I had high expectations for this book after the great reviews, Reese Witherspoon choosing it for her November 2018 book, and the news that it’s going to be adapted this year. Unfortunately, I was pretty disappointed. It felt like the sole purpose of the book was to be a red herring for the very abrupt twist at the end. I appreciated this because I love when I can’t guess the ending, but the twist felt more like an afterthought than a planned plot direction. To me, it seemed like the author wrote most of the book and only then thought of the twist.
The pace of the story was way too fast and came at the expense of plot and character substance. Emily was the only character that felt somewhat realistic, but she was far too naive and gullible. Most of the other characters annoyed me as well, especially Pammie (although that was definitely the author’s intention). The only thing that kept me going was the urge to see whether or not I was able to guess the ending (I was). I also was able to guess the epilogue, but it felt ridiculous and unnecessary.
Many other reviews I’ve seen complained that the book was marketed incorrectly as a psychological thriller, when it really seemed to be more of a chick lit or women’s fiction book. I completely disagree; I felt that it was a very weak thriller with minimal, predictable suspense elements.
I hate to leave such a negative review, but I feel that it’s important to give my honest opinion. The plot was unoriginal, the pace flawed, the characters annoying, and the dialogue extremely contrived. I know Sandie Jones has a second novel coming out soon, and I’m going to give her a second chance with it, but my expectations will be much lower this time.
The pace of the story was way too fast and came at the expense of plot and character substance. Emily was the only character that felt somewhat realistic, but she was far too naive and gullible. Most of the other characters annoyed me as well, especially Pammie (although that was definitely the author’s intention). The only thing that kept me going was the urge to see whether or not I was able to guess the ending (I was). I also was able to guess the epilogue, but it felt ridiculous and unnecessary.
Many other reviews I’ve seen complained that the book was marketed incorrectly as a psychological thriller, when it really seemed to be more of a chick lit or women’s fiction book. I completely disagree; I felt that it was a very weak thriller with minimal, predictable suspense elements.
I hate to leave such a negative review, but I feel that it’s important to give my honest opinion. The plot was unoriginal, the pace flawed, the characters annoying, and the dialogue extremely contrived. I know Sandie Jones has a second novel coming out soon, and I’m going to give her a second chance with it, but my expectations will be much lower this time.