The Bookish Island's Book Review:
Deja Who by MaryJanice Davidson
Are there spoilers?
A little. Maybe.
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Title: Deja WhoAuthor: MaryJanice Davidson
Series: Insighter #1
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Pages: 304
Published: 2016
Publisher: Berkley
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Mystery, Humor, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
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Date Read: March 4, 2019
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Leah Nazir is an Insighter. Reincarnation is her business. But while her clients' pasts are a mess, Leah's is nothing short of a tragedy. She's been murdered. A lot. If left to that bitch, destiny, it'll happen again. Leah wants to know who's been following her through time, and who's been stalking her in the present...
P.I. Archer Drake has been hired by Leah's mother to keep an eye on her. But the more time he spends watching, the more he finds himself infatuated. Before long, he even finds himself agreeing to help find the person who wants her dead. Over and over again.
Now going full-on "rewind," Leah hopes it can stave off the inevitable. After all, she's grown fond of this life - and even fonder of nerdy Archer. But changing her pattern means finding out who her killer is today. And as Leah fears, that could be anyone she has come to know and trust. Anyone.
My Review:
Deja Who was a weird read for me. I didn't know if I should find the characters and situations funny or weird. Weird because I felt that if the author intended it to be a serious story then it was not good. But if it was meant to be a funny story and I just didn't get it I'm at fault and need to rethink my opinions. So here they are.
I didn't expect to read a funny book when I bought it or when I started reading it. It was only when I finished reading it that I paused and had to think if it was all meant to be funny.
I liked the concept of Insighters. A mystery where the main character was someone who could see peoples past lives and help them deal with their present life based on what happened to them in the past. Still, it felt like the concept was only superficial. Instead of the main concept.
Leah changed so much but maybe that was the humor in the story. She changed so much from the beginning to the end. And while that often means character growth, in this it felt too much. And childish. I mean, she wasn't my favorite character and neither was Archer.
Their relationship was weird too. But again maybe its meant to be funny. Archer would just blurt out whatever weird thought he had. And it made him way younger than he was. He was acting like a high schooler and not a 30-something-year-old, which he was.
And the story, although like I said was a good concept, it went above and beyond what I expected. Background characters got more detailed and were given more backstory than I would have preferred.
If more was established with the main characters or how they were portrayed rather than having overly detailed background characters I think that I would have enjoyed this more.
Still, I'm not gonna lie. The concept was good. And the explanations and stories about the people with past lives were detailed and well written. But I'm not meant to like the background characters more than the main characters. So in that, I ended up giving this a 3 out of 5 stars.
But now I don't know if I should re-read it or be satisfied with it. Or if I want to read the second one in the series or not.
I didn't expect to read a funny book when I bought it or when I started reading it. It was only when I finished reading it that I paused and had to think if it was all meant to be funny.
I liked the concept of Insighters. A mystery where the main character was someone who could see peoples past lives and help them deal with their present life based on what happened to them in the past. Still, it felt like the concept was only superficial. Instead of the main concept.
Leah changed so much but maybe that was the humor in the story. She changed so much from the beginning to the end. And while that often means character growth, in this it felt too much. And childish. I mean, she wasn't my favorite character and neither was Archer.
Their relationship was weird too. But again maybe its meant to be funny. Archer would just blurt out whatever weird thought he had. And it made him way younger than he was. He was acting like a high schooler and not a 30-something-year-old, which he was.
And the story, although like I said was a good concept, it went above and beyond what I expected. Background characters got more detailed and were given more backstory than I would have preferred.
If more was established with the main characters or how they were portrayed rather than having overly detailed background characters I think that I would have enjoyed this more.
Still, I'm not gonna lie. The concept was good. And the explanations and stories about the people with past lives were detailed and well written. But I'm not meant to like the background characters more than the main characters. So in that, I ended up giving this a 3 out of 5 stars.
But now I don't know if I should re-read it or be satisfied with it. Or if I want to read the second one in the series or not.
