YVO’S SHORTIES #208 – An Eye For An Eye & How To Stop Time

Time for another round of Yvo’s Shorties! This time an ARC of one of my favorite detective thriller authors that somehow failed to blow me away this time around, and a sci-fi time travel story that I had a great time reading despite a few flaws.

Title: An Eye For An Eye
(Detective Kate Young #1)
Author: Carol Wyer
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Detective
First published: February 1st 2021
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Finished reading: January 10th 2021
Pages: 426

“Something about all this didn’t feel right. She had to tread carefully. Very carefully indeed.”

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

Warning: unpopular opinion ahead!!

I’m still not sure what happened here to be honest… I love her previous two detective series, so I fully expected to have a brilliant time meeting her newest main character Kate Young as well. I’m not sure if it was simply the wrong book at the wrong time for me, but there is no denying that I wasn’t able to connect to Kate or the story in general at all. She seemed too much like the typical cliche detective with lots of personal issues, and the constant repeating of the ‘traumatic event’ and how she struggled to cope really got on my nerves. I get that ‘broken’ detectives make for interesting main characters, but I think the emphasis on her broken state was way over the top and as a result distracted considerably. Being unable to connect to her and feeling annoyed by the constant repetition of her issues really started to irritate me more and more, which made it really hard to enjoy the story. As a result, I ended up struggling considerably with An Eye For An Eye. I wasn’t completely convinced by the plot or the hint at possible corruption, and I guessed most of the final twists quite early on, which was a let down as well. All in all I definitely didn’t have the experience I thought I would have with this new series… I seem to be in the minority though, as most people do seem to love Kate and this book in general. Definitely don’t give up on this series on my account!

Title: How To Stop Time
Author: Matt Haig
Genre: Science Fiction, Historical Fiction
First published: July 6th 2017
Publisher: Canongate Books
Finished reading: January 11th 2021
Pages: 336

“Change is just what life is. It is the only constant I know.”

I’ve been meaning to read more of Matt Haig‘s backlist titles and decided to turn How To Stop Time into my first sci-fi read of the year. I’m glad I made that choice now! There was just something about the blurb that intrigued me immediately, and I think it is the time travel element and incorporation of historical references that made this story stand out for me. It was interesting to learn more about both his condition and his life through the centuries… Some parts could have been developed more; mostly the personal relationships and romance, but overall I still had a great time reading this story. Don’t expect this to be an epic romance story though! It’s more of a philosophical nature, with historical references and ponderings on life. The final part is a tad rushed too, but as a whole I can still recommend it to those who are looking for a little something different and don’t mind some lack in cohesion and (romantic) interaction and development.