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3.25 AVERAGE
3.25 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
This wasn't my favorite read as it felt like everything, even the synopsis, is trying to make this a question of which one is the "bad" one? When from the start I was like why not both? Or all three? None of them were very sympathetic, though I did think Rachel was the only "good" one of the bunch.
I also did not like the writing style as it didn't feel true. I didn't really believe most of the characters as...they didn't feel real. Part of that is the author trying to make us think one thing is happening so that it can be a big twist later, but most of the time I would think okay either the author is really terrible at writing x, because this character or that character is not believable as x, or that is not what is happening. Either way I didn't love it. The very best part of the book was the last chapter when we see who the characters really are in the end. I would have enjoyed this so much more if we saw that from the beginning instead of trying to make us think otherwise so it is a big twist as that didn't work for me at all. With different writing it could have worked, but instead the whole story came off as unbelievable and so it wasn't a surprise.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.
I also did not like the writing style as it didn't feel true. I didn't really believe most of the characters as...they didn't feel real. Part of that is the author trying to make us think one thing is happening so that it can be a big twist later, but most of the time I would think okay either the author is really terrible at writing x, because this character or that character is not believable as x, or that is not what is happening. Either way I didn't love it. The very best part of the book was the last chapter when we see who the characters really are in the end. I would have enjoyed this so much more if we saw that from the beginning instead of trying to make us think otherwise so it is a big twist as that didn't work for me at all. With different writing it could have worked, but instead the whole story came off as unbelievable and so it wasn't a surprise.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.
Dear Sister is the latest standalone psychology thriller from author, Ruth Harrow. This is my first novel by this author.
The story follows two sisters, Laura and Rachel who grew up in foster care after the death of their mother. Laura makes contact with their long lost father, eager to have the perfect family. Rachel doesn't trust him or the accusations he makes against Laura's husband or about what really happen in the past. But what is the truth and who can you trust if not your own family?
The narrative is told in first person POV with alternating chapters from Laura and Rachel. I enjoyed this back and forth and each character was interesting and added something different to the plot. Neither character is very likeable but in a good way, you get that unsettling feeling that both are hiding something.
The book is quick and easy to read. It dragged a little in the middle but the end was fast paced and tense.
Overall i really liked this book and would definitely read more by this author.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the book in exchange for an honest review.
The story follows two sisters, Laura and Rachel who grew up in foster care after the death of their mother. Laura makes contact with their long lost father, eager to have the perfect family. Rachel doesn't trust him or the accusations he makes against Laura's husband or about what really happen in the past. But what is the truth and who can you trust if not your own family?
The narrative is told in first person POV with alternating chapters from Laura and Rachel. I enjoyed this back and forth and each character was interesting and added something different to the plot. Neither character is very likeable but in a good way, you get that unsettling feeling that both are hiding something.
The book is quick and easy to read. It dragged a little in the middle but the end was fast paced and tense.
Overall i really liked this book and would definitely read more by this author.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the book in exchange for an honest review.
**** SPOILERS****
I selected this ARC from NetGalley. I hadn't read any of Ruth Harrow's works before. I did however upon seeing her ARC look into reviews of some of her works. Others had some pretty high remarks so I went in head first with enthusiasm.
Dear Sister centers around two sisters, Rachel and Laura. The pair have had a rocky path through life. Having lost their mother in the mists of their childhood and their father being MIA during said time, the girls were put into foster care. Here the two were separated and had very different experiences. Defying the odds they kept in touch. Rachel having succeeded in keeping their sisterly bond alive into adulthood regardless of their circumstances.
This book though it does develop the sister's back stories, is set in their adulthood. Rachel has beaten the odds, overcome her past, and made quite a nice life for herself. That was until her own pride, jealousy, and ambitions cloud her judgement. Rachel is a secondary teacher and has been recently promoted due to the head of her department going on maternity leave. She has quite the shoes to fill. However, Rachel struggling to pick up the pieces of her life after her long term boyfriend and colleague, Paul, drops her like a bad habit. You see Rachel has a tendency to push too far and cross unspoken boundaries once she sets her mind to wanting something. In the spring she found herself trying to trap Paul into family life even after he voices that he isn't ready. Paul is a good guy but he has ambitions of his own and Rachel crosses the line ultimately pushing him to drastic measures... BREAK UP. As the book starts Rachel is starting back to school in the fall. Her life still in shambles when she is reminded of the new responsibilities she is to take on this school year whilst still facing Paul every day at work. YIKES... Yes, this story goes there.
Laura, on the other hand, is married to Ash. She works as a maid and her husband a life guard. To put it nicely "They struggle." Laura likes to keep up appearances. She buys nothing but the best for Amy, their daughter. She even goes without at times wearing worn, old clothing. She likes to keep up the façade of a perfect marriage in front of others. It's no wonder everyone thinks they have the perfect marriage. Ash comes off as overly protective of his daughter and even controlling of his wife at times. AND WITH EVERY RIGHT.. I'll let you into that.
The sisters are close being the only biological family either of them are still in contact with, but one day Laura decides to reach out to dear ole long lost dad. Blessing or mistake? Where has he been all this time? and Why hasn't he even tried to reconnect before? Laura is eager to move past the past, but Rachel is leery. What are Peter's intentions? Lets just say their worlds go topsy-turvy, lives start to unravel and secrets come to light, but not all of them.
This novella flows well enough. It is not a genre I typically read a lot of. However, there is plenty of excitement. There were times I wanted to just yell at the both of the main characters for being absolutely ridiculous! LIKE GET A CLUE! It was a quick and easy read. I found myself being propelled along. I had a pretty chill weekend and was able to complete this book from one afternoon to the next. It is told from two perspectives at once. I didn't mind that as Ms. Harrow did a very good job of flowing between the two sisters. Keeping the reader guess who exactly is the heroine, the victim, the villian... who knows? You find yourself second guessing and changing your ideas of what exactly is going on. I'd have gladly given this book another star, however, there were some pretty easy to spot errors, some wording choices, and even missing words or typos. Not a lot. Just enough to where I get flowing along, then all of a sudden HAULTED... suck finding myself re-reading to figure out what exactly was trying to be said...
Anyways, good read and I would definitely recommend.
I selected this ARC from NetGalley. I hadn't read any of Ruth Harrow's works before. I did however upon seeing her ARC look into reviews of some of her works. Others had some pretty high remarks so I went in head first with enthusiasm.
Dear Sister centers around two sisters, Rachel and Laura. The pair have had a rocky path through life. Having lost their mother in the mists of their childhood and their father being MIA during said time, the girls were put into foster care. Here the two were separated and had very different experiences. Defying the odds they kept in touch. Rachel having succeeded in keeping their sisterly bond alive into adulthood regardless of their circumstances.
This book though it does develop the sister's back stories, is set in their adulthood. Rachel has beaten the odds, overcome her past, and made quite a nice life for herself. That was until her own pride, jealousy, and ambitions cloud her judgement. Rachel is a secondary teacher and has been recently promoted due to the head of her department going on maternity leave. She has quite the shoes to fill. However, Rachel struggling to pick up the pieces of her life after her long term boyfriend and colleague, Paul, drops her like a bad habit. You see Rachel has a tendency to push too far and cross unspoken boundaries once she sets her mind to wanting something. In the spring she found herself trying to trap Paul into family life even after he voices that he isn't ready. Paul is a good guy but he has ambitions of his own and Rachel crosses the line ultimately pushing him to drastic measures... BREAK UP. As the book starts Rachel is starting back to school in the fall. Her life still in shambles when she is reminded of the new responsibilities she is to take on this school year whilst still facing Paul every day at work. YIKES... Yes, this story goes there.
Laura, on the other hand, is married to Ash. She works as a maid and her husband a life guard. To put it nicely "They struggle." Laura likes to keep up appearances. She buys nothing but the best for Amy, their daughter. She even goes without at times wearing worn, old clothing. She likes to keep up the façade of a perfect marriage in front of others. It's no wonder everyone thinks they have the perfect marriage. Ash comes off as overly protective of his daughter and even controlling of his wife at times. AND WITH EVERY RIGHT.. I'll let you into that.
The sisters are close being the only biological family either of them are still in contact with, but one day Laura decides to reach out to dear ole long lost dad. Blessing or mistake? Where has he been all this time? and Why hasn't he even tried to reconnect before? Laura is eager to move past the past, but Rachel is leery. What are Peter's intentions? Lets just say their worlds go topsy-turvy, lives start to unravel and secrets come to light, but not all of them.
This novella flows well enough. It is not a genre I typically read a lot of. However, there is plenty of excitement. There were times I wanted to just yell at the both of the main characters for being absolutely ridiculous! LIKE GET A CLUE! It was a quick and easy read. I found myself being propelled along. I had a pretty chill weekend and was able to complete this book from one afternoon to the next. It is told from two perspectives at once. I didn't mind that as Ms. Harrow did a very good job of flowing between the two sisters. Keeping the reader guess who exactly is the heroine, the victim, the villian... who knows? You find yourself second guessing and changing your ideas of what exactly is going on. I'd have gladly given this book another star, however, there were some pretty easy to spot errors, some wording choices, and even missing words or typos. Not a lot. Just enough to where I get flowing along, then all of a sudden HAULTED... suck finding myself re-reading to figure out what exactly was trying to be said...
Anyways, good read and I would definitely recommend.
This story is told by two different points of view, sisters Rachel and Laura. There mother died when they were young and their father abandoned them right away so they grew up in foster care. Laura is an office cleaner, is married to Ash and has a daughter. Rachel is a teacher and recently broke up with fellow teacher, Paul.
Hey Laura and Rachel!
Laura finds their long lost father and is happy he is becoming part of the family. Rachel not so much, she is unforgiving and unwelcoming towards him. They have different recollections of their childhood. The whole time I was reading this I wasn't sure who was telling the truth. Even Laura seemed like an unreliable narrator and this style of writing made me want to continue reading.
The writing in this book was addictive in its simplicity and the plot moves at a very fast pace, the short chapters kept me reading and upped the intensity factor...especially at the end. At first I thought both lead characters were whiny and meek but as the book went on they redeemed themselves with a strength I didn't see coming. What I did see coming was the surprise (?) twist the author threw in the mix. I suspected what was gonna happen all along but for some reason wasn't disappointed and LOVED the ending.
I didn't like how Rachel's asthma was portrayed, it wasn't realistic at all. I was laughing at her "attacks" as they were so outrageous and take it from me I know asthma attacks first hand. Otherwise this was a sold three star read for me.
With many thanks to Netgalley, Ruth Harrow and Inkubator Books for the ARC.
Hey Laura and Rachel!
Laura finds their long lost father and is happy he is becoming part of the family. Rachel not so much, she is unforgiving and unwelcoming towards him. They have different recollections of their childhood. The whole time I was reading this I wasn't sure who was telling the truth. Even Laura seemed like an unreliable narrator and this style of writing made me want to continue reading.
The writing in this book was addictive in its simplicity and the plot moves at a very fast pace, the short chapters kept me reading and upped the intensity factor...especially at the end. At first I thought both lead characters were whiny and meek but as the book went on they redeemed themselves with a strength I didn't see coming. What I did see coming was the surprise (?) twist the author threw in the mix. I suspected what was gonna happen all along but for some reason wasn't disappointed and LOVED the ending.
I didn't like how Rachel's asthma was portrayed, it wasn't realistic at all. I was laughing at her "attacks" as they were so outrageous and take it from me I know asthma attacks first hand. Otherwise this was a sold three star read for me.
With many thanks to Netgalley, Ruth Harrow and Inkubator Books for the ARC.
Ruth Harrow is a new author to me, but I want to dig into her backlist now. This had a nice tight character list: Rachel, the older sister. Laura, the younger. Their biological father, newly back in their lives after they were raised in the foster system. Laura's husband, Ash, and daughter, Amy. Stir them all up - at one point even in a snowbound cabin deep in the woods - and what will happen?
Harrow's strengths were character and setting. The dialog was a little forced. The propulsive pace will make you want to keep reading, though.
Thanks to NetGalley for a review copy.
Harrow's strengths were character and setting. The dialog was a little forced. The propulsive pace will make you want to keep reading, though.
Thanks to NetGalley for a review copy.