KLG

The good ones are...nowhere in this book

Reviewed: 12-26-24

Warning, slight spoilers. And abuse.

First, the men she's choosing between are not even close yet she can't make a decision? One puts his hands on her, coerces her for sex, does not listen, immediately pushes past boundaries around food and physicality, and does not respect her schedule, doing the stereotypical "I'll change" apology and lovebombing dance, showing MAJOR abusive red flags, but in the end is still a good guy??!!!? WTAF?

The author needs education on abuse cycles and warnings, and how not to paint these types of men in a good light. I listened to the end hoping that the abuse indicators would be addressed, but no. MC still goes ALONE to tell him whether or not he's the one she picks, and says he's a good guy...OMG WHY?

Second, the main character is whiny and hypocritical and it's unbelievable what her friends put up with. "nuff said here, since you'll hear plenty of it in the first group dinner.

FWIW I'm a voracious reader that reads everything from terrible romances to sci fi to fantasy to graphic novels and everything in between, giving authors a LOT of grace, but if I could get a refund for this book, I would. Sadly refunds are only given for credits, but this wasn't even worth the Daily Deal price.

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Over-the-top villains, whiny annoying protagonist

Reviewed: 05-20-24

(I rarely write reviews, but this was so bad that I finished the book just to write this review; would be really nice to get those hours back but Amazon requires a complete listen.)

For such a published author, please tell me this is an early-career work? Where was the editor or ARC???

First, the villains were too evil to be real. I mean, they were literally cackling evilly, not having any nuance or redeeming qualities or fleshed out motivations. Someone written as a wonderful angel w/o flaws is married to one of them for years...yet there are literally zero redeeming qualities (and no surprise by their equally angelic family) when the villain goes off the rails?

Next, the main character was wildly inconsistent - deciding on one direction and then flipping 180 and freaking out on people around her while deciding to go another direction. Whiny, jumping to conclusions, and controlling (e.g. telling her brother what do do with his life). I wanted so badly to fast-forward these scenes.

Third, the book was so full of exclamations and over-the-top reactions that it felt like a comedy about a soap opera on steroids. People don't talk like that...

Nor do they use each other's names in every sentence. Count how many times you use your family or friend's names in conversation today - it's super awkward to be like:
"Good morning, John, how was the game?"
"It was great, Jenny, the boys won. How was your drive?"
"There was so much traffic, John!"
"Yeah, the construction is bad, Jenny."
"It really is, John."

Then pacing, the first half of the book covers literally a few hours, with unknown drama and an hour of emotional hand-wringing before getting to the point. From there it's fits and starts, mostly hand-wringing and changing minds once decisions are made, and more jumping to conclusions.

Oh, and finally, narration: why did the non-Australian guy - who lived in Australia for a brief period - occasionally have an over-the top Australian accent?

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Surprising and deep

Reviewed: 10-17-23

The layers on layers of humanity, the “place” of women, the struggles of individuals, depth of relationships and how they grow or deteriorate over time and as partners learn about each other, the era’s fascination with history and the budding sciences, very very well done. I could relate in some way to nearly every character whether “villain” or no.

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Too much suspension of disbelief needed

Reviewed: 08-30-23

The premise: great.
The setting and world building: great.

***Note: SPOILERS BELOW***

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The facts? Not great.
- A white wedding dress in the 1860s? Not tradition until the 1930s.
- Expensive jewelry that's a modern tradition, while saving to support the underground railroad? Hard to swallow.
- Heavy emphasis on hand washing in medical settings? Not a thing at all until the 1870s and even then wasn't common.
These little errors were so distracting; the author doesn't seem to have done much research.

They also kept implying danger, but somehow the main character always had the right info ahead of time to avoid it, so it was constantly anticlimactic.

Not to mention, a psychopath as a main character? Well, yes. Hear me out: of course there was a lot of necessary violence in that time. Slaves escaping, staying free, fighting for life and liberty. But premeditated murders (yes, multiple!), strategic planned deaths in cold blood, and a live burial (!!!) had my jaw dropping. This is supposed to be a hero? And he can live with this? So can she?

TL;DR: I am glad I finished the book but wouldn't recommend it.

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Wish there were more!

Reviewed: 08-30-23

The cohesiveness of these books, and how they lead up to the final action, is amazing. I love the world building, the seemingly unrelated links, the clues, the emotion. It's so much more real than many books. Well done - it was hard to leave that world behind.

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Whiny protagonist!

Reviewed: 02-08-17

The main character is insufferably whiny, constantly makes unbelievably stupid decisions (while admitting they are stupid), and the rest of the book is filled with endless descriptions of things I couldn't care less about. I finally gave up and started fast-forwarding when the author started yet another 5-10 minute description of a street or house or light on stairs.

Also, SPOILER, if you expect this to be a YA dystopian novel where the protagonist overthrows or fights a terrible system, SPOILER: that doesn't ever happen and the characters just go along with the system and even validate it.

Annoying book, I almost gave up and stopped listening, but kept listening just due to the hope that the character rise up ... disappointed.

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1 person found this helpful