Former.ly by Dane Cobain is certainly a page turner as you long to figure out what the plot twist will be, and when it will happen. I found the story very easy to read, and it kept me gripped enough to keep turning the page.

Dan Roberts enters a small start-up tech company, known as Former.ly, and becomes a key part as the company expands to a global level. A social networking site dedicated to the dead, which posts any updates the person privately made on the website before they died, by making the private posts public. But some shady business happens, and Dan is caught in the middle of it.

First impressions: I really wanted to know what would happen to Dan, but I suspected the founders were part of this shady business to begin with. The ending was a bit of a plot twist, but again, I quite enjoyed seeing Dan deal with the consequences of his actions.

What I liked: I liked how Dan was an obviously flawed character, like the detectives in crime novels, in which he’s a loner and purposefully doesn’t have anyone to be his weakness. I liked the realistic growth of the company, and seeing how the characters progressed with this growth. I liked how the story progressed, and built the tension up gradually, whilst drawing you in with the first line.

I also liked that the story jumped to the relevant plot details, rather than filling in what had happened between those times. Personally, I liked how technical it sounded, because it showed the author knew what they were writing about, but if someone wasn’t in the know about computers and coding, it might not make sense in places to them.

What I disliked: I’m all for character flaws, but having the founders and his girlfriend being erratic was a bit much. Surely the girlfriend could’ve just been fed up with the relationship and just left, because having her do what she did really felt like it was shoe horned in, regardless of whether it gave Dan a coincidental second chance or not.

I felt, in places, the explanation could’ve been a little better, especially towards the end. The end, in a way, felt a bit rushed, and I would’ve liked to have seen more of the aftermath of what happened in prison, for example.

The book itself was well written in that it was concise and built up tension, but I felt like sometimes it was too rushed or not explained well. However, I did enjoy reading it, and would recommend it to anyone who’d like a well thought out murder mystery.

My rating: 4/5

 

 

 

 

Guest post reviewed by Laura Broadberry. Laura enjoys creative writing, a cappella singing, and travel. See more of her reviews on her website.

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Ski Patrol

Love is a slippery slope. Kristy thinks she’s figured out the perfect relationship. All the fun and sex without all the drama. But she’s completely wrong about the man she’s loved for 6 years and she didn’t have a clue.

 

 

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