I chose this book because I enjoyed the first book in Dolan's Zigic and Ferreira police procedural series, but I have to come right out and say it: This Is How It Ends was just not my cup of tea although there is much good to be found within its pages.
The story is told from the points of view of both Ella and Molly. They are ardent protesters against property developers who destroy neighborhoods and throw long-time residents out on the street in order to put up pretty new buildings for rich people who will probably never even live in the properties they buy. No, these people are buying tax breaks or money laundering schemes, not homes. When Dolan wrote about this, I was fully engaged; she had my blood boiling, and I definitely wanted to join Ella's and Molly's fight to hold off the wrecking ball. There is also a plot twist at the end that I didn't see coming, and I always like it when an author can surprise me like that. These are the bits I liked. Now for what I didn't like.
I didn't like either of the main characters, and I could not have cared less what happened to them. I don't have to like the characters in the books I read, but I do want to care about the fate of at least one of them because it gives me a good reason to keep turning the pages. However, there was something even worse than my lack of feeling for the characters: the unrelenting doom and gloom tone of the entire book. Now, I can handle doom and gloom if I happen to care about one of the characters, but you already know what happened there.
No, This Is How It Ends just wasn't my cup of tea. But it may be yours, and I sincerely hope it is.
The story is told from the points of view of both Ella and Molly. They are ardent protesters against property developers who destroy neighborhoods and throw long-time residents out on the street in order to put up pretty new buildings for rich people who will probably never even live in the properties they buy. No, these people are buying tax breaks or money laundering schemes, not homes. When Dolan wrote about this, I was fully engaged; she had my blood boiling, and I definitely wanted to join Ella's and Molly's fight to hold off the wrecking ball. There is also a plot twist at the end that I didn't see coming, and I always like it when an author can surprise me like that. These are the bits I liked. Now for what I didn't like.
I didn't like either of the main characters, and I could not have cared less what happened to them. I don't have to like the characters in the books I read, but I do want to care about the fate of at least one of them because it gives me a good reason to keep turning the pages. However, there was something even worse than my lack of feeling for the characters: the unrelenting doom and gloom tone of the entire book. Now, I can handle doom and gloom if I happen to care about one of the characters, but you already know what happened there.
No, This Is How It Ends just wasn't my cup of tea. But it may be yours, and I sincerely hope it is.
