I received this arc from the publisher through First Reads. I was super excited when this came in the mail, as I love mystery/crime fiction! I had not read anything by Sophie Hannah and did not really know anything about this series.The story begins as Amber Hewerdine decides to see a hypnotherapist for her ongoing insomnia. During her first session she says the words "Kind, Cruel, Kind of Cruel" without knowing the meaning behind them or where she saw them written. Next thing you know, she is picked up by the police for questioning regarding the murder of a local school teacher, Kat Allen.
The point of view shifts back and forth between Amber, the therapist, and each of the detectives involved with the case. This shifting narrative becomes very complex and sometimes difficult to follow. I did, however, discover that I didn't care much for any of these characters. Which is unfortunate because a large chunk of this book is spent on character development. The plot on the other hand was interesting, but not particularly compelling.
Overall it was an okay read. I probably would have enjoyed it more had I read the previous books. If you are a fan of Sophie Hannah and enjoy the series then you will probably like this book.
A fantastic conclusion to a great series. I couldn't put the book down and couldn't read it fast enough!
I really wanted to like this book. The premise was unique, the dystopian genre is fantastic, and it has a beautiful cover. So it should have been awesome.Sadly, I was only left frustrated by the usual insta-love triangle scenario and confusing descriptions. I didn't feel attached or connected to either of the love interests so the romance certainly didn't reel me in. The weaving descriptions were strange and almost ridiculous. During the climactic ending I found myself visualizing the main character shooting spidey-webs from her wrists to save herself and her two boy toys. This high suspense cliff-hanger ending only left me laughing at the overall bizarreness.
I absolutely loved the beginning! I enjoyed the flashbacks that give us more insight into Alexander's story before he and Tatiana meet in the first book. Even though they are apart, I still enjoy the love story that is Tatiana and Alexander!The middle left me frustrated. It tended to drag on forever and make me wonder what kind of love story would spend hundreds of pages on everything but ROMANCE or feelings of LOVE. I seriously wanted to claw Tatiana's eyes out every time she contemplated dropping her son off with the nearest stranger or putting a bullet through her head. If she even remotely believed that Alexander was dead, what reason did she have to live?? Apparently their son was not reason enough ...
The end was the familiar romance against all odds, and it was fantastic.
Loved it! Very unique storyline! I doubt I could describe this book, so I won't try. :)I really enjoyed the imagery. I often quit books with a ton of descriptions because ... BORING!! The details were woven into this story really well, so I never tried to skip ahead. :)
I think this would make an excellent movie!
Amazing. I loved how the author weaved the stories of all of the characters together. Such a great story :)I own Hosseini's first two novels, but I STILL have not read them. I will be getting to those soon!
Maybe I'm too old to understand the hype with this book. It was just okay, but I probably would have loved this in middle or high school.
Good follow up in a promising series!I would give this 5 stars, but there are several parts that are hard to buy into. I know teenagers can be impulsive and dumb, but some of their decisions went beyond dumb.
Ends in a MONSTER cliff-hanger :(
Dark and twisty!!!I really enjoyed the unique storyline. I was expecting another typical vampire story with less romance and more scare. That was not what I got at all!
It was just ok. I would not normally continue the series, except that I picked up the second book at a library book sale. It does, however, explain why the second book was only 50 cents (hardcover)!It was hard to figure out where the story was going for most of the book and I can't say that I'm really all that attached to any of the characters. If it wasn't such a short book, I doubt that I would have finished it.
Wow. I read this one in one sitting because I couldn't put it down.I was feeling ALL the feels with this one. I liked that it is told from the perspective of a woman that is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease. I know what it's like to watch a loved one suffer from the symptoms caused by dementia, but it is another thing entirely to "walk in the shoes".
Loved it!
Stopped reading on pg 146.I'm definitely missing something, because It looks like I'm in the minority when I say that I can't stand this book.
I didn't understand all the hype behind this book. The pictures included with the story line were pretty cool, but otherwise the story itself was a letdown. The peculiar-ness of the children was intriguing but there was no real character development. I did not feel particularly attached to any of the characters and didn't really care when the end of the book was sort of cliffhanger.
It took me a little while to get into this story. I just wasn't understanding how this book was about anything more than a dog and car racing info. Turns out, it really isn't about those things at all! I really enjoyed the camaraderie between dog and owner when faced with the biggest fight of their lives. And I adore Enzo :)
