I really enjoyed the characterisation of the main character
933432
I really enjoyed the characterisation of the main character, Griffin, who was so relatable and well fleshed out. Griffin really carries the novel and made me feel all the feels every time he got into trouble. I am keen to see what happens next, as Sam Blood has built a complex universe with lots and lots of possibilities and unknowns.
2444824
That was a really fun read!  Characters are fully fleshed out and you really care what happens to them. I loved the relationship between the main character and his familiar. I can't wait for the part two to see what happens next.
1894041
I just read my first book written by David Bishop.  Really, a good read; I found myself connecting with the characaters.  Often speaking to Matt and telling him "awww man, that was a stupid idea."  I would not have placed some of the characters with the jobs they were revealed to have; although looking back I now can see how her character would have fit that persona.  The characters are likeable and not so likeable.  I felt at times as if I were sitting across from the main character listening to his story.  This was really an enjoyable read. I'm definitely looking forward to reading his work.  Thank you!
4051498
I am trying to decide how much I liked this book.  I enjoyed it while I was reading it.  To me it was very obvious though what was going to happen in the book.  The only surprise was actually a disappointment when I believed a certain character was more than he actually was.  Overall, I really liked the main character.  She was very well thought out with plenty of backstory to help us understand why she is like she is.  While I liked it, I won't be reading the next one.
4406982
This was a very entertaining read for me. I really liked the main character, Marti, a loving mother of three and a wife of a resident doctor, who has just recently returned to work as a social worker. The "demands" of her husband in his job as a resident usually leaves her holding the bag and doing EVERYTHING regarding the household and the kids. Marti is a very likable character and I really enjoyed meeting her. She has the biggest heart and is constantly trying to overcome her frustration with things at her home between herself and her husband.

When Marti is accused of a horrific crime, I was a little confused. It was introduced in the ARC (I know this may change in the edited version) suddenly and out of nowhere. It kind of through me off to begin with, but after rereading that part, I realized that I didn't miss anything. It was just thrown in. I only add this to my review because it slowed me down in my reading. Other than that, I flew through this book. After the arrest of Marti, I felt so sorry for her and angry, angry, angry.

I love it when authors get my emotions in an uproar and mine were certainly riled while reading this book. I guessed the husband's secret very early in the book and that also flicked on an emotion switch for me. Yay!!

An excellent read with great characters, character development and writing.

Thanks to St. Martins Press and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
3985922
I loved the main character, Ella.  It is nice to read a book where the main character has backbone and wit.  I related well with Ella.  Kelly Hunter tells a wonderful story that is funny and romantic.  I look forward to reading more of Ms. Hunter's work.
3262278
It was quickly paced and I felt invested in the main character, identifying with her in many ways. I love reading about British characters. The ending was surprising - not what I had envisioned. I'm looking forward to reading some of her other books.
1317122
At first I thought the story line was odd but I found myself falling in love with the main character and all of her quirkiness. I really did enjoy my self and I will look for the rest of the series. I look forward to following her on her adventure.
1870535
Although I had a hard time getting past the heroine's nickname (it just felt very juvenile, almost like a pet name), I very much enjoyed this story. The characters were well developed, allowing us to understand why the primary characters act and react they way they do - and the cameos by Charles Dickens and Wilke Collins were nice little bonuses. The story is fun, and if at some point in a future novel Squire Formsworth gets his comeuppance, that would be even better! I look forward to more from this author.
1435551
I really enjoyed this - the protagonist is charismatic, his colleagues are fun and it was exactly the piece of genre fiction I was looking for at the time. It's written in the first person (I mention this only because it's the "can you remap the controls?" of detective novels: if it's not, I want to know about it) and the characters are all well-crafted. I can still visualize all of them quite well, in fact.  It really left me genuinely interested in the lives of everyone in the book and I can't wait for the next one.
2846561
For a relatively short novel (under 300 pages) Briggs managed to create a lush and detailed fantasy world while retaining her sense of humour and centralizing around a strong, female character. The flirtation with the hob, too. To be honest, I wish that the story had kept going - I really loved the characters and wanted to see more of the relationships developing! Different from her other books in that it was more of a traditional fantasy and not a hard and edgy urban fantasy, this was an absolute pleasure to read. If Briggs ever returns to this fantasy world, I will certainly read it!
894519
This was an extremely engaging tale with seven unique characters that I came to love almost equally.

Though this was told from seven different perspectives, the characters were all fantastically crafted and had their own issues and personalities. They all melded together well, and it was easy to keep track of who played what role at various points in the story. Each felt real, as if this was a series of memoirs instead of a novel.

To me, Claire felt like the main character, though I'm not even sure if she was my favourite. I did get sick of her complaining about how insecure she was and how she used to have braces and acne, but my dislike of her kind of contributed to my enjoyment of the book overall--in real life, the odds of me liking seven people are low.

I loved how well one character's pansexual identity was played. There's another character who is likely asexual and I was disappointed by how that wasn't addressed; however, I highly respect that it was present if not explicitly so. Both identities felt very natural and very real, not at all as though they were forced.

The plot of this was multifaceted with main thread pulling together the various lines and providing a beginning and an end, but I like how all characters had issues that related to each other's issues and propelled the plot forward without having them all be caught up in the scandal.

This was a really well crafted and fun high school book, and I look forward to more from Redgate.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
1882726
Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very interesting book.  It was written from the perspective of a 15 year old girl, and it felt very genuine.  It really did seem that the author was very young.  The writing overall was very well done.  I really liked the main character, Polarity, and while not everyone has as many problems as she does, my guess would be most 15 year old girls can relate to her in one way or another.  I also really liked the Ethan character and his relationship with Polarity.  I think my biggest gripe about the book was I wasn't sure which story was the main issue that the author wanted to highlight.  I THINK it's cyber bullying, and just bullying overall, but then every now and then the topic of racial inequality was thrown in and it was a little jarring.  But overall I really enjoyed this book and I recommend it to young (and old) readers everywhere.
4679363
Very engaging! I had a great time walking through the story with the main character.
4432045
I'm not a great fan of making a location more prominent than the main character right in the beginning, but once it got going it was a great read. The characters are well developed, and their actions are totally logical for their personalities. The story doesn't offer any great surprises, but it's so well done it kept me reading all the way. I'll definitely continue reading the series.
908250
I like the main character (the teacher), and was slightly annoyed with the student: this left me eager to go back to the story to see who i liked better at any given time.  I really need a story to keep my attention or I will lose interest quickly.  This is especially true if the story is 'preachy', which this one was and perhaps is why i enjoyed it so much; it was 'preachy', but in the format of an unusual and fun story instead of an 'I told you so" sort of way.  I was able to actually listen (or read) and enjoy understanding from a new point of view without getting defensive.  I liked it very much.
4237372
I liked the style of writing in this book which gave me the sense that I was with the main character working the case. The character development for the main character is cleverly crafted , I think, to achieve this effect. He has little in the way of a back story, whereas hos partner is provided with a full biography. The replacement partner showed the beginning of what could be a civillising influence on Simmons. I was a little confused by her near demise and will look forward to see if she comes back in the next volume. The plot was intricate with enough lose ends at any given moment to allow the criminals to get away but a clever combination of forces qarranged for them to be thwarted on each occasion. I will be looking for the next in the series and beyond hopefully.