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pagesplotsandpints's Reviews (2.1k)
Read Completed 8/10/23 | 2 - 2.5 stars
SOME SPOILERS FURTHER BELOW. I'm ranting here, so I'm not putting it in spoiler tags, FYI. This makes my ninth Freida McFadden book and I don't know why I'm still drawn to them. I guess I do... they're entertaining despite me not liking her writing style, it's hard to say no to the hype (even when I know how I'll feel about them), and despite some really bad ratings, I'm always entertained and I have had some good surprises in a few of them! Freida McFadden is always adding a wild twist... sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not. This was 100% a case of NOT and very sloppy writing.
I stuck this one out because I was entertaining. Listen, Brooke was a terrible main character. She was a damsel, she was kid of stupid, she was in her head too much. I think she was supposed to be unreliable...? But it didn't go far enough to make that clear so instead, she was just kind of dumb. She sent a man to prison for life for murder (multiple murders, actually) and yet she's flip-flopping TEN YEARS LATER because she sees him again and wonders if she made a mistake. Girl.... shouldn't you have thought about this ten years ago? She's so traumatized by the night she almost died (valid, I'm giving her that), and yet isn't traumatized by seeing her ex who almost killed her. (Also, I don't know if I buy that she could have been strangled to death by this necklace? I feel like it would 100% break before being powerful enough to choke someone to death?? No matter how nice this necklace was...)
Before I get to spoilery rants.... First, this book was too long. And it's not even long. Brooke spent way too much time in her own head, too much time in the prison, lots of teenage flashbacks that were so teen slasher movie/annoying teen movie... There was just too much time in the beginning where I felt like nothing was happening. Then the end was just CHAOTIC where everything happened in like one chapter. The whole book was basically going back and forth with the author FORCE FEEDING you the plot that Tim was really the murderer and not Shane. It was too obvious that you knew it couldn't be true, but was it? I'll admit, it had me very curious how that was going to end. I thought it was too obvious for Tim to be the murderer and too obvious for it to be Shane. Honestly, I thought maybe it was Brooke 😅 The answer was.... worse?
There's a little love triangle with Brooke dating Shane as a teenager, Tim having obvious feelings for her, and then heading straight back into that triangle as an adult. I didn't really care so much about that, but I hated her flip-flopping and just trusting whoever seemed to give her the most feelings. How about you use your brain for once and not be a damsel? She magically makes an observation about the events of ten years ago that changes everything that never came up before? I'm sure she would have been questioned THOROUGHLY by the police. I'm sure detectives would have investigated things... But there are many revelations that just let Shane out of jail lickity split and sent Tim to jail for the murders instead. (And other things.)
The ending of this book was just all over the place and so, so, so sloppy. The writing in general gave little to no foreshadowing and I hate when authors pull a plot twist out of nowhere. The readers should be able to kind of see it coming. I like being as surprised as the next reader, but it has to make sense. It also happened way too quickly, and it was all shoved in at the end. It would have been nice to have some smaller exciting moments so I didn't feel like I read a whole bunch of filler only to get to that point. It also left me questioning a LOT of plot holes. These I will put in spoiler tags. If you're here because you didn't want to finish the book and wanted to just read the ending HI. I'm here to help you.
THE ENDING: Brooke is fully dating Tim (all the while doubting him......) and finds a dead body in his basement one night on date night. It's the old girlfriend/waitress that's been missing. Brooke has a *revelation* that Tim and Shane must have committed the murders together and Shane flipped on Tim. Tim is arrested, Shane is LET OUT of his life sentence just like that, and Tim's locked up. Shane stays with Brooke for a bit, inherits the old house where the murders happened, Brooke sleeps with him because she "should" and to "help him" not because she wants to, they all go to the old house to clean it up. Shane takes her son into the woods and chaos ensues. He's going to hold him hostage, the nanny drives by. Turns out, it's actually been Shane's mom all along because she wanted to watch her grandson and SURPRISE she's had a huge vendetta against Brooke and her family for years. She was having an affair with Brooke's dad, he chose his family, she hated them. She killed Brooke's parents apparently, SHE was the one who helped Shane with the murders. She had a gun, Brooke shoots her in a kerfuffle (oh yeah, Brooke got a sprained ankle like a true damsel). Her son emerges from the woods where Shane has been harmed by falling ice from the trees. He's dead. Her son doesn't know he's dead. Epilogue chapter from the son's POV where he actually killed Shane because the ice didn't do it. Tim had warned him Back to the Future Part II style "If you ever seen someone named Shane Nelson, he's a bad guy and don't trust him", so he... BASEBALL BAT STYLE beats him with an icicle until he's dead. WHEW.
Okay, so here are my thoughts with that word vomit chaos:
- I always thought the nanny was someone, but I actually thought it was Tim's mother. I didn't think it was a GOOD idea but I figured she had to be someone.
- she admitted to PLANTING A BODY in Tim's basement. How, exactly, did you and Shane do that? Shane was still in prison because he didn't get out until Tim was arrested, so this lady in her let's say 60s killed a woman and somehow dragged her into the house and all the way down in the basement without anyone ANYONE knowing? Tim may have been out of the house, but still. That's a bit ridiculous.
- Tim supposedly bought this necklace that was the same exact one from the night of the murders. She was supposed to have sold it to him? And he didn't recognize her? Was she disguising herself? Tim can't be that stupid to give Brooke the necklace that nearly killed her, can he? Like seriously dude. That's just dumb.
- The heavy-handed mentions of Shane being manipulative only to disappear into the wind
- The fact that Shane was willing to murder with his mother because the dude she was having an affair with didn't leave his family for them and they were poor BECAUSE of that?
- The fact that that was enough reason to murder at least 7 people, most of which weren't even related to the family?
- Why did Shane kill that one girl in the beginning? We heard he went to his mom for help to cover it up, etc but why did he kill her? Was he the one that initiated the killing? Is that how it started? Needed more backstory and reasoning there.
The ending was just pure chaos, full of plot holes, and was so sloppy. I was actually thinking this was one of the least irritatingly written books out of all of the ones that I've read so far but the ending was just garbage. Somehow I wasn't TOO bothered by Brooke in the beginning but she got on my nerves and by the end, I just thought she was an idiot.
SOME SPOILERS FURTHER BELOW. I'm ranting here, so I'm not putting it in spoiler tags, FYI. This makes my ninth Freida McFadden book and I don't know why I'm still drawn to them. I guess I do... they're entertaining despite me not liking her writing style, it's hard to say no to the hype (even when I know how I'll feel about them), and despite some really bad ratings, I'm always entertained and I have had some good surprises in a few of them! Freida McFadden is always adding a wild twist... sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not. This was 100% a case of NOT and very sloppy writing.
I stuck this one out because I was entertaining. Listen, Brooke was a terrible main character. She was a damsel, she was kid of stupid, she was in her head too much. I think she was supposed to be unreliable...? But it didn't go far enough to make that clear so instead, she was just kind of dumb. She sent a man to prison for life for murder (multiple murders, actually) and yet she's flip-flopping TEN YEARS LATER because she sees him again and wonders if she made a mistake. Girl.... shouldn't you have thought about this ten years ago? She's so traumatized by the night she almost died (valid, I'm giving her that), and yet isn't traumatized by seeing her ex who almost killed her. (Also, I don't know if I buy that she could have been strangled to death by this necklace? I feel like it would 100% break before being powerful enough to choke someone to death?? No matter how nice this necklace was...)
Before I get to spoilery rants.... First, this book was too long. And it's not even long. Brooke spent way too much time in her own head, too much time in the prison, lots of teenage flashbacks that were so teen slasher movie/annoying teen movie... There was just too much time in the beginning where I felt like nothing was happening. Then the end was just CHAOTIC where everything happened in like one chapter. The whole book was basically going back and forth with the author FORCE FEEDING you the plot that Tim was really the murderer and not Shane. It was too obvious that you knew it couldn't be true, but was it? I'll admit, it had me very curious how that was going to end. I thought it was too obvious for Tim to be the murderer and too obvious for it to be Shane. Honestly, I thought maybe it was Brooke 😅 The answer was.... worse?
There's a little love triangle with Brooke dating Shane as a teenager, Tim having obvious feelings for her, and then heading straight back into that triangle as an adult. I didn't really care so much about that, but I hated her flip-flopping and just trusting whoever seemed to give her the most feelings. How about you use your brain for once and not be a damsel? She magically makes an observation about the events of ten years ago that changes everything that never came up before? I'm sure she would have been questioned THOROUGHLY by the police. I'm sure detectives would have investigated things... But there are many revelations that just let Shane out of jail lickity split and sent Tim to jail for the murders instead. (And other things.)
The ending of this book was just all over the place and so, so, so sloppy. The writing in general gave little to no foreshadowing and I hate when authors pull a plot twist out of nowhere. The readers should be able to kind of see it coming. I like being as surprised as the next reader, but it has to make sense. It also happened way too quickly, and it was all shoved in at the end. It would have been nice to have some smaller exciting moments so I didn't feel like I read a whole bunch of filler only to get to that point. It also left me questioning a LOT of plot holes. These I will put in spoiler tags. If you're here because you didn't want to finish the book and wanted to just read the ending HI. I'm here to help you.
Okay, so here are my thoughts with that word vomit chaos:
- I always thought the nanny was someone, but I actually thought it was Tim's mother. I didn't think it was a GOOD idea but I figured she had to be someone.
- she admitted to PLANTING A BODY in Tim's basement. How, exactly, did you and Shane do that? Shane was still in prison because he didn't get out until Tim was arrested, so this lady in her let's say 60s killed a woman and somehow dragged her into the house and all the way down in the basement without anyone ANYONE knowing? Tim may have been out of the house, but still. That's a bit ridiculous.
- Tim supposedly bought this necklace that was the same exact one from the night of the murders. She was supposed to have sold it to him? And he didn't recognize her? Was she disguising herself? Tim can't be that stupid to give Brooke the necklace that nearly killed her, can he? Like seriously dude. That's just dumb.
- The heavy-handed mentions of Shane being manipulative only to disappear into the wind
- The fact that Shane was willing to murder with his mother because the dude she was having an affair with didn't leave his family for them and they were poor BECAUSE of that?
- The fact that that was enough reason to murder at least 7 people, most of which weren't even related to the family?
- Why did Shane kill that one girl in the beginning? We heard he went to his mom for help to cover it up, etc but why did he kill her? Was he the one that initiated the killing? Is that how it started? Needed more backstory and reasoning there.
The ending was just pure chaos, full of plot holes, and was so sloppy. I was actually thinking this was one of the least irritatingly written books out of all of the ones that I've read so far but the ending was just garbage. Somehow I wasn't TOO bothered by Brooke in the beginning but she got on my nerves and by the end, I just thought she was an idiot.
Read Completed 8/9/23 | 3.25 stars
This was another impulse borrow from Libby, looking for more cute romance books to read. It was just okay for me, but mostly because I didn't feel the chemistry between the two main characters.
I felt like the book dragged a bit in the beginning. It starts off with the MMC Phillip crashing FMC Eden's dinner and then they just keep bumping into each other around the resort. I liked the meet cute but Phillip was a little too grumpy in the beginning and turned me off, and the number of times they ran into each other just dragged. 2-3 times was plenty, not 4-5. It just made me feel like I was waiting and waiting.
I eventually *liked* the relationship between the two but I never loved it. Phillip was grumpy for too long. Eden kept talking about her real self versus her vacation self but we really never saw her real self anyway so there was nothing to compare it to. There were a LOT of island activities packed into this book, which was kind of fun but also kind of took away from the character development. It was almost like they had "too many" special moments? I would have liked maybe some more small conflicts along the way to show some more character, push them out of their comfort zones a bit more...
I REALLY didn't like the 3rd act break-up that happened because of a misunderstanding, and a really, really stupid one at that. They have to leave the island after their vacations have ended, which isn't the break up but just the separation, and the misunderstanding that came after that was so annoying.
This was a fine read but really won't stick with me. I wouldn't say don't read it since my personal connection with the romance was a big part of it, but I'm also not going out of my way to recommend it.
This was another impulse borrow from Libby, looking for more cute romance books to read. It was just okay for me, but mostly because I didn't feel the chemistry between the two main characters.
I felt like the book dragged a bit in the beginning. It starts off with the MMC Phillip crashing FMC Eden's dinner and then they just keep bumping into each other around the resort. I liked the meet cute but Phillip was a little too grumpy in the beginning and turned me off, and the number of times they ran into each other just dragged. 2-3 times was plenty, not 4-5. It just made me feel like I was waiting and waiting.
I eventually *liked* the relationship between the two but I never loved it. Phillip was grumpy for too long. Eden kept talking about her real self versus her vacation self but we really never saw her real self anyway so there was nothing to compare it to. There were a LOT of island activities packed into this book, which was kind of fun but also kind of took away from the character development. It was almost like they had "too many" special moments? I would have liked maybe some more small conflicts along the way to show some more character, push them out of their comfort zones a bit more...
I REALLY didn't like the 3rd act break-up that happened because of a misunderstanding, and a really, really stupid one at that. They have to leave the island after their vacations have ended, which isn't the break up but just the separation, and the misunderstanding that came after that was so annoying.
This was a fine read but really won't stick with me. I wouldn't say don't read it since my personal connection with the romance was a big part of it, but I'm also not going out of my way to recommend it.
Read Completed 8/7/23 | 3.75 stars
THE ROOMMATE PACT was an impulse read from Libby, wanting more romance books to pick up and I really enjoyed it! I thought the pacing was a bit off at the beginning, but that was likely due to the structure and skipping a meet cute since the two MCs were already roommates. I thought Graham was a little pushy with his comments about pursuing Claire physically but she was also into it... it was just the narrative that turned me off a bit because it was mentioned quite a bit.
The romance was cute and I liked seeing the two main characters open up to each other and let some insecurities and worries go. This was a quick, easy, fun read. Not something that I'd go crazy recommending, but if someone asked me if they should read it, I'd say yes! A nice, light romance.
Spice level: Closed door but with lead up
THE ROOMMATE PACT was an impulse read from Libby, wanting more romance books to pick up and I really enjoyed it! I thought the pacing was a bit off at the beginning, but that was likely due to the structure and skipping a meet cute since the two MCs were already roommates. I thought Graham was a little pushy with his comments about pursuing Claire physically but she was also into it... it was just the narrative that turned me off a bit because it was mentioned quite a bit.
The romance was cute and I liked seeing the two main characters open up to each other and let some insecurities and worries go. This was a quick, easy, fun read. Not something that I'd go crazy recommending, but if someone asked me if they should read it, I'd say yes! A nice, light romance.
Spice level: Closed door but with lead up
Read Completed 8/7/23 | 3.5 stars
Having absolutely loved WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME last year (and going back and reading other Gillian McAllister books), I was very excited for JUST ANOTHER MISSING PERSON, so it was easily a very hyped book for me. I didn't really click with this one like I had hoped and it was a little bit of a let down in a lot of ways, but I think some of those ways were just my projections and what I had hoped it to be.
This book is a little more crime/cop book than WPWT was. Julia is the main character in this book, a detective and mother. There are also other POVs of a missing girl's father and an accused boy's mother. Their POVs were a little bit more confusing, adding in other voices that took me a while to get used to and also using a different narration style (second person, narrating to their children) while Julia's POV is told in third person. I don't usually like a switch in narration perspectives but after finishing, I can see why, for at least one of them.
This book is just a little less thriller, more detective. It's a bit slower paced and I had a fine time reading it but I never really got super invested in it. There's an excellent bombshell placed in here even before the main reveal which keeps things really interesting as well, but it took a while to get there and I can easily see people not having the patience to get there.
I also just felt like the ending wasn't satisfying. The reveal was something I've seen time and time again and nothing new. I didn't like the reason WHY everything was happening and I guess I should have seen some pieces there, but felt like it wasn't talked about enough. I also didn't like the very, very end which shows a couple more things shaking out. Eh, just not my favorite of hers and not quite my style.
Having absolutely loved WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME last year (and going back and reading other Gillian McAllister books), I was very excited for JUST ANOTHER MISSING PERSON, so it was easily a very hyped book for me. I didn't really click with this one like I had hoped and it was a little bit of a let down in a lot of ways, but I think some of those ways were just my projections and what I had hoped it to be.
This book is a little more crime/cop book than WPWT was. Julia is the main character in this book, a detective and mother. There are also other POVs of a missing girl's father and an accused boy's mother. Their POVs were a little bit more confusing, adding in other voices that took me a while to get used to and also using a different narration style (second person, narrating to their children) while Julia's POV is told in third person. I don't usually like a switch in narration perspectives but after finishing, I can see why, for at least one of them.
This book is just a little less thriller, more detective. It's a bit slower paced and I had a fine time reading it but I never really got super invested in it. There's an excellent bombshell placed in here even before the main reveal which keeps things really interesting as well, but it took a while to get there and I can easily see people not having the patience to get there.
I also just felt like the ending wasn't satisfying. The reveal was something I've seen time and time again and nothing new. I didn't like the reason WHY everything was happening and I guess I should have seen some pieces there, but felt like it wasn't talked about enough. I also didn't like the very, very end which shows a couple more things shaking out. Eh, just not my favorite of hers and not quite my style.
Read Completed 8/5/23 | This is my first Rebecca Ross book and it was very beautifully written! After much buzz and some comparisons, I finally decided to move this from "considering" to picking it up, and I'm glad that I did.
This was a young adult book but one that felt highly accessible to readers of adult fiction as well. I've tired of a lot of YA vibes lately and this was a beautiful, slow burn story but not so slow that it dragged. The romance is more of a medium pace with a very lovely rivals to lovers trope. It really reminded me of the feelings from books like.... THE CROWN'S GAME x THE WINNER'S CURSE x THE BURNING SKY x THE NIGHT CIRCUS.
I ended up landing on four stars for this one because I wanted juuuust a bit more from just about everything. The concept of the war of gods was really interesting, but I didn't get enough about the gods to fully understand or connect. I loved Iris and Roman, but I also wanted a touch more depth from them, backstory, and a little more rivalry and banter in the beginning. Overall, I really wanted more world-building to understand this world a bit more since it is not "the real world" but also still feels like it. I wanted to know more of its history, quirks, and traditions. I wanted to know more about the typewriters, the history of the families who owned them, how it is that they were made magical (a person? A god? A process?)
The romance felt a little off pacing-wise, but I really loved it in the end and I love these two together. This had a heck of a cliffhanger and I think I'll be even more invested in book two!
This was a young adult book but one that felt highly accessible to readers of adult fiction as well. I've tired of a lot of YA vibes lately and this was a beautiful, slow burn story but not so slow that it dragged. The romance is more of a medium pace with a very lovely rivals to lovers trope. It really reminded me of the feelings from books like.... THE CROWN'S GAME x THE WINNER'S CURSE x THE BURNING SKY x THE NIGHT CIRCUS.
I ended up landing on four stars for this one because I wanted juuuust a bit more from just about everything. The concept of the war of gods was really interesting, but I didn't get enough about the gods to fully understand or connect. I loved Iris and Roman, but I also wanted a touch more depth from them, backstory, and a little more rivalry and banter in the beginning. Overall, I really wanted more world-building to understand this world a bit more since it is not "the real world" but also still feels like it. I wanted to know more of its history, quirks, and traditions. I wanted to know more about the typewriters, the history of the families who owned them, how it is that they were made magical (a person? A god? A process?)
The romance felt a little off pacing-wise, but I really loved it in the end and I love these two together. This had a heck of a cliffhanger and I think I'll be even more invested in book two!
Read Completed 8/4/23 | 3.5 stars
I will read anything Christina Lauren and THE UNHONEYMOONERS is one of my favorites of theirs, so naturally, I was exciting for a short sequel AND one that was made entirely for audiobook!
This audiobook was made with a full cast and the production value was excellent. It switches back and forth between having the full cast go back and forth as if in real conversation to one narrator narrating the story, and even a mix in between where the conversation between the two MCs is more conversation style than "he said she said". There are even some sound effects and music to set the vibes! I didn't totally love the narrator for the FMC for some reason but it didn't really affect my listening experience.
Ultimately, I just really wish this was a full-length novel. I didn't really connect with the feelings and the romance like I wanted to. Things moved a little quicker since it was only a 4 hour audiobook (as opposed to what's usually 8-9 hours at full-length), so it all felt a little too rushed for me. I really would have liked to get to know Ami and Brody more because I just felt too disconnected and it really prevented me from falling for this book.
There was still plenty of charm, Hawaiian atmosphere, and of course, lots of appearances from Olive and Ethan (the two MCs of THE UNHONEYMOONERS). This was a fun way to continue the story and to also have a really fun audiobook production while keeping it short.
I will read anything Christina Lauren and THE UNHONEYMOONERS is one of my favorites of theirs, so naturally, I was exciting for a short sequel AND one that was made entirely for audiobook!
This audiobook was made with a full cast and the production value was excellent. It switches back and forth between having the full cast go back and forth as if in real conversation to one narrator narrating the story, and even a mix in between where the conversation between the two MCs is more conversation style than "he said she said". There are even some sound effects and music to set the vibes! I didn't totally love the narrator for the FMC for some reason but it didn't really affect my listening experience.
Ultimately, I just really wish this was a full-length novel. I didn't really connect with the feelings and the romance like I wanted to. Things moved a little quicker since it was only a 4 hour audiobook (as opposed to what's usually 8-9 hours at full-length), so it all felt a little too rushed for me. I really would have liked to get to know Ami and Brody more because I just felt too disconnected and it really prevented me from falling for this book.
There was still plenty of charm, Hawaiian atmosphere, and of course, lots of appearances from Olive and Ethan (the two MCs of THE UNHONEYMOONERS). This was a fun way to continue the story and to also have a really fun audiobook production while keeping it short.
Read Completed 8/3/23 | 2.5 stars
Mild spoilers for the ending of the book in later paragraphs, not including in spoiler tags.
Thriller authors can always be hit or miss for me, and sadly, most of the Shari Lapena books I've really enjoyed are her older works. I was excited for this one and really hopeful but this was a big swing and a miss for me.
Firstly, I don't really love third person POV thrillers. I love the feeling of an unreliable narrator (or the potential of one) or really FEELING what the characters feel to get some good chills going. EVERYONE HERE IS LYING also really suffered from telling and not showing, in a huge way for me. I felt like the third person narrator just rattled off everything that was happening but I didn't feel involved in the book at all until the very, very end (which is the only reason I gave this 2.5 stars and not 2). We got zero character development and I felt connected to absolutely no one.
Avery is deemed as a troubled, stubborn, and difficult child... but why? They took her to doctors, but what did they say? It was stated she wouldn't talk to the doctors and that was that, so they just gave up? They just gave in and didn't want to do anything?? Avery was the closest thing to being developed and having a personality but it was still weak and not well-rounded.
Spoilers in this paragraph not hidden in spoiler tags! The search party and detective work trying to find Avery was pretty boring and chaotic. It was just one accusation after another, giving up on one angle because someone else mentioned something and they moved onto that one. And in the long run, none of them had anything to do with anything. I didn't like the reveal and until the ending, I was pretty bored. I would have loved to see the search and reveal be a much smaller part of the book and the development of Avery's character after she got back so we could actually see her interact with characters and try to keep her story a secret/straight. That would have been an interesting book where we got to know everyone instead of the drama of cheaters and liars. AND we'd actually get to know what happens if/when she gets caught unlike the way the book just plain ended.
Mild spoilers for the ending of the book in later paragraphs, not including in spoiler tags.
Thriller authors can always be hit or miss for me, and sadly, most of the Shari Lapena books I've really enjoyed are her older works. I was excited for this one and really hopeful but this was a big swing and a miss for me.
Firstly, I don't really love third person POV thrillers. I love the feeling of an unreliable narrator (or the potential of one) or really FEELING what the characters feel to get some good chills going. EVERYONE HERE IS LYING also really suffered from telling and not showing, in a huge way for me. I felt like the third person narrator just rattled off everything that was happening but I didn't feel involved in the book at all until the very, very end (which is the only reason I gave this 2.5 stars and not 2). We got zero character development and I felt connected to absolutely no one.
Avery is deemed as a troubled, stubborn, and difficult child... but why? They took her to doctors, but what did they say? It was stated she wouldn't talk to the doctors and that was that, so they just gave up? They just gave in and didn't want to do anything?? Avery was the closest thing to being developed and having a personality but it was still weak and not well-rounded.
Spoilers in this paragraph not hidden in spoiler tags! The search party and detective work trying to find Avery was pretty boring and chaotic. It was just one accusation after another, giving up on one angle because someone else mentioned something and they moved onto that one. And in the long run, none of them had anything to do with anything. I didn't like the reveal and until the ending, I was pretty bored. I would have loved to see the search and reveal be a much smaller part of the book and the development of Avery's character after she got back so we could actually see her interact with characters and try to keep her story a secret/straight. That would have been an interesting book where we got to know everyone instead of the drama of cheaters and liars. AND we'd actually get to know what happens if/when she gets caught unlike the way the book just plain ended.
Read Completed 8/2/23 | 3.5 stars
Firstly, if you're going to read this book, listen to it as an audiobook. This was made to be listened to with a full cast, and it's also told entirely in podcast format, so it really benefits from being told rather than read.
I really enjoyed this concept! I'm always a fan of podcasts in books/audiobooks (despite not actually listening to podcasts because I'm too busy listening to audiobooks...) and I really liked the style of this one. This was the first book I've read that was really told almost entirely in podcast and interview format. Previously, every book just had a nod to a podcast or specific parts where we'd get to hear them, but this was the whole darn thing, and I enjoyed it!
I wish we had gotten to know Ryanna a little more personally. She's the podcast host and the main voice of the book. We know she had a husband and two children, but I also wanted to get to know her a bit more outside of the podcast/case. I was also just so annoyed by Jordan & Victoria. The drama student thing got old REALLY quickly for me and they were so dramatic that got really annoying. I understand why they had to seem so over-the-top in love, but it got to be eyroll-inducing and just plain bothered me.
The ending was a bit predictable for me. Parts of it felt a bit rushed and parts of it felt like it was taking some of the story back, and I didn't like that. I wasn't unhappy with the ending but I also wasn't left reeling or anything. There was also one more little aside from the podcast host that she called "bonus content" that was mostly useless. The important parts of that should have been included in the regular section of the book and ditched the extra section after the conclusion.
A very interesting read and put together well, but parts of the writing bothered me. I'm not sure if I'd read from from this author duo unless it was in the same format.
Firstly, if you're going to read this book, listen to it as an audiobook. This was made to be listened to with a full cast, and it's also told entirely in podcast format, so it really benefits from being told rather than read.
I really enjoyed this concept! I'm always a fan of podcasts in books/audiobooks (despite not actually listening to podcasts because I'm too busy listening to audiobooks...) and I really liked the style of this one. This was the first book I've read that was really told almost entirely in podcast and interview format. Previously, every book just had a nod to a podcast or specific parts where we'd get to hear them, but this was the whole darn thing, and I enjoyed it!
I wish we had gotten to know Ryanna a little more personally. She's the podcast host and the main voice of the book. We know she had a husband and two children, but I also wanted to get to know her a bit more outside of the podcast/case. I was also just so annoyed by Jordan & Victoria. The drama student thing got old REALLY quickly for me and they were so dramatic that got really annoying. I understand why they had to seem so over-the-top in love, but it got to be eyroll-inducing and just plain bothered me.
The ending was a bit predictable for me. Parts of it felt a bit rushed and parts of it felt like it was taking some of the story back, and I didn't like that. I wasn't unhappy with the ending but I also wasn't left reeling or anything. There was also one more little aside from the podcast host that she called "bonus content" that was mostly useless. The important parts of that should have been included in the regular section of the book and ditched the extra section after the conclusion.
A very interesting read and put together well, but parts of the writing bothered me. I'm not sure if I'd read from from this author duo unless it was in the same format.
Read Completed 7/31/23 | 3.5 stars
Alice Feeney always comes in with a good twist and GOOD BAD GIRL was no exception! It took me a while to figure out where things were headed and things just kept getting deeper and deeper towards the end.
This was a really solid book but just not my favorite Alice Feeney. I struggled to connect to the characters a bit and the book just flew by -- even after finishing, I'm still not sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing that I was halfway through without even realizing it. I was waiting for something more to start happening and for it to stop feeling like an intro, and yet, it was easy to breeze through and didn't drag.
There are a lot of people who eventually get POVs and when they just kept coming, I just didn't know how many people we were going to be keeping track of. I really don't think we needed so many and I think it prevented me from really getting involved in anyone's story as much as I had hoped. It felt more like I was just watching it all from afar instead of being involved in the story and pulled into these characters' lives.
This was very much about mother-daughter relationships in many ways and because of the way it was written, it got a little exhausting rehashing this concept over and over again in the book. I'm also a bit tired of the mother-baby concept in thrillers, despite it being an obvious choice for so many struggles.
I did enjoy the read but by the time I got to the end, we had already been winding around from here to there, jumping from person to person, and throwing in so many accusations that some of the twists were like, "Yeah, whatever." I almost forgot they were even happening. It was also a nice ending and I'm usually not a fan of the nice ending in thrillers. Makes it less sinister.
Alice Feeney always comes in with a good twist and GOOD BAD GIRL was no exception! It took me a while to figure out where things were headed and things just kept getting deeper and deeper towards the end.
This was a really solid book but just not my favorite Alice Feeney. I struggled to connect to the characters a bit and the book just flew by -- even after finishing, I'm still not sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing that I was halfway through without even realizing it. I was waiting for something more to start happening and for it to stop feeling like an intro, and yet, it was easy to breeze through and didn't drag.
There are a lot of people who eventually get POVs and when they just kept coming, I just didn't know how many people we were going to be keeping track of. I really don't think we needed so many and I think it prevented me from really getting involved in anyone's story as much as I had hoped. It felt more like I was just watching it all from afar instead of being involved in the story and pulled into these characters' lives.
This was very much about mother-daughter relationships in many ways and because of the way it was written, it got a little exhausting rehashing this concept over and over again in the book. I'm also a bit tired of the mother-baby concept in thrillers, despite it being an obvious choice for so many struggles.
I did enjoy the read but by the time I got to the end, we had already been winding around from here to there, jumping from person to person, and throwing in so many accusations that some of the twists were like, "Yeah, whatever." I almost forgot they were even happening. It was also a nice ending and I'm usually not a fan of the nice ending in thrillers. Makes it less sinister.
Read Completed 7/30/23 | I was excited to read this with such a high rating (currently 4.41 stars on Goodreads) but hi, it's me, welcome to the minority again.
I didn't really love the writing here. Weirdly enough, I liked the physical chemistry of the two main characters more than I liked anything else, which almost never happens. I really didn't feel much of that emotional pull and I felt like some of their high school/younger life rivalry didn't really come through and I didn't feel enough banter. They kind of just hated each other and that was that. There was some history revealed but it just wasn't enough to pull me in.
I've read a few too many grandparent/great-aunt books lately and I didn't love this one. Noelle's grandmother had already passed and I didn't feel their connection. I liked Theo's grandfather but I didn't want him to go on the trip with them.
This took a while to get going, too. I was hoping to get into the trip a little bit faster and I think it took over 25% of the book to get there. I just didn't always enjoy the pacing or the writing so I just didn't connect with this like I had hoped. I also really didn't like the conflict.... they were the only ones standing in their way and it was so irritating. There was literally no reason for Noelle to not be with Theo, there was no reason for him not to be with her, there was no reason not to open up to each other, and the whole "secrets" part of the story was put there just so they could be closed off. I didn't like it at all.
I also just hated the constant mention of TikTok? I don't want to keep hearing about it... I kind of want to escape social media while I'm reading and it was kind of stupid.
I didn't really love the writing here. Weirdly enough, I liked the physical chemistry of the two main characters more than I liked anything else, which almost never happens. I really didn't feel much of that emotional pull and I felt like some of their high school/younger life rivalry didn't really come through and I didn't feel enough banter. They kind of just hated each other and that was that. There was some history revealed but it just wasn't enough to pull me in.
I've read a few too many grandparent/great-aunt books lately and I didn't love this one. Noelle's grandmother had already passed and I didn't feel their connection. I liked Theo's grandfather but I didn't want him to go on the trip with them.
This took a while to get going, too. I was hoping to get into the trip a little bit faster and I think it took over 25% of the book to get there. I just didn't always enjoy the pacing or the writing so I just didn't connect with this like I had hoped. I also really didn't like the conflict.... they were the only ones standing in their way and it was so irritating. There was literally no reason for Noelle to not be with Theo, there was no reason for him not to be with her, there was no reason not to open up to each other, and the whole "secrets" part of the story was put there just so they could be closed off. I didn't like it at all.
I also just hated the constant mention of TikTok? I don't want to keep hearing about it... I kind of want to escape social media while I'm reading and it was kind of stupid.