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There are currently 35 member reviews
for He Started It
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Della S. (Rockville, MD)
Great Premise and Interesting Plot Twists Can't Save This Novel
While I loved the premise of a dysfunctional family forced on a road trip, I found the book failed on many levels; The characters, all of them unlikable, are never fully developed. Even the grandfather whose death starts this journey is completely unbelievable. The dialogue and personal interactions between the characters never felt real. While the plot twist at the end was a real surprise (and well-done), by that point I had ceased caring about any of the characters and just wanted the ride to end.
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Susan T. (Bahama, NC)
Started out great
I really thought I was going to love this book. It started out really well and the story was intriguing. I liked how it flipped back and forth between the present day road trip and the road trip that happened when they were children. However, I felt disappointed when the story made a sharp right turn and pretty much all of the characters became unlikeable and not even the slightest sympathetic. After the long, meandering trip, the ending seemed short, abrupt and wholly dissatisfying.
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Jamie K. (Berkeley, CA)
Fun, but ultimately unsatisfying
He Started It is a lot like reading Hansel and Gretal, except the author uses carefully placed plot bombs instead of breadcrumbs to lead you down a tangled trail of deceit, greed, violence, and revenge. Even with the cannibalistic witch, H and G's walk in the woods was preferable to the family road trip, or should I say trips, from hell a group of siblings embarks on— first somewhat unwillingly as children and later driven to as adults to fulfill their grandfather's dying wish— and claim their inheritance.
With millions at stake, alliances are made, plots are twisted, and secrets are revealed, little by little. It's hard to know who to trust. And that was my problem with the book. While it was cleverly written, and the story did keep me guessing, the ending was unsatisfying and the characters were so conniving and unlikable that in the end, I didn't really care who started it or for that matter, who won.
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Constance C. (Bristol, RI)
He started it.
This is a devious psych thriller, about three siblings. To claim slices of gramp's fortune, they have to retrace the trip they drove with him years ago. A more detestable group I've yet to meet. They have deeply held secrets and betrayals pile up. The author has a wry humorous way with words, and good at creating characters. However, had to suspend belief at some plot lines. The book is a fast read, beginning held my interest but second part slow. The author has an explosive and unexpected ending. I did not care for this ending, felt as a reader I was being manipulated. Therefore 3 stars for me, but I'm sure to be in the minority.
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Betty T. (Warner Robins, GA)
One Screwed Up Family
This is a seriously twisted family story. I had to force myself to finish it as it did not hold my interest at all. I felt that none of the characters were likable. The pace is really slow until the end – then it goes really crazy. I think that people will either love this book or hate it.
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Amy A. (Buffalo, NY)
He Started It, but I could barely finish it
2 stars: 1 for the author who did manage to get this published and 1 star for myself— a perfect waste of reading time but I managed to finish the book.
Most stories, no matter how shallow, tend to give us insight into something we have no or little knowledge about. This story took us on a tour of the US, but only for us to learn about weird, out of the way tourist stops (which were probably visited only on-line by the author) and the state motto. The state mottos had nothing to do with the plot.
The book was completely unbelievable. It had a weak plot and poor character development. I read to the end, hoping the crazy story would come together, but it didn't.
What the book did do was pique my interest in how do cover blurbs come to be. Well, as you can see from these cover blurbs, they are advertisements and not reviews.
Buyer beware, this book is a waste of your time.
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Jane H. (Prospect, KY)
He Started It
I hope the cover art is not what will ultimately be used. When I saw it, my expectations immediately plunged. It looked like a comic book potboiler.
Not sure if that colored my thoughts on the actual content....I hope not. I did not enjoy this book at all. Characters were not fully developed, dialogue was stilted, premise was very sketchy. Just not up to books usually offered by Bookbrowse.....more of a drugstore paperback than a serious book.
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