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bookph1le's review against another edition
3.0
This book was pretty good, but I didn't like it as much as Stevens's previous books, which freaked me out and kept me reading at breakneck speed. I never really connected with Nadine like I connected with the other books' characters. More complete review to come.
After reading Stevens' first two novels back to back, I was eagerly awaiting this one. All three of her works are more psychological suspense than they are necessarily thrillers, but the previous two books also had a sense of imminent danger that kept me on the edge of my seat. I didn't have the same experience with this book. I thought it was a pretty good book, but it didn't reach out and grab me in the same way the other two did. Some spoilers to follow.
Part of what tempered my enjoyment of this book was my inability to connect with Nadine as I did with the characters in the previous books. I don't know if this is because Nadine comes across as colder than the other two, or if it's because this book lacks a sense of present danger. I think it was probably a combination of both. It's not that Nadine is unlikeable, it's that I thought she was rather bland as a character. I was sympathetic to what she had gone through, but it didn't affect me in the visceral way that the situations of the characters in Stevens's previous two novels did.
Another thing that detracted from the novel is that I think it's a little predictable. I could see where it was going long before Nadine got there, and that killed the suspense of the revelation. I know the flashbacks were told in small snippets because they were meant to show how they interrupted Nadine's life, and how her recollections came in small flashes, but I think it would have been better had the novel been told in alternating chapters, one set in the present and the next set in the past. I didn't get enough of a feel for the commune where Nadine lived, which is a shame because it's a premise that might have really filled me with dread, had it been done differently.
The complicated relationship between Nadine and her daughter is interesting, but there's a revelation in there that I didn't think added to the narrative. It sets Nadine and her daughter up as foils for one another, but it felt too much like a plot device and not enough of an organic occurrence within the context of the book. I wouldn't go so far as saying it felt contrived, but it was pretty close.
I'm disappointed in this book because I found the previous novels so gripping. Still, Stevens is a talented author who has a knack for psychological suspense, and I do plan on reading her next book when it comes out. If you can only read one Stevens book, though, this is not the one I'd recommend. You'd be better off with [b:Never Knowing|10169662|Never Knowing|Chevy Stevens|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1294615110s/10169662.jpg|13723008] or [b:Still Missing|7159515|Still Missing|Chevy Stevens|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1260468195s/7159515.jpg|7383770]. And, on another note, I just realized that Nadine is a character in both of those novels, but I'd completely forgotten. That I found her forgettable most likely did not bode well for this book from the get go.
After reading Stevens' first two novels back to back, I was eagerly awaiting this one. All three of her works are more psychological suspense than they are necessarily thrillers, but the previous two books also had a sense of imminent danger that kept me on the edge of my seat. I didn't have the same experience with this book. I thought it was a pretty good book, but it didn't reach out and grab me in the same way the other two did. Some spoilers to follow.
Part of what tempered my enjoyment of this book was my inability to connect with Nadine as I did with the characters in the previous books. I don't know if this is because Nadine comes across as colder than the other two, or if it's because this book lacks a sense of present danger. I think it was probably a combination of both. It's not that Nadine is unlikeable, it's that I thought she was rather bland as a character. I was sympathetic to what she had gone through, but it didn't affect me in the visceral way that the situations of the characters in Stevens's previous two novels did.
Another thing that detracted from the novel is that I think it's a little predictable. I could see where it was going long before Nadine got there, and that killed the suspense of the revelation. I know the flashbacks were told in small snippets because they were meant to show how they interrupted Nadine's life, and how her recollections came in small flashes, but I think it would have been better had the novel been told in alternating chapters, one set in the present and the next set in the past. I didn't get enough of a feel for the commune where Nadine lived, which is a shame because it's a premise that might have really filled me with dread, had it been done differently.
The complicated relationship between Nadine and her daughter is interesting, but there's a revelation in there that I didn't think added to the narrative. It sets Nadine and her daughter up as foils for one another, but it felt too much like a plot device and not enough of an organic occurrence within the context of the book. I wouldn't go so far as saying it felt contrived, but it was pretty close.
I'm disappointed in this book because I found the previous novels so gripping. Still, Stevens is a talented author who has a knack for psychological suspense, and I do plan on reading her next book when it comes out. If you can only read one Stevens book, though, this is not the one I'd recommend. You'd be better off with [b:Never Knowing|10169662|Never Knowing|Chevy Stevens|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1294615110s/10169662.jpg|13723008] or [b:Still Missing|7159515|Still Missing|Chevy Stevens|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1260468195s/7159515.jpg|7383770]. And, on another note, I just realized that Nadine is a character in both of those novels, but I'd completely forgotten. That I found her forgettable most likely did not bode well for this book from the get go.
pam2375's review against another edition
3.0
What can I say about this book? HMMMMMM, I enjoyed her book [b:Still Missing|7159515|Still Missing|Chevy Stevens|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1260468195s/7159515.jpg|7383770] and thought that it was very well done. This one seemed to missing something.
This is the story of a woman that lived in a commune with her mother and brother for a period of 8 months while she was a child (pre-teenish). She doesn't remember a large part of her time in the commune, but she does know that bad stuff happened. Throughout the book she will regain snippets of memory that are being triggered by different events and experiences.
The premise of the story was good and it could have been an "edge of your seat" thriller, however, this one kind of left me with an 'oh well, it was alright'. None of the characters were developed. Just when you think that you are going to get to the meat of the matter we are left to wonder and move on to something/someone else.
This book was an easy and quick read and I would recommend it if you are sitting on the beach with nothing to do for a couple of days.
Many things to Netgalley and St Martins Press for this advanced readers copy. The expected publish date is June 18, 2013.
This is the story of a woman that lived in a commune with her mother and brother for a period of 8 months while she was a child (pre-teenish). She doesn't remember a large part of her time in the commune, but she does know that bad stuff happened. Throughout the book she will regain snippets of memory that are being triggered by different events and experiences.
The premise of the story was good and it could have been an "edge of your seat" thriller, however, this one kind of left me with an 'oh well, it was alright'. None of the characters were developed. Just when you think that you are going to get to the meat of the matter we are left to wonder and move on to something/someone else.
This book was an easy and quick read and I would recommend it if you are sitting on the beach with nothing to do for a couple of days.
Many things to Netgalley and St Martins Press for this advanced readers copy. The expected publish date is June 18, 2013.
kdickerson38's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
3.5
Cult theme; dark and emotional; mysterious; kind of a slow burn, which I don't necessarily mind, but I didn't like how all the answers were then given in rapid fire in the abrupt ending; the MC and her actions drove me nuts; just wasn't as gripping/engaging as I typically find her books to be, but wasn't bad either.
⚠️ check trigger warnings ⚠️
giannapiggies's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
emybooksandcoffee's review against another edition
3.0
I feel like the main characters' trauma could've been handled a little better. It felt like it was just thrown there for drama's sake. As it progressed it became fast-paced and enjoyable enough though.
holmstead's review against another edition
4.0
Ok, so let me start by saying that I was slightly bored at the beginning of this one. I've read one Stevens book before and liked it. So I decided to give another one a try. It started out fairly slow, a lot of depressing and uneventful things take place. At around 50% of the book, Nadine slowly starts to go from a sad and scared being to a strong, take-charge woman! It was really great to see her transform. She is a psychologist treating a patient who has several suicide attempts under her belt. We believe that from what this patient, Heather, has experienced and the things she's tried to overcome, it starts to bring up past pain and torment that Nadine has suppressed for 40 years. We delve into Nadine as a child and what she endured with her older brother, Robbie. Her mother, Kate, who was always unstable and depressed most of Nadine's childhood, was tempted by a seemingly harmless spirit center, or commune. It is run by Aaron and his brother Joseph. Kate is looking for something, something to take her away from her abusive husband, her unrelenting sadness. So she goes and lives at the commune with her children to be free of fear and to find peace, to surrender to "The Light." AKA: God? Don't really know.....
As Nadine continues to treat Heather, there are things that trigger Nadine's memories during that time at the commune. Then things go from bad to worse, to far far worse. We also meet Lisa, Nadine's daughter, who has struggled since her teen years with drugs ever since her father Paul past away from cancer. It's those sad and touching moments with Nadine trying to save her child that does me in. Along with Nadine's brother and all the demons he's been shoving under the rug over the years as well.
The last 100 pages is what bumped up the stars for me. I have to hand it to Ms. Stevens. She shows how human we are, even though we have education, and a degree, and all this training to show what a professional one achieves to be. But when it comes to your own family, it's unadulterated love and fear that gives us blinders to what is really happening.
As Nadine continues to treat Heather, there are things that trigger Nadine's memories during that time at the commune. Then things go from bad to worse, to far far worse. We also meet Lisa, Nadine's daughter, who has struggled since her teen years with drugs ever since her father Paul past away from cancer. It's those sad and touching moments with Nadine trying to save her child that does me in. Along with Nadine's brother and all the demons he's been shoving under the rug over the years as well.
The last 100 pages is what bumped up the stars for me. I have to hand it to Ms. Stevens. She shows how human we are, even though we have education, and a degree, and all this training to show what a professional one achieves to be. But when it comes to your own family, it's unadulterated love and fear that gives us blinders to what is really happening.
daisymerolling's review against another edition
3.0
*Won through Goodreads giveaway*
I was intrigued by this book so much that I didn't stop reading it until I finished it late at night. The plot was interesting although predictable at some points but that doesn't mean it's not good. Keeps you wanting to keep turning those pages till the very end. I felt that it ended suddenly though. Still a good read. Would definitely recommend it now that summer time is here!
I was intrigued by this book so much that I didn't stop reading it until I finished it late at night. The plot was interesting although predictable at some points but that doesn't mean it's not good. Keeps you wanting to keep turning those pages till the very end. I felt that it ended suddenly though. Still a good read. Would definitely recommend it now that summer time is here!