I had a really hard time with this book. If it were something I purchased or took out at the library, I would have DNF'ed it ten percent through. But I was determined to see it through since it was a NetGalley title.
The positives: I love the cover and the premise is a tremendous hook. Strained mother daughter relationships? The mother is brutally murdered and the daughter is the prime suspect? But she was struck by lightning and so doesn't remember? That's all pretty darn interesting. There are also some nice twists.
The book flashes back in forth between the past (mother Kat) and present (Eva). For me, Kat's chapters were far better. She was a much more sympathetic and compelling character. I hated when her chapters ended. Eva's, on the other hand, were much harder. I found her over-dramatic (the use of exclamation points was a bit excessive) and unlikable and repetitive. She's continually in disbelief that the police would have the audacity to suspect her given all the evidence.
No one acts/reacts normally either, given any situation. Dialogue is stilted and things are a bit too convenient (of course the neighbor/friend/crush has a flat in London she can crash in when she runs away there). Liam's character is over-the-top toxic masculinity. Even more so than Sebastian.
I did really want to like this one and there is some lovely stuff in here. But overall it fell a little flat. But I am grateful for the opportunity to have read it, so thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing this review copy.
The positives: I love the cover and the premise is a tremendous hook. Strained mother daughter relationships? The mother is brutally murdered and the daughter is the prime suspect? But she was struck by lightning and so doesn't remember? That's all pretty darn interesting. There are also some nice twists.
The book flashes back in forth between the past (mother Kat) and present (Eva). For me, Kat's chapters were far better. She was a much more sympathetic and compelling character. I hated when her chapters ended. Eva's, on the other hand, were much harder. I found her over-dramatic (the use of exclamation points was a bit excessive) and unlikable and repetitive. She's continually in disbelief that the police would have the audacity to suspect her given all the evidence.
No one acts/reacts normally either, given any situation. Dialogue is stilted and things are a bit too convenient (of course the neighbor/friend/crush has a flat in London she can crash in when she runs away there). Liam's character is over-the-top toxic masculinity. Even more so than Sebastian.
I did really want to like this one and there is some lovely stuff in here. But overall it fell a little flat. But I am grateful for the opportunity to have read it, so thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing this review copy.