Emily Proudman's life is a disaster: her acting career has failed, she just lost her job, and she's being evicted from her dumpy little apartment.
And out of the blue, her very rich and very handsome ex-boss offers her the opportunity of a lifetime as live-in help working for his family on their French coastal property. Emily jumps at the chance, but soon discovers that things are desperately wrong at the estate and she may never get home to London even again.
Well, where to start. I enjoyed this book, though it didn't turn out exactly how I was expecting. This isn't a mystery/thriller in the sense that I was hoping for, just a family drama with characters in desperate need of mental illness treatment. And while I guessed the direction of the "twist" quicker than I usually do, I really liked the plot/premise.
But I had a difficult time connecting to Emily as a main character. I suppose I'm supposed to feel sorry for her, but she spends enough time doing that for herself. I mean, you have this pampered girl who does nothing but treat her adoptive parents like they're horrible abusers when they're anything but and her redemption isn't enough for me to forgive.
Nina's POV seemed weird as is written, but it might flow a little better when seen in the final draft, and I just didn't understand Scott at all. Geez guy, grow a backbone. There's really not enough of his and Nina's backstory to give me any sense of his attachment to her and why'd he'd go along with her crazy plan.
That being said, you don't have to like characters to make a good book and this one worked enough for me. It keep me reading fairly quickly and I'd be happy to check out other books by this author.
Thank you to NetGalley and Affirm Press for this review copy.
And out of the blue, her very rich and very handsome ex-boss offers her the opportunity of a lifetime as live-in help working for his family on their French coastal property. Emily jumps at the chance, but soon discovers that things are desperately wrong at the estate and she may never get home to London even again.
Well, where to start. I enjoyed this book, though it didn't turn out exactly how I was expecting. This isn't a mystery/thriller in the sense that I was hoping for, just a family drama with characters in desperate need of mental illness treatment. And while I guessed the direction of the "twist" quicker than I usually do, I really liked the plot/premise.
But I had a difficult time connecting to Emily as a main character. I suppose I'm supposed to feel sorry for her, but she spends enough time doing that for herself. I mean, you have this pampered girl who does nothing but treat her adoptive parents like they're horrible abusers when they're anything but and her redemption isn't enough for me to forgive.
Nina's POV seemed weird as is written, but it might flow a little better when seen in the final draft, and I just didn't understand Scott at all. Geez guy, grow a backbone. There's really not enough of his and Nina's backstory to give me any sense of his attachment to her and why'd he'd go along with her crazy plan.
That being said, you don't have to like characters to make a good book and this one worked enough for me. It keep me reading fairly quickly and I'd be happy to check out other books by this author.
Thank you to NetGalley and Affirm Press for this review copy.