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3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
My goal wasn’t to finish this book in a matter of a few hours, but somehow I did. I was so eager to find out what the hell happened that I couldn’t put it down. I liked this book, I just didn’t love it. Honestly I think that has more to do with the fact that the characters were so unlikeable for me and it was a bit of a distraction. Still, it’s a story that will suck you in until the very end.
Girls’ Night Out by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke was a solid psychological thriller, well-paced and interesting. I found the main characters mostly unlikeable – it was as if the authors’ could only see their bad sides. There was a lot of immaturity and selfishness between the three main characters, and personally I didn’t care all that much what happened to any of them. The location of Tulum was well described and the story was fairly plausible. This would make a good beach read for anyone who likes thrillers. 3 out of 5 stars, this book took me 4.5 hours to read. I was given this advance reader’s copy from Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for my honest review.
Great!
Such a great follow up to The Good Widow. I loved the pace and the characters in this book. I couldn't put this down, I read it in just a few days! Can't wait for the next books from these talented authors!
Such a great follow up to The Good Widow. I loved the pace and the characters in this book. I couldn't put this down, I read it in just a few days! Can't wait for the next books from these talented authors!
I could not put Girls’ Night Out down! Thank you Lake Union publishing for the e-galley in exchange for an honest review! One of the best books of the year so far. Ashley, Natalie, and Lauren head to Mexico to sort out some conflicts from the past year and get back to being close friends. In Tulum, things go from bad to worse when Ashley disappears after a rough night out on the last day of the trip. Natalie has no recollection of what happened. The book goes from current time, back to the beginning of the trip, and jumps around in time and view point. I love books like that, as it builds suspense and reveals information as needed in an organic way rather than through “staged” conversations or situations, I thought it added quite a nice flow to the whole reveal. I also loved that it was set in Tulum. Such a beautiful setting with good food and drinks being discussed, it made me want to hop on a plane! Must be time for another beach vacation for me! The only thing I did not love about the book was Ashley’s character but I’ve had friends like her so she is a character type I love to hate! I am much more like Natalie so it’s no surprise Ashley annoyed me. I flew through the book in two evenings despite it’s length and highly recommend Girls’ Night Out for a summer or beach read. It draws you in, keeps you guessing, and is very entertaining. Publishing July 24/18.
2.5 stars. This was okay. There were a lot of parts I found engaging, especially regarding the friendship between the women and the search for Ashley, but I never actually felt very compelled to pick it up again, and it seemed to drag on after a while. The end also felt anticlimactic and the book didn't end up being the thriller I expected.
*I received a free pre-release copy of this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
**Used for PopSugar 2018 Reading Challenge prompt "A book with song lyrics in the title."
*I received a free pre-release copy of this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
**Used for PopSugar 2018 Reading Challenge prompt "A book with song lyrics in the title."
College friends, Natalie, Ashley and Lauren travel to Tulum, Mexico for a luxurious vacation to try and reconnect and air out old grievances, but when Ashley goes missing the trip takes a dark turn.
Natalie and Ashley have a multi-million dollar business together with offer on the table to sell to Revlon. Natalie desperately wants to sell, but won't tell Ashley the real reason why - and the only thing Ashley wants to do is hold on to their business. Lauren blames Ashley for a terrible loss that she suffered - Ashley is hoping to earn Lauren's forgiveness, but is it too late to repair the friendship? And all three of the women leave behind complicated lives back at home.
The girls meet a mysterious guy named Marco during the trip who Ashley instantly takes to, but whom Natalie and Lauren are resentful of as they wanted to focus on repairing their friendships. The day before they are to head home for the U.S., Natalie wakes up on the beach alone and soaking wet with no memory of what happened the night before and Ashley is missing. Instead of getting answers in Mexico, the girls are left with more questions - specifically the big one - Where is Ashley?
A good concept, but I didn't really connect with any of these characters. They all came off as either selfish, whiny. I would have liked more character development and fewer passages of "oh, woe is me, can this friendship be saved....." I found myself not really caring what had happened to Ashley - she often did the exact opposite of what she said she wanted to do or was trying to do.
Natalie and Ashley have a multi-million dollar business together with offer on the table to sell to Revlon. Natalie desperately wants to sell, but won't tell Ashley the real reason why - and the only thing Ashley wants to do is hold on to their business. Lauren blames Ashley for a terrible loss that she suffered - Ashley is hoping to earn Lauren's forgiveness, but is it too late to repair the friendship? And all three of the women leave behind complicated lives back at home.
The girls meet a mysterious guy named Marco during the trip who Ashley instantly takes to, but whom Natalie and Lauren are resentful of as they wanted to focus on repairing their friendships. The day before they are to head home for the U.S., Natalie wakes up on the beach alone and soaking wet with no memory of what happened the night before and Ashley is missing. Instead of getting answers in Mexico, the girls are left with more questions - specifically the big one - Where is Ashley?
A good concept, but I didn't really connect with any of these characters. They all came off as either selfish, whiny. I would have liked more character development and fewer passages of "oh, woe is me, can this friendship be saved....." I found myself not really caring what had happened to Ashley - she often did the exact opposite of what she said she wanted to do or was trying to do.
Having not read Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke's previous novels, I had no idea what to expect at all. What was promised at the start of the synopsis on the NetGalley listing was "a chilling novel of psychological suspense that will make you think twice about what your best friend may be hiding…". I'm afraid if you're hoping for a thriller you're in the wrong place, this is definitely more suited to the chick lit/women's fiction genre.
The concept is one that has been reused countless times, but can still make for a good read provided it is written and executed well. The writing was fine but I feel I am only able to rate it on what I expected - a thriller. I feel this would be perfectly suited to those who enjoy the chick lit/women's fiction genre. As I don't appreciate books from that genre it wasn't for me i'm afraid.
Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing for an ARC. I was not required to post a review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
The concept is one that has been reused countless times, but can still make for a good read provided it is written and executed well. The writing was fine but I feel I am only able to rate it on what I expected - a thriller. I feel this would be perfectly suited to those who enjoy the chick lit/women's fiction genre. As I don't appreciate books from that genre it wasn't for me i'm afraid.
Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing for an ARC. I was not required to post a review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
Once I started this book, I couldn't put it down! The premise is simple enough: three friends, who have tensions running through their friendship, take a girls trip to Mexico to try to rekindle their friendship. They search for forgiveness and clarity through the lens of margaritas, sunsets and spirituality.
However, when one of them ends up missing, the pieces of the story need to fit together to figure out what happened. Told through the perspectives of the three friends, alternating between the events leading up to the disappearance and the events after the disappearance, the whole story is gradually told.
The characters are well-developed and their actions all make sense. This isn't a book where you have to suspend reality or disbelief - you can understand why everything happens. The ending is resolved in a way that makes sense as well.
The format and story was similar to Liane Moriarty; you know the big event (one of the girls is missing) but you don't know what happened until about 3/4 through the book and then the rest is spent answering the questions the reader had all along.
* Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book
However, when one of them ends up missing, the pieces of the story need to fit together to figure out what happened. Told through the perspectives of the three friends, alternating between the events leading up to the disappearance and the events after the disappearance, the whole story is gradually told.
The characters are well-developed and their actions all make sense. This isn't a book where you have to suspend reality or disbelief - you can understand why everything happens. The ending is resolved in a way that makes sense as well.
The format and story was similar to Liane Moriarty; you know the big event (one of the girls is missing) but you don't know what happened until about 3/4 through the book and then the rest is spent answering the questions the reader had all along.
* Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book
A perfect psychological thriller for anyone who loves an untrustworthy narrator, starring a tense best friend relationship. I simply devoured this book from start to finish, and will be on the lookout for more books by these authors in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a much appreciated digital copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a much appreciated digital copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
Natalie, Ashley, and Lauren have been friends since college, but lately their friendship has been showing a lot of strain. In fact, the trio has been estranged from Lauren for a year. So Ashley gets the idea for a girls' trip to Tulum, Mexico to help repair their friendship and mend fences. But once there, they find that fixing things isn't so easy. Each woman brings so much baggage and anger to the friendship. Natalie is angry at Ashley regarding the beauty business, BloMe, that they founded together. Lauren holds a grudge with Ashley relating to the death of her husband, Geoff. Both Natalie and Lauren are angry at themselves for letting their worlds revolve around Ashley. And their anger simmers even more when Ashley starts spending more time with Marco, a man she meets in Mexico, then with them. Suddenly, Ashley disappears. Did she run away with Marco? Was she kidnapped? Or--Natalie and Lauren fear--did they snap in anger at Ashley and harm her?
I had never read anything by the Fenton and Steinke writing team but had heard good things, so decided to try this one out. Its format takes a little getting used to: it switches in both time and narration, so you'll get Ashley, three days before the disappearance, and then the next chapter could be Lauren, two days after the disappearance. Once you get in the groove, it works pretty well, and builds suspense fairly effectively. Pieces of the story are slowly revealed, as we both don't know what happened to divide the friends in their friendship and, of course, don't know what happened to make Ashley disappear.
Honestly, I had just enough curiosity to find out what happened to Ashley that kept me reading. This was an interesting novel and certainly tense and intriguing, but I couldn't muster much interest or sympathy in these characters. Man, these women were just awful! I would not want a single one of them as my friend, that's for sure. Their friendship problems seemed petty, overblown, and childish, and I lost patience and interest with their myriad issues. There was just so much constant bickering. Bickering, drinking, more fighting, drinking, some more fighting. Ugh. They were so overly dramatic and even worse, most of the chapters would end with a sentence that had such an overblown "dramatic flair" to it that I found myself rolling my eyes at times.
A lot of the book just felt hokey, and I found myself wanting them to just go home and get their own lives (although their husbands didn't seem much better, honestly). Still, as mentioned, the reveals are interesting, and there is enough interest in what happened to Ashley to keep you reading. If you can get past the irritating characters, you'll be intrigued, albeit potentially annoyed. 2.5 stars.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review (thank you!).
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I had never read anything by the Fenton and Steinke writing team but had heard good things, so decided to try this one out. Its format takes a little getting used to: it switches in both time and narration, so you'll get Ashley, three days before the disappearance, and then the next chapter could be Lauren, two days after the disappearance. Once you get in the groove, it works pretty well, and builds suspense fairly effectively. Pieces of the story are slowly revealed, as we both don't know what happened to divide the friends in their friendship and, of course, don't know what happened to make Ashley disappear.
Honestly, I had just enough curiosity to find out what happened to Ashley that kept me reading. This was an interesting novel and certainly tense and intriguing, but I couldn't muster much interest or sympathy in these characters. Man, these women were just awful! I would not want a single one of them as my friend, that's for sure. Their friendship problems seemed petty, overblown, and childish, and I lost patience and interest with their myriad issues. There was just so much constant bickering. Bickering, drinking, more fighting, drinking, some more fighting. Ugh. They were so overly dramatic and even worse, most of the chapters would end with a sentence that had such an overblown "dramatic flair" to it that I found myself rolling my eyes at times.
A lot of the book just felt hokey, and I found myself wanting them to just go home and get their own lives (although their husbands didn't seem much better, honestly). Still, as mentioned, the reveals are interesting, and there is enough interest in what happened to Ashley to keep you reading. If you can get past the irritating characters, you'll be intrigued, albeit potentially annoyed. 2.5 stars.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review (thank you!).