Ratings12
Average rating3.8
And just like that I have found a new favorite author of mine! I wasn't exactly sure what to expect with this novel but because it was the thriller pick for Book of the Month Club box, I went with it and I'm so glad I did. I thought it was going to be just like many of the other domestic thrillers I have read recently but it was so much more and insanely unique in its own way. I can honestly say that I haven't read a domestic thriller like this before. And the story was so well written and thought out completely that I can't say enough good things about it. I can't wait to see what Carola Lovering writes in the future and will check out her previous work too!
To begin with, Too Good to Be True centers around three characters, depicted through their unique perspectives and in dual timelines. Perfect man Burke Michaels proposes to his girlfriend Skye and she can't believe that even with her OCD, she has found the absolute love of her life but is it too good to be true? Things transpire and get out of hand as the character's multiple truths are revealed but which truth is the actual way the story unfolded? Ahhhh, I loved this plot so much! It was so different and amazingly unique for a domestic thriller and even though it wasn't completely action packed all throughout, little things were revealed all throughout to keep me on the edge of my seat, even if those things weren't always the honest truth. I love the way that the story is presented, through the three main characters eyes in different ways and how their stories all intertwine with one another's. Brilliant.
Secondly, the characterization was superb. I know I've said it before but I am a big fan of complete backgrounds for different characters because it shows how they got to be where they presently are in the story and this book did not disappoint on that front at all. All the characters have complete pictures painted of who they are and where they came from and what their motivations stem from in life. They are all so intricate and complex and perfectly imperfect, which makes it that much easier to relate to them, even the least likeable ones. I felt like I got to personally know all of them and by the end of the book they felt like old friends to me.
Thirdly, the writing style along with the decision to present the book in dual timelines and varying perspectives just completely knocked my socks off. It was a genius decision and a remarkably unique way in which to tell the story. I devoured this book and would have read all day if I didn't have two kids to take care off, that's for sure. I also loved seeing the past as it unraveled and the future and then how it all came together and to a head in the climax. I can't even begin to do it justice.
In conclusion, I will be recommending this book to all the thriller lovers in my life because that's how much this story touched me. I thought it was meaningful and very profound, even aside from it being an amazing thriller novel and possessing all the things I look for in the perfect thriller story. Bravo!