Reviews

Stranger by Karen Perry

mixingrealitywithfiction's review

5.0

This book, what a rollercoaster ride!

I’m not going to lie, this was a slow burner but I really enjoyed it. (Maybe not the right wording but I fear I may be twisted too!)

At first, I had this feeling about Corinne. I don’t know what it was but there was something about that had me scared and on edge virtually all the way through the book.

I have to say, I was shook by the few twists and felt they were needed but I just wasn’t expecting them to play out how they did. So, that left me with my jaw agape.

windy_witch's review

4.0

When the Holland family take on an exchange student from France their lives fall apart. What starts off as a happy exchange and new experience for their younger daughter Beth soon turns into tragedy and ends in two deaths.

I found this to have a fairly dark storyline, with a couple of clearly trouble young teenagers who have their own problems. From the very beginning you understand that some type of tragedy has occurred, however not until the end do you finally understand what has unfolded.

beth_21's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

book_addict29's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

purplelauren's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

quaintrelle_chantelle's review

4.0

**possible spoilers ahead**

This was for the most part, I felt, a slow moving thriller, but at times it was also very, very dark. The story is broken up into seasons, with snippets alluding to a tragedy strewn throughout. Nothing is given away until later in the book, so you are left wondering who has died, the shifting of who, changing as new information comes to light the further you progress.
The characters in the story were completely unlikeable, every single one of them!! I felt uncomfortable & anxious at parts, as more of the darker details of certain characters emerged. I found them all to be quite selfish, each of them revealing inner demons & worrying behaviors, but definitely some more than others. I guess that approach had you second-guessing all your theories, leaning more towards one person & then swiftly moving back to another. I was left reeling at the intensity of the final chapters.
While I found this book quite heavy for my personal preferences, I think a great story was delivered.

mandylovestoread's review

3.0

I have read and enjoyed previous books by Karen Perry but unfortunately Stranger was not for me. I struggled with the slow beginning (after the opening chapter which really peaked my interest) and the cast of unlikeable characters. In saying that I will read Karen Perry books again, I seem to be in the minority with my thoughts.

thanks to the publisher and netgalley for my advanced copy to read.

mazza57's review

4.0

I received this book as an ARC via netgalley in an exchange for an honest review. I am grateful for the opportunity. Karen Perry is the pen name of Dublin-based authors Paul Perry and Karen Gillece.
The action in this book centres around the visits of a French Exchange student(Corrine) to a family in Dublin and the way that the youngest daughter (Beth) in that family reacts. From the outset the reader is aware that the narrative has ended in tragedy, that someone has been murdered. The reality is much more than that.

I struggled with this book for almost the first half. It felt disorganised and in some parts contradictory - some of that I have to admit as being due to my misinterpretation. However it does feel unnecessarily complex, just when i felt I had grasped what was going on the author(s) introduced something new. In truth the author(s) have thrown everything they have at this book; LGBT, mind control and bullying to name just some that won't give the storyline away.

I very nearly gave up but WOW i have to admit that the final sections more than made up for this. The gathering together of threads and more new threads - all drawn in so that i was holding my breath to see what on earth would happen next. The ending made me both gasp and cry.

I have read 2 others by this pair of writers one i really liked and one i felt a bit bland. This has elements of both previous reads but it's rating rivals the better of the two. I think I will be reading more by them.

I would love to know how they write together - does they take a chapter each or deal with separate elements of the narrative. Do they both know how it is going to end? or is it a surprise?

maz403's review

2.0

I struggled with this one. For me the characters just didn’t come to life and by the time I’d got halfway through the book I was starting to skim read and had to force myself to get to the end.
The story is fairly complex, intertwining a variety of teenage / young adult problems. There were some unexpected twists toward the end but it just wasn’t for me.

pricebubbline's review

dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75