About the Book
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Author:
- Ellie Marney
Cover Story: Don’t Look at Me
BFF Charm: Heck Yes
Talky Talk: Mind Movies
Bonus Factors: Real Teens, Bodleian Library, Not a Bridge Book
Factor: Pulls No Punches (Literally)
Relationship Status: More, More, More
Spoiler Alert: Danger, Will Robinson! Every Word is the second book in the Every series. If you have not read the first book—Every Breath—turn away now. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. If you have read the first book, however, feel free to continue below. I will refrain from major spoilers in my review, but there might be hints at plot points and details about the story.
Cover Story: Don’t Look at Me
Like with the cover of the first book in this series, I dig the gritty feel of the imagery on this cover. But the feeling the girl invokes is a little melodramatic, and the story within is anything but. Dramatic, definitely. Melo, not so much.
The Deal:
Rachel Watts and James Mycroft have known each other for less than a year, but they’ve already been involved in one life-threatening situation. If it had been anyone else, the two might have wanted nothing to do with each other after the situation resolved, but in their case, the frightening events only brought them closer together. (Much to the chagrin of Rachel’s parents.)
Which is why Rachel’s thrown for a loop when Mycroft packs up with barely a word and returns to London to be a part of an investigation into the death of a rare books conservator, an investigation that hits much too close to home.
BFF Charm: Heck Yes
Rachel is someone I would have loved to be friends with in high school, and someone I would still love to be friends with today. She’s strong-willed, but not bossy (unless the situation calls for it). She’s a loving friend and sister, but knows when tough love is needed. She’s extremely intelligent, which helped tremendously in the investigation in Every Word, but her “deductions” never felt forced or overly complicated (i.e., they seemed like something even a pleb like me could have sussed out eventually). She’s also willing to take risks, follow her heart—even if her heart tells her to do what others might consider insane—and she plays roller derby like a boss.
Swoonworthy Scale: 9
Rachel and Mycroft’s relationship was extremely intense from the very start, but circumstances—a.k.a. harsh parental restrictions put in place after the events of Every Breath—have made it hard for the two to spend alone time together. And although they never quite reach a climax (pun intended), the two make every moment they do have count. In the hottest of ways.
Talky Talk: Mind Movies
Ellie Marney has a gift for the real. Her characters, her settings, her mysteries—nothing about them ever feels false or manufactured, which is saying something considering these are works of fiction. While reading Every Word, I felt like I was in the story, or at least watching it play out in real time. I got the same feelings while reading that I get when I watch an action movie; excitement and anticipation and anxiety (all of which was accented with moments of serious swoon). Instead of creating a story that simply takes the reader along for the ride, Marney has created one that makes you want to be a part of the ride, for better or worse.
And although the mystery at the heart of Every Word might not be completely mind-blowing when it’s eventually unraveled, I was too involved in simply enjoying the story to bother trying to figure it out before I got to the end. Every Word is one of those books that’s easy to get lost in, and those, in my humble opinion, are the very best kind.
Bonus Factor: Real Teens
Rachel and Mycroft aren’t your stereotypical YA teens in that they actually read like typical teens. They curse, they bicker, they get turned on at a moment’s notice and often at somewhat inappropriate times. (See Swoonworthy Scale above.) Even Mycroft’s deductive genius feels age-appropriate.
Bonus Factor: Bodleian Library
I have never been to Oxford, but even the brief descriptions of the Bodleian in Every Word had this book lover checking flights.
Bonus Factor: Not a Bridge Book
Every Word is the second book in a trilogy, but nothing about it is a bridge from the first book to the last; it’s even more intense and more engaging than Every Breath. Of course, it progresses the overarching plot along nicely, but it also stands firmly on its own two feet (or own 352 pages) and even introduces a new and intriguing plot twist that is a fun nod to the series’ inspiration (the stories of Sherlock Holmes).
Factor: Pulls No Punches (Literally)
No spoilers, but do be aware that there is some brutality in Every Word. As a fan of action movies, it didn’t seem overly graphic, but certain characters do accumulate some pretty nasty injuries before all is said and done.
Relationship Status: More, More, More
Geeze, Book. I knew from our first date that you weren’t one to skimp on the excitement, but I had no clue of the extent to which you’d up your game for our second date. From the moment we said hello, it was a wild ride. But I wouldn’t want it any other way.
FTC Full Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from Tundra Books. I received neither a private dance party with Tom Hiddleston nor money in exchange for this review. Every Word is available now.
