump. It's been a frustrating couple of years and a book about "real-life" giant, monsters sounded like a great distraction from reality. Unfortunately, somehow this book still managed to include way too much about Covid and Donald Trump, even if he isn't mentioned by name. This is the stuff I'm reading a very fantastical book to get away from. Can we please have our escape from reality back and stop including real world politics and current events into everything? You can make up politicians for your make believe worlds. End gripe.
This is my second John Scalzi novel, and I still don't know if I'm a fan or not. This story was really entertaining and quickly hooked me, but the characters all blur together and are virtually indistinguishable. If Scalzi didn't attribute nearly every quote to who said it, I'd have no idea who was talking most of the time. The only context clue was one minor character who threatened to fire bomb everything. They were probably the only person you could identify via dialogue.
On top of that, the only character description given are their names and field of study. The field of study doesn't matter too much since they're all nerds and appear to easily grasp different scientifc fields and geek culture. At no point do we ever find out if Jamie Gray is even male or female. The rest of the characters all had long, hard to pronounce names, but Google helped tell me if they were male or female names, the country they're associated with and how to pronounce them. I was kind of disappointed there was little to no description of the kaiju, either. We're told there are multiple species, but the only details are that they're big, and one species has wings and weird eyes.
The story is fast and fun, but somewhat predictable. It's a great popcorn read, but something you really don't want to overthink or analyze. I've been in a big reading slump so far this year, but this has been the first new book I didn't struggle to get through. My review probably sounds overly critical, but I did really like the story. There are a lot of character issues, but this is a book where plot trumps character.
The book is pretty much what you'd expect based on the blurb. If that sounds like something you'd like, then you're probably going to like the book....more
This one didn't feel quite up to snuff for a Blake Crouch novel. The plot was fairly predictable and it kind of felt like a paint by number sci-fi thrThis one didn't feel quite up to snuff for a Blake Crouch novel. The plot was fairly predictable and it kind of felt like a paint by number sci-fi thriller. I expect more than popcorn fiction from Crouch. The ending is about the only thing I didn't see coming, but that's because it more or less invalidates the rest of the book and all of the main character's motivations.
The story started out strong, but lost a lot of steam in part 2. I didn't lose interest, but it was a bit of a slog to get through. Part 3 picked up the pace some, but the finale felt a bit rushed; I was expecting a lot more fighting and a bigger final showdown than what we got.
Overall, I didn't think the book did enough to distinguish it from its predecessors like Limitless or Lucy. Okay, comparing it to the garbage fire that was Lucy isn't fair; whatever its flaws, Upgrade is much, much better than Lucy.
So far, this is my least favorite Blake Crouch book. It wasn't horrible, but the others I've read by him have just been really good....more
Damn, this one was a fun read (as much fun as you can have reading about a serial killer that targets children, anyway). It's not a perfect book by anDamn, this one was a fun read (as much fun as you can have reading about a serial killer that targets children, anyway). It's not a perfect book by any means, but it was definitely entertaining; it's popcorn fiction, but it's popcorn fiction done well. It feels almost like the official novelization of a movie that doesn't exist (but one I'd go see). It was a pretty quick read due to the rapid fire pace of the novel. The authors don't waste much time with unnecessary information, side-plots, or character development.
At this point, if you've read some of my other reviews, you're probably thinking I'm fickle as hell. I complain A LOT about lack of/bad character development. Most of those books are character driven stories or a mix of character and plot. You really need to empathize or understand the characters' motivations for the story to work.
I'm okay with the lack of development in this case for a couple reasons. First, this was absolutely a plot driven book and the characters don't particularly matter. For the main character, she needed to 1) be a member of the jury, 2) be a psychologist/psychiatrist and 3) be a mother. Anything beyond that isn't really important to the character. The characters are cliche enough that you can pretty much fill in the rest of the details on your own. Second, the book doesn't take itself too seriously. Murray and Wearmouth know they're writing popcorn fiction and they fully embrace that. It may be a weak excuse, but it's all I got. I'm not going to hold a Fast & the Furious movie up to the same level of scrutiny as I would an Oscar contender.
I probably wrote a similar version of this review on all 3 books in the Awakened trilogy written by the same authors. This book isn't going to win any esteemed literary awards. It would make a great popcorn flick on the big screen. This book isn't going to change your life, but it's a good way to pass a few hours....more
I glanced at some of the other reviews, and wow, I did not realize there was that big of a fan focus on the love trianI'm just here for the puzzles...
I glanced at some of the other reviews, and wow, I did not realize there was that big of a fan focus on the love triangle in this series, (especially Team Grayson) since most of the romance seemed kind of forced. The second and third books do a bit more to build some chemistry between the characters, but it still seemed more like a case of proximity infatuation rather than true love.
I thought this was a pretty good conclusion to a good series. The puzzles in this one seemed a lot easier for the characters to solve than the ones in previous books, but I still had fun. The book felt a bit more rushed than the previous installments. Part of that is probably due to the slow start of the book that doesn't do anything to advance the plot. If I were the editor, there were definitely some sections where I'd make heavy cuts for pacing and develop some other parts a bit more.
The author did some weird things with Grayson's character development that seemed way out of line with how he normally acts. It's explained in book, but still not sure I'm buying it. It's been a while since I've read the first two books, so not sure if some of the flashbacks happened in book two or happened between books two and three.
In the end, this is a satisfying conclusion to the series. If you read and enjoyed the first two, then you should like this one as well. Maybe. I guess it depends on which side of the love triangle you're on and whether your "team" won....more
The characters were mostly unlikable. The plot was predictable except for where it made no damn sense. There were too many side plots/sFuck this book.
The characters were mostly unlikable. The plot was predictable except for where it made no damn sense. There were too many side plots/stories that added nothing to the book. The main plot relied too much on stupidity to keep it moving. Also needed lots and lot of rain. In Los Angeles. Like a years worth of rain in one story just to delay a fence getting built. At that point, I don't know why you don't put it in another city.
I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate the main character. If all of our grandparents' Facebook memes about what's wrong with kids these days coalesced into a fictional character, it would be Michaela Lambert. Like those memes, she refers to herself as a Millennial, even though at 24, she is clearly in Gen Z. Everything gets handed to her and she doesn't appreciate any of it. She frequently wrecks cars because she's on her phone not paying attention, but her parents buy a new one and give her their old one. She's currently driving a "hand me down" Mercedes Benz. She lives in her one-bedroom "apartment" that is really her parents' guest house and nicer than where most people live. She constantly "borrows" her mother's designer clothes, shoes and purses and proceeds to spill shit on them. She worked for her dad's company until she decided to quit and go work for her boyfriend's company instead.
She is a "digital archaeologist" making Memory boxes. What is a digital archaeologist? Apparently, someone who can Google and take and upload pictures. What is a Memory box? A glorified scrapbook uploaded to an Alexa with hologram tech? Why? Because we needed some convoluted way to insert Michaela into the story for a few weeks. Yes, it takes her weeks to take a dozen pictures and write a blurb for each of them shorter than this review.
I could go on and on about all the stupid shit that happens in this book, but I'll stop with one more. Michaela over-reacts and freaks out about almost everything. If she farted, she'd call 911 to report strange noises. The one time she doesn't do this is when she comes home after spending the night elsewhere. She finds her refrigerator open and a jug on the counter. It's still cold. This she decides isn't worth mentioning to anyone. BTW, the jug was cold because a killer was still in the house (she keeps forgetting to lock the door and arm the alarm despite a stalker and threatening texts).
I only finished reading the book because I was hoping her dumb ass would get killed. Spoiler: she doesn't. Do yourself a favor and skip this one. It's much worse than I've been able to convey....more
4.5 rounded up. This has been a disappointing year for thrillers, so it's nice to see one finally deliver.
The first half of the book is a bit slow. T4.5 rounded up. This has been a disappointing year for thrillers, so it's nice to see one finally deliver.
The first half of the book is a bit slow. There are five POV characters and there is a lot of back story to get thru, in addition to the current events. There are some time jumps between current day and past events, but it wasn't too confusing; it was pretty clear which events were "now" and what was "then."
For having 5 POV characters in a 300 page book, I think Hawkins did a great job of developing the main three. The other two were less developed, but enough was done for them to serve their purpose. There were also non-POV characters with their own story, so a lot got packed into a smallish novel.
My biggest complaint was probably the novel inserts for The One Who Got Away. They did what they were meant to do, but it just kind of throws off the consistency in the book and they felt out of place. Anything revealed in the inserts could have been handled the same as other characters' back stories.
Some of the twists you see coming and others you suspect, but the knowing didn't feel like it took away from the story. Even when I was pretty sure I knew where it was going, there was a chance I might be wrong. All of the twists felt earned and nothing felt like it came out of left field.
I liked this one a lot. It had some great characters and a good story. I'd say this is easily the best new thriller I've read this year....more
I didn't really know what to expect going into this one; I had high hopes, but honestly wasn't sure if Cesare was going to pull off a sequel. The origI didn't really know what to expect going into this one; I had high hopes, but honestly wasn't sure if Cesare was going to pull off a sequel. The original was a pleasant surprise and a sequel is going to have some pretty big shoes to fill (unintentional clown pun). This story strained credibility at a few points, but I'm happy to say it was still a fun and worthy sequel and I'm looking forward to a third installment, if it materializes.
It's a year after the events of the first book and the survivors have all become somewhat famous/infamous. A lot of the story seems to focus on an Alex Jones/Infowars-esque conspiracy that the events of the original book didn't play out how they've been portrayed by the media. I'd like to say it's pretty unbelievable, but real life has taught me that some people really are that stupid. I still struggled with staying immersed in the story because of some really dumb characters, but I never reached book tossing rage levels.
I think it's a safe bet that if you enjoyed the first book, then the sequel is going to be worth your time. To be fair, it isn't as good as the original, but sequels seldom are. If you've read the first one, then you might as well give this one a go too. I didn't expect much from the original but was pleasantly surprised. This book had a lot higher of a bar to live up to and it was mostly successful at reaching it....more
Three women, friends since childhood, go on a week long trip thru the Grand Canyon. The trip is meant to mend relationships and heal wounds and it actThree women, friends since childhood, go on a week long trip thru the Grand Canyon. The trip is meant to mend relationships and heal wounds and it actually seems to be working. Until some of their food goes missing the first night. Until their camp is ransacked the next. Until they come face to face with the man responsible. What started as a challenging vacation quickly becomes a fight for survival. Do they have what it takes to get out of the Canyon alive?
This book really wasn't at all what I was expecting, mainly due to the blurb. With the horror author quote and "unspeakable evil," I thought I was going to get some kind of creature feature. Instead, it's really more of a fight for survival thriller. Horror and thriller are categories that overlap a bit, but they're still pretty easy to tell apart. This was clearly a thriller. Fortunately, I like thrillers too.
This was my first Zoje Stage book, but it won't be my last. I loved her writing style in this book. With some writers, every time you pick up the story, it takes a bit to sink into it. With this book, I was immediately immersed in the writing every time I went back.
I thought the characters were really well written and most of their decisions felt in character. There were definitely some bad decisions made by characters in this book, but they make sense in context...mostly. There's one choice that's a lot dumber than the others, but they had a reason for why they did it. It wasn't a great reason, but I'm sure they thought the pros would outweigh the cons (cue Morgan Freeman voiceover: "They thought wrong.").
The book is pretty heavy on details. I like that kind of thing, but know that a lot of other people don't. There's a lot of information about camping, hiking and the necessary supplies and the layout of the Grand Canyon. Since I'm clueless in that arena, it really helped me get into the story. If you know all of this stuff or don't care for the nitty gritty of a story, you're probably going to have a hard time getting thru the first part of this book....more
2021 has been a bad year for thrillers, but it looks like the year is going to finish strong. I'd seen a slew of 5 star ratings for this book, and it 2021 has been a bad year for thrillers, but it looks like the year is going to finish strong. I'd seen a slew of 5 star ratings for this book, and it lived up to the hype. Unless there is a great thriller that no one is talking about, thriller of the year is going to be a toss up between Rock, Paper, Scissors and A Slow Fire Burning.
This is my first Alice Feeney novel, but it won't be my last. The plot was engaging, the characters were well written and the twists were executed perfectly. All in all, it was pretty much a perfect twisty thriller.
Feeney managed to pull off a couple impressive (for me) things with this book. First, even though I didn't like the characters, I still enjoyed the story and couldn't put it down. Usually I have to force myself to finish a book where I have no one to root for. Second, all of the twists caught me completely off guard. I admit that I did guess one of them, but I was grasping at straws because I hadn't got anything right. At one point, I think I even guessed the dog was to blame. Sorry, spoiler alert, the dog didn't do it.
I definitely see myself re-reading this and trying to pick up all the clues....more
**spoiler alert** Chalk this one up as another book that could have been great, but ended up just mediocre.
The story starts off kind of rough. All th**spoiler alert** Chalk this one up as another book that could have been great, but ended up just mediocre.
The story starts off kind of rough. All through the first chapter, all I could think was "someone must have got a thesaurus for their birthday." Fortunately, the author stopped the vocabulary quiz fairly quick. That still didn't stop everything from being a confusing mess. After about 30 pages, I had to go back and start from the beginning because I felt like I missed something.
The story alternates between the view point of Alex, husband to a missing wife, and Layla, a girl who doesn't remember her past. The Alex chapters are pretty straight forward, but the Layla ones are kind of off. It's clear early on that Layla is supposed to be the missing wife, but at the same time it's clear that she can't be. It takes waaaaaaaay too long for the explanation, and when it comes, it feels like a cheat from the author. There's no reason for it not to have been revealed a lot sooner. Factor in that the book greatly improves after the reveal, and the decision to postpone so long doesn't make sense.
After that, the book is full speed ahead and you can't help but mourn the novel that could have been if only the author got to the point sooner. Inevitably, it nose dives into an unsatisfying ending that makes you want to throw the book across the room.
A good editor could have done wonders for this book. Cutting about 50 pages of dragging things out and the unnecessary subplot of Alex's work drama and you'd be off to a good start. Then fix the ending and you'd probably have a 5 star read....more
I have a love/hate relationship when it comes to haunted house stories; I really, really want to love them, but usually end up disappointed. For a lonI have a love/hate relationship when it comes to haunted house stories; I really, really want to love them, but usually end up disappointed. For a long time, the Shining (that counts, right?) was the only one I could really say I loved. I read and added the Elementals to that list earlier this year. Now, I'm happy to say the list is up to 3 with the addition of Kill Creek.
I was a little nervous at the beginning. The premise had my attention, but all of the characters seemed like caricatures. As the book goes on though, the characters gain some depth and break free of the cliches they started as. By the end of the book, I was even rooting for characters I hated in the beginning.
Endings are hard to do well in horror stories, but Scott Thomas manages to pull it off twice in the same book. I was completely happy with the way the main story ended, but the epilogue adds a nice cherry on top.
If you're a horror fan, I'd definitely recommend adding this to your to read list....more
This one wasn't anything special. I liked the writing style and the plot moved at a decent pace, but the unlikable characters left nobody to root for.This one wasn't anything special. I liked the writing style and the plot moved at a decent pace, but the unlikable characters left nobody to root for. The biggest flaw was that the author spent too much telling, with very little showing. The best twisty mysteries drop hints the whole way thru; after a big twist, you can go back and find parts of the story that foreshadow what's to come. In this book, twists get announced out of thin air with very little leading up to them. The ending came out of nowhere and still doesn't really make sense, short of mental illness. I had a pretty good idea who the killer was, but only because the author focused on everyone but them for most of the book.
The beginning of the book was a bit of a mess. I think a dozen characters were introduced in the first ten pages, so it took awhile to figure out who was who. Once all of that gets sorted out, the book starts off pretty promising.
The middle part dragged on for too long with the family alternating between unconditional support and finger pointing to the cops every other chapter. Then the spouses start suspecting their significant other is the murderer based on little. It starts to feel like they married for money pretty quickly.
Speaking of money, at the beginning, they keep talking about how rich the family is, but they're only worth $30 million. That just seems really low, especially after the dad had sold his successful robotics company. While it's more money than I'll ever see, it isn't much in this day and age. Certainly not enough for the family to act like they're the Rockefellers after one generation of wealth....more
