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jas9519's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kate1086's review against another edition
4.0
I haven't watched the tv program yet as I like to read the books first. I was over th moon when NetGalley were giving it away free for review. Well written fast pace thriller. Not something I would normally pick up but glad I did.
Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to review this book.
Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to review this book.
rubz's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
kindle_and_crossstitch's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
dreavg's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
cursedepub's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I picked this up because I had heard of the Killing Eve TV series but not actually watched it nor known that it was based on a series of novellas. This book collects 4 short novellas about Villanelle and Eve, with focus on Villanelle's origins and how her world eventually intersects with Eve's; overall, it was an extremely entertaining and engrossing read, but it definitely had its flaws.
Villanelle was the highlight of the book for me; I loved her point of view and found her narration refreshingly raw and distinct. Her sections in particular are a great balance of character study and action/suspense thriller, with the effect of creating a tangible image of Villanelle as a person, even if the premise of her character is highly stereotypical and far from a realistic representation of sociopathy. I especially liked how she is revealed to be emotional and introspective while at the same time brutal and remorseless.
By contrast, Eve seemed to be written to be so aggressively realistic and "relatable" that her character loops back around into coming across more shallow and cookie-cutter at times - I got really impatient when we had to hear her self-talk about being "plain-looking" for the nth time. However, she begins to come across more active and real as a character in the final novella, where she becomes more focused on capturing and defeating Villanelle.
As is typical of the spy/assassin genre as a whole, the storytelling is extremely filtered through the white male gaze. Lots of unnecessary emphasis on breasts and women's apearances, lots of gratuitous sex, the usual orientalism. That being said, Jennings' prose itself is really strong - intelligent and thoughtful, fluid yet restrained, with each word serving a clear purpose but no passage too long or overwritten (except maybe the scene with the nurse-themed kinky roleplay - that one went on too long). Laura Kirman was also a great narrator - she allows each character come to life with their own distinct speech patterns, accent, and vocal tics.
Villanelle was the highlight of the book for me; I loved her point of view and found her narration refreshingly raw and distinct. Her sections in particular are a great balance of character study and action/suspense thriller, with the effect of creating a tangible image of Villanelle as a person, even if the premise of her character is highly stereotypical and far from a realistic representation of sociopathy. I especially liked how she is revealed to be emotional and introspective while at the same time brutal and remorseless.
By contrast, Eve seemed to be written to be so aggressively realistic and "relatable" that her character loops back around into coming across more shallow and cookie-cutter at times - I got really impatient when we had to hear her self-talk about being "plain-looking" for the nth time. However, she begins to come across more active and real as a character in the final novella, where she becomes more focused on capturing and defeating Villanelle.
As is typical of the spy/assassin genre as a whole, the storytelling is extremely filtered through the white male gaze. Lots of unnecessary emphasis on breasts and women's apearances, lots of gratuitous sex, the usual orientalism. That being said, Jennings' prose itself is really strong - intelligent and thoughtful, fluid yet restrained, with each word serving a clear purpose but no passage too long or overwritten (except maybe the scene with the nurse-themed kinky roleplay - that one went on too long). Laura Kirman was also a great narrator - she allows each character come to life with their own distinct speech patterns, accent, and vocal tics.
thebansh33's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
beccajhamilton's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75