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pagesplotsandpints's Reviews (2.1k)
<b>Read Complete 8/6/24 |</b> 4 stars
<b><I>Thank you to Little Brown Publishers + Netgalley for the ability to listen to a review copy of the audiobook. This did not affect my thoughts or review in any way.</b></I>
Another fun, action-packed read from T.J. Newman! I read her first two books, FALLING and DROWNING, and appreciated her perspective for her plane-themed thrillers being a former flight attendant, and I appreciated even more that WORST CASE SCENARIO took it to a little bit of a different place. Instead of being on the plane, the plane is the cause of the disaster, crashing into a nuclear power plant.
I really enjoy these action-packed books that feel like watching an action movie! It's a great change of pace from my "normal" psychological thrillers and I really enjoy the writing style throughout this book. There's always something going on and T.J. Newman really makes you care for the characters too. It's not really something I would have thought about with a fast-paced book like this, caring about character development, but I really got attached to the main characters!
The only thing that felt weird to me was the pacing. I kept expecting all of this action to lead up to something else, but solving this problem is the whole book. That wasn't a bad thing, but I don't know why that pacing felt weird since the book had a countdown to this zero hour that I should have known would be the end of the book anyway.
AUDIOBOOK THOUGHTS: I listened to this as an audiobook and I really enjoyed the narration! This was narrated by Joe Morton, who I don't know if I've listened to before, but I like this voice for the book! It was third person so Joe Morton is the narrator for the whole book. I think he did a really nice job with all of the voices and the excitement level for everything that was happening! The only complaint I had was the pronunciation of "nuclear" considering that's what this book was about.
<b><I>Thank you to Little Brown Publishers + Netgalley for the ability to listen to a review copy of the audiobook. This did not affect my thoughts or review in any way.</b></I>
Another fun, action-packed read from T.J. Newman! I read her first two books, FALLING and DROWNING, and appreciated her perspective for her plane-themed thrillers being a former flight attendant, and I appreciated even more that WORST CASE SCENARIO took it to a little bit of a different place. Instead of being on the plane, the plane is the cause of the disaster, crashing into a nuclear power plant.
I really enjoy these action-packed books that feel like watching an action movie! It's a great change of pace from my "normal" psychological thrillers and I really enjoy the writing style throughout this book. There's always something going on and T.J. Newman really makes you care for the characters too. It's not really something I would have thought about with a fast-paced book like this, caring about character development, but I really got attached to the main characters!
The only thing that felt weird to me was the pacing. I kept expecting all of this action to lead up to something else, but solving this problem is the whole book. That wasn't a bad thing, but I don't know why that pacing felt weird since the book had a countdown to this zero hour that I should have known would be the end of the book anyway.
AUDIOBOOK THOUGHTS: I listened to this as an audiobook and I really enjoyed the narration! This was narrated by Joe Morton, who I don't know if I've listened to before, but I like this voice for the book! It was third person so Joe Morton is the narrator for the whole book. I think he did a really nice job with all of the voices and the excitement level for everything that was happening! The only complaint I had was the pronunciation of "nuclear" considering that's what this book was about.
<b>Read Completed 8/5/24 |</b> 3.5 stars
This was entertaining but not mind-blowing. I had fun reading it but I could have been a little bit more into it or a little more surprised. The action took a while to get going, but there was some good tension and some good clues leading up to a reveal. I liked that the author peppered in some doubt and it got me guessing and making some wild assumptions (which thankfully were wrong).
The ending had a nice twist which made it fun! It was a little over-the-top / unbelievable, but I was okay going along with it since the rest of the book had a more popcorn thriller vibe. I'd probably try another from this author!
This was entertaining but not mind-blowing. I had fun reading it but I could have been a little bit more into it or a little more surprised. The action took a while to get going, but there was some good tension and some good clues leading up to a reveal. I liked that the author peppered in some doubt and it got me guessing and making some wild assumptions (which thankfully were wrong).
The ending had a nice twist which made it fun! It was a little over-the-top / unbelievable, but I was okay going along with it since the rest of the book had a more popcorn thriller vibe. I'd probably try another from this author!
<b>Read Completed 8/3/24 |</b> 3.25 stars
If I hadn't read THE ART OF CATCHING FEELINGS before this, I probably would have liked it less (just because I enjoyed that one a lot). LOVE IN THE TIME OF SERIAL KILLERS wasn't a bad book but it felt like it was caught in some in between space and was floundering as to what it wanted to be.
The funny premise of the book is that the meet cute happens on an off-night and the main character thinks the guy next door could be a serial killer, but that's kind of where that ends. It's really not warranted at all and she has to take things WAY out of context to even assume that. It's just her true crime brain jumping to conclusions, but I really would have liked if this leaned a bit harder into a comedic "is he or isn't he" vibe for a while. I felt like this concept got stuck in between being funny and being serious/sad. Sam didn't even do anything outlandish to really make Phoebe think that he was a serial killer and without it edging towards romcom, it just made things feel really awkward.
The hardest part of the book was how self-sabotaging Phoebe was. I think it's just really hard to write a main character like that and have readers empathize with her! It's absolutely realistic, but I think it's really hard to root for a main character who wants to close herself off and who is looking for ways to sabotage all of her relationships. I did like that she had a lot of growth -- she let her brother in more, made up with an old friend, and obviously we're ending with a romance here -- so I really did appreciate seeing her go through this change and really start to let people in that she loves.
Because Phoebe was more closed off, also, I didn't feel the romance as much as I had hoped. I felt like the sexual tension was broken too soon and I would have liked some more dangerous tension from a guy who she was accusing of being a serial killer, but also Sam is incredibly NICE and shy and quiet that it was kind of a deflating feeling after going from dangerous and a killer to... that. It wasn't a bad thing for him to be that way, but it was like a set up of one thing to resolve into something totally different.
I went into this a little open-minded because I did see that its rating was kind of low and people didn't love it. I feel like a lot of people were expecting way more romcom with a title and concept as it was and while this wasn't a dramatic romance or overly sad, it just wasn't as light as it seems to be marketed. About halfway through, I started to get too annoyed by Phoebe instead of her growing on me, so I can definitely see where people had their struggles, and I didn't end up loving this one either. If I hadn't read THE ART OF CATCHING FEELINGS first and knowing I could like this author's writing, I probably would have DNFed or felt a lot worse about it.
If I hadn't read THE ART OF CATCHING FEELINGS before this, I probably would have liked it less (just because I enjoyed that one a lot). LOVE IN THE TIME OF SERIAL KILLERS wasn't a bad book but it felt like it was caught in some in between space and was floundering as to what it wanted to be.
The funny premise of the book is that the meet cute happens on an off-night and the main character thinks the guy next door could be a serial killer, but that's kind of where that ends. It's really not warranted at all and she has to take things WAY out of context to even assume that. It's just her true crime brain jumping to conclusions, but I really would have liked if this leaned a bit harder into a comedic "is he or isn't he" vibe for a while. I felt like this concept got stuck in between being funny and being serious/sad. Sam didn't even do anything outlandish to really make Phoebe think that he was a serial killer and without it edging towards romcom, it just made things feel really awkward.
The hardest part of the book was how self-sabotaging Phoebe was. I think it's just really hard to write a main character like that and have readers empathize with her! It's absolutely realistic, but I think it's really hard to root for a main character who wants to close herself off and who is looking for ways to sabotage all of her relationships. I did like that she had a lot of growth -- she let her brother in more, made up with an old friend, and obviously we're ending with a romance here -- so I really did appreciate seeing her go through this change and really start to let people in that she loves.
Because Phoebe was more closed off, also, I didn't feel the romance as much as I had hoped. I felt like the sexual tension was broken too soon and I would have liked some more dangerous tension from a guy who she was accusing of being a serial killer, but also Sam is incredibly NICE and shy and quiet that it was kind of a deflating feeling after going from dangerous and a killer to... that. It wasn't a bad thing for him to be that way, but it was like a set up of one thing to resolve into something totally different.
I went into this a little open-minded because I did see that its rating was kind of low and people didn't love it. I feel like a lot of people were expecting way more romcom with a title and concept as it was and while this wasn't a dramatic romance or overly sad, it just wasn't as light as it seems to be marketed. About halfway through, I started to get too annoyed by Phoebe instead of her growing on me, so I can definitely see where people had their struggles, and I didn't end up loving this one either. If I hadn't read THE ART OF CATCHING FEELINGS first and knowing I could like this author's writing, I probably would have DNFed or felt a lot worse about it.
<b>Read Completed 8/1/24 |</b> 3.25 stars
This was my second book my Ronald Malfi, my first being COME WITH ME, and this didn't really pack the punch that his other book did for me! I don't read a ton of horror but the horror that I enjoy the most is a little less fantasy and a little more thriller. BONE WHITE was still kind of a mix with more of the horror elements coming into play much later in the book, and while I still liked the book, it just didn't quite grab me like I had hoped.
I really wanted to connect to Paul a bit more! He's the main character of the story but I just didn't really remember enough about him after the story was over and I wanted a bit more from his personality. I actually liked a few of the side characters but we just didn't get to see enough of them. I was really disappointed in Paul's twin brother Danny and how little we got to know him.
There was a lot of good, eerie atmosphere that I did enjoy! I liked the concept of a small town in Alaska and there were some great creepy cabins, freaky backstories, and curious tales. There were certainly some spine-chilling moments! When it came down to it, I wanted it to be something a bit more than "the devil" and there were some things that just really didn't get explained that I thought should have been. The middle kind of dragged a bit and the ending brought it all back together, but it just wasn't enough to really stick with me.
This was my second book my Ronald Malfi, my first being COME WITH ME, and this didn't really pack the punch that his other book did for me! I don't read a ton of horror but the horror that I enjoy the most is a little less fantasy and a little more thriller. BONE WHITE was still kind of a mix with more of the horror elements coming into play much later in the book, and while I still liked the book, it just didn't quite grab me like I had hoped.
I really wanted to connect to Paul a bit more! He's the main character of the story but I just didn't really remember enough about him after the story was over and I wanted a bit more from his personality. I actually liked a few of the side characters but we just didn't get to see enough of them. I was really disappointed in Paul's twin brother Danny and how little we got to know him.
There was a lot of good, eerie atmosphere that I did enjoy! I liked the concept of a small town in Alaska and there were some great creepy cabins, freaky backstories, and curious tales. There were certainly some spine-chilling moments! When it came down to it, I wanted it to be something a bit more than "the devil" and there were some things that just really didn't get explained that I thought should have been. The middle kind of dragged a bit and the ending brought it all back together, but it just wasn't enough to really stick with me.
<b>Read Completed 7/31/24 |</b> 2.5 - 2.75 stars
I picked this up because I love the audiobook narrators, Brittany Pressley and Hillary Huber, and the title caught my eye because I really enjoy a domestic thriller. Iiiii should have read the description more closely. It's not something I'd normally go for BUT don't yell at me yet. I'm up for any kind of thriller even if it's not my norm, and if it's well-written, I can enjoy anything. Sadly, THE WIDOW ON DWYER COURT just really didn't ever do it for me.
This had a lot of potential and I wasn't opposed to its unique concept. This wasn't something I've read before and I was interested to see where the author was going to take the idea of a woman not being physically intimate with her husband but using his (approved) extra-marital romps for her spicy/smutty books. What I wasn't interested in was how much her book passages were included within action. There were a whole bunch of them -- I want to say 10-15? -- and really their only purpose to be included in detail was to put the smut on the page. There were a couple other things that happened outside of the novel snippets, but this was the main way author Lisa Kusel chose to get this book some spice levels, which I really didn't care about. The plot of the main character's book had nothing to do with the plot of our actual book so I finally just skipped past them because I really couldn't have cared less about their content. Yes, I understood I was in for a "sexy psychological thriller" but that can mean any number of things but I didn't care about the spice for the sake of spice -- and I don't in anything, really.
Mostly, though, I just didn't feel like this was very thrilling until much later in the book. There's some tension and suspense as Kate realizes that her husband isn't telling her everything and may not be honest about his dalliances that he relays to her, but it felt like just domestic drama for a while and I wasn't really feeling the thriller aspect. It was much later, maybe 65% - 70% that it started to really pick up.
I didn't really like Kate and I hated Annie. I didn't like the husband either, so it was hard to get into the book when I just wasn't rooting for any of them. The ending did pack a little punch but it was a bit confusing in terms of ... making sense. I won't go into spoilers but it seemed like a total personality switch.
Honestly, if this didn't have a couple of my favorite narrators, I probably would have DNFed and maybe I should have. I was just hoping it would pick up and really get going but I just never connected with it like I wanted to.
I picked this up because I love the audiobook narrators, Brittany Pressley and Hillary Huber, and the title caught my eye because I really enjoy a domestic thriller. Iiiii should have read the description more closely. It's not something I'd normally go for BUT don't yell at me yet. I'm up for any kind of thriller even if it's not my norm, and if it's well-written, I can enjoy anything. Sadly, THE WIDOW ON DWYER COURT just really didn't ever do it for me.
This had a lot of potential and I wasn't opposed to its unique concept. This wasn't something I've read before and I was interested to see where the author was going to take the idea of a woman not being physically intimate with her husband but using his (approved) extra-marital romps for her spicy/smutty books. What I wasn't interested in was how much her book passages were included within action. There were a whole bunch of them -- I want to say 10-15? -- and really their only purpose to be included in detail was to put the smut on the page. There were a couple other things that happened outside of the novel snippets, but this was the main way author Lisa Kusel chose to get this book some spice levels, which I really didn't care about. The plot of the main character's book had nothing to do with the plot of our actual book so I finally just skipped past them because I really couldn't have cared less about their content. Yes, I understood I was in for a "sexy psychological thriller" but that can mean any number of things but I didn't care about the spice for the sake of spice -- and I don't in anything, really.
Mostly, though, I just didn't feel like this was very thrilling until much later in the book. There's some tension and suspense as Kate realizes that her husband isn't telling her everything and may not be honest about his dalliances that he relays to her, but it felt like just domestic drama for a while and I wasn't really feeling the thriller aspect. It was much later, maybe 65% - 70% that it started to really pick up.
I didn't really like Kate and I hated Annie. I didn't like the husband either, so it was hard to get into the book when I just wasn't rooting for any of them. The ending did pack a little punch but it was a bit confusing in terms of ... making sense. I won't go into spoilers but it seemed like a total personality switch.
Honestly, if this didn't have a couple of my favorite narrators, I probably would have DNFed and maybe I should have. I was just hoping it would pick up and really get going but I just never connected with it like I wanted to.
<b>Read Completed 7/30/24 |</b> 2.5 stars
This was a pretty disappointed read for me. I've definitely read quite a few books like this and sadly, this one didn't do it better. My intrigue came from a blurb that was in the description on Libby that said "not since Gone Girl has an unreliable narrator been this fun" and why did I listen to that... No, no it was not. It was pretty standard and typical of an unreliable narrator and it wasn't very exciting.
I barely even remembered Abby's name because the story was really all about Gia. Abby was a boring character who didn't hold up the story well. Everything kind of happened TO her, even the "big scary thing" she didn't want to tell the reader in the beginning. Gia was the typical enigmatic and attractive best friend. Abby was beholden to the family because they put her through college and she didn't have any money, blah blah.
Gia's memoir really took over the book, though. It's from her POV so she gets to control the narrative and this is our unreliable narrator. I really wanted more time with Abby's POV and for something interesting to happen there considering she was really half of our book, but it just didn't really do much aside from taking the POV away from Gia. All of the happenings in Greece were really boring to me as well. I couldn't care less about mysterious couples, a random celebrity who crashes the party to be this sexual divider and instigator all at once, and cheating and blah blah blah. Eh, just not my vibe.
The ending was highly unsatisfying. There's lots of hinting and alluding, but really it could go either way. Gia could be totally normal and just wanting Abby to think she's more than she is, or she could be a killer. I think we're supposed to think she's a murderer, but eh. A little bit of an open ending didn't work here for me. I would have rather had something more explosive.
I can't imagine recommending this one. I feel like it made a lot of promises and the answers to most of the mysteries were a let down.
This was a pretty disappointed read for me. I've definitely read quite a few books like this and sadly, this one didn't do it better. My intrigue came from a blurb that was in the description on Libby that said "not since Gone Girl has an unreliable narrator been this fun" and why did I listen to that... No, no it was not. It was pretty standard and typical of an unreliable narrator and it wasn't very exciting.
I barely even remembered Abby's name because the story was really all about Gia. Abby was a boring character who didn't hold up the story well. Everything kind of happened TO her, even the "big scary thing" she didn't want to tell the reader in the beginning. Gia was the typical enigmatic and attractive best friend. Abby was beholden to the family because they put her through college and she didn't have any money, blah blah.
Gia's memoir really took over the book, though. It's from her POV so she gets to control the narrative and this is our unreliable narrator. I really wanted more time with Abby's POV and for something interesting to happen there considering she was really half of our book, but it just didn't really do much aside from taking the POV away from Gia. All of the happenings in Greece were really boring to me as well. I couldn't care less about mysterious couples, a random celebrity who crashes the party to be this sexual divider and instigator all at once, and cheating and blah blah blah. Eh, just not my vibe.
The ending was highly unsatisfying. There's lots of hinting and alluding, but really it could go either way. Gia could be totally normal and just wanting Abby to think she's more than she is, or she could be a killer. I think we're supposed to think she's a murderer, but eh. A little bit of an open ending didn't work here for me. I would have rather had something more explosive.
I can't imagine recommending this one. I feel like it made a lot of promises and the answers to most of the mysteries were a let down.
<b>Read Completed 7/30/24 |</b> 3 stars
Shari Lapena's books are fairly hit or miss, yet they're always a must read. Her last few haven't really been my style and WHAT HAVE YOU DONE was another miss for me. Everything was just fine -- the story was fine, the characters were fine, the reveal was fine. I wasn't really overwhelmed by anything. <b>Minor spoilers but you can probably extrapolate some major spoilers from them so, you've been warned.</b>
What held me back the most was the writing style. I really don't like third person present tense. It feels so distant and I was very disconnected. I don't know what about this style is, but it makes it feel so robotic and choppy. But then there were also two first person POVs, and the change back and forth didn't feel right. I also really didn't like the incorporation of the dead girl's POV. People compared it to THE LOVELY BONES, which can either be good or bad depending on how you felt about that book. Personally, I just thought there really wasn't a purpose to incorporate a ghost's POV. It was like she wanted to make it a little paranormal without actually making it a ghost story. There was also another first person POV that was one of the dead girl's friend and ... it was just really obvious to me why his was the ONLY other POV included in first person? Was this supposed to be a secret? Sure, I had to wait for confirmation but like, why else would his perspective be so important, ya know?
There were a few suspects and I liked that you didn't KNOW know everything right off the bat. Things were a bit more complicated but I also kind of hated some of the story line because you know I hate adults abusing minors.
Overall, this was just okay. I felt pretty disconnected from it overall and maybe this just wasn't really my style of read, but that seems to be happening more often with Shari Lapena.
Shari Lapena's books are fairly hit or miss, yet they're always a must read. Her last few haven't really been my style and WHAT HAVE YOU DONE was another miss for me. Everything was just fine -- the story was fine, the characters were fine, the reveal was fine. I wasn't really overwhelmed by anything. <b>Minor spoilers but you can probably extrapolate some major spoilers from them so, you've been warned.</b>
What held me back the most was the writing style. I really don't like third person present tense. It feels so distant and I was very disconnected. I don't know what about this style is, but it makes it feel so robotic and choppy. But then there were also two first person POVs, and the change back and forth didn't feel right. I also really didn't like the incorporation of the dead girl's POV. People compared it to THE LOVELY BONES, which can either be good or bad depending on how you felt about that book. Personally, I just thought there really wasn't a purpose to incorporate a ghost's POV. It was like she wanted to make it a little paranormal without actually making it a ghost story. There was also another first person POV that was one of the dead girl's friend and ... it was just really obvious to me why his was the ONLY other POV included in first person? Was this supposed to be a secret? Sure, I had to wait for confirmation but like, why else would his perspective be so important, ya know?
There were a few suspects and I liked that you didn't KNOW know everything right off the bat. Things were a bit more complicated but I also kind of hated some of the story line because you know I hate adults abusing minors.
Overall, this was just okay. I felt pretty disconnected from it overall and maybe this just wasn't really my style of read, but that seems to be happening more often with Shari Lapena.
<b>Read Completed 7/27/24 |</b> 2 stars
This is just going to be one of those "sensational" books that I don't get. There were some shocking moments, but for me, they went too far and they just didn't make any sense.
<b>I tried not to spoil things but SPOILERS BELOW anyway!</b>
Firstly, this book was maybe only a 3 star book to begin with, as I was reading it. I was interested for a while but there was kind of a lot going on and each character seemed to have their own baggage, but I didn't really like any of the characters or connect to them, so I started to lose focus. Then add in a dash of each character having their own hidden motives and it started to get confusing. I was interested to see where things might go, but with so many plots being pulled in different directions, I wasn't really sure how it was all going to wrap up.
The answer is.... it wraps up messily. I was hoping *everything* was going to be tied together and it was going to be this cool reveal about how everyone was connected, but they really weren't. Avery's story really didn't make sense when she was some amazing report worth paying millions of dollars, and somehow in 2021, no one was able to know that she was the daughter of the most famous Ponzi scheme criminal out there. I watch History & Discovery and whatever other channels make these kinds of shows that my husband loves to watch 😂 They always have shows on the mob and stupid criminals, etc etc and they 100% would have had some news or video or social media post or documentary about this guy and Avery / Claire would have been allllll over it.
The perspective of the former FBI agent was a little boring. An unreliable, out of work, forced to retire agent was sent to follow this reporter girl why? They wanted him to get close to her to get to her dad, but remind me why again that he's the only person who can do this? I get that he worked this case in the past, but so did a lot of other people. Why is he uniquely qualified? He had an affair from the past that really had nothing to do with anything... He gets involved with Avery which didn't work for me. It was pointless and didn't help any part of the plot except for the fact that it motivated him to break laws to help her with something else.
The main scandal has to do with Victoria, who was accused of murdering her lover, Cameron in a past timeline in 2001. She had an affair with him, got pregnant, got forced to have an abortion, and now Cameron's wife is pregnant. When Cameron turns up brutally murdered, it looks as though Victoria killed him but she maintains she's innocent. Avery visits her sister in 2021 and believes she may be innocent as well, but she's been missing presumed dead since she disappeared during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
So I was mad about the inclusion of 9/11. It wasn't a trigger for me but I was mad because it didn't serve any other purpose but being a means for Victoria to disappear, and I just wasn't buying it. It seemed like a sensational grab when this could have happened in any number of different ways. Lost at sea, lost in the woods, etc etc etc. It being 9/11 literally had no other purpose and I wish it was included in some other way. The only other reason for it was that they said all investigations stopped because of the attack so it wasn't worth pursuing the case.
The ending was wild and wacky. Not one but TWO people faked their deaths? And one was pointless because it was an off-page character that meant nothing to me. I didn't care about the final jab at the end to reveal one last twist. By that point, I didn't care.
I don't normally rehash plots in my reviews because you can just read the book, but I feel like I needed to lay it all out in order to talk about my fury 😂 It just all felt sloppy. Victoria wasn't connected to anyone except her sister. Avery was BARELY connected to Walt and that's only because he was sent to investigate her because of her father. It just wasn't even connected and I thought there could have been something cool to make it all fit together, but it was one more disappointment. This one just didn't work for me on almost every level.
This is just going to be one of those "sensational" books that I don't get. There were some shocking moments, but for me, they went too far and they just didn't make any sense.
<b>I tried not to spoil things but SPOILERS BELOW anyway!</b>
Firstly, this book was maybe only a 3 star book to begin with, as I was reading it. I was interested for a while but there was kind of a lot going on and each character seemed to have their own baggage, but I didn't really like any of the characters or connect to them, so I started to lose focus. Then add in a dash of each character having their own hidden motives and it started to get confusing. I was interested to see where things might go, but with so many plots being pulled in different directions, I wasn't really sure how it was all going to wrap up.
The answer is.... it wraps up messily. I was hoping *everything* was going to be tied together and it was going to be this cool reveal about how everyone was connected, but they really weren't. Avery's story really didn't make sense when she was some amazing report worth paying millions of dollars, and somehow in 2021, no one was able to know that she was the daughter of the most famous Ponzi scheme criminal out there. I watch History & Discovery and whatever other channels make these kinds of shows that my husband loves to watch 😂 They always have shows on the mob and stupid criminals, etc etc and they 100% would have had some news or video or social media post or documentary about this guy and Avery / Claire would have been allllll over it.
The perspective of the former FBI agent was a little boring. An unreliable, out of work, forced to retire agent was sent to follow this reporter girl why? They wanted him to get close to her to get to her dad, but remind me why again that he's the only person who can do this? I get that he worked this case in the past, but so did a lot of other people. Why is he uniquely qualified? He had an affair from the past that really had nothing to do with anything... He gets involved with Avery which didn't work for me. It was pointless and didn't help any part of the plot except for the fact that it motivated him to break laws to help her with something else.
The main scandal has to do with Victoria, who was accused of murdering her lover, Cameron in a past timeline in 2001. She had an affair with him, got pregnant, got forced to have an abortion, and now Cameron's wife is pregnant. When Cameron turns up brutally murdered, it looks as though Victoria killed him but she maintains she's innocent. Avery visits her sister in 2021 and believes she may be innocent as well, but she's been missing presumed dead since she disappeared during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
So I was mad about the inclusion of 9/11. It wasn't a trigger for me but I was mad because it didn't serve any other purpose but being a means for Victoria to disappear, and I just wasn't buying it. It seemed like a sensational grab when this could have happened in any number of different ways. Lost at sea, lost in the woods, etc etc etc. It being 9/11 literally had no other purpose and I wish it was included in some other way. The only other reason for it was that they said all investigations stopped because of the attack so it wasn't worth pursuing the case.
The ending was wild and wacky. Not one but TWO people faked their deaths? And one was pointless because it was an off-page character that meant nothing to me. I didn't care about the final jab at the end to reveal one last twist. By that point, I didn't care.
I don't normally rehash plots in my reviews because you can just read the book, but I feel like I needed to lay it all out in order to talk about my fury 😂 It just all felt sloppy. Victoria wasn't connected to anyone except her sister. Avery was BARELY connected to Walt and that's only because he was sent to investigate her because of her father. It just wasn't even connected and I thought there could have been something cool to make it all fit together, but it was one more disappointment. This one just didn't work for me on almost every level.
<b>Read Completed 7/27/24 |</b> 3.5 stars
THE NIGHT GUEST was a quick and easy horror read, clocking in at just over 200 pages. I loved the fast and furious descent into terror as the main character realizes she's been active in her sleep... and it's not just sleep walking.
I listened to the audiobook so I didn't realize how short it was and didn't understand the pacing at first, but once I adjusted to that, I realized how quickly I was flying through it! The author wastes no time getting into Iðunn's issues and it immediately had me interested and hooked. Is she turning into a vampire? Is she possessed? Is she hallucinating? And who could blame her for almost not wanting to know what's going on. If you're not in control of your own body and you're terrified, I totally understood being a little too scared to even want to *really* find out what's happening.
I also really enjoyed the tone! It was a little quirky in some ways but it wasn't silly. I love Mary Robinette Kowal and her narration brought a light tone to the audiobook as well. Audiobook note: I also think it's so cool that MRK translated this book! I didn't know she knew Islandic. The author's note said the author met Mary Robinette Kowal at a book conference in Iceland and they hit it off and MRK offered to translate the book for her. That's such a neat story. Anyway...
My only complaint is that which I have with a lot of short books and it's that I didn't quite satisfy me in the end. The ending really escalated, but the ending was a tad confusing and I wish we had gotten a little more backstory. I could definitely draw a lot of conclusions but I just wanted a couple more dots so I could connect them a little better and get a little bit better of a final picture.
If you're looking for a fast and quickly engaging horror read, this was a fun one! Please check content warnings (especially animal deaths, specific to cats only) if you need them.
THE NIGHT GUEST was a quick and easy horror read, clocking in at just over 200 pages. I loved the fast and furious descent into terror as the main character realizes she's been active in her sleep... and it's not just sleep walking.
I listened to the audiobook so I didn't realize how short it was and didn't understand the pacing at first, but once I adjusted to that, I realized how quickly I was flying through it! The author wastes no time getting into Iðunn's issues and it immediately had me interested and hooked. Is she turning into a vampire? Is she possessed? Is she hallucinating? And who could blame her for almost not wanting to know what's going on. If you're not in control of your own body and you're terrified, I totally understood being a little too scared to even want to *really* find out what's happening.
I also really enjoyed the tone! It was a little quirky in some ways but it wasn't silly. I love Mary Robinette Kowal and her narration brought a light tone to the audiobook as well. Audiobook note: I also think it's so cool that MRK translated this book! I didn't know she knew Islandic. The author's note said the author met Mary Robinette Kowal at a book conference in Iceland and they hit it off and MRK offered to translate the book for her. That's such a neat story. Anyway...
My only complaint is that which I have with a lot of short books and it's that I didn't quite satisfy me in the end. The ending really escalated, but the ending was a tad confusing and I wish we had gotten a little more backstory. I could definitely draw a lot of conclusions but I just wanted a couple more dots so I could connect them a little better and get a little bit better of a final picture.
If you're looking for a fast and quickly engaging horror read, this was a fun one! Please check content warnings (especially animal deaths, specific to cats only) if you need them.
<b>Read Completed 7/26/24 |</b> 4.25
This was heart-breaking! But I'm so glad I read it. There's some serious emotion on the pages here and I really love witnessing another side of Paige, though it's so sad that she had to go through what she did. I also love this tender reunion with Warden. I really, really, really love this slow burn and how complicated this relationship is. I get so sick of romantasy and romance in fantasy in general, and how quickly the characters fall for each other. I mean, this is still like a year? Less than a year? Given everything that's happened, who they are, and everything they're trying to do, it makes total sense that they're not falling all over each other. It's also given me time to warm up to it when I didn't want a romance at all. It's better that we get to see real life emotions and not just lust turning to love -- there's so much depth that it makes it better that it's not just immediate romance.
The flashbacks didn't do a ton for me but I absolutely loved the rest, though it did add more to Paige & Warden's vibe.
This was heart-breaking! But I'm so glad I read it. There's some serious emotion on the pages here and I really love witnessing another side of Paige, though it's so sad that she had to go through what she did. I also love this tender reunion with Warden. I really, really, really love this slow burn and how complicated this relationship is. I get so sick of romantasy and romance in fantasy in general, and how quickly the characters fall for each other. I mean, this is still like a year? Less than a year? Given everything that's happened, who they are, and everything they're trying to do, it makes total sense that they're not falling all over each other. It's also given me time to warm up to it when I didn't want a romance at all. It's better that we get to see real life emotions and not just lust turning to love -- there's so much depth that it makes it better that it's not just immediate romance.
The flashbacks didn't do a ton for me but I absolutely loved the rest, though it did add more to Paige & Warden's vibe.