2025 Reading Challenge discussion

Tell us what you thought of the book! You can leave your review here. Even if you read the book outside of the group, please feel free to let us know what you thought of it.

Please make sure to mark your spoilers by typing "[spoiler]" at the start and [/spoiler] at the end but replacing the []s with <>s.

I tried to like this...I normally love a good serial killer thriller....cliffhangers don't bother me as long as I don't have to wait for the next book to come out. Problem is, I hate all the characters and the misogynist vibe to the point that I don't care enough to find out what happens to any of them. One star for me...at least it was free

Well for me it wasn't as drastic as a one star. I did enjoy the mystery part of it. I did not necessarily found it too misogynistic either - yes, there were some misognyist vibes, but our main female character did battle them and so it felt like it wasn't just left at it being this way. What bothered me was that this unexpectedly was pretty much kinky erotica. I am not a prude by far but I simply do not care about erotica in literature, it bores me. And this was a lot. BDSM, kink, fetish, submission ... there was just too much. And I can see how some of it might come across as misogynist because it is about controlling and power and submission.
It feels like this thriller will be spread across 12 books before we start getting any sort of closure, and it is accompanied by a ton of sex. That is just not what I can get into. I can see other people liking that though. Other than it just not being my thing, I did kind of like the way it was written and definitely could have gotten into it.

Just 3 of 5 stars from me, which is LOW! Okay. Although the crime scenes were quite grisly (by my own wussy standards at least), the mystery part was okay. (view spoiler)[No resolution. So I'm gathering this whole long story extends throughout all 13 Zodiac Killer installments. (hide spoiler)] W.L. Knightly is evidently a pen-name for two "USA Today best-selling authors." I doubt I'll continue with the series. (view spoiler)[While I am interested in knowing the resolution I am relatively certain it would require reading another 12 books to get to that point. (hide spoiler)] Overall, there is a bit too much grisly detail for my liking and I can't really relate well to any of the characters. This seemed very noirish to me and that is not my jam. Since it is just a "meh" read for me, I'll leave it here...

CC wrote: "Well for me it wasn't as drastic as a one star. I did enjoy the mystery part of it. I did not necessarily found it too misogynistic either - yes, there were some misognyist vibes, but our main fema..."

Interestingly, the sexual stuff didn't bother me much. I was initially grossed out, but grisly details of the murders did gross me out! :)

Not what I expected.
For this book, two authors who normally write romance teamed up to write a thriller and let me tell you it doesn't really work. It is not immediately obvious there will be more focus on BDSM and relationships than the actual crime solving. The portrayal of the former is not done very well in my opinion due to too much emphasis on abuse, misogyny and objectification. (I know it happens but I'd like to point out that not all relationships are like this so don't tar them all with the same brush.) None of the characters are likeable at all either.
The book is also in need of more editing. I spent some unnecessary time trying to figure out if Darek was a typo because it looked like a combination of Darren and Derek and not a real name.
And it needs a proper ending. I'm all for cliffhangers but I still think each book in a series should have some sort of satisfying climax and not just fizzle out. I get it's a marketing thing so you continue with the series but...
(See? It's annoying isn't it?)

I put up my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

In short, I think the authors deserve cred for tapping into the market they intended to, with a good quality product for that market. Their approach has been commercially successful, and being currently kind of obsessed with the why and how of self-publishing, I respect that.

But yes, Darek/Dalek/Derek is a constant irritation, and Bay's whole sex control garbage, and all that is simultaneously the repellant and the draw for this book.

It was a fast read. I don't think I'm going to spend the $4.99 to continue with the story. Darek had more crap going on with his life than a country music song, surprised he has used his gun on himself. I do like our monthly challenges it pushes me to read books that I wouldn't normally pick out for myself and hey this one was free.

Just wanted to pop in to say I was gratified that I was not the only one to basically dislike this first installment enough to not continue further with the series, even if the next two books were free. Not that I mind being in the minority in my opinion about a book, just glad to have some corroboration of my own negative reactions. As some of you mentioned, I'm sure there are those who would truly enjoy it... That group just doesn't include me. :)

@Heather. I agree. Doubt I would have read it without this impetus to do so.

2.5 stars. Not what I expected but when I realized what this was going to be, it was fine. The mystery is intriguing. I will read the next book just for a monthly challenge but I'm not sure I like it enough to read all 13, especially if I have to purchase most of them.

The writing was not terrible, but there were some parts where I was inwardly groaning at how campy or downright stupid it was. It reads very fast, which is a positive because I'm not sure I'd invest a ton of time in this book. It's definitely a guilty pleasure type of book, although not my personal pleasure.

I'm not generally bothered by sex or violence or anything like that, but it was a bit annoying how every male character was controlling and/or a complete jerk to/about women. They "blame" the BDSM sort of world they're investigating, but the main character is like that too, and IF the murderer is not involved with the zodiac club (Bay, Tad, etc.), then there's 2 different groups of men doing this type of master/slave routine. And the way the BDSM is portrayed is on the very fringe of that particular kink. Whips and chains and pain are one thing in a sexual encounter, but allowing someone to completely control your life and dole out punishment is another. It exists, but it's a small subset.

I truly hope that the two authors who wrote this were aiming for satire and just missed the mark. Otherwise, this a throwback, misogynistic book. There were holes in the plot, it ends in a weird cliffhanger, and I hated every character. And the casual way that underage children are abused with barely a batted eye was just wrong. Not worth reading, and I’m not continuing the series either. 1 star

Finally finished the first book. It took me a month LOL, I just kept taking other books to read in the mean time, until I realized I dont have enough time left till the end of the month. So I started reading it in bed before falling asleep.
What can I say? It was a very weird book. The detective story itself is actually interesting and would be good if it was written differently. For me there were too many strange things, too much cussing (I dont mind cussing when it is appropriate, I didnt find it was very needed in most places of this book). Also, the characters were boring and they used the same dialogues, all of them. So, for me it was like watching some very cheap TV series, where most of the characters are one dimensial and use the same words and phrases while talking to each other. Also, the main characters werent attractive to me. Ok, Lizzy was made a perfect in every way - sexy, smart, independant, good in every single situation. Darek, though, was so insecure and lacked intelligence, considering he was applying for a job at FBI.
And of course, to be continued, in the end of a short book was like a slap in the face LOL. I dont mind series of books, I actually enjoy them. But not when a book ends almost in the middle of the conversation. Again, like a TV series.
2 of 5 for me.

Catherine wrote: " it's definitely not because I love to read hot garbage"

Hahaha

For those curious, I did read the second one this month as well and it wasn't as bad as the first. All of the awful things are still there, but there's a bit more focus on the murder(s). Depressing and trigger warning subject matter and still misogynistic, but one of the main characters is a little less awful than the ones focused on in the first book.