Alex Findlay delivers again. What Have We Done is captivating and so well written. This author is the only one who can describe an action scene where I can actually visualize it perfectly. Jenna, Nico, and Donnie we buddies in the group home for orphans. Banning together to survive the torment and bullying. Girls keep disappearing and when the head of the home disappears the place is shut down. Twenty-five years later, Jenna, Nico, and Donnie have something in common again - someone wants them dead. The story is told by all three as they find their way back to where it all started to find out who and why. If they work together can they stop whoever is after them? Will their past secrets be revealed? Can Jenna keep her new family safe? It will take all of her skills and more to survive.
I adore Jenna, I can tell she is modeled after Orphan X and Jason Bourne. She’s someone you don’t want after you. She just wants to be a wife and mother but she can kill.
Definitely recommend this one. The pace is good, easy to understand, and keeps you reading past bedtime. Thank you NetGalley and publishers St. Martins Press Minotaur Books this is my honest opinion.

What Have We Done by Alex Finlay
Available on March 7th, 2023 (4/5).

My thoughts:
What Have We Done is fast-paced and action packed. Had I not known who the author was, I would not have guessed it was by Alex Finlay. It is a different type of writing for the author. In some ways, it reads like a spy novel from Mission Impossible. To fully embrace the plot, one must suspend belief.

Synopsis:
As residents of Savior House, a group home for abandoned teens, Jenna, Donnie, and Nico were the closest of friends. After several kids disappeared from Savior House, the three friends were split up.

Despite the trauma of their childhood, each of them moved on to lead successful but troubled lives. It has been twenty-five years since they last saw each other, but they come together because someone is trying to kill them. The group of friends will have to revisit their childhoods. It is their past that holds the key to why someone wants them dead.

Thank you NetGalley, and St Martin's Press (Minotaur Books), for sharing this incredible book with me. Your kindness is appreciated.

#WhatHaveWeDone

5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 for What Have We Done!

Are you are looking for a fast paced read that draws you in from the beginning, keeps you guessing, and doesn't let up until the very end? If so, this is your book!!

The story follows 3 adults (Jenna, Nico, and Donnie) who spent a small portion of their childhood in a volatile group home together. Each grew up, moved on, and are living very different lives. Now, someone is trying to kill them all, and not just them, but other members from their group home as well. Are they safe anywhere? Who is trying to kill them? Why are they being targeted? How far will they go to find out and stop it?

Let me say, if you enjoyed the authors other books, this book has a little different feel. The other books were more Mystery/Thriller, where this book is more Action/Adrenaline/Thriller with a mystery thrown in. It is just as good as the other books, but in a different way and with a different tone. Don't go into this book expecting the same paced mystery as the others, this one stomps its foot on the pedal and doesn't hit the brake.

From page 3 the action started and did not let up. The story switches between the 3 points of view of Jenna, Nico, and Donnie. It also includes the present and some flashbacks from the past when they were at the group home. The chapters are short and fast, each filled with adrenaline and action that keep you turning pages. I had my suspicions throughout about who was trying to kill them, but in the end I was pleasantly wrong. Multiple twists throughout the book and all around a great read. Highly recommend giving this one a read when it comes out on March 7, 2023.

DNF’d at 30%

The beginning had too many characters and so much going on. The flashbacks to the past halfway through the chapters was very confusing.

It would be a great movie, but as a book, it wasn’t for me.

2 ⭐️

I’ve heard great things about Alex Finlay’s books but I hadn’t gotten around to reading any before this. I loved the short chapters and multiple points of view. I was able to fly through this book in a couple settings.

Initially, I felt like I was on character overload, as we were introduced to so many, but it all came together pretty quickly. Divided into three parts: The Targets, The Reunion, and The Truth; the story was unveiled at just the right rate. There were some great twists that I didn’t see coming. I really liked the characters in the book, especially Jenna! Throughout chapters, characters often had flashbacks without any kind of warning to the reader. This caused me to need to read back a sentence or two to try to wrap my head around what I was reading several times.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I look forward to going reading more from this author in the near future.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for an opportunity to read an uncorrected digital galley advance release copy of this book.

Okkkkk Alex Finley! This was oh-so-twisty. This started off with a bang and had me riveted from the beginning! The writing was excellent and kept me engaged. The ending was kind of a cluster otherwise I think this would have been a 5 star. Unfortunately, it got too twisted and unbelievable at the end but I look forward to more from this author!

I was so excited for this book after loving The Night Shift. You’re instantly thrown into action right out the gate with this one and it doesn’t stop until the very last page. I’m a sucker for multiple POV’s and short chapters and you get both with this book. The whole time you’re trying to figure everything out and put everything together until the big reveal.

Sadly though, I felt a little let down with the book. I was confused for almost half of the book wondering what’s going on. I loved the concept but I just felt like it wasn’t executed good. It felt a little disconnected at times. Also the ending was a little eh, I still don’t know how I feel about it.

Overall, I still loved Alex’s writing and flew through the book with the short chapters, but it wasn’t my favorite by him.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the gifted copy.

I flew through this book. I read it in a few days. Thrilling. Interesting. About adults who were in a group home as teens, the story unravels in a way wanting more. Honestly, I was reading to see if my guesses for the twist(s) were correct. Each character has their flaws and potential motives. Oh, and there are assassins.

High paced action packed thriller! This book goes back and forth between 3 people who, in their youth- 25 years ago, were brought together in a group home called Savior House. You get to follow Jenna, Donnie and Nico to learn about how they are living their life now until all these secrets came back to try to ruin them and bring them together.
This book will have you captivated and the short chapters are an extra bonus. I am giving this book 4 stars as I really enjoyed the story and like always enjoyed Alex Finlay's writing.
Thank you to NetGalley ane St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books or this ARC.

WARNING - Don't go into this one thinking it's a typical Alex Finlay book. This is action packed from the start with a gripping plotline that will reel you in and leave you gasping for more. I loved every word. If you like crazy whodunnits with endless twists, this is the book for you!

Rating: 4/5⭐️

25 years ago, five orphaned teenagers committed a crime they thought would stay buried forever. Three of them - Jenna, Donnie, and Nico - were the best of friends, but were split up when their abusive group home, Savior House, was shut down, never to see each other again. In the 25 years since that unspeakable night, the trio have made lives for themselves, seemingly leaving everything about Savior House behind. But when each of them are targeted by what should have been life-ending attacks, Jenna, Nico, and Donnie must come together to revisit their past, confront their nightmares, and save their lives - hopefully.

While I felt like the beginning was drawn out at first, once I got to the end I completely understood why all of the character and world building was necessary. I was audibly yelling at my kindle multiple times while reading this. I love the characters and the multiple POVs. Even when I thought I had everything figured out, I quickly realized I didn’t. The one thing that I would change in the book would be to add some sort of format change to when we were reading scenes out of the characters memories, whether that be italicizing those scenes, adding a small page break, or even starting a new chapter with a distinction that the scene took place in the past. There were a couple times that I got confused because I didn’t immediately pick up on the fact that I was reading a scene from the past. Other than that, great read!

1.5 blockbusters out of 5

If The Bourne franchise had a child with a slasher film, What Have We Done may very well be it.

This book is not at all what I thought it would be! But take my words with a grain of salt; there's lots of hope for fans of Hollywood action thrillers.

A group of teenagers sealed their fates when they took part in a most unforgiveable act together. Now all grown up, some with envy-worthy careers, others with a perfect family image, their past is back to remind them of what they did that summer.

The chapters are quick and most often end in cliffhangers, so it's an easy read. I can see this being a page turner for my dad (looking forward to getting his review!), but sadly not my cup of tea.

Big thanks to Minotaur Books SMP for gifting me a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a suspenseful, page-turning read. I couldn’t put it down! I read it in one sitting because I wanted to figure out what was going on. There were a lot of characters to keep track of, but once I figured them out, I was able to read without any issues. The ending shocked me! Overall, I really enjoyed this read.

What Have We Done by Alex Finlay

My rating:
3/5
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Jenna, Nico, Artemis and Donnie have a secret that they have been keeping in from their childhood. When this secret is used against them, they must fight for their lives and must find who is out to kill them.

This book was just meh for me and that made me really sad because I love Alex Finlay! His book, the Night Shift was one of my favorite reads in 2022. This was just not for me. I think the action type of suspense is not my type of thriller, so I wasn’t really feeling it. This book was really confusing for me and I’m still confused after finishing it. I did enjoy the multiple POVS and short chapters, but this wasn’t a favorite for me sadly.

I would absolutely recommend reading his other books and if you love an action packed thriller this one would be for you!

Thanks netgalley and st martins press for the ARC! You can read this on March 21, 2023!

✋️ UNPOPULAR / REVIEW ✋️

Ugh. This review really pains me to write.

I dove head first into #whathavewedone by one my favorite authors and I was I immediately sucked in after only a few pages. Well, that excitement was short lived and I literally had to force myself to continue reading the book 🥵 I ran to @goodreads to see if maybe I was hallucinating (or somehow got a completely different book from the publisher), but I quickly discovered my feelings were validated.

Here is what didn't work for me:

1. TOO.MANY.CHARACTERS. I was honestly exhausted trying to keep up.

2. Flashbacks that start halfway through a chapter (with no formal warning), so it was really hard to stay focused.

3. The pacing - I really wanted something to happen after the first few chapters that kept my interest, but was just too slow for me.

I really tried, guys. I LOVE THIS AUTHOR and their previous work, but this one just didn't hit for me. The premise was super interesting, so perhaps others will love it!

3.5 out of 5

The story revolves around five characters; Jenna, Nico, Donnie, Benny, and Aretmis. As children, they lived at Savior House, a foster home. Each took a different path and lost contact, until recently when each had a near death encounter. Reunited, they must head off their killer, before they, themselves, are killed.

I really wanted to love this book, however the storyline was murky. There was a lot of character jumping, and hard to believe situations, especially with Jenna. There was one twist which was easy to figure out and the ending was a bit over the top for me. The story could have ended without the prologue and I would have been satisfied. The additional dialog pushed it over the edge.

Thank you to Net Galley, the author, and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

I love this one as much as his previous books . It is fast paced and just an overall well plotted book . I’ll continue to read more books by this author
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

Net galley

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for the advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first Alex Finlay book and it won’t be my last. I thoroughly enjoyed the chapters from different characters view points. The chapters were short and left a cliff hanger at the end of each one. I stayed up way too many nights when I should’ve been sleeping to read because I wanted to know what happened next. I applaud an author who throws twists and turns that I don’t see. Most importantly if you read this book DONT skip the epilogue. It was my favorite part.

The complicated pasts of Jenna, Nico, and Donnie is creeping back to threaten their present reality.

Finlay always makes things exciting, but I really enjoyed the 3 narration perspectives. I also enjoyed the quick pace and back-to-back action.

I did feel characters were slightly underdeveloped. I felt like there were gaps and opportunities to make these characters more human, relatable, and interesting. I would categorize this as less “suspense” and more “action,” which is totally some people’s thing! But something to keep in mind when choosing what you’re going to pick up and read.

I have really enjoyed Alex Finlay’s books, and this one definitely got my attention. However, it was a little scattered at points. I really liked the Jenna storyline, but Nico’s story fell a little flat and I would have loved more detail. It did keep me at the edge of my seat, though!