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3.37 AVERAGE
3.37 AVERAGE
This book made no sense. There were a few great chapters that almost built a plot and then they lost it. Skip this one.
The hype surrounding this book's release has been insane, and the subsequent rave reviews seem to be everywhere, which makes me wonder - am I the only person in the world who was totally underwhelmed by this book? There have been lots of comparisons made to Gone Girl (and equally lots of people claiming that it's nothing like Gone Girl). I fall firmly into the former camp - this book IS like Gone Girl in the sense that I had absolutely no interest or sympathy for the characters whatsoever.
I've left it a few days between finishing the book and writing the review just in case my views change, but nope, after closing the book it left my mind totally, which personally I don't feel is the sign of a great story.
The premise is excellent - who could fail to be intrigued by the idea of opening a book and the story being all about you? However, the premise was let down by a keep-you-in-the-dark plot and a series of shallow, weak and generally unlikeable characters. Ok, I admit, I don't like 'keep-you-in-the-dark' plots because I am generally rubbish at guessing what's going on. I'm the sort of person who needs movie plots explaining to me *as I'm watching them*. So this meant that I spent about half the book wondering what the hell was going on. This wasn't helped by the fact that the writing style was pretty clunky and the dialogue poor.
It took some time before I felt interested enough in the story to actually *want* to read it rather than feel obliged to because I needed to do a NetGalley review. In fact, I was probably three-quarters of the way through before started enjoying it. But even then I kept getting thrown out of the story by awkwardly worded passages or odd dialogue.
Overall, I was seriously disappointed by this book. The storyline was good, but the delivery poor. I never lost myself in this book, which is a shame.
I was provided with a free e-copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I've left it a few days between finishing the book and writing the review just in case my views change, but nope, after closing the book it left my mind totally, which personally I don't feel is the sign of a great story.
The premise is excellent - who could fail to be intrigued by the idea of opening a book and the story being all about you? However, the premise was let down by a keep-you-in-the-dark plot and a series of shallow, weak and generally unlikeable characters. Ok, I admit, I don't like 'keep-you-in-the-dark' plots because I am generally rubbish at guessing what's going on. I'm the sort of person who needs movie plots explaining to me *as I'm watching them*. So this meant that I spent about half the book wondering what the hell was going on. This wasn't helped by the fact that the writing style was pretty clunky and the dialogue poor.
It took some time before I felt interested enough in the story to actually *want* to read it rather than feel obliged to because I needed to do a NetGalley review. In fact, I was probably three-quarters of the way through before started enjoying it. But even then I kept getting thrown out of the story by awkwardly worded passages or odd dialogue.
Overall, I was seriously disappointed by this book. The storyline was good, but the delivery poor. I never lost myself in this book, which is a shame.
I was provided with a free e-copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Was very bored for most of the book and it didn’t keep my attention
This story doesn't take any big leaps, so it isn't a thriller, and it is obvious what happened early on, so it wasn't really a mystery, either. It's much more an examination the way men shame women for their sexuality by weaving convenient narratives from only fractions of evidence. Knight allows Catherine agency to rearrange her life the way she chooses after her secret is revealed, which left me a satisfied reader.
Catherine's life begins to unravel when she chances upon a novel with her as the central character, exposing a dark secret she thought nobody knew. This debut novel, touted as the next "Gone Girl", has a few twists and turns for lovers of the thriller genre. Throw in an unreliable narrator and you never know what to expect. I wasn't too big a fan of the writing, but I was hooked by the premise and couldn't put it down. Expect to see a movie adaptation on the big screen soon.
The beginning has a decent plot device/hook, but the rest of it ends up way too ambitious and gimmicky to be plausible or enjoyable.
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not a huge fan of the writing style. Interesting story, but kinda slow in the beginning.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault
Forsåvidt god og spennende, men slutten fislet en smule ut i sanden. Helt ok no-brainer.
Based on the cover statement: "Imagine if the next thriller you opened was all about you," I was hoping that this book was going to be "Stranger Than Fiction" in thriller form wherein the main character picks up a book that describes things that are currently happening to them (Creepy, right? I still like that premise).
Disappointingly, this was not the case - the events featured in the thriller are ones that happened 20 years prior (more of a "I Know What You Did Last Summer" or 20 summers ago, more precisely). BUT once I got over my disappointment, this was a pretty engaging book of its genre. It has the same feel as "The Girl on the Train" or "The Husband's Secret," but was a much faster and more satisfying read for me. (Short chapters for the win!) There are some cleverly placed omissions and unreliable narration that along with scattered clues make for some good twists and a satisfying narrative.
The only thing that niggles at my heart is that the content is such that, along with the last few thrillers I've read, I'm starting to wonder whether it's morally acceptable to get ghoulish entertainment from reading about circumstances so close to horrific things people have actually suffered in real life. But I think that's more a criticism of a genre (or my recent sequence of reading/movie choices) than it is a problem with this book specifically.
Disappointingly, this was not the case - the events featured in the thriller are ones that happened 20 years prior (more of a "I Know What You Did Last Summer" or 20 summers ago, more precisely). BUT once I got over my disappointment, this was a pretty engaging book of its genre. It has the same feel as "The Girl on the Train" or "The Husband's Secret," but was a much faster and more satisfying read for me. (Short chapters for the win!) There are some cleverly placed omissions and unreliable narration that along with scattered clues make for some good twists and a satisfying narrative.
The only thing that niggles at my heart is that the content is such that, along with the last few thrillers I've read, I'm starting to wonder whether it's morally acceptable to get ghoulish entertainment from reading about circumstances so close to horrific things people have actually suffered in real life. But I think that's more a criticism of a genre (or my recent sequence of reading/movie choices) than it is a problem with this book specifically.