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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
COMES OUT JULY 14TH 2020
TW: self-harm!!!! can't believe it's not mentioned, it is not even a spoiler.
So this book wasn't as thrilling as it could have been for pretty much three fourths of the book. Where was the anxiety inducing suspense? The urgency? The creepy feels? I was waiting for something to happen during the supposedly hair-raising moments we were given (pretty much the few times she went inside the family house) — like Nina catching her, or her breaking something or anything that would have added some spice to the thrilling part of the story! But of course, nothing of the sort happened, and I was NEVER truly scared for Emily during her snooping around.
The story suffered from clichés (the setting, the characters, the romance…) and plot points that have been overused recently in the thriller/mystery genre. If I have to read another story where the phone runs out of battery when this could have been clearly avoided, I’m gonna scream!
I think the writing is not terrible but it's not great; it's very melodramatic and over-the-top. The pace of the story was also very slow and it took too long for the story to become somewhat tense and suspenseful. I personally didn’t mind the plot and found it interesting, but I can definitely see some readers be bored by its predictability and its lackluster characters. I also did not like the romantic aspect and thought it was unnecessary and reaaaaally annoying to have in the background.
The ending was… interesting. Not sure if it was satisfying, though. Also, two things that were left unanswered:
– were some of the flashbacks Emily's past?
– what was the story about the body discovered in the woods?
Oh lastly, I would have really appreciated some indicator of time at the beginning of chapters as sometimes you really couldn't tell whether it was from the past or the present until you had read a few paragraphs.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!! Always so thankful to be able to read more.
TW: self-harm!!!! can't believe it's not mentioned, it is not even a spoiler.
So this book wasn't as thrilling as it could have been for pretty much three fourths of the book. Where was the anxiety inducing suspense? The urgency? The creepy feels? I was waiting for something to happen during the supposedly hair-raising moments we were given (pretty much the few times she went inside the family house) — like Nina catching her, or her breaking something or anything that would have added some spice to the thrilling part of the story! But of course, nothing of the sort happened, and I was NEVER truly scared for Emily during her snooping around.
The story suffered from clichés (the setting, the characters, the romance…) and plot points that have been overused recently in the thriller/mystery genre. If I have to read another story where the phone runs out of battery when this could have been clearly avoided, I’m gonna scream!
I think the writing is not terrible but it's not great; it's very melodramatic and over-the-top. The pace of the story was also very slow and it took too long for the story to become somewhat tense and suspenseful. I personally didn’t mind the plot and found it interesting, but I can definitely see some readers be bored by its predictability and its lackluster characters. I also did not like the romantic aspect and thought it was unnecessary and reaaaaally annoying to have in the background.
The ending was… interesting. Not sure if it was satisfying, though. Also, two things that were left unanswered:
– were some of the flashbacks Emily's past?
– what was the story about the body discovered in the woods?
Oh lastly, I would have really appreciated some indicator of time at the beginning of chapters as sometimes you really couldn't tell whether it was from the past or the present until you had read a few paragraphs.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!! Always so thankful to be able to read more.
Emily is down on her luck so when her former boss offers her an opportunity of a lifetime, moving to his French estate to help his wife and daughter as a housekeeper/assistant, she thinks it’s too good an opportunity to pass up. Emily settles in well to life in the beautiful, remote French countryside but as time passes she starts to realize that all is not as it seems with Nina and Aurelia and that, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is!
I really enjoyed the author’s writing style and I was instantly hooked. If you’d asked me at the half way point what I thought of this book I’d have told you I was loving it but as things progressed in the second half of the book I felt a bit let down. I guessed the twist quite early and was disappointed to find that I was right. I was really hoping it would surprise me and go in a different direction. I really liked Emily’s character, though I did find her naivety a bit unbelievable at times. I enjoyed this one and it was a quick read but I wasn’t blown away. I would definitely read future books from this author as her writing style really drew me in!
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed the author’s writing style and I was instantly hooked. If you’d asked me at the half way point what I thought of this book I’d have told you I was loving it but as things progressed in the second half of the book I felt a bit let down. I guessed the twist quite early and was disappointed to find that I was right. I was really hoping it would surprise me and go in a different direction. I really liked Emily’s character, though I did find her naivety a bit unbelievable at times. I enjoyed this one and it was a quick read but I wasn’t blown away. I would definitely read future books from this author as her writing style really drew me in!
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The Safe Place is great example of well-paced, consistent tension building. It’s a compelling, read in a day narrative that builds in many directions from the first page. Happy summer reading everybody, this is the domestic thriller you all need.
To put it simply, Emily Proudman is a mess. A struggling actress who can’t pay her rent, she gets fired from her temp job. Unsure of what’s next or how she will pay her bills, the perfect opportunity seems to fall in her lap.
Scott, the head of the company she was fired from, presents her with an opportunity that seems too good to be true & she quickly accepts, relieved to have a paycheck coming in again. Emily quickly realizes her job, serving as a housekeeper at their French estate, isn’t what she imagined & that something is going on with Scott’s wife Nina & daughter Aurelia. What secrets are Scott & Nina hiding? Emily is determined to find out.
Overall, I enjoyed this one & it kept me entertained. It was a quick read & took me just a few hours. I’m rating it ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 stars, though, because I figured out the twist pretty early & most of the story was far-fetched.
Scott, the head of the company she was fired from, presents her with an opportunity that seems too good to be true & she quickly accepts, relieved to have a paycheck coming in again. Emily quickly realizes her job, serving as a housekeeper at their French estate, isn’t what she imagined & that something is going on with Scott’s wife Nina & daughter Aurelia. What secrets are Scott & Nina hiding? Emily is determined to find out.
Overall, I enjoyed this one & it kept me entertained. It was a quick read & took me just a few hours. I’m rating it ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 stars, though, because I figured out the twist pretty early & most of the story was far-fetched.
The Safe Place by Anna Downes was such a good summer read. I highly recommend for those looking for a fast-paced, quick, and engaging read. The cover was stunning and this was a great debut thriller!
Emily hits a string of bad luck starting with being fired from her temp job. That job was paying the bills while she was trying to make it as an actress however, she was striking out at her auditions. After getting fired, she quickly learns she has been dropped by her agent and the subsequent agency, a career death. On top of that, she is being evicted from her apartment. With no close friends and a poor relationship with her adoptive parents, Emily is out of luck and desperate.
In alternating chapters, we meet Scott. A wealthy CEO at the company where Emily was just fired from, he seems to be a puppet master with Emily's life. We find out that he is the source of her bad luck recently and he sets himself up to be Emily's savior, offering her a full-time job living at his estate in France to assist his wife and child. Emily, eager to please and get herself out of her current situation, accepts and finds out she had no idea what she was in for.
I loved Anna Downe's writing style, I didn't want to put this book down and flew through it over the weekend! It was engaging and the characters were well developed. I'm looking forward to her future releases!
Emily hits a string of bad luck starting with being fired from her temp job. That job was paying the bills while she was trying to make it as an actress however, she was striking out at her auditions. After getting fired, she quickly learns she has been dropped by her agent and the subsequent agency, a career death. On top of that, she is being evicted from her apartment. With no close friends and a poor relationship with her adoptive parents, Emily is out of luck and desperate.
In alternating chapters, we meet Scott. A wealthy CEO at the company where Emily was just fired from, he seems to be a puppet master with Emily's life. We find out that he is the source of her bad luck recently and he sets himself up to be Emily's savior, offering her a full-time job living at his estate in France to assist his wife and child. Emily, eager to please and get herself out of her current situation, accepts and finds out she had no idea what she was in for.
I loved Anna Downe's writing style, I didn't want to put this book down and flew through it over the weekend! It was engaging and the characters were well developed. I'm looking forward to her future releases!
This was a nice, easy summer read. It was a page turner but I did feel it was somewhat predictable and then the ending felt somewhat rushed and the reveal seemed out of left field. I give it a 3.5.
Was the plot kind of predictable? Yes. But was it entertaining and a quick read? Also, yes.
I enjoyed my time while reading “The Safe Place” by debut author Anna Downes. The plot follows Emily who is a bit of a scatterbrain. She wants to be an actress but is down on her luck, very broke and about to be thrown out of her apartment. In comes Scott, her boss at the hedgefund where she temps as a receptionist and offers her a job wherein she would go to France, live in his sprawling house there and help out with his wife and child. Sounds to good to be true right? Yeah, you were right.
From the very beginning you know that something is off with this situation. There’s a feeling for foreboding and creepiness that was underlying through the book. But then there are times when you’re lulled into happiness and ‘Oh, things seem okay.’ and then BOOM, things are not.
I’m not going to lie, I did get a little bored in the middle but I still think that this book ended up with a 3.5 star which I rounded up to 4.
Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books/St. Martin’s Press for sharing this ARC with me in exchange my honest review.
I enjoyed my time while reading “The Safe Place” by debut author Anna Downes. The plot follows Emily who is a bit of a scatterbrain. She wants to be an actress but is down on her luck, very broke and about to be thrown out of her apartment. In comes Scott, her boss at the hedgefund where she temps as a receptionist and offers her a job wherein she would go to France, live in his sprawling house there and help out with his wife and child. Sounds to good to be true right? Yeah, you were right.
From the very beginning you know that something is off with this situation. There’s a feeling for foreboding and creepiness that was underlying through the book. But then there are times when you’re lulled into happiness and ‘Oh, things seem okay.’ and then BOOM, things are not.
I’m not going to lie, I did get a little bored in the middle but I still think that this book ended up with a 3.5 star which I rounded up to 4.
Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books/St. Martin’s Press for sharing this ARC with me in exchange my honest review.
Thank you to Minotaur books for sending me THE SAFE PLACE in exchange for my honest review.
Y'all, this wasn't it. I was excited for this one but found that it was a slow burn. I was waiting for something like MISERY, but I couldn't get into it. I was really excited for this one too, so it was disappointing.
Y'all, this wasn't it. I was excited for this one but found that it was a slow burn. I was waiting for something like MISERY, but I couldn't get into it. I was really excited for this one too, so it was disappointing.
Emily seems to be in the right place at the right time. Her former boss, Scott Denny offers her the chance of a lifetime. A job on a remote French estate. Is it too good to be true? She is entranced by Scott and feels she has nothing to lose --she lost her job, has no acting career and her parents wouldn't care if she dropped off the face of the earth.
Emily meets Scott's. wife, Nina and their daughter Aurelia, who is sick. Soon she learns that things are not what they seem and she is right in the middle of it.
This book started off slowly. I had a bit of a tough time keeping interest, but I am glad I stuck with it. I ended up enjoying this book. Emily's character drove me a bit crazy. I thought she was extremely naive and should have figured out what was going on way before she did. I wasn't surprised by the ending, but that didn't affect how I felt about the book. I do wish there was more to the ending. Maybe a second book?? Overall, I think this was a solid debut for the author. I look forward to reading more of her books in the future!
Thank you to NetGalley, Affirm Press and Anna Downes for the ARC!
Emily meets Scott's. wife, Nina and their daughter Aurelia, who is sick. Soon she learns that things are not what they seem and she is right in the middle of it.
This book started off slowly. I had a bit of a tough time keeping interest, but I am glad I stuck with it. I ended up enjoying this book. Emily's character drove me a bit crazy. I thought she was extremely naive and should have figured out what was going on way before she did. I wasn't surprised by the ending, but that didn't affect how I felt about the book. I do wish there was more to the ending. Maybe a second book?? Overall, I think this was a solid debut for the author. I look forward to reading more of her books in the future!
Thank you to NetGalley, Affirm Press and Anna Downes for the ARC!
Thank you to Minotaur Books (@minotaur_books), the author (@anna_downes_writer), and Goodreads (@goodreads) for the ARC. All opinions in this review are my own.
When Emily loses her job, apartment, and agent on the same day, it seems like a miracle when Scott offers her an incredible job to care for his family at his remote French estate. The idyllic setting of The Safe Place makes you almost want Emily to ignore her feelings that something is amiss to stay in it a little longer. Needless to say, there is something wrong. Every time I thought I figured out what was going on, something unexpected would happen. I liked that the narrative is told from different perspectives because it heightens the suspense throughout the novel.
I don’t want to say too much more about this book because I don’t want to spoil anything. You are just going to have to read it for yourself!
When Emily loses her job, apartment, and agent on the same day, it seems like a miracle when Scott offers her an incredible job to care for his family at his remote French estate. The idyllic setting of The Safe Place makes you almost want Emily to ignore her feelings that something is amiss to stay in it a little longer. Needless to say, there is something wrong. Every time I thought I figured out what was going on, something unexpected would happen. I liked that the narrative is told from different perspectives because it heightens the suspense throughout the novel.
I don’t want to say too much more about this book because I don’t want to spoil anything. You are just going to have to read it for yourself!