Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The opening scene for this book is shocking and confusing, the latter for both the reader and the viewpoint character. The author chose to open the book with a pivotal scene where the main character is being physically attacked and then is left for dead. The author did her best to affect deep characterization, showing what the character was thinking, experiencing, and feeling. But it did not pull me in, no matter how dramatic it was, perhaps because it is written in the first-person present, which I always find distancing. I think authors believe it is more immediate, putting the reader in the moment, but I do not find it so. After this first chapter, I was disappointed that the author, for whom this is not a debut novel, chose to start each viewpoint character’s chapter with rather prodigious information dumps. I believe that skilled authors can artfully weave in backstory and present circumstances; the dreaded info dump is not necessary and highly disliked by most readers and publishers. So, these info dumps combined with a first scene that didn't hook my interest made it hard for me to connect with the story. In the end, I don't think I ever did. I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.