Two women connected by a baby and the mothers’ death.
This highly anticipated thriller has been sitting on my shelf for years during which time2 stars.
Two women connected by a baby and the mothers’ death.
This highly anticipated thriller has been sitting on my shelf for years during which time I have read nothing but raving reviews. Perhaps my expectations were set too high but this didn’t work for me on any level.
From the first chapter, there was a disconnect for me with the writing. It didn’t flow or pull me in. The dialogue lacked natural ease and felt disjointed. The storyline itself was intriguing and it is what kept me from DNF’ing the novel. I wasn’t invested in the characters but I was curious enough to keep pushing through to see how the story would all come together. There are many unrealistic elements within these pages but this can be expected with popcorn thrillers.
On the positive side, it was a quick read that could easily be done in one sitting.
Overall, this was a dud for me but I’m clearly the outlier. Check out the countless favourable reviews before deciding on this one....more
This novel started off with a bang! I was fully invested and wholly engrossed from the sta3.5 stars.
An easy and entertaining historical fiction read.
This novel started off with a bang! I was fully invested and wholly engrossed from the start. London, 1748: Bess is a young woman whose family barely makes enough to survive. She registers her newborn baby at the London Foundling Hospital on the day of her birth since she knows, as a teenage single unwed mother, she cannot possibly provide for her. Bess has every intention of coming back for her baby once she gets enough money saved and can create a more stable life. Six years later when Bess returns to the hospital to pick up her daughter, she is shocked and devastated by what she discovers.
This book is split into four parts. If I could rate individual parts of the novel, Part 1 would get 5+ stars! It consumed me and had me feeling extreme sympathies for Bess and her situation. The atmosphere was thick and the tension was high. I loved it.
As the novel progressed, it lost steam. I enjoyed the story, but that strong connection I felt at the start faded (which is always disappointing). After Part 1, I felt as though as I was emotionally removed from the characters and simply reading an entertaining story. One of the main characters introduced in Part 2 distracted me from connecting with the storyline.
I enjoyed learning about this time in history. I did not know much about these types of hospitals. I found that storyline aspect very interesting and informative. I enjoyed the authors writing, although I think the pace of the book could have been quicker after Part 1 finished. The characters were unique and charming and I couldn’t help but root for Bess from start to finish.
Overall, an informative and interesting read that I would recommended to historical fiction fans who want a lighter, entertaining story, rather than a richly detailed intense plot.
Thank you to NetGalley for my review copy!
Merged review:
3.5 stars.
An easy and entertaining historical fiction read.
This novel started off with a bang! I was fully invested and wholly engrossed from the start. London, 1748: Bess is a young woman whose family barely makes enough to survive. She registers her newborn baby at the London Foundling Hospital on the day of her birth since she knows, as a teenage single unwed mother, she cannot possibly provide for her. Bess has every intention of coming back for her baby once she gets enough money saved and can create a more stable life. Six years later when Bess returns to the hospital to pick up her daughter, she is shocked and devastated by what she discovers.
This book is split into four parts. If I could rate individual parts of the novel, Part 1 would get 5+ stars! It consumed me and had me feeling extreme sympathies for Bess and her situation. The atmosphere was thick and the tension was high. I loved it.
As the novel progressed, it lost steam. I enjoyed the story, but that strong connection I felt at the start faded (which is always disappointing). After Part 1, I felt as though as I was emotionally removed from the characters and simply reading an entertaining story. One of the main characters introduced in Part 2 distracted me from connecting with the storyline.
I enjoyed learning about this time in history. I did not know much about these types of hospitals. I found that storyline aspect very interesting and informative. I enjoyed the authors writing, although I think the pace of the book could have been quicker after Part 1 finished. The characters were unique and charming and I couldn’t help but root for Bess from start to finish.
Overall, an informative and interesting read that I would recommended to historical fiction fans who want a lighter, entertaining story, rather than a richly detailed intense plot.
This book is based on the most notorious criminal from my local area of the Niagara Region. He s4 stars!
I’ll be thinking of this book for a long time.
This book is based on the most notorious criminal from my local area of the Niagara Region. He started his sexual crimes in the late 1980’s in Scarborough earning the name the Scarborough Rapist and then moved on to the Niagara Region to capture, torture and kill his victims. This book does not state his name and I refuse to name him as well to avoid giving him any further glory or fame for his unfathomable crimes. Growing up in Niagara in the 90’s, I lived through the extreme fear and anxiety that this horrific man and his accomplice brought to the local area. Although this book focuses on his crimes in the Scarborough area (not the Niagara Region where I grew up), it sheds light on a society filled with constant fear and worry and shows how debilitating one man can be to an entire community.
This dual timeline fictionalized novel goes back and forth between the main character as a child living in Scarborough where this criminal was capturing his victims, to the present day when she is a film editor working on a true crime series that features this killer who is now in prison. Working on this film brings back memories and flashbacks back to the time the crimes were happening.
The narrative took me a few chapters to get into and connect with but once I did, I was addicted. Having personally lived the fear this infamous killer created surely made it even more impactful and relatable for me. The author gives voice to a community threatened and living in paranoia. The writing created an atmosphere that was palpable with tension, fear, doubt and paranoia.
This book is also an impactful coming-of-age story about a young queer girl who is searching for her true sense-of-self and belonging.
Thank you to my IG friend @sloane_reads for bringing this book to my attention, as I never would have picked it up had she not raved about it and explained what criminal this story was based on.
Thank you to my lovely local library for the physical loan!...more
Phoebe checks into a posh seaside hotel with the intention of quietly ending her life. She has not4 stars!
A thought-provoking, character driven story.
Phoebe checks into a posh seaside hotel with the intention of quietly ending her life. She has nothing left to live for. A wedding party is checking in at the same time which changes everything for Phoebe.
This book was much different, much more serious, than I expected. This is a wedding storyline, but the wedding is not the main focus. The plot is heavy with many thought-provoking themes that were relatable. This book explores familial relationships and friendships and the expectations behind them. I enjoyed experiencing the unexpected relationships unfold while the characters moved toward a better sense of self.
This is a slow burn. I found myself enthralled for the first third, my attention lessened slightly in the middle, but picked back up toward the end. I was invested throughout and curious to see how all things would come together in the end. Even though there are many hard and heavy themes within these pages, I found it an easy read - the writing was smooth. The author presents countless questions that made me stop and think about how I would react.
I enjoyed the characters and thought they were well developed, each adding an important layer to the story. I laughed out loud a few times at the witty inner thoughts and happenings. There was something very fresh and “real feeling” about the writing and inner thoughts of the characters. There are several ramblings and tangents which some readers may find distracting, but I enjoyed these and all that they brought to the storyline. Though this book didn’t “blow my mind” as I had expected, it took me on an unexpected slow burn journey with a cast of characters I won’t soon forget.
Overall, I really enjoyed this! It isn’t gripping or suspenseful. It’s a slow burn, moody, character driven exploration of one woman’s quest to self discovery and true happiness. I think most readers will get some great take-aways from spending time within these pages. I look forward to reading more by this author. ...more
I want to start by saying this author is a favourite of mine. I have loved her writing since before the 3 stars.
A atmospheric, nature focused mystery.
I want to start by saying this author is a favourite of mine. I have loved her writing since before the release of her debut grit-lit novel, Fallen Mountains. I was lucky enough to receive an ARC before that release and she has stood out as a top favourite author since. I had high hopes for this book, but it fell short of what I have come to expect from her writing.
I will start with the good — the atmosphere. As usual, the atmosphere was palpable. The vast wilderness was a huge part of what drives this novel forward and the author did an amazing job creating a setting so vivid, I could clearly picture the nature focused backdrop of every scene. The forest was like a character of its own.
For me, the biggest letdown was the characters. I didn’t care for them. I wasn’t invested. I was curious enough to keep reading, but had no connection to the characters situations or suspense. The storyline and “mystery” that pulls the plot forward was lacking for me and the path the characters take to unravel the story was somewhat implausible. I have not had believability issues with this authors writing in the past, so this was a letdown.
Overall, this was not the authors best work, by a long shot. I highly recommend her previous two novels, Fallen Mountains and These Silent Woods which were both gritty, addictive, unforgettable stories.
Thank you to my lovely local library for the physical loan! ...more
An easy read with a heavy storyline and a quirky main character.
Lenny receives a letter in the mail that starts an unraveling of her routinel3.5 stars
An easy read with a heavy storyline and a quirky main character.
Lenny receives a letter in the mail that starts an unraveling of her routinely organized life.
Lenny was an awkward, endearing, lovable main character who I enjoyed spending time with. Her inner thoughts and over analyzing were entertaining and often humorous. Her daily rituals and personal interactions were an eye opening look into her intricately detailed and planned out life. The secondary characters were unique and added interesting side stories to the narrative.
There are some extremely heavy themes explored within this storyline (domestic violence, murder, loss of a parent, childhood abandonment, among several others). I usually love quirky characters, but for me, the extreme quirkiness of Lenny’s character somewhat took away from my connection to the heavier topics. Lenny’s character should have lightened the heavy tones of the book providing a balance between serious and silly, but for me, her silliness lessened the novels overall impact. Lack of plausibility was also an issue for me.
I thoroughly enjoyed following Lenny’s journey, but didn’t fall in love with the book quite as much as I expected. I think that my recent reading experience of another novel affected this one. Earlier this month, I read and LOVED Interesting Facts About Space which follows another eccentric main character who I connected more strongly with. Perhaps if I had spaced these books out more so, I would have enjoyed this more as my direct comparison of the two novels wouldn’t have been as strong and fresh in my mind. Timing can make all the difference.
Overall, this was a “like”, not a “love”. I recommend you try it out and experience Lenny’s journey yourself!
Thank you to my lovely local library for the physical loan!...more
Too cutesy for me. I was expecting a thrilling historical fiction mystery, but this failed to deliver that. Recommended to cozy mystery read2.5 stars.
Too cutesy for me. I was expecting a thrilling historical fiction mystery, but this failed to deliver that. Recommended to cozy mystery readers, which is not my preferred reading genre....more
A husband goes missing in the wilderness, leaving his wife and son devastated and desperate to find him. Locals wo2.5 stars
Atmospheric and mysterious!
A husband goes missing in the wilderness, leaving his wife and son devastated and desperate to find him. Locals work together to try to find any trace of what happened to him.
This was a highly atmospheric, nature focused book. The wilderness theme was strong and palpable. The vivid earthy imagery was done well, drawing the reader easily into the vast, isolated, wintry forest landscape.
As great as the atmosphere was, the characters seemed to lack something for me. I never quite felt invested in what was happening to them. The suspense and worry should have drawn me into the situation, but it didn’t. I enjoyed following the story and finding out how it all came together in the end, but even the ending was lacking for me as it all tied up too neatly and felt somewhat cheesy.
Overall, this was a miss for me, but I’m glad I read it as I had been curious about it since its release.
Audio rating: 3 stars. The audio narrator was decent but didn’t stand out or enhance my overall enjoyment.
Thank you to my lovely local library for the audio loan!...more
A young woman reappears in town after being missing for over two years. Disheveled and distant, she can give no expla4.5 ‘lived up to the hype’ stars!
A young woman reappears in town after being missing for over two years. Disheveled and distant, she can give no explanation of where she had been kept. Local detectives meet with her, trying to find details and answers to her kidnapping and reappearance and if there is any connection to the several local unsolved missing girl cases.
I was immediately invested in this pulse-pounding, well-written, multi-perspective thriller! Each perspective — from victim to detective to therapist — kept the storyline fresh and added an intriguing layer to this clever mystery. The characters were all unique and well fleshed out, making it easy to get lost in the storyline. The plot has many horrific elements, but the author didn’t include gruesome detail and kept the information pertinent but not overly detailed.
The ending of this novel has many unrealistic elements which would usually be a deal breaker for me. And the more I think about the way this wrapped up, the more questions I have and feel that some things really didn’t make sense. However, I was so extremely invested and engrossed in the story while I was reading it, that I was able to go with it and enjoy where the story took me. A truly entertaining read from start to finish!
Thank you to my lovely local library for the physical loan!...more
Camryn Lane has just published her first novel and it’s a hit! Positive reviews fuel her excitement until she stumbles acros4 stars!
Book review drama!
Camryn Lane has just published her first novel and it’s a hit! Positive reviews fuel her excitement until she stumbles across a very negative, accusatory and personal 1 star review. Several more 1 star reviews start piling up shortly after with devastating personal accusations. Told to stay off social media by her publishing team, she can’t help but worry and wonder who is behind such hateful personal criticisms.
I had an immediate interest in the main character and storyline. The plot is addictive and current, showcasing just how overwhelming social media can be. I usually enjoy novels revolving around the book/publishing world, and this was no exception. The author perspective was done very well, pulling the reader into the fast paced, cut throat publishing industry. The social media scandal was relevant and eye-opening.
The main characters novel has chapters scattered through the book. I liked these breaks from the storyline, but I wasn’t as invested in what happened in that book as I was in the main plot.
I liked the main character, but I didn’t enjoy any of the secondary characters and felt they were quite surface level. I appreciate what they brought to the storyline as far as adding layers to the plot, but I wasn’t as invested in their side stories as I should have been.
I predicted a large plot twist from early on in the book which was disappointing when revealed at the end, however, I still remained entertained throughout.
Overall, an entertaining and current read that kept me flipping the pages!...more
A young woman goes missing, leaving her family in a desperate search to track her down and find answers.
This book has been all the buzz latel3.5 stars
A young woman goes missing, leaving her family in a desperate search to track her down and find answers.
This book has been all the buzz lately! It was an easy story to fly through. For the most part, I enjoyed it, but also felt that it was largely overhyped. My expectations were too high.
This book unfolds through multiple perspectives, which I usually enjoy, however, I did find there was overlap that slowed the pace.
The suspense was good in the first half but the reader finds out what happens halfway through the book which took away any sort of curiosity or suspenseful tension needed to pull the story forward.
The story lacked the emotional pull I would expect with a plot based around such a devastating family tragedy. I didn’t “feel” for these characters as I should have. I would have expected to connect moreso than I did with the mother, but her character depth was lacking for me. I wasn’t drawn into the grief and devastation of what this family was enduring.
I read a finished copy from my library and found some large editing issues, one being that a main characters name is used in error of another. Also, one of the main characters narratives had conflicting tones between chapters which felt “off”. They weren’t written consistently. These editing issues took away from my enjoyment as it felt unfinished.
Overall, I liked this novel and am glad I read it, but it didn’t live up to the hype. I would label this more of a family drama/suspense, and not a thriller. It was just a bit better than “ok” for me.
Thank you to my lovely local library for the loan!...more
A clever, twisty, compulsively readable instalment in this fantastic thriller series!
A woman suspects her husband may be a serial killer. She4+ stars!
A clever, twisty, compulsively readable instalment in this fantastic thriller series!
A woman suspects her husband may be a serial killer. She reaches out to an old friend to help her figure out if her suspicions are true.
I was beyond excited to find out this series was continuing (this is Book 3). Books 1 and 2 were equally clever, manipulative and entertaining and remain one of my favourite thriller series.
The characters are what make this series stand out. The private investigator/amateur sleuth main characters are truly unforgettable. They are not your usual “heroes”. They are sneaky, conniving, quirky, unpredictable, snarky and manipulative.
This storyline is intriguing from the start and keeps you hanging on every word until the very final page. So many unexpected shocking twists that had me not wanting to put the book down. At 255 pages, this book wastes no words and is easy to fly through. The writing is smooth and concise and gets the reader wrapped up in the plot within the first couple pages.
It’s clear to see this was another winner for me in this series! I can only hope this author is brewing up another storyline to continue with these truly unforgettable characters. Highly recommend this series! This book could easily be read as a standalone but do yourself a favour and start with Book 1 as it will be extremely worthwhile for the character building aspect.
Thank you to the publisher for my review copy! Thank you to my lovely local library for the physical loan! ...more
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