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A review by turquoiseavenue
Fragile Designs by Colleen Coble
2.0
This story began a high level of intensity and immediately captured my attention. After reading the synopsis, I had high hopes for this release from an author who I have enjoyed reading over the years. However, this book was simply ok for me.
With intrigue and a unique premise, I enjoyed the aspects of the Faberge egg, lost family found and a relic of historic significance. The Russian mafia interest added a certain level of anticipation and excitement, also.
I liked the dual POV and I enjoyed Lucas' character. I found him to be relatable and endearing for the most part, but I struggled immensely with Carly. As a young mom, I felt she made questionable choices concerning her grandmother and son and wasn't relatable or believable. She was good to a fault and the author seemingly needed to continue reminding me of that. Quite frankly, Carly came across to me as lackluster and boring. I wanted her to stand up for herself, have doubts, inner turmoil and struggles from the highly emotional events of her past, yet she seemed more concerned with writing her novel than taking time to process what was happening in her life.
Because I read an ARC copy of this story through NetGalley, perhaps some of the details were ironed out before print, but I found far too many inconsistencies in details which is a big pet peeve of mine when reading suspense (for instance, Lucas reviewing security footage on his home a week later only to find someone had broken in and accessed his safe? My cameras notify me of movement IMMEDIATELY!).
The questionable, dull or sometimes dismissive reactions of the main characters, especially Carly, after deep suspense elements made me want to DNF. I kept wishing for reactions that better followed normal human behavior.
Lastly, the word use of the baby "squawking" instead of crying, rousing or fussing, nearly drove me crazy. I couldn't get past it and it was used seven times. Similarly, I found other phrases in the book mildly crude and felt they could have been worded better.
Overall, this book had a great premise and an exciting plot with a lot happening that kept me invested in seeing it through, but the rating ultimately reflects reliability issues, word choices and inconsistent details that could have made it so much better.
*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary ARC ecopy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own and I was not required to write a positive review. Please know that while I may not have enjoyed this book entirely, I still encourage you to read it and see what you think! All books are subjective to the reader's own opinions, beliefs and enjoyment.
With intrigue and a unique premise, I enjoyed the aspects of the Faberge egg, lost family found and a relic of historic significance. The Russian mafia interest added a certain level of anticipation and excitement, also.
I liked the dual POV and I enjoyed Lucas' character. I found him to be relatable and endearing for the most part, but I struggled immensely with Carly. As a young mom, I felt she made questionable choices concerning her grandmother and son and wasn't relatable or believable. She was good to a fault and the author seemingly needed to continue reminding me of that. Quite frankly, Carly came across to me as lackluster and boring. I wanted her to stand up for herself, have doubts, inner turmoil and struggles from the highly emotional events of her past, yet she seemed more concerned with writing her novel than taking time to process what was happening in her life.
Because I read an ARC copy of this story through NetGalley, perhaps some of the details were ironed out before print, but I found far too many inconsistencies in details which is a big pet peeve of mine when reading suspense (for instance, Lucas reviewing security footage on his home a week later only to find someone had broken in and accessed his safe? My cameras notify me of movement IMMEDIATELY!).
The questionable, dull or sometimes dismissive reactions of the main characters, especially Carly, after deep suspense elements made me want to DNF. I kept wishing for reactions that better followed normal human behavior.
Lastly, the word use of the baby "squawking" instead of crying, rousing or fussing, nearly drove me crazy. I couldn't get past it and it was used seven times. Similarly, I found other phrases in the book mildly crude and felt they could have been worded better.
Overall, this book had a great premise and an exciting plot with a lot happening that kept me invested in seeing it through, but the rating ultimately reflects reliability issues, word choices and inconsistent details that could have made it so much better.
*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary ARC ecopy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own and I was not required to write a positive review. Please know that while I may not have enjoyed this book entirely, I still encourage you to read it and see what you think! All books are subjective to the reader's own opinions, beliefs and enjoyment.