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Let's get one thing straight right off the bat -- I freaking loved this book.
I love Sherlock Holmes in general, so that blurb on the cover? What if Sherlock Holmes was the boy next door? YES PLEASE. A contemporary take on Sherlock/Watson, set in Australia? I AM SO THERE. Watson (Rachel Watts) is a girl, you say? DOUBLY THERE. Sherlock (James Mycroft) is a lanky British boy-genius-troublemaker with a tragic past? YES. A THOUSAND TIMES YES.
...Why are you still here and not running off to order Every Breath?!
Oh, you want to read an actual review? ...Fair point. So let's get down to business.
First off, with anything that's compared to Sherlock Holmes, I had certain concerns going into it. I'm a very character-oriented reader, and I'm not a huge fan of mysteries for their own sakes: What I love about the original Sherlock Holmes is the characters - the mysteries are fun and all, but the characters are what make me love it. So the last thing I want in a Sherlock-inspired book are characters who were obviously modeled after the originals to the exclusion of standing on their own.
Well, I can say with absolute conviction that Ellie Marney's characters more than stand on their own. In fact, some things in this book might have been inspired by Sherlock Holmes, but really? I feel like Every Breath is just an excellent book, with some really fun Sherlock-ish coincidences here and there - icing on an already delicious cake, if you will. ;D
Every Breath is told from the perspective of Rachel Watts. Rachel is originally from a farm in the country, but (as of a few months before the start of the book) she and her family have recently been forced to move to the big city of Melbourne -- her definition of a nightmare. James Mycroft is Rachel's best friend. He lives only two doors down from Rachel -- and yes, he is brilliant. He's first in his class at school, but his main passion (obsession) is studying forensics, because of a tragic accident in his past. It's this accident that has shaped his life - and led him to have a reputation for being somewhat of a troublemaker.
Mycroft grins. "So, you've only been in the city four months and you're already the babysitter for the school's eccentric genius."
"It's been four and a half months. And if you were such a genius, you wouldn't have a black eye."
"I'm only a genius with facts. I'm an academic genius and a social moron."
"At least you admit to being a moron at something."
"I admit to being a moron at a lot of things. Being a moron in one or two areas serves to highlight my extraordinary brilliance in everything else."Every Breath, US eARC, 5%
Both of them, Mycroft and Watts, are so believable, and so brilliantly developed. They fit together much like their namesakes - though they're incredibly different at first glance, they have more in common than you'd expect, and they balance each others' strengths and weaknesses so perfectly.
"...I could do this on my own, but . . . I don't want to."
"Right." I roll my eyes. "You need me to be your Watson."
"That's right."
"Because your genius doesn't work unless it's being lavished with attention."
Mycroft just grins. "Come on. I'll walk to you Biology."Every Breath, US eARC, 19%
Mycroft and Watts are already good friends when the book starts -- which is so effortlessly established you just sort of fall into the story knowing that these two are going to give you feels. Rachel definitely feels something more for Mycroft, but she's also dealing with her recent move to the city, and some major discontent there, and she doesn't want to upset the balance between them, because she so values the friendship they both already share.
"You don't have to pretend with me, you know." He reaches out and tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. His expression is so open and honest I feel it like a sucker punch. "I used to pretend, all the time, so I can spot it a mile away. If you're feeling shit, then just say so. I don't need to know the reason, it might be none of my business—"
"I'm feeling shit."
Every Breath, US eARC, 65%
But man, let me tell you, these two were not cut out for just friendship. Hello, new favorite OTP / I ship it so hard / I want to smoosh their faces together / etc, etc, etc. Realistic development? CHECK. Chemistry? CHECK. IN SPADES. Starting from page 5, not kidding.
The murder of one of Mycroft's friends, and its subsequent investigation, brings these two together even more. As they deal with everything and eventually decide to try and figure out what happened, it was so amazing to see them forming this partnership, a mutual respect for each others' strengths, and also to see them both being developed and growing as individual characters - especially Rachel, as she's really struggling throughout the book with her discontent in the city, and her anger at having to leave her home. I just have a lot of feels for these characters and their situations okay?
I have courage sometimes, in the strangest situations, when there are dead bodies with their throats cut in abandoned hollows of midnight parks. But I'm gutless most of the time, gutless enough to say things that slash and wound with the same violence as a knife across an old man's throat.Every Breath, US eARC, 73%
Additionally, everything about the mystery and plot was handled SO WELL, especially considering that Mycroft and Watts are teenagers who decide to investigate a murder. I've tried to read a few contemporary mysteries where teens investigate stuff, or are somehow involved with police investigations, and there are so many potential believability issues, I can't deal with those books most of the time -- there are both plot issues, and issues of "would these teenagers actually act that way in these messed up situations?!" Every Breath was, excuse the metaphor, a serious breath of fresh air in this regard. I totally believed in Mycroft and Watts -- I believed that these characters would investigate things, and that they had a realistic chance of figuring things out. I never felt like they were acting in ways unrealistic to their characters or situations -- and they have to deal with some seriously messed up stuff... For example, we're not spared the grisly details of the murder scene, and those details do not escape Mycroft or Watts either -- they're not hardened cops investigating the latest murder scene, and they don't act like it. They are just so unbelievably believable...
...in reality he's just looking for the same answers that everyone who loses somebody looks for.
Because the questions aren't How did he die? or Who killed him? They're much simpler. How can this happen? How can someone who was alive suddenly just not be there anymore?Every Breath, US eARC, 32%
In conclusion...
If you're a fan of Sherlock Holmes and contemporary YA, read Every Breath. It's smart, it's clever -- and Mycroft and Watts have stolen my heart.
Like I said, I'm not one to pick up a mystery for its own sake, so when I love a mystery, there's got to be a reason. I was glued to these characters, and they made me become glued to the plot, as well. Mycroft and Watts made me care what was going on, got me invested in the outcome - and most of all, invested in the effect that their partnership and investigation was having on the two of them.
THESE CHARACTERS, GUYS. New favorites.
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PS: Every Breath has been out in Australia for about a year, so this review was for an eARC of the US edition, being published by Tundra Books. After reading it, I was desperate for book 2, which is also already out in Australia, and I ended up ordering the Australian editions of both books 1 and 2 from Allen & Unwin's website - it was a little pricey, but so totally worth it. Every Word is, if you can believe it, even better than Every Breath (MY MYCROFT FEELS you guys don't even know), and I'm absolutely dying for Every Move, which comes out in March in Australia. And which I will also be ordering from Allen & Unwin, because I am in desperate need. DESPERATE. NEED.
All that to say, if you want to start a new series without worrying whether it continues to be awesome in subsequent books... this is the one to start.
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There were books involved...