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liz_ross's review
mysterious
relaxing
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
I am kind of disappointed, you know? I used to love Koomson's writing style but this time it was even hard to like it.
And same goes to the story. I only actually started to like it way after the 50% mark. The story just wasn't it. Yvonne was obviously too perfect for it to be real. The friends were suspects far too obvious to be the ones who commited the crime. And the real person who attempted murder was just too indifferent - appeared literally twice before Cece discovered it - for anyone to guess. It's ridiculous.
The one other plot twist also didn't feel surprising because just like Yvonne, Hazel's boyfriend was too perfect to be true.
Other thing I didn't like was how the timeline wasn't linear. We are in the present, go back to the past, come back to the present, sometimes more than once in the same chapter and when we go back it's not always for the same moment or even year as a matter of fact. That alone would alreadybe confusing, but each chapter belonged to adifferent character, making everything even harder to follow.
Not to mention how sexist this whole thing felt. In the entire book I never once saw any child being taken to school by a father. It was always the mother who, by the way, did nothing the rest of the day aside from gossiping. There's nothing wrong with the mother staying at home taking care of house and children, especially if there's no need for both to work. But it bothered me that Koomson couldn't introduce in the entire book one single family whose income came not from the father's job, but the mother's; one single family with both parents working somewhere that is not home. It bothered me a lot.
Full review coming soon!
And same goes to the story. I only actually started to like it way after the 50% mark. The story just wasn't it. Yvonne was obviously too perfect for it to be real. The friends were suspects far too obvious to be the ones who commited the crime. And the real person who attempted murder was just too indifferent - appeared literally twice before Cece discovered it - for anyone to guess. It's ridiculous.
The one other plot twist also didn't feel surprising because just like Yvonne, Hazel's boyfriend was too perfect to be true.
Other thing I didn't like was how the timeline wasn't linear. We are in the present, go back to the past, come back to the present, sometimes more than once in the same chapter and when we go back it's not always for the same moment or even year as a matter of fact. That alone would alreadybe confusing, but each chapter belonged to adifferent character, making everything even harder to follow.
Not to mention how sexist this whole thing felt. In the entire book I never once saw any child being taken to school by a father. It was always the mother who, by the way, did nothing the rest of the day aside from gossiping. There's nothing wrong with the mother staying at home taking care of house and children, especially if there's no need for both to work. But it bothered me that Koomson couldn't introduce in the entire book one single family whose income came not from the father's job, but the mother's; one single family with both parents working somewhere that is not home. It bothered me a lot.
Full review coming soon!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Infertility and Domestic abuse
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