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pagesplotsandpints 's review for:
What Have We Done
by Alex Finlay
Read Completed 2/20/23 | 1.75 stars
Audiobook review copy obtained by Netgalley, approved by publisher Minotaur/Macmillan Audio. Thank you!
Well... that... was... terrible?
This is likely my last Alex Finlay book. I enjoyed EVERY LAST FEAR and didn't finish THE NIGHT SHIFT. I really should have quit WHAT HAVE WE DONE as well but I made it too far in to quit and I also requested it from Netgalley for review, so between those two, I figured I may as well finish it. Long story short, I didn't really like anything about it.
Firstly, this is MAJORLY a popcorn thriller. It is over the top in basically every way, and sometimes I'm here for the entertainment, but this wasn't one of those times. If you enjoy those types of thrillers and are ready for this to be over the top on everything, then this one might be for you! It definitely wasn't for me.
I also felt like there was zero character development. The characters were stereotypes, each one a special snowflake with ridiculously high profile jobs and along with the one thing that bound them all together as kids, those are the two things that define them. They never came alive, didn't develop much at all, and were pretty boring. There's some action to keep the pacing moving but the whole plot was all over the place, picking at random threads to connect them eventually down the way... But again, so over the top that it was just stupid and I didn't like any part of it.
I basically felt like this was trying too hard in every possible way. Too many POVs (at least four, maybe five or six with some random ones in there) that also switched back and forth between the present and the past. The writing felt amateur, sloppy, and absolutely horrible female characters. I really think this would have been WAY better if it was only from Jenna's POV and we got to know her more, played up the former assassin concept, let her to most of the leg work for the book (since she really did anyway), and let her part of the book be the one over the top concept.
The more I think about this book, the more I'm hating it, so I'll leave you with all those thoughts and move on here.
Audiobook review copy obtained by Netgalley, approved by publisher Minotaur/Macmillan Audio. Thank you!
Well... that... was... terrible?
This is likely my last Alex Finlay book. I enjoyed EVERY LAST FEAR and didn't finish THE NIGHT SHIFT. I really should have quit WHAT HAVE WE DONE as well but I made it too far in to quit and I also requested it from Netgalley for review, so between those two, I figured I may as well finish it. Long story short, I didn't really like anything about it.
Firstly, this is MAJORLY a popcorn thriller. It is over the top in basically every way, and sometimes I'm here for the entertainment, but this wasn't one of those times. If you enjoy those types of thrillers and are ready for this to be over the top on everything, then this one might be for you! It definitely wasn't for me.
I also felt like there was zero character development. The characters were stereotypes, each one a special snowflake with ridiculously high profile jobs and along with the one thing that bound them all together as kids, those are the two things that define them. They never came alive, didn't develop much at all, and were pretty boring. There's some action to keep the pacing moving but the whole plot was all over the place, picking at random threads to connect them eventually down the way... But again, so over the top that it was just stupid and I didn't like any part of it.
I basically felt like this was trying too hard in every possible way. Too many POVs (at least four, maybe five or six with some random ones in there) that also switched back and forth between the present and the past. The writing felt amateur, sloppy, and absolutely horrible female characters. I really think this would have been WAY better if it was only from Jenna's POV and we got to know her more, played up the former assassin concept, let her to most of the leg work for the book (since she really did anyway), and let her part of the book be the one over the top concept.
The more I think about this book, the more I'm hating it, so I'll leave you with all those thoughts and move on here.