About the Book
-
Author:
- Ellie Marney
- Genres:
- Contemporary
- Mystery
- Suspense
- Voices:
- Australian
- Cis Boy
- Cis Girl
- Straight
Cover Story: Angsty Stock Photo
BFF Charm: Heck Yes
Talky Talk: Mind Movie + G’day, Mate
Bonus Factor: The Country
Anti-Bonus Factor: TEABS
Relationship Status: Longtime Love
Danger, Will Robinson! Every Move is the third book in the Every series. If you have not read the first two books—Every Breath and Every Word—turn away now. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. If you have read the books, 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: Angsty Stock Photo
This cover doesn’t fit with the rest of the covers I’ve reviewed so far, thanks to it being a UK edition rather than a US one. It matches the rest of the Australian/UK covers, and good on the publishers for keeping the same Watts and Mycroft lookalikes. But to judge all of these editions at once: The covers do a great disservice to the actual quality of the books. Were I to spot this in a bookstore, I wouldn’t pick this up off the shelf excitedly. I’d probably write it off as some sort of cheesy NA romance, and although there’s nothing wrong with those, they’re just not my cuppa (to cop a slang term from the novel).
The Deal:
Rachel Watts is trying—hard—to put the events of she and James Mycroft’s trip to London behind her, but the aching knee, the nightmares, and the panic attacks she experiences when anyone gets too physically close are not letting her move on. It doesn’t help that Mycroft’s gotten wrapped up in the investigation, either, and barely acknowledges her existence. Then there’s the fact that someone who looks an awful lot like Mycroft was killed … on Sherlock Road.
Rachel knows that Mr. Wild’s not given up on whatever it is that he wants, but is she prepared to risk everything to put an end to the danger?
BFF Charm: Let Me Love You
Rachel, as YA characters are prone to do, doesn’t really let anyone know how much she’s suffering post-London. But even the strongest of individuals would have been majorly affected by what happened. At the start of Every Move, she needs serious, possibly professional, help, but it can be hard for people in the thick of it to realize that. Were we friends, I hope that I’d notice at least a little of what was going on, and do my best to offer support. I wouldn’t hug her, though, unless she was OK with it.
Swoonworthy Scale: 9
Ellie Marney has a gift for fitting serious swoon into a story that doesn’t really need it, but is improved all the more for its inclusion. I’ve been hyping Rachel and Mycroft’s relationship for three books now, so if you still don’t believe me that these two have killer chemistry, let me share this little tidbit with you:
“Kiss me again.” His voice is so low and rough that I melt a little.
I blink at him. “And you’re just going to stand there?”
“Yes.”
“So … why the wall? Is that some sort of—”
“It’s been a while,” he says. “I don’t know how my legs will go.”
It only gets better from there.
Talky Talk: Mind Movie + G’day, Mate
Once again, Marney impresses with her ability to suck a reader straight into the story. Her descriptions—of characters, places, events, etc.—are so visceral and engaging. My imagination doesn’t have to put in much work to picture what’s going on, and it’s extremely fun to just go along for the ride, even when said ride involves mysterious murders, dead bodies, and threat of bodily harm. (It is a suspenseful mystery, after all.)
I did occasionally get a little sidetracked by some of the Australian slang and terminology used in the book, but this isn’t a complaint, and it’s product of my location rather than Marney’s writing. I had to pause a few times at the start to look up a few things, but eventually stopped; later in the book, there’s either enough context clues or I was too caught up in the story to care. (Sidenote: I am curious if there would have been fewer slang terms in a US edition of Every Move. There was plenty of it in the previous two books’ US editions, but I’m not sure how they compare.)
Bonus Factor: The Country
Rachel returns home to Five Mile a couple of times in Every Move, and each time she thinks about how gorgeous and peaceful the place is. At one point she looks at the night sky, and although I’ve never been to Australia, I was reminded of a visit to East Texas and the way the skies looked there at night. I grew up in a rural area, but I’ve never seen so many stars as I did during that visit. Sights like that give new meaning to the term awe-inspiring.
It’s also comes across as funny that they have to keep an eye out for wild kangaroos while driving. (Though hitting one, or having one hit you, would not be funny.)
Anti-Bonus Factor: TEABS
I’m really going to miss hanging out with Rachel and Mycroft now that their trilogy has come to a close. I think that’s why it took me so long to read and review Every Move—it was actually published in early 2015, and so has been available for a while—I didn’t want our time together to come to an end.
There is a little silver lining to this dark cloud, however: The Every universe will continue in No Limits, a book about Harris Derwent coming (at least to Australia) in August.
Relationship Status: Longtime Love
You and me, Book. It’s been quite a ride, and a wonderful one at that. It’s been suspenseful, exciting, anxiety-causing, and swoontastic. We’ve got the kind of love they write YA novels about.
FTC Full Disclosure: I bought a copy of this book with my own money and received neither a private dance party with Tom Hiddleston nor money in exchange for this review. Every Move is available now.
