Kyle
I appreciated the opportunity to receive an e-ARC for this novel in exchange for an honest review- unfortunately, this book really irritated me. I don't like to write out overly harsh negative reviews, so I'll try to flit through my issues quickly. I enjoyed [b:The Silent Patient 40097951 The Silent Patient Alex Michaelides https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1668782119l/40097951.SY75.jpg 59752778][b:The Silent Patient 40097951 The Silent Patient Alex Michaelides https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1668782119l/40097951.SY75.jpg 59752778] for what it was, but this is a clear step down in almost every regard.The story is thin and oddly predictable in certain areas. The structure of the story reminded me of Glass Onion, but in the worst way as I wondered if it would be following certain plot points/twists. There were too many fake-outs, releasing almost all tension from the story. The characters are so thinly-sketched I couldn't bring myself to even pretend that I cared what happened to them.My biggest problem with the story is the narrative voice and downright strange POV choice. The epilogue tries to tie the choice together (and features a weird tie-in to The Silent Patient), but it doesn't make the actual reading experience any more enjoyable or less annoying. I'm always a fan of morally gray or villainous characters, but something about the melodrama was off-putting in a way I can't quite put my finger on.If you're looking for your typical isolation thriller meets Glass Onion meets The Great Gatsby, this might be the perfect book for you. I would just keep my expectations low.
I'm curious if this is a book that suffers from being a translation. The story is interesting, but a little half-baked in places; the writing comes across as plain and lacking the emotional depth required from its narrative.
It has a surprise twist that I think I like, but is pretty rushed. I did overall like this, but nowhere near as much as I wanted to, and I don't know how memorable it will be for me.
I'm still excited to see the film adaptation (All Of Us Strangers), I think there's some creative differences I'm excited to see play out. Kind of hope the story is pretty different aside from the premise though.
This was definitely one way to start 2024.
I didn't expect to love this one as much as I did. It kept me intrigued, managed to surprise me, the chapters from the father's POV managed to break my heart every single time, and I love the ending.
There was one MAJOR twist that I was unsure about around the 55% mark, but when a book is able to hold me from start to finish, I can't bring myself to knock marks off. Ultimately, my ratings always follow my heart above all else
I'd say this is probably the most fun I had with a Freida McFadden book!
It's not very well written and at times annoyingly repetitive, but it has some fun twists, even if they don't necessarily hold up well to scrutiny. Some of it is predictable, but still fun nonetheless.
Great for a reading slump, or just a quick thriller for a cold weekend.
This book is a split down the middle for me.
Always will love Patrick Ness, always love that he's willing to take huge risks with his stories, style, etc. No two books of his are the same, which means it's always a gamble what I'll think.
There were some beautifully human passages that touched me, while also some of the cringiest dialogue I've read in a long time. I think Adam is a really great main character to follow, but a lot of his supporting cast are weak/one dimensional (with one or two exceptions).
I can sort of see the connection between Adam's story and the divisive Queen/faun story, but it's not 100% clear in my head just after finishing. I'm not sure the payoff really justifies the unconventional storytelling in any meaningful way.
Still always going to pick up a Patrick Ness book without hesitation, but this one is closer to a miss for me than not.
This is such a frustrating book to rate.
On one hand, there are some truly beautiful passages, but in other places it feels overwrought and pretentious.
The story is clever, but also frustrating and intentionally inaccessible and abstract. It frustrated the limits of my own imagination and the limits of my mind to visualize what was happening.
It started to click for me around 40% through, but that didn't necessarily increase my enjoyment. It's a nice story to pick through, and is probably improved with multiple readings.
It's a feat how impatient a book this short can make someone reading it.
While I won't champion the execution of the story, as I think a different book exists without intentionally ostracizing the reader, I was pleased by the conclusion. My smile matched Red's.
I'll be curious to see how much I can recall of this one a few months from now, which will probably be the ultimate test of how much I really enjoyed it.
Just about nothing with this one worked for me. I went in pretty excited based on the premise, but most of the time it just felt like a slog to get through.
There were a lot of times the writing style didn't jive with me, the plot felt too predictable, the characters weren't particularly compelling, and their motivations often didn't make sense to me, there were a number of plot holes that didn't hold up to scrutiny.
I'm always down for an unlikable narrator/character, but they have to be compelling. I could tell Ford was trying to get us to empathize with people like Jason, Georgia Lee, etc., but I could not bring myself to care about them. I think one of the major failures here is that Ford doesn't spend enough time showing why Jane should even care about them to begin with outside of obligation. Her feelings are constantly contradicted by reality, which is maybe the point, but then at the end. . . we're sort of left feeling like she was probably right.
Some of the psychological conveniences also felt a bit ridiculous, but maybe I don't have the lived experience to relate this to my own life in a way that helped me buy in to the story. Usually, I have no problem looking past this with thrillers, but when I can't find much else to enjoy about the book, I need something to look to and like.
3.5 stars
Stacy Willingham is one of my favorite newly discovered authors that I've read in 2023. Her first two books thrilled me and surprised me along the way, so I went into Only If You're Lucky with pretty high expectations. I left still entertained, but slightly disappointed- I believe this will be her most divisive book to date in terms of reader response.
This is a completely different book from A Flicker in the Dark and All The Dangerous Things. For starters, the book is set in college, with age-appropriate characters, activities, thoughts/feelings, etc., which is a departure from her older narrators. It's focused a lot on the complicated dynamics of female friendships, social acceptance, and jealousy. None of these are negative- they are just a shift from the focus of her other two books, which focus on women in their careers, engaged/divorced, having children.
The book still contains Willingham's distinct writing style and voice, which I have loved ever since I read A Flicker in the Dark; I could recognize her writing just by style alone. It's a compelling, but slower, story, with not a ton happening all the time except learning the relationships amongst the girls. It still features a past storyline set in high school, which I felt wasn't as interesting as the past storylines in the first two books.
I think the book falters with its giant twist, but if you aren't as concerned with the realism of a twist, I think you should be fine. It's an interesting wrinkle, but I don't know if it holds up to scrutiny in a way where I could suspend disbelief. It didn't ring true for my own college experience and those of my friends, which felt essential to being able to accept the twist on face value.
I think a lot of people will enjoy Only If You're Lucky if you're a fan of Willingham's first two novels, which I wholeheartedly recommend still, but I think this one is a step down from All The Dangerous Things. I am still looking forward to whatever her next novel will be, because if nothing else, Willingham knows how to write a compelling story.
Enjoyed this one just about as much as the others! It was a nice shake-up from the traditional format of the series, although I did find myself missing producing the episodes for the show. I think this one could have been trimmed down a bit in the middle to allow for brisker pacing.
Some interesting developments in the series-wide arcs that have been ongoing, with an ending that should shake things up considerably moving forward. I'm excited to continue on reading!
3.5 stars
I actually really enjoyed this one even though it took me over 3.5 months to read. It's a little bit slower in the beginning, but once it picks up, it's actually a pretty enjoyable ride. I really appreciate the ending to, for the sake of a lack of a major twist that recontextualizes everything (and makes no sense when you try to map it out).
It's pretty kooky and probably a little unrealistic, but it's a fun domestic thriller. I'd give another B.A. Paris a read.
Unfortunately, this one didn't really work for me. I'm not totally sure why either- I think Bruzas has a really distinct voice and did a fantastic job at putting you into Virginia's head. Something about this just didn't connect with me in the same way that other stories about the subject matter have.
Also, not sure if I am satisfied with the way the Thalia situation is wrapped up at the end. Doesn't ring as sincere for me but understand what the intention is. I was afraid the Rumi of it all would go a similar way, but thankfully, I think that was handled in a much better way that felt much more sincere to real life.
I'm going with 3 stars because I can say this is a really solid piece of YA and I'm really glad it exists and was handled so well, but my personal experience with it is probably a little bit lower. Maybe it was just the timing and mood I was in, but I did continue to try and come back and make the effort to finish over the course of several months.
I love the way Stacey Willingham writes and she always has a twist or two that surprises me.
This book is creepy and unnerving, blending the past and present together to create an extremely tense story. Things that should be ugly are depicted with just enough beauty you don't want to look away.
There was a point where I got nervous about the direction the story was going, but I found this almost impossible to put down. I'm glad I didn't, as the ending hit all the right notes for me and left me satisfied.
Just based on a gut feeling, this is maybe a lower-end 5 stars, but I can't find a reason to rate it lower, so I'm going to go with my initial heart reaction. I'm really excited to see what Willingham's next book will look like.
I would've given this one a 3.5 until the very last page, when it really jumps the gun into ridiculousness.
It's a fun, twisty, unnerving thriller that gets hard to put down after the halfway mark, but perhaps pushes the boundary of waving skepticism.
Still, Tarryn Fisher always has a way of writing characters and stories that intrigue me, even when they don't always land the mark
I was entertained, but this book is a bit of a mess.
It has a lot of interesting ideas and characters, but there's just too much of all of it. Too many characters, too many backstories, too many POVs, too much information. It doesn't feel as tight as The Girl on the Train or A Slow Fire Burning.
What really drew me in for those two books was how closely I came to care about the characters in those books. Here, we spend so much time jumping around, I didn't come anywhere close to caring about them on the same level.
The writing also feels a little underedited and overwritten. I do enjoy repetition with intention, but I think this might've just needed another round of editing to save some pages.
I'm also not sure what to make of the other genres that are undertones here. It just complicates an already complicated story.
It's not a bad book, but it reads as Paula Hawkins' weakest. I'll still look forward to reading her future novels, because her first and most recent books really blew me away, unexpectedly.