Reviews - Bring Me Back | The StoryGraph

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2.68k reviews for:

Bring Me Back

B.A. Paris

3.27 AVERAGE

readymadereader's review against another edition

3.0

mysterious 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

katkinney's review against another edition

5.0

This was probably my favorite B.A. Paris to date. I loved the mystery behind Layla’s disappearance. As usual in a B.A. Paris book, who can you trust? I found myself changing my mind about what must be going on at least a dozen times during this book, and was completely wrong all the way to the end!

Essentially, Finn and Layla are on a road trip when they stop at a bathroom, and Layla disappears. Twelve years later, Finn is engaged to marry Layla’s sister Ellen. When strange things begin to happen, has Layla somehow returned? Twists and turns galore!

Trigger Warnings:

Spoiler

murder, abuse, domestic violence

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.

melissa_h's review against another edition

2.0

My first read by B.A. Paris and I had high hopes because it is toted as a great thriller. Although I have been burned countless times by these rave reviews before I decided to give it a try because, why not? I enjoyed the first half, that is why it's 2 stars. I was intrigued.

Halfway through I got really bored of the same topics being repeated over and over. Yes, we know Layla may be alive, yes Ruby *may* be the suspect, yes the main dude (forget his name) is so incredibly distraught over everything. Who does he love?!?!!

More cons: Pointless characters - the man with his homebound wife, Tony (who even was he?) - and then the BIG twist!! *Shakes my head* It was soooo awful. I was not happy. It is so confusing, made no sense and I hated every minute of reading Layla/Ellen's 'voices' and reasoning. From there we get the FULL story in the form of a letter from Layla/Ellen...because that's lazy writing, but the easiest way to explain everything all at once in a big dump of words.

Awful. I will not be reading another one of these books in a long time.

vlynch5's review against another edition

4.0

When the book opens, things just don't look good for Finn and Layla.She has vanished without a trace. Finn seems to be kind of an average guy, nothing too special. But Layla, she is the kind of quirky, silly, cool girl who that is confident and vulnerable all at the same time. Think Drew Barrymore in Mad Love or Baby in Dirty Dancing. Just something special. And Finn knows it.

So when she goes missing, he seems to accept that the bright shining center of his life will never return. And so...years later, he cuts his losses and settles down with her older sister, Ellen. Still a beauty. But a quiet one. She has brown hair, not fiery red like Layla, and their life is comfortable, but lacks both the ups and downs of Finn and Layla's relationship.

Bring Me Back definitely leaves the reader guessing. Finn alludes several times in the beginning of the book that he knows Layla isn't coming back. Something sinister lurking? Then, the plot thickens as we learn more about Finn's back story and specifics of both relationships.

Bring Me Back is another page-turner. I loved the story, the mystery and the setting (a quaint town in rural Ireland). It's one of those stories that makes you question one character's motives, then another character's sanity, then everyone's motives AND sanity until you finally get your resolution.

I highly recommend this book to fans of B.A. Paris and other books of psychological suspense. It will keep you guessing! I also appreciated that the loose ends were tied up quite well in the end. Happy ending? No spoilers here, you'll have to see for yourself.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a free e-galley in exchange for my honest review.