Reviews

Chris meets Jenny on a warm Oxford night and falls instantly in love, but he knows nothing about her and can't seem to find her again in the sleepy English city. His boss, meanwhile, had acquired a love nest and is employing Chris to do it up, little knowing that it's actually a hide away from some ruthless London gangsters...

Philip Pullman is a wonderful writer and His Dark Materials series is still one of my favourites, but this was a huge disappointment. It was written well, but the plot and characters were just so flat and boring it seemed the 186 pages would never end. The blurb gives you a very definite but blurred detailing of the plot, which was slow and rather droll.

I believe this was his first ever novel, however, and that kind of makes sense. There is the and writing ability shining through the murky gaps, but it's obviously the first. He definitely learnt from this, though.

Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest | Shop | Etsy

numbat's review

Go to review page

emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

murmuration19's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

This had all the building blocks of a tragedy, including the inexorable feeling that no matter what decisions the characters made, they were already trapped by fate into a tragic outcome. Still, some of those decisions did seem contrived. I also admit I was thrown by the sex scene. I thought it was a pretty good sex scene really, but I started reading what I thought was a standard YA novel, so I was just a little surprised.

melodypowers65's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I have been trying to get my hands on this book for ages and was finding it basically impossible to buy, so I ended up borrowing it from the library. And boy, am I glad I did!

This book is amazing. A bit sublte and understated, but at the same time really packing a punch. The characters were all very well done and easy to both relate to and sympathise with and it was really refreshing to see Pullman deal with a modern setting. I particuarly loved the exploration of morals and honour and truth and integrity that was the underlying theme throughout the whole book.

Reading this book really reminded me why Philip Pullman is one of my absolute favourite authors.

hattieb2000's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

More...