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kweenreads's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
utopiastateofmind's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Not So Perfect Strangers definitely delivers a strong thriller vibe, but it's grounded in characters and motivation. It features Tasha and Madison's POVs allowing us to gain insight into these two women. And what I loved the most about this is that you can see all the things people think about our lives, our ambitions, and their own manipulations from the outside. Silent predators. When we are just living our lives, there's all sorts of secret stories being written about us. It features two women whose marriages are crumbling, or broken, for very different reasons. Comparing the timelines of before and now, Stratton introduces another layer of tension. We wonder how things skewed so far off the tracks of what we thought our life, our future, would be.
Not So Perfect Strangers definitely delivers a strong thriller vibe, but it's grounded in characters and motivation. It features Tasha and Madison's POVs allowing us to gain insight into these two women. And what I loved the most about this is that you can see all the things people think about our lives, our ambitions, and their own manipulations from the outside. Silent predators. When we are just living our lives, there's all sorts of secret stories being written about us. It features two women whose marriages are crumbling, or broken, for very different reasons. Comparing the timelines of before and now, Stratton introduces another layer of tension. We wonder how things skewed so far off the tracks of what we thought our life, our future, would be.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, and Racism
lifewithjoce's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Not So Perfect Strangers is a dual-perspective, dual-timeline novel centered around two women who both feel they would be better off without their husbands in the picture. When they come together via a fateful interaction, the path that both of their lives— especially Tasha’s— takes changes dramatically. As is common with the dual-timeline narrative, we know from the start that there is a fire in a mansion home, and that Tasha is the one who calls 911 about it. The rest of the book leads us on the journey of finding out exactly what happened there.
Stratton did an excellent job of writing both of these characters to feel believable and real; I felt their pain while I was reading their sections, and given that they were often at odds, this made for a strange but delightful reading experience. When reading from Madison’s perspective, I felt that I understood where she was coming from. Yes, this woman was a bit unhinged, but that is the time honored Gone Girl tradition of psycho-thriller books today. Rich, successful white women are always a bit unhinged, especially when their husband is a cheating piece of shit. That’s what makes the story interesting. I have a habit of falling a little bit in love with these types of women.
Full Review: https://writethroughthenight.com/2023/02/13/not-so-perfect-strangers-a-dual-perspective-thriller-that-subverted-expectations/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Drug abuse, and Car accident
Minor: Suicide and Racism
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