Erinna
What a rollercoaster of a read!! For anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers (especially if you have the tendency to correctly guess endings), run to get this book!
It reminded me a lot of bingeable shows, hitting the end of each chapter to learn some integral, shocking piece of the puzzle so as never to be at a “good spot” to put down the book. It started fast and gripped me almost immediately.
The author does an amazing job pulling you in multiple directions. So many times I thought I had come to a hard conclusion on what was happening only to make me question myself on the next page (over and over and over again). The story is told switching from 2 known perspectives and a 3rd from the killer, giving you unease about both the main two characters and every character relating to each of their lives.
This was definitely one of my favorite reads. I will surely be looking at other books from this author! Highly recommend!!
I really enjoyed this story and the way in which it was told from three different perspectives all seemingly unrelated and as you read learning how they all strongly intertwined through flash backs and present times.
Although with those siloed perspectives and lots of holes in timelines it felt like it took a long time for the book to really take off once things started to connect. I also had a hard time keeping the many characters and storyline straight, and kept having to Google a character's name hoping I wouldn't read a spoiler to try to keep up with how they fell into the story.
Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly rushing into the next book because I did enjoy the story, it just wasn't a smooth read for me.
3.5 stars if that were possible.
This was a great read! It was horrifying and heart breaking but also hopeful. After reading that the author drew from her experiences and stories from volunteering for a UNICEF refugee center, it came together why these characters and their stories seemed so real. It certainly wasn't a “feel good” story but one that made you really think (and continue to think after finishing it). I loved how the author played with words as a transition from present to past, and how swapping back and forth helped piece together the inevitable storyline. Highly recommend!
I was absolutely GLUED to this series of short books!! The story takes off basically right from page one and barely lets down through out each of the 5 books (besides a bit of a lull from book 3).
The writing wasn't exceptional, some parts were far fetched and unrealistic, others felt unnecessary and even silly (the main male character who doesn't even have enough time to get more than a few hours of sleep a night certainly didn't need to have abs, which were mentioned multiple times, to fit the desirable character he was). But even with those flaws I absolutely LOVED this series.
It was such a quick and easy read. It was gripping and suspenseful almost all the way through each book and you learn to adore these highly flawed characters. It is also told from multiple perspectives which is always a favorite for me.
Without taking everything too seriously I HIGHLY recommend this series! What a fun story that absolutely picked back up my excitement for reading again.
Oh and last note, I absolutely hate the cover art and titles of these books (if I didn't already say it enough under the other books' reviews). What a disservice to the books, if that's stopping you like it was for me for a while, push through, it's worth it!
And it's back! This book is likely my favorite so far in the series. The suspense had me flying through the pages and the cliff hanger has me running to the next book now.
Such a fun series to read!!
Started out really suspenseful but then lulled up until the very end. So not as exciting of a read but it definitely feels like it's building for the next two books. Hopefully it takes back off!
A really messed up story, but really gripping and super unpredictable!! A great read if you're in for a dark story.
I stand by what I said on the last book. Trash cover art and title, but a really gripping thriller series. I'm hooked! Onto the next one...
The title and cover art of this book does it zero justice!! I almost didn't read it because of them but a friend recommended it so I powered through and actually really enjoyed it! It's also more on the thriller/ mystery side than romance side to me which I enjoyed (but wasn't anticipating because of the trash cover).
I've never read a short book series like this but I have to say I'm pretty invested. This was a short read and took off pretty quickly making it a super engaging and easy read. Starting the next book as soon as I finish this review to see where this goes!
Twists and turns until the very end. I absolutely loved this book!! The storyline is not at all the direction I anticipated and I'm so happy that was the case! Such a beautiful story exemplifying hard truths that many have had to face in the last 50 years in America but seen through the light of someone who seemingly has it all (a humbling relatability for a character so unrelatable). The story moved fast and kept me engaged, I had a hard time putting it down.
I wanted to like this book so badly. It won multiple awards and has decent over all reviews, but it just completely missed the mark for me.
The main character was so frustrating that I found reading this book annoying and hard to continue. A large premise of the book was never wrapped up, and gave no answers or closure, and the closure on the main case felt almost like the author had to hit a deadline and just pulled together a story that “worked”.
Almost didn't finish reading this but was 80% through so said screw it and honestly could have done without.
What a ride this story is! This author shows such a beautiful development of the characters from beginning to end, emphasizing this concept of growth through tough wartime, the maturing of naive girlhood to womanhood through necessity, the premature maturing of childhood to adulthood through trauma, the growth of maternal and paternal love and sacrifice through time and forced reflection.
While initially it may seem to be just another war love story, it definitely is not! It is such a stronger, far more important story of women and the many secretive ways they fought in the war from home. They weren't the ones getting the medals and accolades from returning from the war but they fought thanklessly from behind closed doors.
Although the book is quite large, the first half beautifully sets the scene and introduces to you the broken and naive characteristics of the characters that enable them to play the important roles they do throughout the war. Then comes the second half, which absolutely flies by! I was at the edge of my seat throughout the rest of this book constantly playing emotional catch up and coming to terms with the inevitable continuous loss for all of the characters throughout their horrific situations.
I also couldn't pick a more beautiful, conclusive and tear-inducing end to this story. It is everything I wanted it to be yet I couldn't stop myself from bawling all the way through it.
Historical fiction is new to me, so for anyone on the fence about it, absolutely give it a read and stick with it!! It turns into an incredible read!
RUN RUN RUN to read this book!! This might be an all time favorite of mine and knowing it's loosely based on a real story makes it that much more crazy.
This book jumps right into the thick of the story on the very first page and I was absolutely glued until the very last page. The way it started, the characters, the shifting perspectives, the very real fear felt while these horrid events unfolded, the length of the book giving it the suspense and build and character development it needed while remaining short enough to never have dull chapters. Everything was done so incredibly well!
I've mentioned being glued to books in a lot of other reviews but this was a whole different level of desperation to get through the chapters as the story unfolded.
I cannot recommend this read enough and will be looking into other books by this author as soon as this review is posted!
What a shame. I really enjoyed the first two books, and this one was a bust for me. It took over two hundred pages of what felt like literally nothing happening (I know she was setting the scene but this was excessive) to then throw some answers into the end that weren't really that surprising.
The main character and her husband's inability to have a straightforward conversation was really frustrating to read through, especially when their relationship was founded in trust and authenticity in the first two books. As the story starts to unravel around page 260, elements are, strangely enough, very thoroughly explained without actually being straightforward answers and never gets confirmed by the end. I'm left making assumptions for the story line to make more sense in my head.
To some degree this book also felt like a second book repeat of the police being involved and needing to do whatever necessary to not get caught even when all of the evidence is quite incriminating. It looses realism here for me, I just can't see this playing out in real life.
Finally, with 60% of the book focussed on setting the scene, the last 40% of getting answers just felt thrown on top of each other. There are a few missing pieces so we get another perspective, then another missing piece so throw in another perspective to tie it in and none in a surprising, never saw this coming way.
In all fairness I didn't have high hopes for this book, I think it's really challenging to write multiple sequels and have them maintain the same level of shock factor, I was just hoping the author would prove me wrong.
Maybe worth the read if you're invested in the original two books just to see the characters years later but certainly wouldn't recommend it as a first read to anyone.
This book felt a bit slow to start for me, but looking back it was definitely necessary to truly set the scene. It tells the all too familiar story of a woman (and in this case an incredibly brilliant one) putting her life goals and aspirations aside to take place behind her male partner who in the end loses site of all of her sacrifices.
I had to dig further after finishing this read to see how much truth there is behind Mileva Marić being the brains/ theorist behind or at least in conjunction with many of Einstein's biggest theories and work. Although we may never truly know to what extent this was the case, it has been an all too common occurrence in history for women to not be recognized for their genius work. It does seem irrefutable that Mileva was brilliant and paved the way for schooling and involvement in science and math for many other women to come.
This was a heart wrenching but also really important story. Highly recommend!
Very informational and I appreciate the self reflection queues and resources after each myth to dig further. Definitely worth a read to touch on an array of subjects/ myths. Although I feel like it was a little shallow, like she covered so many myths and hit briefly on each which got a bit redundant at the end and left me feeling I never dove in enough for full enlightenment on any of the myths. Still insightful and helpful, just a little surface level.
I've also listened to her podcast and loved her personality and witty humor but for some reason none of that came through in this book, it was a bit dull.
Again overall worth the read and very informational, just a little bit shallow and dry.