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whatshotblog's review
3.0
A couple of good twists and turns as I’d expected but the ending fell a little flat. The story felt like it was building up to something big but in the end I found it anti-climactic. However, there was a really interesting depiction of a tense relationship between siblings. Not as good as “You Let Me In” by Lucy Clarke but a decent read.
gwentolios's review
4.0
Not what I was expecting. A bit darker, but light at the end. I love the theme though of trying to connect to people, even after things have been broken. And traveling! Ah, who doesn't love traveling? Clarke doesn't get into the detail of the scenery too much, I wish she did that more, but enough to feel places. And she certainly got into characters. They're so fascinating to read about, with revelations coming along and just the right. Best hostel swap ever.
deskynowsky's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book.. I think I was in the right mood to read this kind of book.. a good choice for an Adult Contemporary Summer Read..
I bought this book without knowing what it was all about, the cover of the book drew me in and when I read the synopsis at the back, this book promised an adventure of traveling to some summery places in the world.. (well, the mentioned of Bali won me over tho.. haha).
Basically this book was about two sisters, Katie and Mia Greene. And one day, Katie received a phone call at night then a visit from some officials that informed her about her sister, Mia who was found dead in Bali. Long story short, Katie and Mia were not in the best relationship situation and for the last six months (when Mia started her traveling journey) were kinda no-significant-communication and cold. Then after the death of Mia, Katie got Mia's travel journal, marking and answering some important events in these sisters life that lead to Katie who then decided one day to follow her sister's journey, traveling around the world to find some answers following Mia's death which by officials announced as an act of suicide.
I really liked these books mainly because of the characters, the twists, the drama, and the plot. The characters were really intriguing and how then the story shaped the addictive drama plot that untangling the mystery surrounding Mia's death layer by layer. Some of the twists were pretty unpredictable too. At the end, I really enjoyed the traveling adventure story in the book. It was kinda Eat, Pray, Love but with mystery and drama and also someone died in this book.
At first I thought this book was going to be a crime mystery kind of book, but it was not.. It was more mystery, drama, contemporary read and it was perfect to read at the pool-side or at the beach.. :)
This book has other name too, I think Swimming at Night is the title for the American Market. The book's original name is The Sea Sisters, I think this one is for the UK market. And I really enjoyed Lucy Clarke's writing style, recently she has new book published called A Single Breathe, it sounds amazingly intriguing, I might check that out soon ;)
I bought this book without knowing what it was all about, the cover of the book drew me in and when I read the synopsis at the back, this book promised an adventure of traveling to some summery places in the world.. (well, the mentioned of Bali won me over tho.. haha).
Basically this book was about two sisters, Katie and Mia Greene. And one day, Katie received a phone call at night then a visit from some officials that informed her about her sister, Mia who was found dead in Bali. Long story short, Katie and Mia were not in the best relationship situation and for the last six months (when Mia started her traveling journey) were kinda no-significant-communication and cold. Then after the death of Mia, Katie got Mia's travel journal, marking and answering some important events in these sisters life that lead to Katie who then decided one day to follow her sister's journey, traveling around the world to find some answers following Mia's death which by officials announced as an act of suicide.
I really liked these books mainly because of the characters, the twists, the drama, and the plot. The characters were really intriguing and how then the story shaped the addictive drama plot that untangling the mystery surrounding Mia's death layer by layer. Some of the twists were pretty unpredictable too. At the end, I really enjoyed the traveling adventure story in the book. It was kinda Eat, Pray, Love but with mystery and drama and also someone died in this book.
At first I thought this book was going to be a crime mystery kind of book, but it was not.. It was more mystery, drama, contemporary read and it was perfect to read at the pool-side or at the beach.. :)
This book has other name too, I think Swimming at Night is the title for the American Market. The book's original name is The Sea Sisters, I think this one is for the UK market. And I really enjoyed Lucy Clarke's writing style, recently she has new book published called A Single Breathe, it sounds amazingly intriguing, I might check that out soon ;)
fictionophile's review against another edition
4.0
This review was originally published on my blog: Fictionophile
“People go traveling for two reasons: because they are searching for something, or they are running from something”.
Sometimes it is for BOTH those reasons.
This debut novel by Lucy Clarke is a study in what it means to be a sibling. The complicated love-hate relationship that follows us from birth onwards. Whether the siblings are very similar, or as different as ‘chalk and cheese’, we are expected to love unconditionally, accept the others’ faults, and remain loyal whatever the consequences to ourselves.
Katie and Mia couldn’t be more different. Katie, a straight-laced traditional young woman with intense loyalties and a strong work ethic. And Mia, a bohemian free-spirit who lives in and of the moment. Although they had a close relationship when they were small, adulthood has emphasized their differences and there is a deep rift between them.
When Katie gets word that Mia’s body has been discovered in Bali, a suspected suicide, her world is forever changed. Feelings of guilt over their estrangement compounded with the fact that suicide is so out of character for Mia cause Katie to make the profound decision to leave her orderly life in London behind to retrace Mia’s journey. She hopes that she will gain insight into Mia’s reasons for her tragic and inconceivable death.
Leaving her fiance and job behind in London, Kate leaves on her journey armed with only Mia’s backpack and travel journal for company.
Many adventures await Katie on her journey. Distraught and introspective – Katie slowly follows the exact route that Mia took and page by page reads her travel journal to gain extra insight into what spurred Mia to end up as she did…
Family secrets are revealed. Betrayals are exposed. Still Kate travels on. Leaving more than just her stolid life behind, she begins to discover herself in ways previously not thought of.
As a not very well traveled reader, the exotic locales of the novel evoked the travel experience with excellent descriptions of people and places. The relationship between the sisters was one which exemplified the strong bond shared by siblings the world over. With an added bonus of a ‘twist’ at the end, this novel will appeal to readers of the mystery/suspense genre as well as those who prefer ‘chick lit’. The pages seemed to turn themselves. Kudos to Lucy Clarke for an outstanding read!
“People go traveling for two reasons: because they are searching for something, or they are running from something”.
Sometimes it is for BOTH those reasons.
This debut novel by Lucy Clarke is a study in what it means to be a sibling. The complicated love-hate relationship that follows us from birth onwards. Whether the siblings are very similar, or as different as ‘chalk and cheese’, we are expected to love unconditionally, accept the others’ faults, and remain loyal whatever the consequences to ourselves.
Katie and Mia couldn’t be more different. Katie, a straight-laced traditional young woman with intense loyalties and a strong work ethic. And Mia, a bohemian free-spirit who lives in and of the moment. Although they had a close relationship when they were small, adulthood has emphasized their differences and there is a deep rift between them.
When Katie gets word that Mia’s body has been discovered in Bali, a suspected suicide, her world is forever changed. Feelings of guilt over their estrangement compounded with the fact that suicide is so out of character for Mia cause Katie to make the profound decision to leave her orderly life in London behind to retrace Mia’s journey. She hopes that she will gain insight into Mia’s reasons for her tragic and inconceivable death.
Leaving her fiance and job behind in London, Kate leaves on her journey armed with only Mia’s backpack and travel journal for company.
Many adventures await Katie on her journey. Distraught and introspective – Katie slowly follows the exact route that Mia took and page by page reads her travel journal to gain extra insight into what spurred Mia to end up as she did…
Family secrets are revealed. Betrayals are exposed. Still Kate travels on. Leaving more than just her stolid life behind, she begins to discover herself in ways previously not thought of.
As a not very well traveled reader, the exotic locales of the novel evoked the travel experience with excellent descriptions of people and places. The relationship between the sisters was one which exemplified the strong bond shared by siblings the world over. With an added bonus of a ‘twist’ at the end, this novel will appeal to readers of the mystery/suspense genre as well as those who prefer ‘chick lit’. The pages seemed to turn themselves. Kudos to Lucy Clarke for an outstanding read!
laurapatriciarosereads's review
4.0
This is the first Richard and Judy Summer Book Club 2013 that I have read this year and I think it was a great first read. Especially as I actually read it on holiday ☺.
Katie and Mia are two very different sisters. Katie is the sensible, must do it right one (sounds a bit like me!) and Mia is the more reckless of the two, the one that just does what she likes, but knows at the same time that she is mucking things up.
The story is told from Katie and Mia’s viewpoints- each chapter alternates between them. I like it when stories do this as it really gives the reader a true understanding of the main characters and their relationships with each other. It was also really interesting to see the aftermath of conversations and arguments the characters had had with each other when alone.
Mia sees Katie as the sensible one and always thought that Katie was better than her in everyway. There was always a niggling doubt in Mia’s mind about how they could possibly be related. Katie on the other hand just can’t seem to understand why her sister acts so aloof and unfeeling at one point exclaiming ‘I don’t know who you are.”
I thought the below sentence really summed up the older-younger sister relationship (from the older sister’s perspective):
“I was handed the role of older sister: sensible, protective reliable. You were handed younger sister: wild, independent, selfish”.
I thought the author got the sister relationship across extremely well as it was almost like she was describing the relationship I have with my younger sister. (Since she’s had a baby though we get on much better ☺).
Because I think I am more like Katie as a character at the beginning of the story, I found Mia’s recklessness so frustrating and I could feel myself tensing when she was just making snap decisions to go places and not really seeming to worry about the consequences or the money involved. I liked though that the reader was able to see what exactly was going through Mia’s mind, something that sadly Katie did not learn until too late.
I thought the journal idea was great as it helped the reader and Katie get to know and understand Mia better. Without the journal I think Mia’s character would have stayed aloof, so this was brilliant idea from Lucy Clarke.
When I read the Q&A at the back of the book I discovered that the author really had been the places described in the book, and I could see how well this had come across in her writing. She had made the places really come alive for me. I thought the author really got the feeling for the hot countries across and I could even feel the warmth of the places portrayed in her writing and really felt like I was there.
I genuinely enjoyed reading this. I kept wanting to know where the novel would take me next and at times wondered where the author was going to go from there.
This was a great debut novel from Lucy Clarke and I am really looking forward to more from her.
Katie and Mia are two very different sisters. Katie is the sensible, must do it right one (sounds a bit like me!) and Mia is the more reckless of the two, the one that just does what she likes, but knows at the same time that she is mucking things up.
The story is told from Katie and Mia’s viewpoints- each chapter alternates between them. I like it when stories do this as it really gives the reader a true understanding of the main characters and their relationships with each other. It was also really interesting to see the aftermath of conversations and arguments the characters had had with each other when alone.
Mia sees Katie as the sensible one and always thought that Katie was better than her in everyway. There was always a niggling doubt in Mia’s mind about how they could possibly be related. Katie on the other hand just can’t seem to understand why her sister acts so aloof and unfeeling at one point exclaiming ‘I don’t know who you are.”
I thought the below sentence really summed up the older-younger sister relationship (from the older sister’s perspective):
“I was handed the role of older sister: sensible, protective reliable. You were handed younger sister: wild, independent, selfish”.
I thought the author got the sister relationship across extremely well as it was almost like she was describing the relationship I have with my younger sister. (Since she’s had a baby though we get on much better ☺).
Because I think I am more like Katie as a character at the beginning of the story, I found Mia’s recklessness so frustrating and I could feel myself tensing when she was just making snap decisions to go places and not really seeming to worry about the consequences or the money involved. I liked though that the reader was able to see what exactly was going through Mia’s mind, something that sadly Katie did not learn until too late.
I thought the journal idea was great as it helped the reader and Katie get to know and understand Mia better. Without the journal I think Mia’s character would have stayed aloof, so this was brilliant idea from Lucy Clarke.
When I read the Q&A at the back of the book I discovered that the author really had been the places described in the book, and I could see how well this had come across in her writing. She had made the places really come alive for me. I thought the author really got the feeling for the hot countries across and I could even feel the warmth of the places portrayed in her writing and really felt like I was there.
I genuinely enjoyed reading this. I kept wanting to know where the novel would take me next and at times wondered where the author was going to go from there.
This was a great debut novel from Lucy Clarke and I am really looking forward to more from her.
krazyizkool's review against another edition
5.0
This book is so good! I got swept away in the story many times. It was a little difficult getting into the sisters' descriptions, but only because the timing was different (one being past and other being present). It was really moving to read from each perspective though, and always feel like you're getting a first-hand account.
Huge thank you to the Clarington Public Library for getting this book (a brand new copy, no less) for me to carry on my reading love affair with Lucy Clarke!
Huge thank you to the Clarington Public Library for getting this book (a brand new copy, no less) for me to carry on my reading love affair with Lucy Clarke!
kerrireads32's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
A quick, intriguing read about two sisters, one who mysteriously commits suicide while traveling and the other left to mourn and find out what would cause her younger sister to do such a thing. It took a few chapters for me to get into the story but since it alternates between the two sisters, in past and present, it helps to keep the story going and I couldn't put it down.
A quick, intriguing read about two sisters, one who mysteriously commits suicide while traveling and the other left to mourn and find out what would cause her younger sister to do such a thing. It took a few chapters for me to get into the story but since it alternates between the two sisters, in past and present, it helps to keep the story going and I couldn't put it down.
sochej's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
This was a good, quick read, though I had hoped to be more surprised by the plot twists. I enjoyed Lucy Clark's prose, for the most part, and wanted to keep reading on to find out what happened. I thought Mia deserved a hell of a lot better than her ending, though, and was a bit disappointed by the message of it.