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A review by percys_panda_pillow_pet
Thin Air by Kellie M. Parker
Did not finish book. Stopped at 33%.
I have to say, I feel really bad about this, as this is the second book ever NetGalley has approved me for reading and reviewing. I genuinely thought I would like the book since the cover art really caught my eye and the summary sounded super interesting and right up my alley as a fan of the Death Game genre. Thin Air by Kellie M. Parker is a YA thriller, and the set up of murder in a locked airplane as well as a mysterious game the characters are all competing for was very intriguing.
However, I just couldn't get past the main character's boy-crazy thoughts and feelings. Romance is not unexpected in a YA book, even one that's supposed to be a thriller. But I thought that perhaps the book would not place such importance on the romantic interests of the main character. After all, Emily has much more pressing concerns like her current home life, her grades, the secrets she's trying to keep from her friends, and especially the competition she is now in that will determine her future. I only got about a 3rd of the way in, but the constant internal repetition of the importance of the competition was overrun by thoughts of guys she thought were cute, their level of interest in her, her crush on her friend, and her new crush on a guy she just met. It was all very annoying and hard to sit through and focus on the plot.
There was only a brief hint of what was to come in a flash-forward prologue of sorts, which initially had my hopes high for the suspense and terror to come. However, though there were a few mysterious things happening by chapter 7, it was slower than I expected, and really bogged down by unnecessary internal dialogue by Emily. On StoryGraph, I will note the book has a Romance tag, alongside the Thriller tag, but from the summary I didn't get the feeling that romance would be a high priority in the book. I just feel a little misled.
I note that I've seen at least one other person say that the main character was a bit obnoxious with her actions in the book, and while I do feel like Emily is a bit of an unlikeable character, I think the bigger detractor for me was her obsession with her male competitors than just her annoying personality. In fact, I thought Emily's backstory was an interesting idea and it almost kept me going to try and see what would happen when her secrets were finally revealed (as well as the general plot of a locked room murder in an airplane).
Finally, I will end this here by stating that THIS IS MY OPINION. It is totally fine if you disagree with me or wish to read this book. Actually, if the idea of romance in a thriller excites you, and what seems like the possibility of a love triangle, I would absolutely recommend this to you! I just think that personally, this book wasn't for me, unfortunately. I still thank NetGalley for the opportunity to try this book out!
However, I just couldn't get past the main character's boy-crazy thoughts and feelings. Romance is not unexpected in a YA book, even one that's supposed to be a thriller. But I thought that perhaps the book would not place such importance on the romantic interests of the main character. After all, Emily has much more pressing concerns like her current home life, her grades, the secrets she's trying to keep from her friends, and especially the competition she is now in that will determine her future. I only got about a 3rd of the way in, but the constant internal repetition of the importance of the competition was overrun by thoughts of guys she thought were cute, their level of interest in her, her crush on her friend, and her new crush on a guy she just met. It was all very annoying and hard to sit through and focus on the plot.
There was only a brief hint of what was to come in a flash-forward prologue of sorts, which initially had my hopes high for the suspense and terror to come. However, though there were a few mysterious things happening by chapter 7, it was slower than I expected, and really bogged down by unnecessary internal dialogue by Emily. On StoryGraph, I will note the book has a Romance tag, alongside the Thriller tag, but from the summary I didn't get the feeling that romance would be a high priority in the book. I just feel a little misled.
I note that I've seen at least one other person say that the main character was a bit obnoxious with her actions in the book, and while I do feel like Emily is a bit of an unlikeable character, I think the bigger detractor for me was her obsession with her male competitors than just her annoying personality. In fact, I thought Emily's backstory was an interesting idea and it almost kept me going to try and see what would happen when her secrets were finally revealed (as well as the general plot of a locked room murder in an airplane).
Finally, I will end this here by stating that THIS IS MY OPINION. It is totally fine if you disagree with me or wish to read this book. Actually, if the idea of romance in a thriller excites you, and what seems like the possibility of a love triangle, I would absolutely recommend this to you! I just think that personally, this book wasn't for me, unfortunately. I still thank NetGalley for the opportunity to try this book out!