Reviews

This short novel is set in a sci-fi near-future, where the rich and famous can make replicas of themselves, known as Portraits, and send them to deal with all the rich-and-famous things they don’t really want to do. Lulabelle Rock has thirteen Portraits – one that deals with the hassle of the paparazzi on Fashion Row, one that spends her time on the party circuit, even one she made on a whim because she didn’t feel like going to brunch with her friends that day. But the thirteenth is different. The thirteenth Portrait – our narrator and main character – is tasked with killing the other twelve.

This book reminded me of the Echo Wife, in that it deals with the questions of identity that arise when a copy of a person is made, the complexity of the relationship between the copy and the original (or in this case, also between two copies), and what it means when that copy starts to show individuality.

There were some recurring characters that, if their appearances were meant to be coincidences they strained credulity, if they were intentional they weren’t explained, and if they were meant to be symbolic it wasn’t obvious enough for me to get it. Though maybe it had something to do with the running Tarot theme – Tarot is not something I know much about. Anyway, I didn’t understand the ending, but it was still pretty good. 3 stars.

I received an advance copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

cocoloco's review

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dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

grimmlin666's review

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

karina5162's review

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The creative premise of this book was what originally drew me in, and that part did not disappoint. It was pretty fast-paced, the world building was fun but felt realistic even in the more out-there parts, and the overarching mystery was (mostly) satisfying. The biggest issue was that as much as I thought the main character was really well-done, and had a strong story progression, the rest of the cast felt like a vessel for the character's development. Relationships between the clone we follow and the other 13 Lulabelles felt like they should have been explored deeper, but a lot of them were two-dimensional, even those who have been around a long time and were presented as unique individuals. A lot of the connections felt forced, as if they only existed for the MC to learn something about the world. It was especially unfortunate because we saw a few glimpses of other clones interacting, and it was infinitely more interesting than the dynamic between them and the MC. I think there was a lot of potential to make the characters stand out more, and in doing so make the story feel more realistic. However, the creativity and writing style really worked for me, and I think especially given that this is (I think) Maud Woolf's first book, I would definitely read whatever she published next.

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