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carolineeckels's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
aeoliandeductress's review against another edition
4.0
Audiobook from Hoopla
All right person who clicked on this review hidden due to spoilers. You are either clicking because you finished the book (and if so proceed) or, like me, you get a certain amount into the book and you're like "just freaking tell me already". And normally, I'd be like, I feel you and read ahead- you're an adult and you know what you're doing. I will say, in the case of this book, you ARE better off going forward spoiler free. Most of what I read in spoiler reviews just made constantly analyze everything I was hearing, rather than actually enjoy the reveals. With that disclaimer, here goes nothing.
I don't know how I feel about this book. The beginning (first half really) is PAINFULLY slow, at least in audio. (Hence my quest for spoilers.) But once it got going, I will say Feeney crafted a very interesting web.
What we are actually reading is 2 perspectives from Amber- the "current" one of her in a coma and the one from a week ago that lead up to the accident that caused the coma. A third perspective- the journal of the 10 year old- is assumed to be Amber. But it's not.
Amber has a sister, Claire. And this is where I feel Feeney was both brilliant and failed a bit in the edit. We know almost nothing about Claire at the beginning. The first time we meet her, we know Paul (Amber's husband) is mad at her. Later, they seem to have patched things up, from Amber's coma perspective. I get that Feeney is trying to pull a twist, but a BIT of characterization of Claire at this point wouldn't have gone amiss and SHOULD have been fixed in the edit.
The one thing we keep hearing is that Claire is Amber's "younger" sister but always ahead of her. In the diaries, there is discussion of a miscarriage caused by the 10 year old pushing her mother down some stairs. Later, the concept of imaginary friends is introduced. So one starts to question the validity of Claire's existence.
But the 10 year old isn't Amber. The 10 year old is Claire. Claire, who eventually kills her own parents in a house fire, in a quest to stay with Taylor (who is actually Amber- Taylor is her maiden surname) when her parents are going to have to move. It works out for the diabolical 10 year old, as Taylor's (Amber's) mother agrees to adopt her.
After this revelation, we see Claire for the controlling bitch she's supposed to be. But where was this before? This is where I'm torn- brilliant or convenient plot twist with no logical lead up?
There are 3 additional plot lines woven throughout. 1, the obvious, is Amber thinks her husband is having an affair. While most things lead to us believing this isn't true- there are still some questionable moments in Paul's behavior that were never accounted for. These are either plot holes or they are intentional and meant to make us still question him at the end. Again, brilliant or lazy? 2- Amber's boss is trying to get her fired and Amber is on a mission to take the woman down before she can. This plot line is actually good, horrible but good, and serves a LOT of functions for the overall story web. I'll also say this bit had some of the best characterization, even if Madeline is mostly painted as awful. We're seeing her through a biased view AND you get the idea she doesn't have a lot beyond her work, so it's the one thing she gives to. 3- Edward. Fucking Edward. Claire's ex, who drugs and rapes her once prior to her accident and later rapes her comatose body. This character arc was RIDICULOUS and any decent editor should have told her to delete it. Someone will argue it was needed for certain things toward the end- sorry, I say wrong. This guy was just an asswipe, had nothing to do with basically anything otherwise, and the whole thing just made an already messy book messier.
All right, anyone who has read the book and liked it and isn't completely hating this review has one question- "But what about the bracelet?" And this is where I will flat out say that Feeney herself doesn't know the answer to that question because she didn't put it in there to be answered. She put it in there as a "final twist" because that's what people think thriller authors should do, even when it makes no fucking sense. For the sake of the thought experiment, there are only a couple of viable options. Somehow Claire didn't die in the fire (highly unlikely- she would have come and got her kids by now, she clearly doesn't have that impulse control) or Paul is up to something. I'll give marginal possibilities to Edward surviving (they found a charred corpse there if I remember right, so unlikely the sisters got it that wrong), Amber is somehow fucking with herself (I think unlikely- she had an imaginary friend but nothing else leads me down this path), OR Madeline somehow got a hold of it and is using it (which makes basically no sense other than I do think Madeline would be out to make a bitch pay if she had any ability to do so). There could be a final character that's unconsidered or that we never knew, but seems unlikely.
So 3.5 rounded up to 4. I did keep listening. I do think the web of the sister and parent questions was really well done. Delete Edward and the bracelet thing and I'd move it up.
All right person who clicked on this review hidden due to spoilers. You are either clicking because you finished the book (and if so proceed) or, like me, you get a certain amount into the book and you're like "just freaking tell me already". And normally, I'd be like, I feel you and read ahead- you're an adult and you know what you're doing. I will say, in the case of this book, you ARE better off going forward spoiler free. Most of what I read in spoiler reviews just made constantly analyze everything I was hearing, rather than actually enjoy the reveals. With that disclaimer, here goes nothing.
I don't know how I feel about this book. The beginning (first half really) is PAINFULLY slow, at least in audio. (Hence my quest for spoilers.) But once it got going, I will say Feeney crafted a very interesting web.
What we are actually reading is 2 perspectives from Amber- the "current" one of her in a coma and the one from a week ago that lead up to the accident that caused the coma. A third perspective- the journal of the 10 year old- is assumed to be Amber. But it's not.
Amber has a sister, Claire. And this is where I feel Feeney was both brilliant and failed a bit in the edit. We know almost nothing about Claire at the beginning. The first time we meet her, we know Paul (Amber's husband) is mad at her. Later, they seem to have patched things up, from Amber's coma perspective. I get that Feeney is trying to pull a twist, but a BIT of characterization of Claire at this point wouldn't have gone amiss and SHOULD have been fixed in the edit.
The one thing we keep hearing is that Claire is Amber's "younger" sister but always ahead of her. In the diaries, there is discussion of a miscarriage caused by the 10 year old pushing her mother down some stairs. Later, the concept of imaginary friends is introduced. So one starts to question the validity of Claire's existence.
But the 10 year old isn't Amber. The 10 year old is Claire. Claire, who eventually kills her own parents in a house fire, in a quest to stay with Taylor (who is actually Amber- Taylor is her maiden surname) when her parents are going to have to move. It works out for the diabolical 10 year old, as Taylor's (Amber's) mother agrees to adopt her.
After this revelation, we see Claire for the controlling bitch she's supposed to be. But where was this before? This is where I'm torn- brilliant or convenient plot twist with no logical lead up?
There are 3 additional plot lines woven throughout. 1, the obvious, is Amber thinks her husband is having an affair. While most things lead to us believing this isn't true- there are still some questionable moments in Paul's behavior that were never accounted for. These are either plot holes or they are intentional and meant to make us still question him at the end. Again, brilliant or lazy? 2- Amber's boss is trying to get her fired and Amber is on a mission to take the woman down before she can. This plot line is actually good, horrible but good, and serves a LOT of functions for the overall story web. I'll also say this bit had some of the best characterization, even if Madeline is mostly painted as awful. We're seeing her through a biased view AND you get the idea she doesn't have a lot beyond her work, so it's the one thing she gives to. 3- Edward. Fucking Edward. Claire's ex, who drugs and rapes her once prior to her accident and later rapes her comatose body. This character arc was RIDICULOUS and any decent editor should have told her to delete it. Someone will argue it was needed for certain things toward the end- sorry, I say wrong. This guy was just an asswipe, had nothing to do with basically anything otherwise, and the whole thing just made an already messy book messier.
All right, anyone who has read the book and liked it and isn't completely hating this review has one question- "But what about the bracelet?" And this is where I will flat out say that Feeney herself doesn't know the answer to that question because she didn't put it in there to be answered. She put it in there as a "final twist" because that's what people think thriller authors should do, even when it makes no fucking sense. For the sake of the thought experiment, there are only a couple of viable options. Somehow Claire didn't die in the fire (highly unlikely- she would have come and got her kids by now, she clearly doesn't have that impulse control) or Paul is up to something. I'll give marginal possibilities to Edward surviving (they found a charred corpse there if I remember right, so unlikely the sisters got it that wrong), Amber is somehow fucking with herself (I think unlikely- she had an imaginary friend but nothing else leads me down this path), OR Madeline somehow got a hold of it and is using it (which makes basically no sense other than I do think Madeline would be out to make a bitch pay if she had any ability to do so). There could be a final character that's unconsidered or that we never knew, but seems unlikely.
So 3.5 rounded up to 4. I did keep listening. I do think the web of the sister and parent questions was really well done. Delete Edward and the bracelet thing and I'd move it up.
sammycrawford's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
sara_eliz21's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A good story but I slightly hated all the characters
vanillakilos's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
satellitehabits's review against another edition
4.0
Great thriller read! It’s really hard to write something that hasn’t been done before and I thought this was really well done especially for a debut author! Can’t say much more without spoiling it for everybody else but you should definitely check this out, and I for sure will be on the lookout for her next release!
leynaodell's review against another edition
4.0
I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this one. I enjoyed it, but I have questions. A book like this is one to reread to see if you catch things later on that you didn’t the first time. It kept me guessing and had some fun twists, so I’m landing on a 4 star.
annetteskye's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
elle_lauren's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
dinasbogunivers's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Murder, Stalking, and Alcoholism