AW

Why was the book so convoluted? 
The caretaker's father just happened to be the old love interest of the paralyzed mute patient? The patient was actually the (not) dead sibling of the patient? Oh and she wasnt mute or paralyzed? Oh and the house is on a crumbling cliff? And the maid is the surprise granddaughter? Geez.

Totally predictable but a very enjoyable journey. I couldn't stop listening even though I knew what was going to happen. 

Once I started this book, I couldn't put it down. I love Ruth Ware books so I bought the audiobook without reading the synopsis and enjoyed not knowing where it was headed.

I loved the relationship between Jack and Gabe but they were so happy and cute in the first chapter I knew he was going to die. (Perhaps not a  spoiler for those who read the book synopsis)

I kept reading, waiting for the story to pick up or chance pace. Nope. 

This book is everything I hoped it would be. Introspective, devastating, laugh out loud funny, and heartwarming. I loved the depictions of friendship, love, grief, and acceptance. It was perfect. I will think about it for a long time. 

Why didn't they talk to each other?!! Arrrrggggghhhhhh I was so frustrated by this book

3 stars because I love Mhairi McFarlane and the atmosphere she creates in her books. But the plot in this one was not my favorite.

I honestly wanted Rachel to get back with Rhys. I didn't like the emotional cheating with Ben and it made me dislike his character more. Rachel didn't have any growth, she never to responsibility for her actions. She did a shitty thing at work, never admitted it, and continued to pretend it wasn't her fault. And then she kept “innocently”  trying to break up Ben's marriage.

It was probably 4 stars for the first half and 2 stars for the second half. I listened to the audiobook and was eager to keep listening until about halfway when I realized I was dragging my feet listening to the rest.

Lucian and Emma had extraordinarily verbose inner monologues. But then somehow we never saw anything happen?

Randomly towards the end we find out Emma bought a house. Why didn't we see that? We already met the real estate agent, it was so odd to just throw in. And in the same scene Lucian told us about the meeting he had with his old coach. Somehow (with dual narration/perspectives too!) we missed all of that?! I also disliked the extremely brief mention of abuse. It was not fleshed out and did not add to the story.

This book was an interesting read. I was hooked to start, then lost interest, then hooked, then limped along to the end.

I appreciated the premise and the varying viewpoints, it just wasn't as compelling as I hoped. 

This book just makes me feel all my feelings. The highs are high and the lows are low. I love Rachel and her story every step of the way. I listened to the audiobook and found myself wanting to turn down the speed just so I could prolong the experience. 

I really like Rachel's Holiday (and it's absolutely needed to appreciate this book), but Again Rachel is so satisfying. It gives me a lovely feeling of nostalgia from start to finish. 

The start of the book was the high point for me. The concept was silly but enjoyable to start but the characters never felt real to me.

I enjoyed Franny's best friends, they added some dimension to Fran. But I never really believed the chemistry between Hayes and Fran.

How in the world did they fall in love?! They barely dated.

I listened to the audiobook and although I enjoy Neil Hellegers as a narrator, I found his reading (or perhaps the book?) inconsistent with the description of Hayes. 

The start of the book was the high point for me. The concept was silly but enjoyable to start but the characters never felt real to me.

I enjoyed Franny's best friends, they added some dimension to Fran. But I never really believed the chemistry between Hayes and Fran.

How in the world did they fall in love?! They barely dated.

I listened to the audiobook and although I enjoy Neil Hellegers as a narrator, I found his reading (or perhaps the book?) inconsistent with the description of Hayes.

This book was not for me. I expected to love it, but I just felt no chemistry between Nora and Leo. They went from acquaintances to love so fast. I was so surprised when they started throwing around love. 

We didn't learn anything about Leo. He's beautiful, a great actor who doesn't think anyone should act, and doesn't know how to go grocery shopping. 

He ghosted Nora after two weeks. I don't get what he brought to the table besides money and beauty.The entire conflict of the book was because Leo didn't ask any follow up questions to a text from a 10 year old. Then he weirdly (possessively) declared them married after they spent more time apart than together.

I love all of Ruth Ware's books but this one took me ~50% before I was hooked.

It's not my favorite but I was confident in my 3 star rating until about halfway through when I realized I kept reaching for the audiobook to continue. I was so eager to figure out who did it, as well as learn the future of Hannah, Will, and the baby. It was a good ride.

Note the audiobook quality is not great. The narrator is good, but half the book sounds like it was recorded in a stadium; it is echoy. 

I loved most of this book but the conflict really drove me crazy.
Why in the world is everything Ellie's fault?! Everyone immediately forgave Andrew for the fake engagement. And Jack was the one who was married the previous Christmas!

I loved this book. Although a lot of the plot was predictable, it was beautiful. My only complaint is that Ella was too young for me to believe she was irreplaceable by the political campaign.

I loved the slow development of Ella and Jamie's relationship. You could feel their love grow. 

The more I think about this book, the less I like it.

The book switches between infantilizing Georgie and empowering her. Georgie is birthday clown, but she runs her own business. 

The book harps on her virginity and how she's Travis's friend's little sister, but Travis constantly calls her “baby girl” as an endearing nickname. 

Her family doesn't trust her in the family business, but they are absurdly overbearing and overprotective. 

The last conflict in the book also feels shoehorned in. The further along I got in this book, the less I liked it. 

I really tried to not be annoyed by the FMC, but I never got the impression that she wanted it to work out. It was infuriating. 

I love Mhairi McFarlane but this one wasn't my favorite. Mad About You seemed to glorify revenge and Scott felt like a quintessentially evil character. The relationship between Harriet and Cal was also instalove even though they didn't get together until the very end.

This book was super slow and I just couldn't get more than halfway through the book. Very surprising considering his other work.

There was no chemistry between the two main characters. I didn't believe they ever liked each other, let alone felt romantically about each other

I didn't get very far in the book but holy hell this is offensive to everyone. 

I found this book very hard to start and get into, but once you get used to the writing style I really started to enjoy it.

I didn't finish this book, but what I did read I found hard to stomach. It actually surprised me how upsetting I found it, because books don't usually affect me like this.

Just to tell anyone considering this book make sure you feel comfortable reading about tragedies and terrorism (in a fiction book).

Grammar and stylistic choices were too hard for me to get past. I need quotation marks.