I started this book a week ago, while visiting family in upstate New York. My cousin has a nice backyard with a pool area – and nobody, including my wife, is as early a riser as I am – so I took my book and a coffee out by the pool and sat there for a while. It was fantastic.
Not sure if the atmosphere lending to the reading experience, but I was hooked into this book from the start. It turns out I read the second book of this Marvel series first – but it really did not matter as each of these first two were really there own story. The third one, which centers on Luke Cage, might tie into these books more (and my guess is would have to reference them based on what I know now) so I am glad I will read that one third.
And I will definitely be reading that one as these two have been really enjoyable. In fact, I am not even sure which one I enjoyed more! Recency-bias might put Breaking the Dark ahead, but that again might only be because I just finished it.
This story focuses on Jessica Jones, a character I didn’t really know much about before she got her own Netflix series. That is where I fell in love with her and with the actress who plays her, Krysten Ritter (I’ll never forgive Walter White for what he did to you.)
This book focuses on international investigation she gets caught up in that includes supernatural aspects that go beyond mere superheroes. But, in the world of Marvel – anything goes! And while the story is fantastical, there are also really quiet, intimate, human moments that Jessica has to deal with. Big, life-altering human moments, but moments that happen every day to everyday people.
Since I don’t know much about Jessica outside of the Netflix show, I don’t know if more knowledgable readers would recognize and know what was happening. To me it was a nice, new part of her story that for all I know is years old and already part of her canon.
The overall theme of this book is very relevant, dealing with pressures of social media, perceived perfection, and the need to “be somebody” rich or famous in order to matter. All this, coupled with the personal life of Jessica and the magical mysteries of the case she is working on, intertwined in a way that you knew was going to come together but wasn’t exactly sure how and when – and that’s what keeps you reading!
Thoroughly enjoyed the writing style of Lisa Jewell, an author I was not familiar with – but now when I see books with her name on the cover, I’ll know they’re something I will probably enjoy.
It’s always great to discover an author to add to the ever growing world of books you want to explore.
On to the next read!