Didn't Grab Me

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I was intrigued by the premise of this book and the in media res beginning, with the hint of this past murder that the characters are now facing the consequences for. However, I felt like this first look didn't really hold my attention--I felt like we got too many details of what exactly happened with the murder too fast for my taste. I also felt like the writing style of this excerpt didn't really work for me: the dialogue felt a little stilted (with characters constantly referring to each other by name in every sentence for example), and it felt like the text was struggling with the "show, don't tell" rule with just stating Marina likes Rhys as a challenge when that's already pretty apparent just from the events happening. I also found the descriptions of Marina's body and behavior more than a little off-putting.

Overall, while I'm still pretty interested in the concept of this book and its examination of this small social group in Zimbabwe, I think the style just means it's not for me personally.