Beautiful Malice

First off, let me say that I really don't think that this book wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I can't put my finger on it, but something was missing that I was expecting. After reading I had to take a step back to think about how I really felt. Right from the beginning I was a little frustrated with the fact that things weren't moving more quickly. Rebecca James does well at making sure she gives you just enough to keep you reading, but I wanted so much more.

I will honestly say that the premise of the story itself is good! Following Katherine through her grief after the death of her sister felt real enough. The unexpected twists and turns also do a great job of keeping the reader involved. Also, the way that the timeline jumps back and forth from past to present is fairly intriguing. Slow plot in the beginning was straining though and, unfortunately for me, the slow outweighed the intriguing.

The characters in this story just felt flat to me. One-dimensional. I never really felt invested in any of them, and I was sad that I didn't feel more emotional when bad things happened. Quite the contrary, I was happy when these things happened because it caused the story to speed ahead. Katherine (Katie) Patterson (Boydell) just never struck me as someone who I wanted to connect with. Mostly I was frustrated by Katherine's inability to cope. Yes, I know she is young in this book. I get that. However the initial sympathy I felt for her was soon replaced by annoyance. I loved Robbie, but I kept wishing he didn't act like such a door mat. In fact, the one character I felt the most for in this story was Alice. Despite her evil exterior, I think she was probably the most well-written character.

Final thoughts? I really wish I could have connected with this book more. There was so much potential for it to be a great story, and I was saddened that it fell a bit flat. I enjoyed it enough to recommend it as a library read, however I can't say that I personally would purchase a copy.