Erinna

Everything about this read felt deeply uncomfortable. From the sexualization of certain characters and sex itself having very purposeful, toxic intention to the apathetic and cruel remarks made about these small town murders of two young girls to the main character's history, relationship with her mother and her coping mechanisms, I felt very on edge throughout this whole book. With that being said, I really enjoyed it and had a hard time putting it down towards the end!

The author did a great job of pointing at certain conclusions then steering you away from them, making you feel as unsure and unsteady as the wildly unhealthy characters in the book.

Great twists and turns until the very end with the perfect amount of follow up/ tied ends to feel conclusive. Highly recommend as long as you're not looking for a “feel good” book!!

Absolutely harrowing. I started this book a couple of years ago and had to put it down because it was too horrific for me, but I finally picked it back up. It's wild to me that someone can come across so many horrible men in a lifetime. Her story made me so angry and deeply sad for her coping with years of atrocities that no one should have to endure.

Certainly a great but heartbreaking read if you can stomach it!

3.5 ⭐️

This book was a good read! Once it got moving it was quite gripping and by the end I was locked in and hooked! Some aspects were frustrating, some I saw coming but overall a really enjoyable read!

I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately it felt like a chore to finish. The story itself is good and I love how the author was able to paint such a clear picture of the disparity in privilege between races and between physically impaired and not individuals during this time. I also love the way the author wrote about each person and their layers of challenge even for those who seemingly had all the privilege. It showed the complexity of human nature and experience, and gave insight and understanding to individuals that otherwise could have simply been labeled as “bad” people. This was really wonderfully done.

With that being said, the HUGE drawback in the experience of this book is the shear number of characters, subplots and jumping around that made it incredibly challenging to keep everything straight. I can see the importance of introducing so many different characters with different backgrounds as a window into perspective, it just unfortunately also comes with the drawback of a more challenging read. I was constantly looking up the characters online and trying to keep them straight (many online resources noted over 100 characters throughout the book). I even found myself reading chapter summaries online to make sure I didn't miss anything while trying to keep up with all of the intermingling subplots.

All in all the story and its beautifully written perspectives was great, I personally just didn't find it enjoyable to keep up with.

A great fast read with twist and turns until the end! The story moves quickly and got me invested fast. It certainly wasn't the direction I thought it was going for a sequel to the first book but I found this exciting and refreshing that it turned out unexpected.

This author is amazing at making you incorrectly guess conclusions and as expected twists the story away from what you thought was its natural path.

Great quick read!

I was absolutely GLUED to this book! The story was dark and creepy and tense for the majority of the read and the strangeness of the characters had me questioning reality. I loved how the author jumped between 3rd person to Netflix production interviews to the podcast medium, introducing characters and information at specific times that I wasn't quite sure of their fit and left me feeling like I couldn't get through the book fast enough to find out.

This tense, eerie feeling ran right through the end with some twists that I wasn't expecting but am still questioning after finishing the read. I will be thinking about this book for a while.

The only reason I didn't give it a 5 star is because I did feel it was missing a little bit of closure for me. Although maybe she set it up for a sequel? I'd run to get that next book if she was!

For such a short read this could certainly have been even shorter! There were lots of reviews saying they couldn't put the book down so that coupled with enjoying the last book from this author I read so much, I was likely expecting a bit much from this book. But even with that being said this was a major flop for me.

The character development was wholly lacking, the actions of the mice in the cat and mouse game were overly naive (especially for one of them being a crime junkie). And about a third to half of this book is just the back and forth internal dialogue of the main character who lets every opportunity for escape pass her by with indecisiveness.

The plot became a bit unrealistic to me and pretty much all of the “twists” were highly predictable.

I didn't hate it but I also wouldn't recommend it.

3.5 ⭐️ I'm new to the romantic/ spicy genre and overall I enjoyed this book. There were parts that dragged a little bit (could have been a shorter book imo) and I found some of the romance to be a little too cheesy, but overall a good amount of surprises thrown in and overall a fun, romantic story.

Probably wouldn't recommend reading it on a plane like I did

An enjoyable, quick read!

I am used to more psychological thrillers than horror/ thrillers but with the story jumping right into one of the two perspectives, the serial killer, as he tortures two victims there's really no time to adjust. As affronting as the first chapter was it speaks to how the story starts fast and doesn't let up as it continues to grip you through the storyline.

It's a pretty short book and encompassed some twists and turns that I wasn't anticipating which made for a fun read, although I feel the character development was missing a bit for me.

It reminded me a lot of a horror movie where they don't really have the time to fully develop characters and their pasts so they just kind of jump in and create a thrilling story that's a bit surface level. I also don't feel that I got as much closure on everything as I would have liked.

But for what it is, a short, fast read it was enjoyable. So I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is up for just that.

Enjoyable story, a little predictable and not quite enough twists and turns for my liking, but enjoyable nonetheless!

I genuinely couldn't put this book down!! My head was buzzing throughout with where I thought it all might be going and over and over again my theories were proven wrong with new twists and turns. It started very quickly so I was gripped from the first chapter and it never lulled from there. Probably one of my favorite reads!

I really wanted to love this book, but unfortunately didn't quite hit the mark for me. On the positive side, it definitely brought some closure, and tied in some sweet components from the first book, I also like the way the story played with the title of the book. But on the negative side I felt like I was on page 250 and could sum up everything that happened in one sentence. It felt really drawn out without much happening, and I felt like (with one early-on exception, I won't give it away) there were no surprises or twists, I felt like I pretty much knew what was going to happen then had to read 300+ pages just to confirm it. No hate, just wasn't “it” for me.

Preface on this review, I did listen to this book on audiobook and I don't think I get as into books that way vs reading. This book was a bit of a miss for me. It felt a bit overly cliche with damsel in distress meets handsome bad guy who's emotionally unavailable. It was a three star for me because there were a couple of twists and sweet characters and moments, but overall for a fairly hyped book it felt kind of banal to me. The way the characters spoke sounded overly scripted, set up to be blandly “profound” and I just found many of them to be unrealistic (giving me the “this would never happen in real life” feel throughout the book).

It was an enjoyable book but definitely not one I'm running to tell everyone about.

This was a very sweet book, a nice children to adults love story read.

Enjoyable read, certainly not a game changer. Someone else called it “messy but enjoyable” and I think that sums it up really well.

A group of 6 head to a getaway at a secluded cabin where unsettling things start happening pretty much upon arrival. Intertwined with this storyline are two other characters who you learn about but can't connect until far later in the book.

My biggest criticism with this book were the number of characters and perspectives to keep track of. Not only are you reading about the crew of 6 at the cabin from swapping perspectives, you're getting two other unknown perspectives and their history as well. Hannah, Bruce, Mako/ Michael, Liza, Cricket, Cat, Henry, Bracken... it's so much to keep track of!

I also didn't love how deeply flawed each character was. In part, everyone having dark secrets helps lend to the feeling of not knowing what was going to happen or who to trust, but on the other hand it feels like a bunch of psychopaths are meeting up under the facade of normal people. It felt a bit stretched for me.

Aside from having to Google characters throughout this book to keep up and rolling my eyes at some of the secrets being unveiled, it was an enjoyable, thrilling book.

Again not a game changer but if you're looking for something enjoyable that grips you, this is a good option!

This was likely my favorite read of this year!!! What a journey! The character development is phenomenal, the multiple perspectives keep you gripped and guessing and most of all this story didn't at all go in the direction I thought it would in the absolute best way!

These writers do an amazing job drawing you through the beautiful, raw, and sometimes ugly stories of each character all while leading you through solving the mystery of what happened to Lily.

Can't recommend this read enough!

4.5 ⭐️ : Holly suspense!!

This was one of my favorite reads so far this year! I was absolutely gripped from almost page one and could not get through the pages fast enough! The strong suspense I felt a few times throughout the book was parallel to some scary movies I've watched where I'm quite literally at the edge of my seat, trying to sprint through the pages to find relief in the unfolding of events.

There were a few twists and turns that made the narrator quite unreliable, and had me second guessing so many of my theories throughout this read. There were moments I thought I had it nailed down (I didn't) and others where I felt it could literally be anyone and anything.

4.5 stars only because the middle of the book slowed down quite a bit before picking back up again and because the truth was divulged by a character to the main character at the end, she didn't figure anything out it was just told to her which was a bit anticlimactic.

Either way RUN to this book, such an enjoyable read!!

Raw, transparent, blunt and all told in a compelling chronological story. This was amazing! Highly recommend.

3.5 ⭐️

Holy thought provoking! This book likely would have been a 4 star if I didn't put it down and come back to it (I didn't feel as invested after).

This book was ridiculously thought provoking! My head was spinning in the background with what-ifs and intriguing concept throughout this whole read. There were also a couple of surprises that got me in the feels by the end. Weirdly enough I was also drawing some parallels with the book and our political climate right now.

I didn't find it hugely gripping (but again I put the book down and I don't think that helped). Although the story and its points about life were really beautiful!

I'll be off listening to Que Sera Sera and thinking about life for the next couple of days

Holy closure to the first book!

Honestly if I hadn't read the first book and felt some commitment to the characters I don't think I would have enjoyed this book. There were a lot of aspects that felt too unrealistic, such as the small town detective piecing things together from seemingly nothing or knowing every time someone is lying, movement of characters on fake documents they had been questioned about. It felt a bit far fetched.

I did enjoy learning about Racheal and in my own cluelessness/ forgetting people's names not realizing how she tied into everyone else until far later in the book. I also enjoyed Henry's twisted first perspective chapters, a broken person who puts you on edge because you never quite know what he's going to do. I found him quite gripping and engaging.

I do feel like the book dragged at the end trying to fit all the pieces of closure in, jumping from one aspect to another providing answers to wrap everything up.

I did really enjoy the story and appreciated the closure but, as I mentioned, I was already invested in the characters from book one and jumped right from finishing it into the second book. I recognize that if more time passed between reading or if I hadn't read the first book I don't think I would have enjoyed it.

One of my absolute favorite reads this year!! Each chapter told from another perspective, each with their own secrets kept me on my toes not knowing who to trust. My theories of what happened to the main character's missing brother must have changed with just about every chapter. There were so many twists and turns throughout this book it kept me gripped!

Stick with this book as it builds up because the ride down is so worth it! Having a man missing was also such a refreshing switch up from the overdone missing girl/ woman narrative. And the author did such an amazing job tying in all of the moving pieces so I left with complete closure, which a lot of books I've read in this genre have not accomplished.

Highly recommend this read!!

Twists and turns until the very last page! For me it took a bit of time to ramp up the story but once it was moving I was gripped!!

Truly messed up and twisted, toxic, romantic, raw, messy racey, beautiful and more wrapped up into one gripping book!

What starts out as a horrifically disturbing scenario turns into a beautiful and messy story of human strength, perseverance, connection and love.

Great read!

I loved how this book switched between timelines drawing parallels between the parents' lives and the children's' lives. I also love hearing about characters from other Taylor Jenkins Reid books within the parameters of this storyline. This was a sometimes sweet, sometimes heart wrenching story about inter-generational struggles and parenting/ relationship patterns repeating themselves.

It wasn't necessarily gripping, and definitely not my favorite book from this author, but enjoyable nonetheless.

3.5 - 4 ⭐️

Suspenseful, fairly unpredictable, quick, enjoyable read! The last couple of books I read I really had to push myself to get through, so this book was exactly what I needed!! It takes off quickly and keeps you gripped/ not wanting to put it down making it a very quick read.

Was it game changing? No. But it was thoroughly enjoyable and I could not put it down. There were parts that were a bit predictable but it was accompanied by other things that I didn't see coming at all. I also LOVE a multiple first person perspective book where you piece the story together based on these different perspectives.

The more McFadden books I read, the more I feel she's like the Colleen Hoover of psychological thrillers. Her books are enjoyable, gripping and easy to fly through. Although they're probably not going to be my all time favorites or game changing books, they get me excited about reading and leave me wanting to read everything she publishes.

Definitely recommend giving this a read!