Ben Saufley
This was entertaining enough. The tropes were heavy. The horror-type elements were a bit unexpected, but didn't actually amount to much, in retrospect? Are we to understand she's just got a little of The Gift and it's not really related? A mostly forgettable but entertaining ride.
This was entertaining enough. The tropes were heavy. The horror-type elements were a bit unexpected, but didn't actually amount to much, in retrospect? Are we to understand she's just got a little of The Gift and it's not really related? A mostly forgettable but entertaining ride.
Added to listOwnedwith 83 books.
Added to listOwnedwith 81 books.
Added to listOwnedwith 79 books.
A well-made thriller. The central element of the thriller, the website, is a kind of fascinating idea that I could totally see someone making in real life (which is not an endorsement—more of a "tech has an ethics problem" thing). The obligatory twists and turns as we find out what was happening were entertaining and not always expected. The epilogue was a little weird, as it had a major twist that didn't feel epilogue-worthy; but for what it's worth, that twist was one of the few I had guessed.
A well-made thriller. The central element of the thriller, the website, is a kind of fascinating idea that I could totally see someone making in real life (which is not an endorsement—more of a "tech has an ethics problem" thing). The obligatory twists and turns as we find out what was happening were entertaining and not always expected. The epilogue was a little weird, as it had a major twist that didn't feel epilogue-worthy; but for what it's worth, that twist was one of the few I had guessed.
As with most of Crouch's books that I've read: fun, worth reading, nothing particularly mind-blowing. A quick, entertaining experiment with an interesting semi-scientific concept. This felt like the book The Third Rule of Time Travel wanted to be. I guess I wish the ending hadn't elided the actual, final resolution of the issue the book is built around trying to solve. And I think skipping to "we had a romance in another timeline" so that now there's a romance felt kind of cheap; I never really bought into that relationship.
As with most of Crouch's books that I've read: fun, worth reading, nothing particularly mind-blowing. A quick, entertaining experiment with an interesting semi-scientific concept. This felt like the book The Third Rule of Time Travel wanted to be. I guess I wish the ending hadn't elided the actual, final resolution of the issue the book is built around trying to solve. And I think skipping to "we had a romance in another timeline" so that now there's a romance felt kind of cheap; I never really bought into that relationship.
Of all the thrillers driven by "protagonist makes terrible decisions," this is one of the worst offenders. I just don't think enough was done to sell the motivation for this woman to put herself in such terrible situations, _consistently_. I get the suburban ennui, but it really only achieved lip service and we just dive right into "why, why, why are you doing this?" But ok, plenty of thrillers have bad decision-makers; this one _also_ doesn't resolve well. The whole mystery surrounding Margo's motivations is cast aside when she just … ends up dead. And then the villain does the classic Bond villain monologue to wrap it all up. It wasn't the worst thriller I've read, but it was deeply frustrating and in the end not very satisfying. Additionally, I know the media is saturated with men dating "barely-legal" teenage girls, but for me that's gross regardless of the gender dynamic.
Of all the thrillers driven by "protagonist makes terrible decisions," this is one of the worst offenders. I just don't think enough was done to sell the motivation for this woman to put herself in such terrible situations, _consistently_. I get the suburban ennui, but it really only achieved lip service and we just dive right into "why, why, why are you doing this?" But ok, plenty of thrillers have bad decision-makers; this one _also_ doesn't resolve well. The whole mystery surrounding Margo's motivations is cast aside when she just … ends up dead. And then the villain does the classic Bond villain monologue to wrap it all up. It wasn't the worst thriller I've read, but it was deeply frustrating and in the end not very satisfying. Additionally, I know the media is saturated with men dating "barely-legal" teenage girls, but for me that's gross regardless of the gender dynamic.