cxppatee's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.0
iggyebab's review against another edition
Writing was very flat. Could not connect to the characters or the story.
nedge's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
crojo_t_bks's review against another edition
5.0
This book is the perfect mix of London detective narrative, without being a detective story. This is on my top reads list for sure. Highly recommend.
whatbritreads's review against another edition
2.0
This book was insane from start to finish and unfortunately I don’t think I mean that in a complimentary way. It actually read like I was watching a poorly written episode of Eastenders - it was that level of bizarre. I actually have no idea how this was an award winner for YA fiction it was… questionable.
It was supposed to be full of 16 year old boys, but the way in which this was written felt like it was aimed at much younger children. It was also full of general editing and punctuation errors which weren’t a big deal, but bugged me. None of the characters seemed to talk in a normal or authentic way at all, and most of it just made me cringe. They were ridiculously bland and two dimensional. The protagonist was the most interesting out of a questionable bunch, and that’s saying something considering he was ridiculously boring.
Speaking of characters, the two side characters in here were written borderline offensively. One is half-black and the other Turkish (?) I believe and compared to White British AJ they’re written horrifically and I’m surprised nobody else picked up on it. They’re both so stereotypical - working class, talk a lot less eloquently than AJ, have issues with drug abuse and absent parents, in trouble with the law, no jobs or prospects… it just rubbed me the wrong way completely.
The confusion I had while reading this was due to how short it was, coupled with the plot that had too much going on and a ridiculously fast pace. You barely had any time to process anything before we were jumping into action again. We don’t really get much thinking or explanation of events, just a jumble of dialogue in place of worldbuilding. I got lost repeatedly and had no clue what was going on.
I didn’t like this book at all, not for me.
It was supposed to be full of 16 year old boys, but the way in which this was written felt like it was aimed at much younger children. It was also full of general editing and punctuation errors which weren’t a big deal, but bugged me. None of the characters seemed to talk in a normal or authentic way at all, and most of it just made me cringe. They were ridiculously bland and two dimensional. The protagonist was the most interesting out of a questionable bunch, and that’s saying something considering he was ridiculously boring.
Speaking of characters, the two side characters in here were written borderline offensively. One is half-black and the other Turkish (?) I believe and compared to White British AJ they’re written horrifically and I’m surprised nobody else picked up on it. They’re both so stereotypical - working class, talk a lot less eloquently than AJ, have issues with drug abuse and absent parents, in trouble with the law, no jobs or prospects… it just rubbed me the wrong way completely.
Spoiler
Then in the end the magic solution is just to leave them both in 1830’s London? Ok sounds great and perfectly logical. Eye roll.The confusion I had while reading this was due to how short it was, coupled with the plot that had too much going on and a ridiculously fast pace. You barely had any time to process anything before we were jumping into action again. We don’t really get much thinking or explanation of events, just a jumble of dialogue in place of worldbuilding. I got lost repeatedly and had no clue what was going on.
I didn’t like this book at all, not for me.
bronteeee's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
jens_1000lives's review against another edition
5.0
This book is captivating and so amazing. I fell in love from page 1. Has become one of my favorite!!!
kate_leitch_10's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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? No
5.0
lindakat's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars.
Fun quick read that had surprising depth to the characters. I would have liked it to have a little bit more substance in the storyline, however, the 'mystery' was not that.
Fun quick read that had surprising depth to the characters. I would have liked it to have a little bit more substance in the storyline, however, the 'mystery' was not that.