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A review by apairofducks
By Any Other Name by Erin Cotter
3.75
Never has my rating for a book varied so wildly during my reading. The beginning was slow, and I thought I might DNF. The middle was utterly charming, and I thought this might be a 4.25 or a 4.5. The ending dragged for so long that I considered a 3.5.
Final thoughts:
Pros: the characters were fantastic. I kept finding myself fondly smiling at little jokes and turns of phrase. Maggie was my favorite character for a lot of the book, but I adored all of them. I also love historical fiction that’s interested in dealing with the time period’s homophobia instead of embracing the aesthetic without any of the parts that make a period piece interesting. I generally had a lot of fun reading this book.
Cons: The pacing. This book was bafflingly paced. I want to rip it apart and rearrange the scenes, and I bet I could lose 75 pages in the process and not miss them. I felt like it took 100 pages to end, and I was done.
I also have no idea why this book is YA. So many aspects of it screamed new adult/adult fiction, but then it would backtrack and try to reassure readers that no, don’t worry, this is YA. It feels like the story the author was telling and the story she wanted to be telling were two different things, which made the novel as a whole feel discordant.
Also, after reading all 452 pages, I still don’t think I could tell you who was on what side. Too many double crosses, too many shenanigans. I get that it’s a spy plot, but there was too much spying for me to follow who was on what side.
I enjoyed myself, but I don’t know if I can really recommend this book unless a couple (dozens of) pages get cut before it’s published.
Final thoughts:
Pros: the characters were fantastic. I kept finding myself fondly smiling at little jokes and turns of phrase. Maggie was my favorite character for a lot of the book, but I adored all of them. I also love historical fiction that’s interested in dealing with the time period’s homophobia instead of embracing the aesthetic without any of the parts that make a period piece interesting. I generally had a lot of fun reading this book.
Cons: The pacing. This book was bafflingly paced. I want to rip it apart and rearrange the scenes, and I bet I could lose 75 pages in the process and not miss them. I felt like it took 100 pages to end, and I was done.
I also have no idea why this book is YA. So many aspects of it screamed new adult/adult fiction, but then it would backtrack and try to reassure readers that no, don’t worry, this is YA. It feels like the story the author was telling and the story she wanted to be telling were two different things, which made the novel as a whole feel discordant.
Also, after reading all 452 pages, I still don’t think I could tell you who was on what side. Too many double crosses, too many shenanigans. I get that it’s a spy plot, but there was too much spying for me to follow who was on what side.
I enjoyed myself, but I don’t know if I can really recommend this book unless a couple (dozens of) pages get cut before it’s published.