Manipulating the List - K. B. Lever

Title: Manipulating the List

Author: K. B. Lever

The author of this novel sent it to me for an honest review and since that is what I aim to do with these reviews, I felt that I could honour her wish. Although I received this book from the author for free, I feel that I would be honest about whether I liked it or not, and in this case, I really enjoyed this read.

This book was written by K. B. Lever and is about a young woman named Katherine who, throughout her life, keeps coming into contact with the Collector. Suddenly, after her name appears on the Collector's list, she becomes a killer at the age of twenty-two, in order to manipulate the list. She soon realise that she must assist in the deaths of others to bypass her own fate.

The plot of this story is what drew me to it in the first place and it definitely didn't disappoint! Although some aspects of the story were a little bit unrealistic (like managing to get from the US to Australia, purely through hiding and distracting security), I think that the concept of the Collector and the idea of manipulating the list is really interesting and definitely holds the reader's attention. I found that I didn't want to put this book down and when it ended I immediately wanted there to be a sequel (which there will be!). Some of this story was a little disturbing, particularly the murder scenes, but I think that this was entirely necessary to add a sense of urgency to the protagonists situation.

The characters were entirely believable and likeable. I really liked Katherine because although at points she was emotional, I think that her strength carried this story forward and most of the things that she did were the most logical steps. I also really liked the Collector as he had a believable and yet tragic background and this made me sympathize with his situation a lot more. The other characters, such as Liam, the love interest, were well-rounded and each one added to the story.

The writing style was suspenseful and interesting, not too simple, yet easy to read. I read this book in just over a day as it is quite short, and I think that the writing style really pushed the story forward.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, it was interesting and exciting and made you want to keep turning the pages. I would give this 5 out of 5 stars and will definitely keep an eye out for the sequels.