Friday 19 February 2016

REVIEW: A THOUSAND PIECES OF YOU by Claudia Gray

REVIEW: A THOUSAND PIECES OF YOU

Summary:
Cloud Atlas meets Orphan Black in this epic dimension-bending trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray about a girl who must chase her father's killer through multiple dimensions.

Marguerite Caine's physicist parents are known for their groundbreaking achievements. Their most astonishing invention, called the Firebird, allows users to jump into multiple universes—and promises to revolutionize science forever. But then Marguerite's father is murdered, and the killer—her parent's handsome, enigmatic assistant Paul— escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.

Marguerite refuses to let the man who destroyed her family go free. So she races after Paul through different universes, always leaping into another version of herself. But she also meets alternate versions of the people she knows—including Paul, whose life entangles with hers in increasingly familiar ways. Before long she begins to question Paul's guilt—as well as her own heart. And soon she discovers the truth behind her father's death is far more sinister than she expected.

A Thousand Pieces of You explores an amazingly intricate multi-universe where fate is unavoidable, the truth elusive, and love the greatest mystery of all.



Title: A Thousand Pieces of You
Author: Claudia Gray
Series: Firebird #1
Source: Purchased from Kobo
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Purchase:
Honestly, this one started out a bit slow but picked up some pace. I enjoyed it but not nearly as much as I thought I would. The ending left me wanting more and I honestly don't see how there could be a sequel to it. Sure there were a couple things left unresolved, but in my opinion, not having read the second book, I would say this could have been a stand alone.

The plot was well thought out but I would have liked there to be more dimension surfing and less of Margurite worrying that she was stealing some other version of herself's life. I think I would have been okay with it if it had been central to the beginning of the story, but it only started after she slept with Paul in Russia so it was kinda like a weird way of her saying that SHE didn't regret her choice but her other self might. I don't know, I wasn't a fan of it. I wanted to see more dimensions than what we were given and I think it would have made for more of a fun adventure if they were chasing Paul throughout dimensions rather than catching up to him right away follow by Margurite following him around like a lost puppy. It just wasn't my kind of thing.

The first 10% where they discussed how the machines would work bored me. It honestly didn't need to be as technical as it was -- and it didn't seem technical enough to satisfy me. I think Gray was going for a balance of what the average reader would know and what science would be necessary to back it up, but instead it lacked on both fronts. Especially since there was this huge part about how you could only go into dimensions where you actually existed and if you tried to jump into one you didn't exist in, you would be sent to a different one. So I guess I anticipated that this would happen at some point, except it didn't. So it was just kind of useless information on that front.

I think the whole "kill Paul" thing was overdone at the beginning considering how quickly Margurite forgot about that and forgave him. I think what I didn't like was that it was basically a kismet-romance novel with a science fiction background. However, everything else was well done. I liked that Margurite and her family were super close and would do anything for one another. I liked Theo and the drama and mystery behind who caused her father's death. I also liked the dynamics of the chase. I just wanted there to be something more.

2 comments:

  1. I just finished reading this and thought a lot of the same things as you. I've read the second one, the story still OK, had couple twists in it that helped. I'll probably read the third one to see where it goes.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's such a bummer when a book doesn't meet expectations. I've been wanting to read it because the synopsis sounded so interesting but now I'm a bit nervous. I'll still read it though and at least now I can go into it with a better idea of what to expect, so thank you for your review! :)

    ReplyDelete