Amy Maxwell & The Seven Deadly Sins by Heather Balog

2.5 Stars

Amy Maxwell has decided that trying to corral her 4 kids just isn't challenge enough and now she is going back to College to study Criminal Justice.  The only problem is her organisational skills really aren't up to it.  Not only that but she is a magnet for trouble and this time around it is not her snooping that lands her in hot water but it is all the fault of her "perfect" older sister.

I found the first book to be witty and rather charming.  Amy's home life may have been chaotic but her heart was clearly in the right place and she was more or less winning at the motherhood thing.  This time around I simply found her infuriating and wanted nothing more than to give her a good slap, which was a huge disappointment as I was looking forward to a fun read with a bit of a thriller thrown in.  Whilst I "get it" that juggling being a mother of 4 has it's own unique set of challenges Amy's consistent failure to produce anything resembling a life of her own away from the family slave is frustrating and pretty unrealistic.  The supposed thriller aspect of the tale is not well planned out and pretty fantastical if I'm being honest.

The writing - despite the plot gaps and personal annoyances - is actually pretty good.  Amy has a strong voice and works well as our narrator.  The tale jogs along at a rapid pace and it is the writing alone that kept me turning the pages as there is a fair amount of dark humour seeded through the book.  My real problem was not with the unreality of the various situations that Amy finds herself in but with the character development from the first book - if anything Amy has gone backwards not forwards.  This is a shame as Heather Balog can Write.

Not a bad book really but leave the series after Book One.