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1905 reviews
The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu
3.25
Read Completed 3/28/24 | 3.5 stars? I think? -- after thinking, settled on 3.25
This has been rolling around as something I considered reading for a long time but I wasn't sure if I'd ever pick it up. Now that there's a Netflix series and that Kori started reading it, I decided to pick it up and sort of buddy read it with her (even though I'm the world's worst buddy reader and keep no pacing with my buddy whatsoever).
So.
This was... different. I don't even know how to review it and I tried to read other people's reviews and they're like.... really smart 😂 My review will be nothing so coherent, critical, or in depth. I read this for fun and I am not literary critic and reading other people's reviews blatantly reminds me of that. So from a fun factor: THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM was a compelling read, but not at first. The first part of the book trudged along slowly for me, focusing on China's Cultural Revolution with some true history mixed with fictional characters. It was a little heavy-handed on the history for my tastes, obviously not speaking of the history and events themselves, but just that I was ready to jump in head-first to the science fiction and aliens and I just was really impatient to get there. It wasn't quite my type of writing or subject.
The science in this book was kind of mind-blowing. Or rather, so in depth that a lot of it just went over my head. I was wildly interested in everything that was going on but if you're worried about it being very science-y... It is. In my opinion. It wasn't a bad thing, though. I kind of just let it wash over me and I picked up on what was going on, not really needed to understand ALL of the physics going on here. It was incredibly interesting and engaging and I was dying to inhale everything that was going on. There were big things that were brought in to be answered later (by more science) and I'm glad we came back to some of those things that I forgot to even question with everything that was going on!
I didn't really love some of the writing and the way the timelines were all jumbled. The timelines kind of jump around a lot based on the character, and sometimes the timelines jump even within a character's POV. I got a little frustrated in the beginning because we'd spend time with a character in the 1960s and then it would say "and then 30 years later she found out X" and then jump back, and do it again. It was a little bit of a timeline whiplash sometimes and especially at the beginning when I'm still getting the hang of a new author's writing, it was a little distracting.
This ended on a cliffhanger, which I should have known because it's a series, but it's like, RIGHT as it's getting good. I was interested in the sequel, but it's much longer than THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM with this book being 13+ hours as an audiobook and the sequel being almost twice as long at 22+. I just don't know if I want to spend 22+ hours with some of the same writing issues I had here (and I snuck a peek at some reviews that confirmed the beginning drags).
This book definitely set it up for a series, in pacing and in concept, but I think I would have rather cut some things that happened in the past for the sake of pacing and plot so we could make this two books instead of three. I'm not an author, it's not my book, but I just don't know if I'll continue the series with how I'm currently feeling about how long it'll take me to read the next book. I'm no stranger to long audiobooks and have read multiple books that are almost 50 hours, but I think the beginning would really start to drag again.
Clearly my opinion is just my opinion. This is still highly rated with tons of 5 star reviews. When I started it, I wasn't sure if it would be my kind of sci-fi and it kind of was, but also wasn't. I'm incredibly interested to see what happens with the Trisolerans reach Earth, but maybe I'll find out what happens by watching the Netflix series instead of finishing by reading. I can easily see this being "better" as a TV show, at least to be a bit more widely consumable, and the imagery has to be absolutely amazing.
This has been rolling around as something I considered reading for a long time but I wasn't sure if I'd ever pick it up. Now that there's a Netflix series and that Kori started reading it, I decided to pick it up and sort of buddy read it with her (even though I'm the world's worst buddy reader and keep no pacing with my buddy whatsoever).
So.
This was... different. I don't even know how to review it and I tried to read other people's reviews and they're like.... really smart 😂 My review will be nothing so coherent, critical, or in depth. I read this for fun and I am not literary critic and reading other people's reviews blatantly reminds me of that. So from a fun factor: THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM was a compelling read, but not at first. The first part of the book trudged along slowly for me, focusing on China's Cultural Revolution with some true history mixed with fictional characters. It was a little heavy-handed on the history for my tastes, obviously not speaking of the history and events themselves, but just that I was ready to jump in head-first to the science fiction and aliens and I just was really impatient to get there. It wasn't quite my type of writing or subject.
The science in this book was kind of mind-blowing. Or rather, so in depth that a lot of it just went over my head. I was wildly interested in everything that was going on but if you're worried about it being very science-y... It is. In my opinion. It wasn't a bad thing, though. I kind of just let it wash over me and I picked up on what was going on, not really needed to understand ALL of the physics going on here. It was incredibly interesting and engaging and I was dying to inhale everything that was going on. There were big things that were brought in to be answered later (by more science) and I'm glad we came back to some of those things that I forgot to even question with everything that was going on!
I didn't really love some of the writing and the way the timelines were all jumbled. The timelines kind of jump around a lot based on the character, and sometimes the timelines jump even within a character's POV. I got a little frustrated in the beginning because we'd spend time with a character in the 1960s and then it would say "and then 30 years later she found out X" and then jump back, and do it again. It was a little bit of a timeline whiplash sometimes and especially at the beginning when I'm still getting the hang of a new author's writing, it was a little distracting.
This ended on a cliffhanger, which I should have known because it's a series, but it's like, RIGHT as it's getting good. I was interested in the sequel, but it's much longer than THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM with this book being 13+ hours as an audiobook and the sequel being almost twice as long at 22+. I just don't know if I want to spend 22+ hours with some of the same writing issues I had here (and I snuck a peek at some reviews that confirmed the beginning drags).
This book definitely set it up for a series, in pacing and in concept, but I think I would have rather cut some things that happened in the past for the sake of pacing and plot so we could make this two books instead of three. I'm not an author, it's not my book, but I just don't know if I'll continue the series with how I'm currently feeling about how long it'll take me to read the next book. I'm no stranger to long audiobooks and have read multiple books that are almost 50 hours, but I think the beginning would really start to drag again.
Clearly my opinion is just my opinion. This is still highly rated with tons of 5 star reviews. When I started it, I wasn't sure if it would be my kind of sci-fi and it kind of was, but also wasn't. I'm incredibly interested to see what happens with the Trisolerans reach Earth, but maybe I'll find out what happens by watching the Netflix series instead of finishing by reading. I can easily see this being "better" as a TV show, at least to be a bit more widely consumable, and the imagery has to be absolutely amazing.
The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center
3.0
Read Completed 3/26/24 | 3 stars
Wow, I'm incredibly disappointed that I didn't enjoy this one more. The ratings so far (this is a June release date and I read it in March) are very high with mostly 4 and 5 stars, but this one just didn't do it for me. If this was my first Katherine Center book, I probably wouldn't have picked up another one.
My main disappointment was that I felt zero chemistry between Emma and Charlie. ZERO. I didn't feel any butterflies, I got not emotion from Charlie, and it felt very one-sided and disproportionate to have Emma infatuated with him a little bit in the beginning. I've read plenty of rom-coms where the affection is unrequited at first and then they fall in love, but I don't know. For some reason, it didn't work here for me at all, and Charlie is so closed off that I didn't EVER feel like they were falling in love. There was a point about that in the book, kind of, but as a reader, I just never really felt it at all.
There was just something about the characters too... I didn't like any of them. I actually really didn't like Emma right from the beginning. Charlie was a jerk when they first met. I didn't like the randomly British best friend. I didn't like her sister. Okay, her dad was sweet. We'll give them that one, but everyone else I just actively didn't like. This is SO WEIRD because I adored THE BODYGUARD and really enjoyed HELLO, STRANGER.
One of the things I really appreciated has to do with something Charlie reveals to Emma that becomes something important to the plot. MINOR spoiler but I'll put it in tags in case you don't want to know...Charlie reveals his ex-wife left him when she found out he had cancer. He was going to celebrate his 5-year anniversary of being cancer free with Emma and that it was basically cured at 5 years, which I appreciated like crazy being that my husband had cancer and hitting that 5 year remission mark is huge, amazing, and also the same for his type of cancer where you're basically considered cured at 5 years. So that was a big thing for me and I appreciated the heck out of how that was written. But THEN... more major spoiler since it's a thing that happens in the end.... I HATED that she gave him a cancer scare. Charlie had bronchitis and is coughing a lot throughout the middle of the book. They think he may have lung cancer because they can see something on his scan, but it's just bronchitis. I absolutely hate that it was used as a cancer scare and that it was used as a turning point for the characters to profess their love. That ruined the magic of him being cancer-free and as someone who has also had that feeling (a plain old boring cyst that didn't show up well on a scan and then we had to wait to find out what it was), I hated that moment and it ruined things even more for me.
I also didn't really like the asides to the reader, breaking the 4th wall, essentially. I would rather Emma just tell the story and not like she was telling the story to you, dear reader. It got like, cheesy movie rom-com instead of cute book rom-com. I don't know. Something about it just really took me out of the reading experience.
Clearly others loved it so I will be the outlier opinion here (hey, did you also not like HAPPY PLACE by Emily Henry? Let's join this lonely club) while others gave it 5 glowing stars. You'll just have to read it for yourself! But if you find you're feeling no chemistry, maybe we feel this together.
AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Patti Murin was the narrator for this audiobook and normally I usually love her. I've listened to many of her narrations and she voiced both THE BODYGUARD and HELLO, STRANGER and I had no issues with her narration. I guess combined with this book, it just didn't work for me. She was fine, but I didn't like the characters and that just all compounded. I really hated her voice for Charlie? It didn't feel attractive or like much of anything at all. Again, probably the character's fault, but I just didn't connect with that.
Wow, I'm incredibly disappointed that I didn't enjoy this one more. The ratings so far (this is a June release date and I read it in March) are very high with mostly 4 and 5 stars, but this one just didn't do it for me. If this was my first Katherine Center book, I probably wouldn't have picked up another one.
My main disappointment was that I felt zero chemistry between Emma and Charlie. ZERO. I didn't feel any butterflies, I got not emotion from Charlie, and it felt very one-sided and disproportionate to have Emma infatuated with him a little bit in the beginning. I've read plenty of rom-coms where the affection is unrequited at first and then they fall in love, but I don't know. For some reason, it didn't work here for me at all, and Charlie is so closed off that I didn't EVER feel like they were falling in love. There was a point about that in the book, kind of, but as a reader, I just never really felt it at all.
There was just something about the characters too... I didn't like any of them. I actually really didn't like Emma right from the beginning. Charlie was a jerk when they first met. I didn't like the randomly British best friend. I didn't like her sister. Okay, her dad was sweet. We'll give them that one, but everyone else I just actively didn't like. This is SO WEIRD because I adored THE BODYGUARD and really enjoyed HELLO, STRANGER.
One of the things I really appreciated has to do with something Charlie reveals to Emma that becomes something important to the plot. MINOR spoiler but I'll put it in tags in case you don't want to know...
I also didn't really like the asides to the reader, breaking the 4th wall, essentially. I would rather Emma just tell the story and not like she was telling the story to you, dear reader. It got like, cheesy movie rom-com instead of cute book rom-com. I don't know. Something about it just really took me out of the reading experience.
Clearly others loved it so I will be the outlier opinion here (hey, did you also not like HAPPY PLACE by Emily Henry? Let's join this lonely club) while others gave it 5 glowing stars. You'll just have to read it for yourself! But if you find you're feeling no chemistry, maybe we feel this together.
AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Patti Murin was the narrator for this audiobook and normally I usually love her. I've listened to many of her narrations and she voiced both THE BODYGUARD and HELLO, STRANGER and I had no issues with her narration. I guess combined with this book, it just didn't work for me. She was fine, but I didn't like the characters and that just all compounded. I really hated her voice for Charlie? It didn't feel attractive or like much of anything at all. Again, probably the character's fault, but I just didn't connect with that.
Murder Road by Simone St. James
3.0
Read Completed 3/23/24 | 3 stars
This was a bit underwhelming for me. I've read Simone St. James' other books, specifically enjoyed THE SUN DOWN MOTEL and THE BOOK OF COLD CASES, but this one just really didn't do it for me. Whereas I felt the other two novels were thriller with a paranormal aspect, this book almost felt more like light horror because of the ghostly focus and possessing people to kill others. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't my vibe and I was looking forward to more mystery/thriller.
There was definitely still a mystery aspect as the main characters -- a newlywed couple -- try to solve the cold case of the "Lost Girl" who is killing people in a very specific spot in this small town after picking up a hitchhiker who died in their car. The mystery is to figure out who the ghost is and why she's doing what she's doing. Truthfully, I didn't love the answer. It seemed very obvious after the point was brought up in the book and one of the only explanations that makes for a decent connection to the main characters that adds a twist. I also didn't love the reveal of how the Lost Girl died and everything that was connected to that. It seemed a little flimsy and didn't really make much sense.
I think I just really missed that twisty thriller aspect. I feel like her other main novels have been more thriller and the paranormal aspect is important, but more of a twist or an added part of the story. This was maybe too much ghost focus for me and it lost that gripping thriller concept, at least for my tastes. I made it 50% of the book and was surprised because I didn't really feel like anything happened. Then the same thing happened at 75% and I couldn't believe I was almost done.
Maybe it all comes down to style preferences (well, I guess ALL reading is style preferences, but anyway...) but I just didn't really connect with this one like I had hoped. I probably over-hyped it for myself too.
This was a bit underwhelming for me. I've read Simone St. James' other books, specifically enjoyed THE SUN DOWN MOTEL and THE BOOK OF COLD CASES, but this one just really didn't do it for me. Whereas I felt the other two novels were thriller with a paranormal aspect, this book almost felt more like light horror because of the ghostly focus and possessing people to kill others. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't my vibe and I was looking forward to more mystery/thriller.
There was definitely still a mystery aspect as the main characters -- a newlywed couple -- try to solve the cold case of the "Lost Girl" who is killing people in a very specific spot in this small town after picking up a hitchhiker who died in their car. The mystery is to figure out who the ghost is and why she's doing what she's doing. Truthfully, I didn't love the answer. It seemed very obvious after the point was brought up in the book and one of the only explanations that makes for a decent connection to the main characters that adds a twist. I also didn't love the reveal of how the Lost Girl died and everything that was connected to that. It seemed a little flimsy and didn't really make much sense.
I think I just really missed that twisty thriller aspect. I feel like her other main novels have been more thriller and the paranormal aspect is important, but more of a twist or an added part of the story. This was maybe too much ghost focus for me and it lost that gripping thriller concept, at least for my tastes. I made it 50% of the book and was surprised because I didn't really feel like anything happened. Then the same thing happened at 75% and I couldn't believe I was almost done.
Maybe it all comes down to style preferences (well, I guess ALL reading is style preferences, but anyway...) but I just didn't really connect with this one like I had hoped. I probably over-hyped it for myself too.
Dreambound by Dan Frey
3.75
Read Completed 3/21/24 | 3.75 - 4 stars
DREAMBOUND was a random Goodreads find when I was trying to find some new sci-fi reads. This actually turned out to be much more portal fantasy and not at all sci-fi, really, but thankfully, that's also something I enjoy and I had fun reading this!
The story was kind of THE MAGICIANS meets RABBITS. A father goes searching for his daughter after her disappearance six months ago, befriends some believers along the way, and finds out that fairy tale stories may actually cross over into the real world. I really liked the story and the perspective, and the full cast audio also really added to the reading experience!
While I enjoyed the book, I wanted just a bit more connection to the fantasy world. We get all of the info from Byron's perspective (he's the dad) and he's quite the skeptic to begin with, which who could blame him. I'm not sure what made the difference here but I just didn't quite click with the fictional faerie series like I had wanted to, or like I seemed to instantly connect with other fictitious series like in The Magicians Trilogy, for example. I think it was because it was actually a little bit more mystery and going down the rabbit hole than it was about the fantasy itself for a while. Then the scales tipped and we started to really dive into the fantasy world instead of just seeing bits and pieces of magical markers. It was really fun seeing Byron go from a facts-only non-fiction writer to believing in magic in order to save his daughter.
It was definitely a solid read and I'm happy I read it! I could have fallen into the story a little more than I did, but it was a good read for me. I'm not sure if I'd recommend it because I'm not sure who would enjoy it as much, but it was definitely interesting and gave me some good feels that reminded me of books I've loved in the past as well!
DREAMBOUND was a random Goodreads find when I was trying to find some new sci-fi reads. This actually turned out to be much more portal fantasy and not at all sci-fi, really, but thankfully, that's also something I enjoy and I had fun reading this!
The story was kind of THE MAGICIANS meets RABBITS. A father goes searching for his daughter after her disappearance six months ago, befriends some believers along the way, and finds out that fairy tale stories may actually cross over into the real world. I really liked the story and the perspective, and the full cast audio also really added to the reading experience!
While I enjoyed the book, I wanted just a bit more connection to the fantasy world. We get all of the info from Byron's perspective (he's the dad) and he's quite the skeptic to begin with, which who could blame him. I'm not sure what made the difference here but I just didn't quite click with the fictional faerie series like I had wanted to, or like I seemed to instantly connect with other fictitious series like in The Magicians Trilogy, for example. I think it was because it was actually a little bit more mystery and going down the rabbit hole than it was about the fantasy itself for a while. Then the scales tipped and we started to really dive into the fantasy world instead of just seeing bits and pieces of magical markers. It was really fun seeing Byron go from a facts-only non-fiction writer to believing in magic in order to save his daughter.
It was definitely a solid read and I'm happy I read it! I could have fallen into the story a little more than I did, but it was a good read for me. I'm not sure if I'd recommend it because I'm not sure who would enjoy it as much, but it was definitely interesting and gave me some good feels that reminded me of books I've loved in the past as well!
Keep Your Friends Close by Leah Konen
3.5
Read Completed 3/20/24 | 3.5 stars, rounded down based on vibes and feelings
I was super excited for Leah Konen's latest after really loving her book YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME last year. I couldn't wait to see what her next release was all about! Thank you to Penguin Random House for sending me a paperback copy of this book to read, review, and feature if I so wished! This did not affect my experience reading this book.
KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE was a little different than I expected. For one, I didn't know that this was a "rich people" thriller trope, which I don't usually enjoy. I liked the concept of the story, but it didn't quite turn out the way I thought it would. Obviously I didn't write the story and I don't get to make that choice, but I was hoping for a bit more suspense surrounding Willa and the question of her identity as well as a few other plot points that got revealed along the way. There were multiple little reveals that were interesting but nothing really grabbed me like I had hoped it would.
The main characters felt like they could have used a little more depth. Mary was fine but she was just a bit blah. Willa was also fine, but I think I would have liked it better if we didn't have her POV and Mary was figuring out everything as the reader does, to add more doubt and suspense. Granted, Willa could still be anything in the book even with a POV, but I don't know. It just took something away for me instead of adding.
The ending was okay! Some things I didn't see coming but nothing was really quite shocking. It was a solid read with a concept that we see all the time in thrillers but a story that still felt different. I still really enjoy Leah Konen's style and her books but I hyped it up a little too much for myself and I let myself down again. I'd probably still recommend it to other readers but this one just kind of fell in line with other thrillers instead of being the stand-out read I hoped it would be.
I was super excited for Leah Konen's latest after really loving her book YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME last year. I couldn't wait to see what her next release was all about! Thank you to Penguin Random House for sending me a paperback copy of this book to read, review, and feature if I so wished! This did not affect my experience reading this book.
KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE was a little different than I expected. For one, I didn't know that this was a "rich people" thriller trope, which I don't usually enjoy. I liked the concept of the story, but it didn't quite turn out the way I thought it would. Obviously I didn't write the story and I don't get to make that choice, but I was hoping for a bit more suspense surrounding Willa and the question of her identity as well as a few other plot points that got revealed along the way. There were multiple little reveals that were interesting but nothing really grabbed me like I had hoped it would.
The main characters felt like they could have used a little more depth. Mary was fine but she was just a bit blah. Willa was also fine, but I think I would have liked it better if we didn't have her POV and Mary was figuring out everything as the reader does, to add more doubt and suspense. Granted, Willa could still be anything in the book even with a POV, but I don't know. It just took something away for me instead of adding.
The ending was okay! Some things I didn't see coming but nothing was really quite shocking. It was a solid read with a concept that we see all the time in thrillers but a story that still felt different. I still really enjoy Leah Konen's style and her books but I hyped it up a little too much for myself and I let myself down again. I'd probably still recommend it to other readers but this one just kind of fell in line with other thrillers instead of being the stand-out read I hoped it would be.
The Stranger in Her House by John Marrs
2.75
Read Completed 3/19/24 | 2.5 - 2.75 stars
This was a fairly disappointing read for me. I just didn't enjoy the this story very much and it felt much slower than John Marrs' other thrillers. I personally just didn't really connect with the characters or the concept. I think I had to suspend a little too much disbelief and I just didn't want to. Things were a little far-fetched that all of these people found each other all in the same location. The ending also really, really dragged. The wrap-up took way too long after the whole (somewhat) exciting conclusion.
I'm not really sure what else to say about it. Some of it was a little over the top, but the rest of it just wasn't as thrilling as I expected it to be. It was a fine read but it won't be something I jump to recommend to everyone else and maybe one of my least favorites of the John Marrs books I've read.
This was a fairly disappointing read for me. I just didn't enjoy the this story very much and it felt much slower than John Marrs' other thrillers. I personally just didn't really connect with the characters or the concept. I think I had to suspend a little too much disbelief and I just didn't want to. Things were a little far-fetched that all of these people found each other all in the same location. The ending also really, really dragged. The wrap-up took way too long after the whole (somewhat) exciting conclusion.
I'm not really sure what else to say about it. Some of it was a little over the top, but the rest of it just wasn't as thrilling as I expected it to be. It was a fine read but it won't be something I jump to recommend to everyone else and maybe one of my least favorites of the John Marrs books I've read.
Past Crimes by Jason Pinter
2.75
Read Completed 3/16/24 | 2.75 stars
When I saw the description for this book, I immediately jumped on it and wondered why I hadn't seen it talked about before now. Black Mirror meets Ready Player One!? How was this not buzzier? But eventually, I knew why.
Look, this wasn't a bad book. It was entertaining, but it lost some steam at the end for me. The synopsis did deliver, but it was the tone that I didn't connect with. Maybe it would have been better as a physical book and not with a higher-pitched female audiobook narrator because it just had this tone of being lighter and sillier than I thought it was going to be. It was still plenty dark (I mean, hello, murder Disneyland...) but it just felt a little campier and not as gritty and dark as I was hoping it would be.
I liked the characters and the found family they gathered from each other. There was a fun V.E. Schwab book/name drop that had absolutely nothing to do with this book whatsoever but I appreciated the author's taste 😅
Overall, I just really lost steam with this story. Things started to get weirder and even more campy, taking some weird turns where I think I just wanted the story to be more grounded and focusing more on some nitty gritty plot. It just never really got under my skin like I wanted it to, but it was fast, easy to read, and still entertained me. I checked out a little at the end so I didn't rate it as high as three stars, but I wouldn't discourage someone from reading it.
When I saw the description for this book, I immediately jumped on it and wondered why I hadn't seen it talked about before now. Black Mirror meets Ready Player One!? How was this not buzzier? But eventually, I knew why.
Look, this wasn't a bad book. It was entertaining, but it lost some steam at the end for me. The synopsis did deliver, but it was the tone that I didn't connect with. Maybe it would have been better as a physical book and not with a higher-pitched female audiobook narrator because it just had this tone of being lighter and sillier than I thought it was going to be. It was still plenty dark (I mean, hello, murder Disneyland...) but it just felt a little campier and not as gritty and dark as I was hoping it would be.
I liked the characters and the found family they gathered from each other. There was a fun V.E. Schwab book/name drop that had absolutely nothing to do with this book whatsoever but I appreciated the author's taste 😅
Overall, I just really lost steam with this story. Things started to get weirder and even more campy, taking some weird turns where I think I just wanted the story to be more grounded and focusing more on some nitty gritty plot. It just never really got under my skin like I wanted it to, but it was fast, easy to read, and still entertained me. I checked out a little at the end so I didn't rate it as high as three stars, but I wouldn't discourage someone from reading it.
The One That Got Away with Murder by Trish Lundy
3.5
Read Completed 3/15/24 | 3.5 stars, rounded down
I've been having some decent success with YA thrillers so I decided to take a chance on this one with its eye-grabbing cover and synopsis with a hook. This kept me reading and I was entertained, but I ultimately didn't love the direction it took and there were a few places that I would have liked just a bit of an improvement, in my opinion.
Firstly, this book had an amazing book. A family where the boys are killing their girlfriends and no one can prove it? Highly addicting. The concept was great and I was definitely interested to see what was going to happen. I don't think I really loved Lauren or her approach to everything, but I will give it to the author that a lot of the book felt genuine to a teenage experience and choices that one might make at 16-17 years old. Some of this book was "a little more YA" than I typically like now, but obviously it's a young adult book, so that's not a bad thing -- just a personal preference. There were some things that were definitely authentic and then there were some wild things like the coach kicking her off the soccer team because she's dating the boy they're all suspicious of and telling her the to her face. UHHH NO? You can't kick someone off of a school team because of a person they're dating. I guess it was supposed to be because of team cohesiveness? But he literally said that was the reason why. That seems like a good way to get fired.
Anyway. The plot was intriguing but I didn't always like the way it unfolded. The boys in question have a rich father complete with younger girlfriend (their mom also has a younger boyfriend for what it's worth) so naturally there's power there as well. There were a few moments where the pacing and the investigation felt clunky. Some of it felt a little too forced and like the author was trying to shove every possible suspect in there and it got a bit tiresome. I got a theory after one specific line at 33% of who was responsible for these girls' deaths and that turned out to be true. I'm a little surprised, but that one line gave it away for me, and it maybe wasn't even that obvious. BUT after we went through like 5-6 red herrings, it became increasingly more obvious.
Everyone's relationships were messy in order to make this a tangled web that Lauren and her friends had to unweave and it was a little dramatic for me at times. I guess I just get tired of all of the "popular kids drinking and doing drugs" story line but that's what makes for good drama, unreliable narrators, and conflict.
Okay, onto the good stuff. The ending was a little disappointing for me. Firstly that it happened so quickly and we barely even got to spend any time on the reveal. Of course there was a villain speech and it was so wildly out there that I felt like we either needed to dwell on some of these concepts MUCH earlier or have this person be much less... this. (Trying not to give away spoilers!) It felt like an unexpected giant twist and I didn't like how unexpected it was. Even guessing correctly and looking for clues, there really weren't many there and not to THIS intensity. I can see people loving it because of how wild it is, but it just was too over-the-top for me.
I enjoyed the read -- I'm not sure if I'd pick up another thriller from this author, mostly because it was more teen than I expected (again, not knocking it, but some YA vibes I connect with more than others). I'd probably be curious enough to try another!
I've been having some decent success with YA thrillers so I decided to take a chance on this one with its eye-grabbing cover and synopsis with a hook. This kept me reading and I was entertained, but I ultimately didn't love the direction it took and there were a few places that I would have liked just a bit of an improvement, in my opinion.
Firstly, this book had an amazing book. A family where the boys are killing their girlfriends and no one can prove it? Highly addicting. The concept was great and I was definitely interested to see what was going to happen. I don't think I really loved Lauren or her approach to everything, but I will give it to the author that a lot of the book felt genuine to a teenage experience and choices that one might make at 16-17 years old. Some of this book was "a little more YA" than I typically like now, but obviously it's a young adult book, so that's not a bad thing -- just a personal preference. There were some things that were definitely authentic and then there were some wild things like the coach kicking her off the soccer team because she's dating the boy they're all suspicious of and telling her the to her face. UHHH NO? You can't kick someone off of a school team because of a person they're dating. I guess it was supposed to be because of team cohesiveness? But he literally said that was the reason why. That seems like a good way to get fired.
Anyway. The plot was intriguing but I didn't always like the way it unfolded. The boys in question have a rich father complete with younger girlfriend (their mom also has a younger boyfriend for what it's worth) so naturally there's power there as well. There were a few moments where the pacing and the investigation felt clunky. Some of it felt a little too forced and like the author was trying to shove every possible suspect in there and it got a bit tiresome. I got a theory after one specific line at 33% of who was responsible for these girls' deaths and that turned out to be true. I'm a little surprised, but that one line gave it away for me, and it maybe wasn't even that obvious. BUT after we went through like 5-6 red herrings, it became increasingly more obvious.
Everyone's relationships were messy in order to make this a tangled web that Lauren and her friends had to unweave and it was a little dramatic for me at times. I guess I just get tired of all of the "popular kids drinking and doing drugs" story line but that's what makes for good drama, unreliable narrators, and conflict.
Okay, onto the good stuff. The ending was a little disappointing for me. Firstly that it happened so quickly and we barely even got to spend any time on the reveal. Of course there was a villain speech and it was so wildly out there that I felt like we either needed to dwell on some of these concepts MUCH earlier or have this person be much less... this. (Trying not to give away spoilers!) It felt like an unexpected giant twist and I didn't like how unexpected it was. Even guessing correctly and looking for clues, there really weren't many there and not to THIS intensity. I can see people loving it because of how wild it is, but it just was too over-the-top for me.
I enjoyed the read -- I'm not sure if I'd pick up another thriller from this author, mostly because it was more teen than I expected (again, not knocking it, but some YA vibes I connect with more than others). I'd probably be curious enough to try another!
Happily Never After by Lynn Painter
3.75
Read Completed 3/13/24 | 3.75 - 4 stars
Lynn Painter is excellent with banter and this was another book that charmed me! I loved the chemistry between Sophie and Max and this was a cute concept that really took off.
The thing that really threw me about this book was how much the two main characters — more so Sophie — hated loved and didn’t believe in it. I get it, I do, but when you’re reading a romance and for 90% of the book, the main character hates love, it gets really tiresome. I wish that was written just a bit different to maybe soften some of it so I could at least feel a little less negative about it.
The characters really did have great chemistry, there were fun side characters, I loved the love story, and it was paced well, easy to fly through. I had a great time with the reading experience but I can’t let it go how negative Sophie was most of the time. She even got called out about it at work (which also, was highly inappropriate and unprofessional for her boss to tell her to get her personal life in order or else she wouldn’t get a promotion).
I’ll still leave this at 4 stars and let the good feelings outweigh the bad!
Lynn Painter is excellent with banter and this was another book that charmed me! I loved the chemistry between Sophie and Max and this was a cute concept that really took off.
The thing that really threw me about this book was how much the two main characters — more so Sophie — hated loved and didn’t believe in it. I get it, I do, but when you’re reading a romance and for 90% of the book, the main character hates love, it gets really tiresome. I wish that was written just a bit different to maybe soften some of it so I could at least feel a little less negative about it.
The characters really did have great chemistry, there were fun side characters, I loved the love story, and it was paced well, easy to fly through. I had a great time with the reading experience but I can’t let it go how negative Sophie was most of the time. She even got called out about it at work (which also, was highly inappropriate and unprofessional for her boss to tell her to get her personal life in order or else she wouldn’t get a promotion).
I’ll still leave this at 4 stars and let the good feelings outweigh the bad!
The Split by Kit Frick
mysterious
medium-paced
3.25
Read Completed 3/12/24 | 3.25 stars
I'm always drawn to Kit Frick's writing and seem to get along with it fairly well, so I was interested in picking up this newly released adult thriller. I really liked the concept of a split decision and seeing what happens if one person changes one decision. I was definitely pulled into the story at first but ultimately, the thriller part just wasn't enough for me.
I really liked the concept and at first, there was a lot of intrigue surrounding Jane's relationship with her sister. I was curious what happened to her sister when she didn't turn up and what underlying motives there could be... but ultimately, it all just fell a little flat for me. The reveals seemed a little random and forced because some of the character motives were so hidden that what should have been surprising was just kind of like, "Huh. That's weird."
The characters also fell a little flat for me. Jane was apparently supposed to be "plain Jane" but she was a little boring with all of the other characters stealing the personality from her. I don't know... I just never really connected with her as much as I wanted to and I really don't know what I'd tell you about her after finishing the book.
There were a lot of good pieces here but I just didn't love the way they all came together. A few things fell flat and nothing really pulled it out of that feeling for me to make it shine. I really like the concept, but the ending was a little confusing as well. Sometimes with this type of plot, the two timelines end up converging and having the same ending but here, we get two endings. I guess it's up to the reader to choose which one they liked better, if the second one is how things really ended, or if there is no answer. It felt a little messy and unsatisfying to me.
Other recommended reads: THE CHOICE by Gillian McAllister
I'm always drawn to Kit Frick's writing and seem to get along with it fairly well, so I was interested in picking up this newly released adult thriller. I really liked the concept of a split decision and seeing what happens if one person changes one decision. I was definitely pulled into the story at first but ultimately, the thriller part just wasn't enough for me.
I really liked the concept and at first, there was a lot of intrigue surrounding Jane's relationship with her sister. I was curious what happened to her sister when she didn't turn up and what underlying motives there could be... but ultimately, it all just fell a little flat for me. The reveals seemed a little random and forced because some of the character motives were so hidden that what should have been surprising was just kind of like, "Huh. That's weird."
The characters also fell a little flat for me. Jane was apparently supposed to be "plain Jane" but she was a little boring with all of the other characters stealing the personality from her. I don't know... I just never really connected with her as much as I wanted to and I really don't know what I'd tell you about her after finishing the book.
There were a lot of good pieces here but I just didn't love the way they all came together. A few things fell flat and nothing really pulled it out of that feeling for me to make it shine. I really like the concept, but the ending was a little confusing as well. Sometimes with this type of plot, the two timelines end up converging and having the same ending but here, we get two endings. I guess it's up to the reader to choose which one they liked better, if the second one is how things really ended, or if there is no answer. It felt a little messy and unsatisfying to me.
Other recommended reads: THE CHOICE by Gillian McAllister