Broken City had an interesting world concept, but for the mystery fell flat. I did like Tom, though he was hot/cold at times or absent; as well as Deeta's sister, Jan. She acted more mature & in control than her "older sister" most of the time.
I wasn't fond of Deeta's conversational manner with the reader. It's like she's telling us everything while it's happening. For example, at one point, to the reader: "Did I tell you? No, I don't think I did..." To me, it's jarring and detracts from the story.
There were grammatical and spelling errors throughout, comma misuse, run-on sentences, as well as it's/its and possessive/plural mistakes - like Marshall's when it should just be Marshalls; even a few odd ones like take's instead of takes. Family positions were unnecessarily capitalized, like my Mother, or their Uncles.
Later on, when Ryder is introduced, certain things he says come off as odd to me. Him using modern slang like "heck" or "what's up?," and his initial interactions with Deeta feel forced to me. He blows up in her face for no real reason and doesn't trust her at first, but is completely fine with her sister, just because he's attracted to her. It makes no sense.
To me, it feels like a bulk of the plot is wasted on dressing up, and having family members pointed out to them. I think this point was when my opinion of the novel turned a tad sour. If I were in their situation, I'd be more worried about my family and friends, and the fact that a lot of people were killed, than playing along and accompanying a stranger. What action there is, we never really get to experience it because Deeta either isn't present or passes out conveniently...
Also, from Chapter 26 is where things get a bit strange. Up until this point, we've only ever been in Deeta's first person present tense POV. From there on, it switches from the villain's 3rd person pov, to Tom's 3rd person pov, and then back to Deeta's 1st person pov, sometimes without a transition. The reader just flows back into her mind from his, which is weird.
In my opinion, if this book was solely from Tom's POV, I would have enjoyed it more. Still, I must give the author credit for having a unique imagination and creativity. Practice makes perfect.
(reviewed 57 days after purchase)