Adam SP

2.75/5, rounded up. If you're after suspense, intrigue, and a page turning plot, this is a good one.

However, the main character is a frightfully frustrating, arrogant, entitled, turd of a person, and that was a bit of a detractor.

Other characters are just as grating.

Glad to have read it, but it won't be on my "read again" list.

In the sense of writing style, this is a swift and easy read; in the sense of subject matter, this is a tough one!

The characters are deep, complex, with many qualities. The twists and turns are very well developed.

Excellent story.

A gripping, addictive, and awe inspiring story.

The plots are thick, the story deep, and the twists and turns will leave you with a sore neck. But, this was an absolutely sensational story.

Typical Lars Kepler, this book is simply incredible. Dark, deep, and petrifyingly addictive.

This is a heavy, heavy story, and it took me a while to get through.

It is brilliant, challenging, and emotionally raw.

So, this is more a suspenseful (light) romance novel, but incredibly well written.

Hilary has an incredible writing style, which makes it incredibly easy to get lost in the vividity of the scene, and at no point is it laborious.

The characters are complicated, detailed, and all with both faults, and incredible qualities.

Glad to have read this one, even if it is outside the norm for my preferences.

Absolutely fascinating story. The author's ability to inject such emotion and awareness into the characters, especially in the format, is fascinating.

The story unfolds as if you're reviewing transcripts from interviews; in some ways not too dissimilar to Bram Stoker's Dracula (a story told through journal entries).

For me, there are way too many unanswered questions, and my imagination is going too wild, which is why I've limited by review to 3/5. For others, this could easily be a 5/5.

Fantastic story, glad to have read it.

This is just pure James S.A. Corey. Brilliant, powerful, deep, confusing, and just perfection.

All I can really say is that if you enjoyed The Expanse, you will thoroughly enjoy this.

There are some really frustrating character traits, and that may feel like a drag at first, but it's all for a reason, and when you come out the other side, it all makes sense, and makes the story so much more rich.

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

Dark, devious, hella confusing, and brilliant!

Well written, quite gripping, and all round a decent crime mystery/thriller.

A sold 3.8/5. Would have been a 4/5, but the ending (final ~3 chapters) was a hit too clean and theatrically rounded for my liking.

Still, an excellent novel.

Confusing, intimidating, confronting, and exciting.

It's a solid 3.8/5, and I'm damned glad to have read it.

This was a fascinating read. It features a story, that then has a story being written by the same author within.

There are many time jumps, which can leave you wanting for some better structure and stability, as at times it can be drastic and uncomfortable.

There are also [many] moments where it feels like it's about to climax, for the big reveal, and then it continues on. Like one of those movies that just keeps on going.

I'm glad to have read it.

It's a pretty gripping read, with good twists and turns.

There's some missing finesse, and a few issues around continuity, but overall, was a good story.

This was a fascinating read.

I actually struggled for the first ~170 pages, being unable to get into the story and the writing style, but then it ramps up something fierce. The last ~80 pages had me very much on edge, and completely enthralled.

Not my typical genre, but very glad to have read it.

Intimately clever, deep, emotive, and heartachingly beautiful.

Jacqueline has done a phenomenal job with this debut, and I am immensely grateful for this artwork to be available.

If crime/thriller/suspense is your thing, but you also like the philosophical, this is absolutely a book for you.

This is a fun read, told in a very theatrical way. As one of the quotes states, it's cinematic.

If you like Tom Clancy's Without Remorse, or David Baldacci's Last Man Standing, you're going to thoroughly enjoy this.

Cons:

- The characters are quite wooden, with their development either rushed, or done “off screen”.

- Some parts of the story are too shallow/glossed over, and others way too detailed; as such, the reading can be stilted, and jarring.

Pros:

- Absolutely wicked fun.

- Overall a good story, with some great action.

- The writing is somewhat simplistic, it's easy to get into the groove and visualise, and so it can be a real page turner.

I enjoyed it, and will likely read it again someday. I'm keen for the sequels.

Honestly, 2.9, rounded up.

It's like Black Widow and Captain America origin stories combined, without lots of the Marvel fluff.

It's fun. It's intriguing in places. It's cliched as hell.

I can appreciate how some people would love it.

Honestly, wow. The way Polly expertly juggled the Now and Then of this story is incredible.

Fantastic story (in a depressing kind of way) told very well.

There are some areas that could have used improvement, as is expected for a second novel, but Polly should be exceedingly proud of what she's achieved.

Confronting, awe inspiring, and utterly essential reading.

This was a sensational read! So many characters, so many hidden sins, so much to unpack. I'll be spending a few days pondering over this story before I can pick up another...

There's a lot of characters here, and many perspectives. At first it's a task to stay across them, but the story develops well, and in the end I was gobsmacked. 4/5, good read!

OK, so the first 2/3 of the book I was struggling with the main character a bit, until more details were revealed and it was clear we were dealing with cPTSD and lots of other things; after that it all clicked and I heart-breakingly loved her.

I was leaning to 3.5 stars up until this point, but the last 1/3 took it to 4.5, and so I've evened it at 4. I'm so glad to have read it, and think the author should be incredibly proud of their work!!

4.25 out of 5.

Great character development, well paced story, and utterly impressive ending.

I'll be pondering this one a while...