Review Day: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

It's review day again!!  Today's book is.....

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson!

My rating: 2.5/3 out of 5 stars

Go here to read a description or get the first chapter free on Amazon.

This ebook has been on my "to be read" list since the day I got my Kindle in 2010.  I just couldn't bring myself to read it because I was afraid of it not living up to all the hype.

Please note - I'm not trying to offend anyone with my review.  I only post my honest opinions.

The book started out fantastically slow.  I simply couldn't get into it. The chapters were jam packed with so much information that I simply couldn't follow everything. I had to re-read (which I rarely do) the first two chapters at least twice.  The characters were outstanding and one of the main reasons I enjoyed the novel.

What lost me...the title suggest the novel is going to be about the "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (Lisbeth) when in all reality, she is more of a "back up" main character.  I felt like Mikael was the only character the story really cared about.  I craved and begged to know more about the other characters.  I heard enough of Mikael dang it!

The writing style wasn't my cup of tea either.  The novel was 469 pages long, but I felt like it had at least 100 if not more pages worth of information I didn't need.  Plus, it caused a few loose ends.  Unless I missed something? Very possible...

But you know what I loved? The story.  The message.  The plot without the extra background noise.  The characters. The picture it painted in my mind.  The use of history and cultural differences.  I simply loved it.  Outstanding! The chapters rose and fell dramatically, some painfully slow while others were so full of drama and impact it was hard to take it all in at once.

By the end, I just wanted it to be over, done with, "c'est fini!"  I was excited to finally read and finish this novel and even more proud of myself for it being the first one off my TBR list for 2012!!  Happy Review Day!!