Single Mother

(This book was given to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.) This is probably one of the most inconsistent books I've ever read because it was just all over the place. One moment I was enjoying it and the next I'd notice something that would make me roll my eyes or not be able to take the story seriously anymore. The story is about Mel and her daughter, Kate, who move into a hotel after Mel receives a letter saying that she has inherited it but the benefactor wants to remain anonymous. A lot of things transpire and it was a hot mess if I'm being completely honest.

To begin with, the plot was unique, I'll give it that. However, it was just so drawn out at times and nothing really exciting happened until about 70 percent through the book. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and it just didn't. The only reason I decided to give this book three stars instead of two is because I appreciated the effort, it just failed to deliver anything worthwhile. I feel like this is the least thrillery you could possibly get, very minimal in that aspect. Also, the plot dragged at times because the set up took up most of the book and the climax was very brief and then the ending was a bit drawn out again. I kept waiting for the book to be done but it just kept going, even without needing to in my opinion.

Further on, the characters were not very realistic in my opinion. I felt as if they were kept at an arm's length from us and even though we got an idea of who they were, we didn't get into their psyches and found out who they were in their souls. Also, the dialogue was a bit cheesy at times and didn't fit the situation at hand which didn't make the characters any better either. I feel like this book had the potential to be a great psychological thriller but its execution just doesn't work in any aspect.

The writing style was average. I didn't have many issues with it but it was maybe a little over simplistic. Considering how drawn out this whole story was, the writing made it a bit less painful to read and get through. I might give this author another shot but perhaps sometime in the future because this novel was a trainwreck.

In conclusion, I didn't feel a lot other than disappointment from reading this novel. While the idea is there, the execution fails miserably. I would not recommend this novel to anyone else because there are tons better psychological thrillers out there in my opinion.