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passionatereader78's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Abby's mother died when she was 14 and she has been living with her grandparents. She has always wanted to know who her father is. Her mother refused to tell her and her grandmother said she did not know. Abby finds a picture in her grandmother's drawer that changes everything. There is a picture with an inscription on the back, but no name. Abby knows it's her dad and she sets out to find him. The family has been cursed due to betrayal, secrets, and lies. This is a good book. I wanted more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death
Minor: Grief, Infidelity, Car accident, Classism, and Domestic abuse
laurenabeth's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A pleasant surprise! I bought this book on a whim, and I wasn’t disappointed.
It’s a whodunnit, and I generally dislike books with multiple timelines and shifting narrators, but I found myself gripped by the mysteries, by the characters, by their motivations.
The first chapter was a bit clumsy, so power through it for the reward. I was jarred by the switch between first person and third person, which took about the first hundred pages to get used to. Evelyn’s chapters are a bit overwritten, but it’s clearly intentional as she, a writer herself, is the narrator. Abby’s chapters are more desperate, somehow, more raw in the present, but both women share an urgency to define their lives and live them, and that urgency is well written and masterfully crafted.
Some plot points were predictable, but that didn’t detract from my enthusiasm to finish. In fact, I read the bulk of this book in one sitting, barely stopping until I understood the mystery of Evelyn Aubrey.
Trigger warnings for suicide, but the book carries a weighty message of resilience and fortitude.
It’s a whodunnit, and I generally dislike books with multiple timelines and shifting narrators, but I found myself gripped by the mysteries, by the characters, by their motivations.
The first chapter was a bit clumsy, so power through it for the reward. I was jarred by the switch between first person and third person, which took about the first hundred pages to get used to. Evelyn’s chapters are a bit overwritten, but it’s clearly intentional as she, a writer herself, is the narrator. Abby’s chapters are more desperate, somehow, more raw in the present, but both women share an urgency to define their lives and live them, and that urgency is well written and masterfully crafted.
Some plot points were predictable, but that didn’t detract from my enthusiasm to finish. In fact, I read the bulk of this book in one sitting, barely stopping until I understood the mystery of Evelyn Aubrey.
Trigger warnings for suicide, but the book carries a weighty message of resilience and fortitude.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Addiction
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