Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

What Have We Done by Alex Finlay

14 reviews

ariajb's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.25

This was actually pretty good, if a little excessive, it had a lot of plot twists but there were so many characters to keep track of that a lot of them went over my head because l'd keep getting the names/who was who mixed up it focused a lot on 'side' characters that kept showing up more and more instead of the 3 main characters
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ajpotz's review against another edition

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2.75

it was an easy, action packed read, emphasis on the action. lots of fight scenes and such, which was not what i expected as this was discribed as a thriller. but would be good for anyone looking for an action book involving found family 
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fanboyriot's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

Honestly I didn’t really care for this book.  I couldn’t get into the plot and I just overall didn’t like the characters all that much.

Spice Level: n/a
POV: Multiple, Third Person
Release Date: 07, March 2023
Rep: n/a
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alicia_meyer's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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coyotecasket's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I did enjoy this book, but it was just okay to me. I enjoy books with multiple POVs, but this one fell a little flat for me. The author kept explaining the same events multiple times with different characters and it became very confusing to me. Also, the characters all seemed a little flat to me. We didn't really get what the characters very feeling, only what they were doing. It was very much "this happened, then this happened" instead of "this happened and these are the emotions I'm feeling as this chatacter" Something else that bothered me is that all of these characters are supposed to be from foster care and all of this... yet all of them basically won the lottery of life. We have a billionaire, a pretty successful Rockstar (washed up sure but he was making it big at one point), a producer of a hit show, a rich judge, and an ex assassin who married well. Im not saying this doesn't happen to foster care kids or that they can't be successful, but all 5 of them seems very far-fetched for me. Capitalism ya know. Furthermore, in a lot of the circumstances, it was obvious that the author was speaking from an outsiders perspective and didn't really understand how an addict or someone going through what the characters were going though would act. 
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staceen's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

An action thriller about a group of adult foster children with a secret who are reunited when someone is trying to kill them. There was nothing wrong with this book but I just didn’t really enjoy the experience of reading it. I wanted the entire book to be from Jenna’s POV, although that wouldn’t have worked with the story. There were so many story choices I (the critic with no talent for writing, who has never published several successful books like this author ha) would have made differently. 
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yvo_about_books's review

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4.0

 Finished reading: September 14th 2023


“In the dark, the gentle boy utters the words none of them will ever forget: 'What have we done?'”


I'm a big fan of Alex Finlay's writing, and I've been looking forward to read his newest story. It's true that I was a bit worried when I saw the lowish rating, and I decided to go in with low expectations just in case... I shouldn't have worried though, because once again I ended up having an excellent time with his writing. I do understand why What Have We Done has a lower rating though, because it does have a different feel compared to his previous books. It's a story that won't work for everyone, but if you like your thrillers on the action-packed, dark and exhilarating side this is the book for you. It took me a little while to properly warm up to the plot, but once I did I was completely hooked. This is one of those books where it's just best to sit back and enjoy the ride... Things can be said about the credibility of it all and the plot being over the top, but it sure provides one heck of an entertaining ride. I loved learning more about the past as well as the present, and the multiple POV structure worked really well to add tension to the plot. What Have We Done will get pretty dark and twisted along the way, so make sure to brace yourself for a wild ride... There were also a couple twists I didn't see coming, which is always a bonus. All in all, while not my favorite Alex Finlay, I still had a blast reading this story. 
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morethanmylupus's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

My face at the end of this book probably resembled the "mind exploding" emoji. I absolutely did not predict at least 2/3 of the big reveals at the end. This book kept me on my toes. This book has a rotating series of perspectives. We get the viewpoints of each of the individuals who lived in the very shady group home (all of whom have somehow done exceptionally well for themselves). We also get the viewpoint of the big bad's hired assassins. The plot dragged a bit in places and there were some details we didn't need and were probably supposed to be red herrings, but it didn't slow me down enough to feel inclined to stop reading.

Bottom line? Finlay, as always, delivered a thriller that I absolutely couldn't put down. 

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
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spaghettii's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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zosiablue's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

A liiiiitle weak compared to his other stuff. I liked the orphan-turned-assassin & I think she could've had her own book - the rest got overly complicated and in the way. Also, it felt like most of the book was centered around the author's discovery of a cattle bolt stunner as a weapon. It was mentioned so many times that I never want to read about it again. Despite this, it was a page turner and it had heart. The final twist didn't really track but I'd read these characters again. 
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