Four star review, originally posted here on February 21, 2024.
For the first half (maybe even two-thirds) of this book, I was considering giving it five stars. The main reason was purely subjective: I really, really wanted to continue reading. I was interested in the story. I was enjoying the experience. I was looking for any excuse to fit in more reading time, because I was into it. I enjoyed learning about the protagonist’s culture, I felt immersed in her world, and I appreciated that she was a badass hockey star.
But even from the early chapters, there were a few issues that irked me. First, it gets pretty dang repetitive. But second, there were too many times where the protagonist just annoyed me, largely because of her stupid decisions. I don’t want to give spoilers, but there were multiple times where she withheld information from people and I didn’t understand why. I also was annoyed at how she approached her love interest (and frankly, I’m not sure what he saw in her, given that she treated him like crap and kept flip-flopping.)
This book does eventually jump the shark, though. To the point that I was actively mad at the book and wanted to drop my star rating way down. But then I reminded myself that I just devoted several days straight to listening to hear what happens, even after stuff started to annoy me, and that is definitely worth something even if I still rolled my eyes at parts. So this stays at 4 stars.
SPOILER(ISH): I won’t tell the actual ending. But I will say that it was lackluster. The villains are the most obvious suspects from the start (like, the person who I assumed early would our red herring, wound up just being the bad person.) We have a scene where the villain spills out the entire evil plan in a speech like a Hollywood cliche. And there are a few other things that stretch reality towards the end that, again, revolve around the protagonist’s decision-making skills. Ugh.
I just did 1 positive paragraph and two negative paragraphs for a book that I thoroughly enjoyed and am giving a whopping four stars! So I should end on a high note. The main thing I liked about this story was its uniqueness. With some exceptions, I liked how the characters were developed. I was thinking “This would make a great series.” The biggest challenge, I think, will be casting the lead, because she’s a pretty unique character. But turns out Netflix and the Obamas are on the case, so I’m looking forward to seeing what they do here, and I will definitely tune in to watch.
Helga without the H 