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mymidnightbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
thephdivabooks's review
4.0
I am a big fan of Peter Swanson so I was excited to go back and read the earlier books I missed. I knew going in that All the Beautiful Lies would be polarizing because it does (TW) touch on themes of grooming and relationships that may make many readers uncomfortable between stepparent and stepchild (though everyone is of legal age). The book summary is actually quite misleading, in my opinion. It talks about the book as though it is largely Harry’s story—a twenty-one year old whose father dies and who has a complicated attraction to his step mother Alice and another woman Grace.
However, Harry’s story is more minor than that. Harry isn’t remotely the main character here, Alice is. And the majority of Alice’s story has almost nothing to do with Harry. In fact, the scenes with Harry and Alice are few and far between. The majority of Alice’s story is actually about growing up and her relationship with her mother, her stepfather, and her peers her age. Alice’s story is one that will unfold across the book and I didn’t really know what to make of her until much later in the story. Alice is complicated, I wasn’t sure if I should be on her side or not until I saw everything with clarity in the final scenes. There were plenty of troubling moments from her childhood and young adulthood that made me question how much of Alice was truly her, and how much was how she learned to be by the mistreatment from others.
In present day, Alice is grieving the death of her husband and trying to help his son Harry process the loss of his father, Bill. Harry is confused about Alice—he has always found her attractive, but doesn’t know her that well. In the past, Alice is a teenager whose mother is an alcoholic and whose stepfather is the only stable person in her life. Despite the premise making it sound as though the present story is the main one, I would say Alice’s backstory is the prominent narrative. In the present, she’s an enigmatic figure Harry has complicated feelings for. In the past, Alice is a teenager lost to a mother who neglects her and disappoints her at every turn.
While this book won’t be for everyone, I thought there was a compelling message to take away from the story. I don’t want to say much more because I don’t want to spoil the twists. I couldn’t stop reading this, though at times I found certain elements to the plot disturbing. Ultimately, I concluded they were necessary for me to take from the story what I did. This is not a book where it is easy to unpack what you thought of each character, and that alone is a testament to Swanson’s storytelling.
However, Harry’s story is more minor than that. Harry isn’t remotely the main character here, Alice is. And the majority of Alice’s story has almost nothing to do with Harry. In fact, the scenes with Harry and Alice are few and far between. The majority of Alice’s story is actually about growing up and her relationship with her mother, her stepfather, and her peers her age. Alice’s story is one that will unfold across the book and I didn’t really know what to make of her until much later in the story. Alice is complicated, I wasn’t sure if I should be on her side or not until I saw everything with clarity in the final scenes. There were plenty of troubling moments from her childhood and young adulthood that made me question how much of Alice was truly her, and how much was how she learned to be by the mistreatment from others.
In present day, Alice is grieving the death of her husband and trying to help his son Harry process the loss of his father, Bill. Harry is confused about Alice—he has always found her attractive, but doesn’t know her that well. In the past, Alice is a teenager whose mother is an alcoholic and whose stepfather is the only stable person in her life. Despite the premise making it sound as though the present story is the main one, I would say Alice’s backstory is the prominent narrative. In the present, she’s an enigmatic figure Harry has complicated feelings for. In the past, Alice is a teenager lost to a mother who neglects her and disappoints her at every turn.
While this book won’t be for everyone, I thought there was a compelling message to take away from the story. I don’t want to say much more because I don’t want to spoil the twists. I couldn’t stop reading this, though at times I found certain elements to the plot disturbing. Ultimately, I concluded they were necessary for me to take from the story what I did. This is not a book where it is easy to unpack what you thought of each character, and that alone is a testament to Swanson’s storytelling.
cmhknitz's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
vanessareadstoomuch's review
2.0
Oof I usually love his books but this one wasn’t for me. The abuse and pedophilia in this one is intense. I feel like it was gross and depicted a false picture of the cycle of abuse. Also I just felt like it was boring and predictable.
caz_the_calzone's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
kplovesstories's review
2.0
Nope. Didn’t like it. Only gave it 2 stars because I did finish it hoping for something more.
The sexual predator and inappropriate relationships between stepparents and stepchildren felt gratuitous at best.
Wasn’t a lot of mystery at all.
All characters were underdeveloped, boring, unlikable.
This was bad. May downgrade to 1 star.
The sexual predator and inappropriate relationships between stepparents and stepchildren felt gratuitous at best.
Wasn’t a lot of mystery at all.
All characters were underdeveloped, boring, unlikable.
This was bad. May downgrade to 1 star.
eleni_giorgos's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
sleightoffeet's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
evefaith's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
laurenwiat's review against another edition
3.0
As a Peter Swanson fan, I wasn’t as drawn in by this book as others. I was surprised about the borderline nonconsensual scene. I wish there was more of Harry bc he was so likable, bc I loathed reading anything on Jake or Alice’s perspective - which I supposed was the point