A review by papercuts1
First Drop by Zoë Sharp
3.0
I have to say I was underwhelmed by this book (I listened to the audio version). Reviews have been mainly in favor of the series, and now I'm wondering if I started with one of the weaker volumes.Let's get the criticism out of the way, shall we?
The plot. I tried, but I didn't really feel suspense, except maybe for the final action sequence. While at first I was curious to find out why Trey was being hunted, and who was eventually behind it, halfway through the book I was so distracted and partially bored by the Spring Breakers, sulking teens, franchise resort golf cart drivers etc. that I stopped really caring. The plot felt like something from an 80s P.I. show - entertaining, but not gripping.
The action scenes are well written, I have to give Sharp that. Crisp, well-paced, no fuss and believable. Made me listen up and lose my disinterest whenever a shootout/close combat scene arrived. Spice of the book.
When I noticed my own disregard for the plot, I decided to focus on the characters instead and care about them. Which is what saved my opinion about the book and lifted it to three stars instead of two. To be precise, Charlie and Sean did.
I never really warmed up with Trey, and neither did Charlie. Not really. The teenagers in the story were something to grin at at first, but they quickly became as much of a nuissance and source for anger as they are in RL (I'm raising two of that species, I know what I'm talking about). I was, in general, missing adult in the book. Only Walt with his warm Southern accent and paternal instincts was a likeable supporting character. The rest - most of them bad guys - were indistinct and even blurred a little in my head.
But thank God there's Charlie. Tough, yet thoughtful Charlie, ghosts of the past haunting her, and battling with feelings of guilt. She's a likeable heroine, the right mixture of hard and soft, and those features are best completed when she interacts with or thinks about Sean. Sean, her partner, whom she's obviously in love with, but on difficult terms. In the few scenes these two have with each other in 'First Drop', there is a lot of chemistry crackling between these characters, a lot of history defining their cautious but clearly smitten ways with each other. And it's because of them that I might go back and read the first book of the series, even if 'First Drop' really didn't meet my expectations. Luckily enough, stories, for me, are about characters more than about plot (for the most part anyway). Which is why, with qualms, I'm giving 'First Drop' three of five stars (would be 2 1/2 if that was a option).
One more word about the narrator:
I listened to the audio version narrated by Clare Corbett, and she couldn't always convince me either. Her voice suited Charlie's character, and her British English is clean and easy to understand. Also, Corbett's interpretation of Sean was done very well - she gives him nuances of cold-blooded, yet evocative sexiness. Unfortunately, Sean only played a small part in the book, and we don't get to hear him often enough.
As for the teenager's voices, Corbett made them sound appropriately obnoxious - which got on my nerves after a while. Possibly intentional.
I had my biggest issues with Corbett mimicking a deeper, male voice and an American accent. Both seemed exaggerated and really took some getting used to. I would've preferred more subtlety here.
For my reviews in German go to www.buchstapelwleise.wordpress.com
The plot. I tried, but I didn't really feel suspense, except maybe for the final action sequence. While at first I was curious to find out why Trey was being hunted, and who was eventually behind it, halfway through the book I was so distracted and partially bored by the Spring Breakers, sulking teens, franchise resort golf cart drivers etc. that I stopped really caring. The plot felt like something from an 80s P.I. show - entertaining, but not gripping.
The action scenes are well written, I have to give Sharp that. Crisp, well-paced, no fuss and believable. Made me listen up and lose my disinterest whenever a shootout/close combat scene arrived. Spice of the book.
When I noticed my own disregard for the plot, I decided to focus on the characters instead and care about them. Which is what saved my opinion about the book and lifted it to three stars instead of two. To be precise, Charlie and Sean did.
I never really warmed up with Trey, and neither did Charlie. Not really. The teenagers in the story were something to grin at at first, but they quickly became as much of a nuissance and source for anger as they are in RL (I'm raising two of that species, I know what I'm talking about). I was, in general, missing adult in the book. Only Walt with his warm Southern accent and paternal instincts was a likeable supporting character. The rest - most of them bad guys - were indistinct and even blurred a little in my head.
But thank God there's Charlie. Tough, yet thoughtful Charlie, ghosts of the past haunting her, and battling with feelings of guilt. She's a likeable heroine, the right mixture of hard and soft, and those features are best completed when she interacts with or thinks about Sean. Sean, her partner, whom she's obviously in love with, but on difficult terms. In the few scenes these two have with each other in 'First Drop', there is a lot of chemistry crackling between these characters, a lot of history defining their cautious but clearly smitten ways with each other. And it's because of them that I might go back and read the first book of the series, even if 'First Drop' really didn't meet my expectations. Luckily enough, stories, for me, are about characters more than about plot (for the most part anyway). Which is why, with qualms, I'm giving 'First Drop' three of five stars (would be 2 1/2 if that was a option).
One more word about the narrator:
I listened to the audio version narrated by Clare Corbett, and she couldn't always convince me either. Her voice suited Charlie's character, and her British English is clean and easy to understand. Also, Corbett's interpretation of Sean was done very well - she gives him nuances of cold-blooded, yet evocative sexiness. Unfortunately, Sean only played a small part in the book, and we don't get to hear him often enough.
As for the teenager's voices, Corbett made them sound appropriately obnoxious - which got on my nerves after a while. Possibly intentional.
I had my biggest issues with Corbett mimicking a deeper, male voice and an American accent. Both seemed exaggerated and really took some getting used to. I would've preferred more subtlety here.
For my reviews in German go to www.buchstapelwleise.wordpress.com