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Title: Blitz
Series: Checquy Files #3
Author: Daniel O’Malley
Rating: 2 of 5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 622
Words: 250K
Long, bloated, two storylines that didn’t actually have any impact on each other and worst of all, boring. I was bored. The first storyline is dealing with London and World War II and the bombs being dropped on London. The second story involves a woman (who is married to a cop and has a daughter who is a toddler) who joins the Checquy because she can discharge electricity and it is in the present day.
I enjoyed the present day storyline. She was an engaging character with just the right amount of feistiness to keep me from rolling my eyes and she was SMART. She used her brains. Then I would just groan in spirit at the next chapter when we would go back to the stupid idiots who I was forced to read about during WWII. It was nothing more than a boring history info dump about the Checquy and I didn’t care two squats for it. Unfortunately, it seemed to play the bigger part and sucked the life from the entire book.
I actually feel rather generous giving this 2 stars. But it wasn’t bad, so I don’t feel like I can really go any lower. But I certainly won’t be reading any more in the Checquy Files if O’Malley writes any more. I hope he doesn’t because this was bad and I’m going to pretend The Rook and Stiletto are just a duology. Blitz has no business sullying the good literary name of the Checquy Files.
★★☆☆☆
Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road 
Any connection to the Jason Statham movie?
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Might have been better if there had been a connection.
This was a real let down for me 😦
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OK, I’m fine with that going on the No Read List.
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I still highly recommend the first 2 books though. Good stuff there.
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Damn, we still have the second book on our TBR. Should we just stick with that?
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I would. I think the first 2 books were really good.
This one, it really doesn’t add anything and so by not reading it you don’t miss out on anything.
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Will stop at book two then. I remember you saying it had nothing to do with the first one, but the universe its set in seemed interesting enough
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Yep, each book is a complete standalone in terms of plot and characters.
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I remember reading (but not enjoying) the first book in this series, so your low rating makes me think that the story and characters did not get better along the way….
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Each book is it’s own separate main character, so not much carryover from book to book.
So if you didn’t care for the first book, I wouldn’t bother w the sequels.
Unless your book vibe says otherwise 😉
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I don’t know what a chequey is 🙁
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Honestly?
I don’t either n the author even went over it in the book, hahaha
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Well, glad I don’t have to sully my memory of The Rook (one of my all-time favorite books) with this trash. Thanks for taking the bullet for me! 🙂
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You’re welcome 🙂
If O’Malley hadn’t used the WWI storyline, this would have been at least 3 stars…
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Did you enjoy the second book, though? Still haven’t read that one, and now I’m somewhat hesitant to try 😉
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I did, quite a bit. I think I gave it 4.5 stars?
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Ah man, knowing how much you enjoyed the first two, it’s sad to see this third one turn out so mediocre… Having enjoyed the first one, I still need to try the second someday but I’m in no rush for it for now heheh
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The one saving grace of this “series” is that each book is about 99% a standalone. I’d still recommend Stiletto to you, as I found it almost as good as The Rook. But this one? It’s just not worth the time investment at over 600 pages.
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Still haven’t gotten around to it. Now I’m wondering if I should bother
Do NOT like bloated storylines, especially when they have zero impact.
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I do not recommend any Checquy fan read this. It’s not good like the previous 2 books 😦
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I have to agree with you on this review. I also found the book to be long and bloated, and the two storylines didn’t seem to have any connection to each other. I was hoping for more action and excitement, but instead, I found myself getting bored with the book. It’s a shame because the premise of the story had so much potential, but it just didn’t deliver.
I do have a question for you though – do you think authors should focus on one storyline instead of trying to incorporate multiple storylines into one book? It seems like it can be difficult to balance multiple storylines and make them all interesting and engaging for the reader. What are your thoughts on this?
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If this is a spam comment, then I must say, the bots are getting pretty good!
If you’re not spam, my apologies.
I have no problem with multiple storylines if they are related to the overall story in more than just a tangential way. It takes more skill and I don’t think authors should try it on their debut, but even then, it can be done. Brian McClellan’s powder mage trilogy is a good example of how to do it right.
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Ah, this is a shame. I enjoyed the first book (haven’t read the second one yet and it’s not a high priority right now). But I applaud your response: the third book doesn’t exist! You’re a reader after my own heart! 😂
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If you weren’t enthralled by the first book, you’re making the right choice about book 2.
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😁 Good to know … because there really are a LOT of books on my tbr!
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How big is your current tbr now?
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I haven’t counted recently, but it was round the 200 mark the last time I did. *bangs head against wall*
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And, umm, how many books did you read last year?
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*embarrassed cough* 80 or so …
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Ahhh, so you have 3+ years worth. Yeah, that’s a lot 🙂
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🤣 I know, right? *hangs head in almost-but-not-quite shame*
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