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megan_bbender's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I saw this book after Jessica Hamilton had posted a TikTok about it in 2021. I spent ages looking for this book. I could never find it online, bookstores had copies but I wouldn't be able to find them in the store. I looked everywhere, even making sure to stop at a store hours away because they had a copy, of course it wasn't there when I got there. I finally found a copy of this book months later, got home, and began reading it instantly.
This book is everything I thought it would be. I like to rate books based on how well they make me feel things. This book gave me goosebumps, gave me chills, made me feel relief, sadness, happiness, and so much more. Jessica Hamilton did an amazing job at making the emotions shine through the pages.
Each time there was a twist I became even more invested. I simply couldn't put this book down and read it all within 2 days. I normally don't like books with extreme amounts of details but I wanted to know everything, and more, so I found that Jessica Hamilton did it really well and the writing was really beautiful.
This book is everything I thought it would be. I like to rate books based on how well they make me feel things. This book gave me goosebumps, gave me chills, made me feel relief, sadness, happiness, and so much more. Jessica Hamilton did an amazing job at making the emotions shine through the pages.
Each time there was a twist I became even more invested. I simply couldn't put this book down and read it all within 2 days. I normally don't like books with extreme amounts of details but I wanted to know everything, and more, so I found that Jessica Hamilton did it really well and the writing was really beautiful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death, Murder, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Moderate: Eating disorder, Abandonment, and Stalking
bookishgoob's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
i went into this expecting a mystery and i got so much more. emotion. sadness. nostalgia. happiness. longing. this book was beautifully written and incredible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
girlonbooks's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.0
📷📷📷 (three stars as rated in cameras with the pesky habit of photographing stuff you'd rather no one else knew about)
I was given a free advanced reader copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
June is the last of the Bennett's. Recently divorced, with her mother and sister dead, June returns to her childhood vacation home to try to piece together what happened to her father. But what has been intentionally buried is not so painlessly uncovered. Is her eager-to-help childhood flame keeping dangerous secrets? And do her sister's Polaroids hold the key to her father's mysterious disappearance?
Alright, I thought this book was pretty fun. I'll admit, the story itself was fairly predictable. Still, it managed to throw a couple of curve balls at me near the end and I was pleasantly surprised by the "who-dun-it." The classic tropes of thrillers are tropes for a reason; because they work. So I can't really fault this book for relying on a lot of the old standards. The author did a good job of developing a creepy atmosphere and keeping me engaged. There were a few relationships that I wish had been better cleared up near the end, though. Regardless, this is almost exactly the kind of read I want with me on an airplane so if you're looking for an easy "beach read" sort of book, then this was a fairly good one.
✨ Rep in this book: n/a
✨ Content warnings for this book: death of a parent, death of a sibling, divorce, depression, mental illness, harassment, death of an animal, toxic relationship with a parent, dysfunctional family, infidelity, attempted murder, kidnapping, general violence, missing persons
I was given a free advanced reader copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
June is the last of the Bennett's. Recently divorced, with her mother and sister dead, June returns to her childhood vacation home to try to piece together what happened to her father. But what has been intentionally buried is not so painlessly uncovered. Is her eager-to-help childhood flame keeping dangerous secrets? And do her sister's Polaroids hold the key to her father's mysterious disappearance?
Alright, I thought this book was pretty fun. I'll admit, the story itself was fairly predictable. Still, it managed to throw a couple of curve balls at me near the end and I was pleasantly surprised by the "who-dun-it." The classic tropes of thrillers are tropes for a reason; because they work. So I can't really fault this book for relying on a lot of the old standards. The author did a good job of developing a creepy atmosphere and keeping me engaged. There were a few relationships that I wish had been better cleared up near the end, though. Regardless, this is almost exactly the kind of read I want with me on an airplane so if you're looking for an easy "beach read" sort of book, then this was a fairly good one.
✨ Rep in this book: n/a
✨ Content warnings for this book: death of a parent, death of a sibling, divorce, depression, mental illness, harassment, death of an animal, toxic relationship with a parent, dysfunctional family, infidelity, attempted murder, kidnapping, general violence, missing persons
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Kidnapping, and Violence
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Murder, and Alcoholism
aliyyah's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
"Mothers are not always good just because they're mothers, and fathers are not always good just because they're fathers. Wives are not always faithful, husbands are not always honest, daughters cannot be perfect, and sisters cannot be saviors."
What You Never Knew by Jessica Hamilton was an amazing thriller and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
I adored the plot. This book is about a woman returning to the island that she spent her childhood summers and ends up uncovering family secrets which have long been buried. The mystery aspect of this novel was extremely well crafted and kept me on my toes for the entire book. I was trying to figure things out right up until the very end.
The characters are highly complex and so interesting to read about. The protagonist, June has many different layers and sides to her and I really enjoyed being in her head. I also loved her sister, May’s, point of view. I thought it was really intriguing to be in the head of a character who has died. Familial relationships are a big part of this story and there is a such a pure love between these siblings that it makes my heart ache. The relationship between the sisters and their mother is another element that is woven throughout this novel. The ways in which June, especially, became her mother and the ways she rejected her added another level of depth to this book for me.
Ezra is another character that is prominent in this book, as he and June were childhood friends and then became lovers when she returned to Avril Island. I don’t have too many feelings on their relationship as I merely thought they were a little cute at certain moments, but this didn’t add anything to the story for me.
I absolutely loved the writing. I thought it was highly atmospheric and I could almost believe I was right there in Avril Island too. I was hooked from the very start, flying through this book. The only small downside is that there were a few grammatical errors but honestly, it didn’t have an impact on my enjoyment.
Something that I really adored about this book is that to me, it felt as if it was so much more than just a thriller. The relationships between sisters, mothers and daughters and husbands and wives were explored and I thought Hamilton did a wonderful job of tying in such themes with the overall mystery.
This book was so good and I loved every second of my reading experience.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.
What You Never Knew by Jessica Hamilton was an amazing thriller and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
I adored the plot. This book is about a woman returning to the island that she spent her childhood summers and ends up uncovering family secrets which have long been buried. The mystery aspect of this novel was extremely well crafted and kept me on my toes for the entire book. I was trying to figure things out right up until the very end.
The characters are highly complex and so interesting to read about. The protagonist, June has many different layers and sides to her and I really enjoyed being in her head. I also loved her sister, May’s, point of view. I thought it was really intriguing to be in the head of a character who has died. Familial relationships are a big part of this story and there is a such a pure love between these siblings that it makes my heart ache. The relationship between the sisters and their mother is another element that is woven throughout this novel. The ways in which June, especially, became her mother and the ways she rejected her added another level of depth to this book for me.
Ezra is another character that is prominent in this book, as he and June were childhood friends and then became lovers when she returned to Avril Island. I don’t have too many feelings on their relationship as I merely thought they were a little cute at certain moments, but this didn’t add anything to the story for me.
I absolutely loved the writing. I thought it was highly atmospheric and I could almost believe I was right there in Avril Island too. I was hooked from the very start, flying through this book. The only small downside is that there were a few grammatical errors but honestly, it didn’t have an impact on my enjoyment.
Something that I really adored about this book is that to me, it felt as if it was so much more than just a thriller. The relationships between sisters, mothers and daughters and husbands and wives were explored and I thought Hamilton did a wonderful job of tying in such themes with the overall mystery.
This book was so good and I loved every second of my reading experience.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Dementia, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Murder, and Suicide
Minor: Car accident, Death, Death of parent, and Homophobia
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