Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.25 AVERAGE
3.25 AVERAGE
It's nearing Christmas and Julianne is preparing dinner when her son comes down stairs, holding his iPad. He has found something dreadful in the families Dropbox account. When she sees the files for herself, she is horrified and has to question everything about her marriage and what type of man her husband James really is. The story also skips back to 1990 and is set in Oxford University where we meet Holly, a fresher who has an uneasy friendship with a group of friends from a different social circle, well off and privileged, she isn't really sure why they are giving her the time of day. Ernest and Ally are brother and sister and James is their friend. Holly quite fancies James and he flirts with her but before long she realises her has a girlfriend. As Julianne confronts her husband about the files she has found, the events of 1990 soon become important again.
I was interested to read this book as a lot of reviewers have felt the need to give trigger warnings (something I don't usually do in my reviews) but I think it is worth mentioning there is a scene of gang rape which is upsetting. There is also a lot of sex, both heterosexual and homosexual - none of it loving or romantic and allusions to paedophiles.
I thought it was a bit of a slow burner - it takes a while for the section set in 1990 to get going but once it does and the plot starts to fall into place, it is a fast paced read. All the characters (apart from Julianne's son Stephen) are thoroughly dislikeable. The sense of entitlement that Holly's friends have means they feel they can treat people however they like and get away with it and annoyingly, we discover in the present day, they have all being successful in life.
Thank you to Avon books for my copy of this shocking domestic thriller as part of a blog tour.
I was interested to read this book as a lot of reviewers have felt the need to give trigger warnings (something I don't usually do in my reviews) but I think it is worth mentioning there is a scene of gang rape which is upsetting. There is also a lot of sex, both heterosexual and homosexual - none of it loving or romantic and allusions to paedophiles.
I thought it was a bit of a slow burner - it takes a while for the section set in 1990 to get going but once it does and the plot starts to fall into place, it is a fast paced read. All the characters (apart from Julianne's son Stephen) are thoroughly dislikeable. The sense of entitlement that Holly's friends have means they feel they can treat people however they like and get away with it and annoyingly, we discover in the present day, they have all being successful in life.
Thank you to Avon books for my copy of this shocking domestic thriller as part of a blog tour.
Whilst reading the first half of the book I was wondering if this could be a five-star-book. But then the book changed into something Hollywood-esque that I did not appreciate.
Trigger warning: sadism/sexual abuse.
Trigger warning: sadism/sexual abuse.
I really enjoyed this. Close to a 5 star, full of suspense and drama. Just wish it went more into what was happening .
"There are three sides to every story"
I was provided with a pre - release copy of this book by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I want to start by saying, that I really wanted to enjoy this book, the first few chapters had me gripped; it was dark and twisty which is usually my thing. But I found this storyline uncomfortably dark and twisty.
Firstly, I want to ask, why does this book not have any trigger warning? I felt uncomfortable, I fear thinking that someone who may have experiences close to themes in this book may be reading it. So please put a trigger warning on the 'thanks' pages! The storyline included themes, such as sexual violence in the form of gang rape as well as homophobic undertones. I feel if those sorts of comments had been minimalized that I may have enjoyed the book a little bit more, but not a lot!
You can tell that the author has an imaginative storytelling brain, maybe a bit of fine tuning is needed? The two main characters; Julianne and Sophie, who the storyline flits between (present and past 1991) feel quite two - dimensional; for example we don't really have the opportunity to build a reader and character relationship with Sophie on a personal level (I as a reader, really enjoy a character foundation being built). Due to this, I struggled to humanise the characters.
I requested this read due to the blurb given, and that it was labelled as adult general fiction, mystery and thriller. I am not sure if this read belongs within this category, although I'm really not sure what genre it would be placed into. The storyline was predictable and disappointing after the first few chapters. I don't think I would recommend this book, I did try so hard to like it but unfortunately this was not the read for me.
I was provided with a pre - release copy of this book by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I want to start by saying, that I really wanted to enjoy this book, the first few chapters had me gripped; it was dark and twisty which is usually my thing. But I found this storyline uncomfortably dark and twisty.
Firstly, I want to ask, why does this book not have any trigger warning? I felt uncomfortable, I fear thinking that someone who may have experiences close to themes in this book may be reading it. So please put a trigger warning on the 'thanks' pages! The storyline included themes, such as sexual violence in the form of gang rape as well as homophobic undertones. I feel if those sorts of comments had been minimalized that I may have enjoyed the book a little bit more, but not a lot!
You can tell that the author has an imaginative storytelling brain, maybe a bit of fine tuning is needed? The two main characters; Julianne and Sophie, who the storyline flits between (present and past 1991) feel quite two - dimensional; for example we don't really have the opportunity to build a reader and character relationship with Sophie on a personal level (I as a reader, really enjoy a character foundation being built). Due to this, I struggled to humanise the characters.
I requested this read due to the blurb given, and that it was labelled as adult general fiction, mystery and thriller. I am not sure if this read belongs within this category, although I'm really not sure what genre it would be placed into. The storyline was predictable and disappointing after the first few chapters. I don't think I would recommend this book, I did try so hard to like it but unfortunately this was not the read for me.
What a crazy ride! Julianne is a typical housewife. She is married to James and has everything anyone could ever want. But one day her son comes to her with his ipad and finds out information about her husband that she never would have thought possible. Told from a second perspective, Holly is starting Oxford where she befriends James, Ally, Ernest, and Peter. She doesn't have money or really fit in with the group, but sticks with them nonetheless. Until she is put in a situation that is unacceptable and leaves Oxford. This book had a slow burn, but by the time it got to the end, I was in shock!