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A review by btwnprintedpgs
Kisses, Codes, and Conspiracies by Abigail Hing Wen
adventurous
funny
hopeful
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? No
2.0
Kisses, Codes, and Conspiracies promises to be full of vibrant characters, high stake hijinks, and a love triangle. Does it achieve these lofty goals? Yes and no.
I quite enjoyed the fast-pace of this novel, with our characters constantly on the move as they work to help our MC's ex escape from her family's clutches. With strong relationship building, heartwarming moments, and scenes full of action movie cuts, this book will have you on the edge of your seat. I truly loved the overall vibe of the story, the mystery of the pursuit for these golden coins, as well as the softer moments of connection between Tan and the other characters - Winter, Rebecca, and Sana - as they adventure through the Bay area.
That being said, this is a very plot-driven book. Those softer moments are lovely, but the characters as a whole are very one note - Winter is an aspiring actress who has a dead father, Tan is an expert code cracker at 16, Sana is 5-going-on-11 in craftiness, and Rebecca is a frustrating heiress running from her abusive family. At the end of the day, I feel like Rebecca was the only character to truly grow from the events of the book, giving more main character energy than the rest of the cast.
Additionally, this book asked for a lot of suspension of belief. A sixteen year old knowing more about code cracking than his professional parents, or a PhD student? A bunch of children outsmarting goons for hire? A helicopter in a highly populated area of the city? Geographically incorrect landmarks (I don't know whether this was intentional or a huge editing oversight)?? There were also consistency issues that bothered me, and as a whole, I felt like this needed to go through a couple more edits and a thorough dig through Google Maps.
All in all, this was a brain-off, vibes only kind of read that just didn't meet expectations for me. That being said, I'm not the target audience, so someone younger who doesn't know the Bay Area really well would probably be fine with this. I was just so bothered by these details that I couldn't get on board with it all at the end of the day.
TW: kidnapping, hostage taking, violence, threats of gun violence, injury detail; mentions domestic abuse, toxic family, threats of deportation, death of a parent
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 2/5
World Building: 2/5
Writing: 3/5
Pacing: 2/5
Overall: 2/5
eARC and finished copy gifted via NetGalley by Feiwel & Friends via Macmillan Children's Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review.
I quite enjoyed the fast-pace of this novel, with our characters constantly on the move as they work to help our MC's ex escape from her family's clutches. With strong relationship building, heartwarming moments, and scenes full of action movie cuts, this book will have you on the edge of your seat. I truly loved the overall vibe of the story, the mystery of the pursuit for these golden coins, as well as the softer moments of connection between Tan and the other characters - Winter, Rebecca, and Sana - as they adventure through the Bay area.
That being said, this is a very plot-driven book. Those softer moments are lovely, but the characters as a whole are very one note - Winter is an aspiring actress who has a dead father, Tan is an expert code cracker at 16, Sana is 5-going-on-11 in craftiness, and Rebecca is a frustrating heiress running from her abusive family. At the end of the day, I feel like Rebecca was the only character to truly grow from the events of the book, giving more main character energy than the rest of the cast.
Additionally, this book asked for a lot of suspension of belief. A sixteen year old knowing more about code cracking than his professional parents, or a PhD student? A bunch of children outsmarting goons for hire? A helicopter in a highly populated area of the city? Geographically incorrect landmarks (I don't know whether this was intentional or a huge editing oversight)?? There were also consistency issues that bothered me, and as a whole, I felt like this needed to go through a couple more edits and a thorough dig through Google Maps.
All in all, this was a brain-off, vibes only kind of read that just didn't meet expectations for me. That being said, I'm not the target audience, so someone younger who doesn't know the Bay Area really well would probably be fine with this. I was just so bothered by these details that I couldn't get on board with it all at the end of the day.
TW: kidnapping, hostage taking, violence, threats of gun violence, injury detail; mentions domestic abuse, toxic family, threats of deportation, death of a parent
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 2/5
World Building: 2/5
Writing: 3/5
Pacing: 2/5
Overall: 2/5
eARC and finished copy gifted via NetGalley by Feiwel & Friends via Macmillan Children's Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Kidnapping
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Deportation