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toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I thought this was good but I liked Daisy Darker better. I love wintry thrillers and thrillers set in confined spaces and it was great for those aspects but the characters grated on me and the twists were just....less is more sometimes, no?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Ableism, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Blood, Confinement, Pregnancy, Infertility, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual content, Medical content, and Murder
Minor: Abortion, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Bullying, and Excrement
bloo_0's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Child abuse, Infertility, Violence, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
kktaylor11's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I almost gave up on this book. About 2/3 of the way through I was frustrated. I thought "I've got this figured out, I know what is coming, and it's really just not that good." I almost quit. But the letters got me. I figured I'd skim through what was left because I was already on the 8th anniversary and the whole book was focused on the 10th so it couldn't be that long.
IT GOT SO GOOD!! I was wrong! All the things I thought I had figured out were NOT figured out. It's still really more of a 3.5, but because it surprised me, I'll round up. It's a good escape book - not something I would put on my shelf or ever re-read, but one I'd recommend to someone who likes mystery/domestic drama.
That said, I do have a few frustrations (see spoilers)
I felt like some of the "clues" were dropped to intentionally mislead, and that always irritates me. IE: The "red lipstick" emphasis and the "I like sayings" moments were red herrings to point you at October...who conveniently turned out to be absolutely no one in the book. She just died to take her out of the plot. When details naturally distract you, but DO have a legitimate purpose I love it - but when they are exaggerated just to intentionally mislead you I think it's a cheap trick by the author. Unlike a real mystery, where we have the ability to invesitgate whatever we want to, in a novel you are constrained by what the author choses to tell you, and if the author chooses to tell you only details designed to lead you in the wrong direction it feels manipulative.
Similarly, I think Robin's "oddness" is hyper-exaggerated when she is first introduced. She comes across as not all there mentally, her language and mannerisms are exaggerated to make her seem much older and out of touch with reality. Then at the end she's suddenly totally normal and just Adam's loving ex-wife. I think that was a touch misleading.
I also think the twist-twist-twist ending was too convenient, and left too many threads unexplained. The wife/ex-wife letter situation was enough -- it was VERY well done! Once it was made clear and I looked back I realized IT was done perfectly. At the very beginning there was a part where Amelia commented that Adam "never wanted to have a baby" because he couldn't imagine not recognizing its face...but then the early letters were all about IVF which didn't make sense....then suddenly it did. He didn't want to have a baby with AMELIA, but he was happy to with Robin. That twist was enough. We didn't need the "Amelia was the one who killed your mother" moment (which didn't really seem realistic, and didn't really explain why Amelia had to basically BECOME Robin in order to make Adam like her....and we REALLY didn't need the "Adam remembers killing his own mother and Amelia taking the blame" moment. That was just too much. Also, the memories of Harry and the hair cutting and the investigator...it was just overkill. Stick with Robin had a bad childhood and escaped as soon as she could and let Amelia die of her asthma.
I also thought the faceblindness aspect was fascinating, but inaccurate. I've done a lot of reading on this, and Feeney seems to almost abuse this trait as a justification for things in this story. Someone with faceblindness their entire life, like Adam, would not be as ABSOLUTELY CLUELESS as Adam is. It's definitely a justification for not being able to read emotions in people's faces, but faces are not "like a van gogh painting" -- the features are all there, and those with face blindness for their whole life (like Adam) have learned a million coping mechanisms and are MUCH more aware of things like tone of voice, body style, gait, mannerisms, etc. So the constant "I don't know what's going on because of my faceblindness" in order to move the story line along was frustrating. (Side note, if you're interested in this, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-MzNPcEh6M">HERE</a> is a great short video on it !)
Overall, though -- this was a good one, and definitely worth the 4-5 hours it took me to read it!
IT GOT SO GOOD!! I was wrong! All the things I thought I had figured out were NOT figured out. It's still really more of a 3.5, but because it surprised me, I'll round up. It's a good escape book - not something I would put on my shelf or ever re-read, but one I'd recommend to someone who likes mystery/domestic drama.
That said, I do have a few frustrations (see spoilers)
Similarly, I think Robin's "oddness" is hyper-exaggerated when she is first introduced. She comes across as not all there mentally, her language and mannerisms are exaggerated to make her seem much older and out of touch with reality. Then at the end she's suddenly totally normal and just Adam's loving ex-wife. I think that was a touch misleading.
I also think the twist-twist-twist ending was too convenient, and left too many threads unexplained. The wife/ex-wife letter situation was enough -- it was VERY well done! Once it was made clear and I looked back I realized IT was done perfectly. At the very beginning there was a part where Amelia commented that Adam "never wanted to have a baby" because he couldn't imagine not recognizing its face...but then the early letters were all about IVF which didn't make sense....then suddenly it did. He didn't want to have a baby with AMELIA, but he was happy to with Robin. That twist was enough. We didn't need the "Amelia was the one who killed your mother" moment (which didn't really seem realistic, and didn't really explain why Amelia had to basically BECOME Robin in order to make Adam like her....and we REALLY didn't need the "Adam remembers killing his own mother and Amelia taking the blame" moment. That was just too much. Also, the memories of Harry and the hair cutting and the investigator...it was just overkill. Stick with Robin had a bad childhood and escaped as soon as she could and let Amelia die of her asthma.
I also thought the faceblindness aspect was fascinating, but inaccurate. I've done a lot of reading on this, and Feeney seems to almost abuse this trait as a justification for things in this story. Someone with faceblindness their entire life, like Adam, would not be as ABSOLUTELY CLUELESS as Adam is. It's definitely a justification for not being able to read emotions in people's faces, but faces are not "like a van gogh painting" -- the features are all there, and those with face blindness for their whole life (like Adam) have learned a million coping mechanisms and are MUCH more aware of things like tone of voice, body style, gait, mannerisms, etc. So the constant "I don't know what's going on because of my faceblindness" in order to move the story line along was frustrating. (Side note, if you're interested in this, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-MzNPcEh6M">HERE</a> is a great short video on it !)
Overall, though -- this was a good one, and definitely worth the 4-5 hours it took me to read it!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Death of parent, Miscarriage, and Infertility
theimposter's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.5
Full of twists and turns! Very compelling. But somewhat confusing. Might be worth a reread
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Infertility, Abandonment, Child abuse, Death of parent, Car accident, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, and Stalking
lily_peach's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Alcohol, Infertility, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Abandonment
Moderate: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, and Murder
Minor: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Stalking, Death of parent, and Death
necessary_rotting's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I wish I could get the last 5 hours of time back.
This book has been so heavily praised and to me was beyond lackluster. The only praise I can provide is that I managed to finish it, which is the only reason it's getting 1 star instead of zero. This is my first Alice Feeney novel and most likely my last. I do see how others could tote this novel, but it was not for me.
Marketed as a page-turner but was a struggle to get through between the lack of connection and phrases used. I knew all hope was lost when I read the statement “I’ve never been great at sticking to rules”. There was no depth to the characters in this book. Not only that, but for what we know of the characters their behavior and interactions don’t make sense.
The only time I felt myself somewhat compelled to keep reading was during the “twist” that gave you an “oh” which lasted for about ten pages before spiraling to be even worse than before. The story had potential, but really fell flat.
While reading I felt as though I was watching a cringey low-budget Netflix movie that I finished just for the sake of doing so.
This book has been so heavily praised and to me was beyond lackluster. The only praise I can provide is that I managed to finish it, which is the only reason it's getting 1 star instead of zero. This is my first Alice Feeney novel and most likely my last. I do see how others could tote this novel, but it was not for me.
Marketed as a page-turner but was a struggle to get through between the lack of connection and phrases used. I knew all hope was lost when I read the statement “I’ve never been great at sticking to rules”. There was no depth to the characters in this book. Not only that, but for what we know of the characters their behavior and interactions don’t make sense.
The only time I felt myself somewhat compelled to keep reading was during the “twist” that gave you an “oh” which lasted for about ten pages before spiraling to be even worse than before. The story had potential, but really fell flat.
While reading I felt as though I was watching a cringey low-budget Netflix movie that I finished just for the sake of doing so.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Infertility
daniellepaige86's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Infertility
haylethal's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, Violence, Death of parent, Animal death, Cancer, Car accident, Chronic illness, Miscarriage, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
vereadsbooks's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I was excited to read this. The cover is very pretty, and the title hooked me from the beginning. But the story disappointed me a bit.
Things have been wrong with Mr and Mrs Wright for a long time. When Adam and Amelia win a weekend away to Scotland, it might be just what their marriage needs. Self-confessed workaholic and screenwriter Adam Wright has lived with face blindness his whole life. He can’t recognize friends or family, or even his own wife.
Every anniversary the couple exchange traditional gifts – paper, cotton, pottery, tin – and each year Adam’s wife writes him a letter that she never lets him read. Until now.
The book is alright, and I have enjoyed it. I was intrigued by the letters and the marital relationship. In addition to the atmosphere, which I must highlight. Because it really added to the mystery and created this cold, isolated, creepy vibe that made me think this book could turn into something more unearthly.
Some of the plot twists were easy to guess, so I decided to sit back and wait to see if my predictions were correct and enjoy the denouement of the story.
But the ending was not what I expected. The book is well built until the first big reveal, and then we have the other plot twists. But nothing more, and it's fine. Because it's a domestic thriller, and usually most of these thrillers are that way. It was my mistake to assume this was different.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Mental illness, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
elizan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Grief, and Gaslighting
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