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teamwombat's review against another edition
slow-paced
1.5
It had it’s moments, but it’s a Da Vinci Code rip off at the core and you get the feeling the author is just making it up as they go along despite the clear masses of research undertaken to keep the historical facts coming. It’s very slow and very predictable.
littlemascara's review against another edition
2.0
It was so overwritten - to the point I thought it had to be self-published (sample line: "additional moments seemed foreshortened to seconds..."). The solutions to the riddles are straight outta Scooby Doo and the main characters redefine Mary Sue.
ankertjes's review against another edition
4.0
The ending was a bit long. The book could have easily ended a few chapters before. I don't need all the closure. The rest was good. Enjoyable read and I wanted to know the rest. Not as much solving riddles and looking for the solutions as I had hoped. But the drama around the characters was pretty exciting
books_plants_hikes's review against another edition
2.0
This book, I am sure, took so much time and effort to own so I am very sad to say I just could not follow the plot easily. The concepts I could only understand a basic, overview level and I found myself constantly trying to keep up feeling as though I was a step behind and missing some important fact.
The book had such potential but just did not connect for me.
The book had such potential but just did not connect for me.
the_sassy_bookworm's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't know what to expect from this book going into it since it has gotten such mixed reviews, but I really enjoyed it a lot! It was sort of The DaVinci Code meets a romance novel! Also kudos to whomever was in charge of marketing for this book, it came in a really nice box with the book and 17 cards with the puzzles the characters have to solve in the book, so you can try solving them before hand or along with the characters. A very cool hook! Overall a really fun and enjoyable read. I look forward to more from this author.
guinevere_s1994's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ladyelizabeth's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
rosekk's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the book well enough while I was reading it, but I don't feel inspired to read it or anything like it again. I don't particularly puzzle-solving type novels; even who whodunnit stories it's always the sleuths and their way of working that interests me more than the puzzle element. Since a lot of this book rested on solving a puzzle/series of puzzles I wasn't that invested, especially as some of the means to get to the solution felt like a stretch to me. The prose could be a bit heavy-handed and the characters, while not particularly bad in any way, didn't capture my affection greatly either.
ginnikin's review against another edition
Oh, book, you are so fired. Gah. It's obviously a da Vinci Code ripoff. Sorry, Siân's midnight-blue eyes and copper-coloured hair? Wut? Will's distracting beauty? Wut? Just ugh.
Also, I just glanced at the riddle cards, but hello incomprehensible mish-mash jumble of just about every kind of mysticism imaginable. yuck.
Also, I just glanced at the riddle cards, but hello incomprehensible mish-mash jumble of just about every kind of mysticism imaginable. yuck.
m_kayk's review against another edition
4.0
This book fits the category "book with a plant on the cover or in the title."
I was a little unsure of this book as the author spends a few chapters with a non central character...sort of. However, that was completely intentional as I understood the story. The romance between Alex and Lucy added a nice touch, but was not overwhelming to the overall plot, and how Hardie developed their relationship worked for me.
My biggest objection to the story was the jumps between characters' thought processes without any segue. It sometimes went one paragraph was Simon, the next Lucy - and they were not in the same room.
Overall, I think this is one of my new "will recommend" titles.
I was a little unsure of this book as the author spends a few chapters with a non central character...sort of. However, that was completely intentional as I understood the story. The romance between Alex and Lucy added a nice touch, but was not overwhelming to the overall plot, and how Hardie developed their relationship worked for me.
My biggest objection to the story was the jumps between characters' thought processes without any segue. It sometimes went one paragraph was Simon, the next Lucy - and they were not in the same room.
Overall, I think this is one of my new "will recommend" titles.