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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I didn't read much of it. As a Christian, I have a three strikes you're out policy and I was more than generous with this book. That being said, too much got to me and it was no longer interesting because of that. If I had finished it, I suppose I would've said that it was well written for the most part with solid characters. It truly is a book that keeps you on the edge of your seat and makes you want to find out what happens. It's very lifetimey. My other thing is that the main character really does think too much. Other than that, the writing is okay.
Swerve starts with Kristine Rush, a nurse, and her fiancé driving along to get to his mother's house for the 4th of July. They stop at a rest stop and Kristine is attacked and when she comes to, she sees that her fiancé Daniel was kidnapped. It doesn't take long before his cell phone receives a text message and someone seems to want to play a twisted game. Kristine has to go on a timed treasure hunt in order to save her fiancé before the serial killer takes his next victim. She makes the first stop only for the villain to tell her to run someone over in the parking lot. The things he tells her to do continues to get worse as the novel progresses and if she wants to see Daniel alive she has to do them.
Swerve was an addicting thrill ride that kept me on the edge of my seat. While reading I wasn't sure what to expect next, and it really got twisted. The only thing I didn't fully enjoy was the villain was revealed near the middle of the book. The last half was great, don't get me wrong, but I feel like the villain could have been revealed a bit later and the readers would have been even more like what the heck. All in all, this was a solid read and kept me on my toes. If you're a fan of thrillers, I highly suggest this book.
Swerve was an addicting thrill ride that kept me on the edge of my seat. While reading I wasn't sure what to expect next, and it really got twisted. The only thing I didn't fully enjoy was the villain was revealed near the middle of the book. The last half was great, don't get me wrong, but I feel like the villain could have been revealed a bit later and the readers would have been even more like what the heck. All in all, this was a solid read and kept me on my toes. If you're a fan of thrillers, I highly suggest this book.
3.5*
Wow, was that dark. Action-packed with a tough female lead. I had a slight suspicion of where it was going but I wasn't entirely sure.
I found the present tense writing to be kind of annoying and also occasionally inconsistent, which was jarring. It was likely intended to add to the edge-of-your-seat sensation and it may have succeeded at that, but I found it tiring. I deducted a lot from my rating because of it and for a (no spoiler) over-used thriller trope near the end.
There were actually several cliches here, but it felt fresh and smart overall. I'm tempted to rate it higher, but I think 3.5 is about right.
Wow, was that dark. Action-packed with a tough female lead. I had a slight suspicion of where it was going but I wasn't entirely sure.
I found the present tense writing to be kind of annoying and also occasionally inconsistent, which was jarring. It was likely intended to add to the edge-of-your-seat sensation and it may have succeeded at that, but I found it tiring. I deducted a lot from my rating because of it and for a (no spoiler) over-used thriller trope near the end.
There were actually several cliches here, but it felt fresh and smart overall. I'm tempted to rate it higher, but I think 3.5 is about right.
I wish I were better at crafting reviews that made more sense. Sometimes, my frustration is more-than palpable. This is one of those books that I find hard to talk about for a variety of reasons. First, the bottom line: I very much enjoyed the book. Second, the other bottom line: The book made me sick in places and I almost gave it up. So you ask, how is it possible that one can enjoy a book and still find it sickening and worthy of abandoning. This is a violent, bloody, dark book in many respects. If you have difficulty with people doing violence to one another, I would plead with you to let this one lie unopened in your book world. I nearly abandoned it several times because of the blood and Gore and some of the horror that was in it. Still, I finished, and on balance, I'm glad I did. This is the book that details the fictional life of Kristine Rush, a physician's assistant, and her fiancé, Daniel. The two are off for A weekend at Lake Arrowhead in California. They are driving there in Daniels nice car from Las Vegas. She is certain he is the love of her life. She left her daughter home so that the 2 of them could spend time with his mother at the posh family house. Things go horribly awry when they stop at an abandoned rest stop for a quick bathroom break. Someone attacks Kristine while she's in the bathroom, and she survives bloody and beaten. Returning to the car, she finds Daniel missing. Then she gets a text on his phone, which he left in the car. The text is from her phone. Someone has taken it from the car when they took Daniel out of the car. The text threatens her that if she did not do exactly as the writer of the text demanded, terrible things would happen to Daniel. As if on cue, she hears him let out a dreadful scream. She realizes that whomever is sending the text is serious about threatening her fiancé. From there, the book becomes a twisted maze of stops and horrific encounters. Kristine is well acquainted with that corridor of Interstate 15 between Las Vegas and Southern California. She has driven it several times. But this time, that stretch of freeway takes on a violent menacing character that she has never known before and will never forget again.
The mysterious text writer orders her to run down a casino security guard. He insists she offer a stranger in a diner a blow job. She does everything in her power to comply. Fortunately for her, the ghost hunter in the diner turns down the offer, but she later finds him dead with blood all over in the hotel room near the diner. Someone murders a female truck driver with whom Kristine comes in contact. And the blood-and-guts horror goes on and on.
Many reviewers in this space grumble about learning the identity of the mysterious text writer about halfway through the book. They miss the point. This book isn't solely about who the murderous puppeteer, so to speak, who is pulling all of Kristine's strings is. It's about whether she survives, and if she does, how does she do it. It's about how our past impacts our present. You get flashbacks to Kristine's troubled past, and you'll see how those reflect on her decisions in the present. You will experience vividly the love she has for her little girl, Abby, and you'll keep turning these pages and swallowing back the throw-up in your mouth as you read some of these scenes because you want to know how it turns out. And much to your personal disgust (and thrill), you'll finish this. I'll lay serious money whoever is in a relationship with this woman goes out of the way to ensure that she is rarely upset by something the other member of the relationship does. You'd have no choice, knowing you live with someone whose mind works like hers apparently does. Perhaps a more positive way to look at it would be that they both enjoy the kind of imaginative vivid plotlines you'll encounter if you read this. Still, I'm avoiding isolated rest stops on I-15 or anywhere else remotely like it for the time being.
The mysterious text writer orders her to run down a casino security guard. He insists she offer a stranger in a diner a blow job. She does everything in her power to comply. Fortunately for her, the ghost hunter in the diner turns down the offer, but she later finds him dead with blood all over in the hotel room near the diner. Someone murders a female truck driver with whom Kristine comes in contact. And the blood-and-guts horror goes on and on.
Many reviewers in this space grumble about learning the identity of the mysterious text writer about halfway through the book. They miss the point. This book isn't solely about who the murderous puppeteer, so to speak, who is pulling all of Kristine's strings is. It's about whether she survives, and if she does, how does she do it. It's about how our past impacts our present. You get flashbacks to Kristine's troubled past, and you'll see how those reflect on her decisions in the present. You will experience vividly the love she has for her little girl, Abby, and you'll keep turning these pages and swallowing back the throw-up in your mouth as you read some of these scenes because you want to know how it turns out. And much to your personal disgust (and thrill), you'll finish this. I'll lay serious money whoever is in a relationship with this woman goes out of the way to ensure that she is rarely upset by something the other member of the relationship does. You'd have no choice, knowing you live with someone whose mind works like hers apparently does. Perhaps a more positive way to look at it would be that they both enjoy the kind of imaginative vivid plotlines you'll encounter if you read this. Still, I'm avoiding isolated rest stops on I-15 or anywhere else remotely like it for the time being.
WOW. Swerve is a book that will certainly take you on a ride like no other.
I honestly can say I don't think that any other book has had me literally on the edge of my seat all the way through out reading it.
Swerve is a fast paced read that made me feel like I was on a country road with lots of bends and turns in it. I don't know how many times my jaw literally dropped open from the content that I was reading. It is the perfect mixture of horror and thriller rolled in to one.
I felt like I could easily have been sat watching a horror movie as some parts of the book had me going through the exact same set of emotions as I would watching a film. It really is not one for the faint hearted, I love horror films as well as books and the author brought the story very much to life in my mind but unlike a film where I can shut my eyes from the horrors I had to keep reading as I had to know what was going to happen next.
Can highly recommend Swerve to anyone that is a fan of horrors or who likes an extremely fast paced thriller that will leave your heart racing by the end, mine certainly was that's for sure!
Many thanks to Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I honestly can say I don't think that any other book has had me literally on the edge of my seat all the way through out reading it.
Swerve is a fast paced read that made me feel like I was on a country road with lots of bends and turns in it. I don't know how many times my jaw literally dropped open from the content that I was reading. It is the perfect mixture of horror and thriller rolled in to one.
I felt like I could easily have been sat watching a horror movie as some parts of the book had me going through the exact same set of emotions as I would watching a film. It really is not one for the faint hearted, I love horror films as well as books and the author brought the story very much to life in my mind but unlike a film where I can shut my eyes from the horrors I had to keep reading as I had to know what was going to happen next.
Can highly recommend Swerve to anyone that is a fan of horrors or who likes an extremely fast paced thriller that will leave your heart racing by the end, mine certainly was that's for sure!
Many thanks to Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Kristine & her fiancé, Daniel, are driving from Las Vegas to Lake Arrowhead, California to Daniel's family home for the weekend. They pull in to a deserted rest stop for Kristine to change out of her scrubs, but whilst she is in bathroom she is attacked by someone wielding a large knife. She is momentarily knocked unconscious but when she wakes up & makes it back to their car, Daniel is nowhere to be seen. A mobile phone in the car rings & a mechanical voice tells Kristine that if she wants to see her boyfriend again, she must do what they say. Thus starts a 24-hour trip which changes all their lives forever.
The synopsis for this looked like it would be nonstop terror but it actually became rather pedestrian very quickly. Yes, there is violence, there is death, there is gore, there are countless scenes of our heroine getting a head injury - so many that I was surprised she didn't have permanent brain damage after - but I was expecting a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase & got a whole of talking & reminiscing instead. I think nearly everyone will see the twist coming from very early on, if you use Occam's Razor, there's only one answer really.
Kristine, the heroine, is very unlikeable & it's difficult to care quite frankly, especially after in one scene, a poor dog is punched in the face & its jaw broken because Kristine leaves it out in danger after it defends her against her attacker. Nice, Kristine, not. Anyway I deducted a star for animal abuse/death & the rest of it is just meh, so 1.5 stars (rounded up on sites which do not allow half star ratings).
TW: animal abuse/death, violence, gore, murder, sexual assault, kidnapping, foul language.
The synopsis for this looked like it would be nonstop terror but it actually became rather pedestrian very quickly. Yes, there is violence, there is death, there is gore, there are countless scenes of our heroine getting a head injury - so many that I was surprised she didn't have permanent brain damage after - but I was expecting a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase & got a whole of talking & reminiscing instead. I think nearly everyone will see the twist coming from very early on, if you use Occam's Razor, there's only one answer really.
Kristine, the heroine, is very unlikeable & it's difficult to care quite frankly, especially after in one scene, a poor dog is punched in the face & its jaw broken because Kristine leaves it out in danger after it defends her against her attacker. Nice, Kristine, not. Anyway I deducted a star for animal abuse/death & the rest of it is just meh, so 1.5 stars (rounded up on sites which do not allow half star ratings).
TW: animal abuse/death, violence, gore, murder, sexual assault, kidnapping, foul language.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Gore, Sexual assault, Violence, Kidnapping
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual content
If you like grip-your-book-so-hard-your-knuckles-are-white type of reads then you will enjoy this book.
This book took me a while to get into because I was expecting a book that overdid the cat and mouse chase you sometimes find in thrillers, but after about a third of the way through I became hooked. Over the course of reading Swerve I had to set the book down and remind myself several times that it wasn't actually real, but never for long because I had to know the outome! Swerve really put me on edge and kept me there until the end, and it even made me nearly fall off the edge about halfway through thanks to the plot twist I did not see coming. I will definitely be reading more of Vicki Pettersson's work!
This book took me a while to get into because I was expecting a book that overdid the cat and mouse chase you sometimes find in thrillers, but after about a third of the way through I became hooked. Over the course of reading Swerve I had to set the book down and remind myself several times that it wasn't actually real, but never for long because I had to know the outome! Swerve really put me on edge and kept me there until the end, and it even made me nearly fall off the edge about halfway through thanks to the plot twist I did not see coming. I will definitely be reading more of Vicki Pettersson's work!
קריסטין ודניאל, ארוסה, בדרך לחגוג את חגיגות ה - 4 ביולי באחוזת הפאר של אמו של דניאל.
בדרך הם עוצרים בתחנת רענון נטושה, שם קריסטין מבקשת להחליף את בגדיה, שהוכתמו בקפה, עקב סטיה חדה בדרך.
אלא שהזוג ככל הנראה לא צופה מספיק בסרטי אימה, שכן ברור שאסור בתכלית האיסור לעצור בתחנות רענון נטושות. קריסטין מותקפת על ידי פסיכופת עם סכין קצבים ביד, שמותיר אותה מעולפת ומרוחה בדם. כשהיא מתעוררת, היא מגלה שהמכונית ריקה, ודניאל נחטף על ידי הפסיכופת אשר מודיע לה באמצעות מסרונים בטלפון הנייד, שאם לא תפעל לפי הוראותיו, הארוס שלה ימות ביסורים.
בכך מתחיל משחק חולני, בקצב מסחרר, כמו רכבת הרים מטורפת, בין מוח אכזרי שלא יבחל במאום לבין אשה חזקה ואמיצה, שתעשה הכל כדי להציל את בן זוגה.
מדובר במותחן אימה מעולה, עם טוויסט חזק, לחובבי הז'אנר בלבד.
לגבי הניקוד: שלושת רבעי מהספר עבר עלי בחמישה כוכבים אבל לקראת הסוף הסופרת התחילה להגזים, והכתיבה המקורית הפכה למיחזור של סרטי אימה מוכרים, כך שלמרבה הצער, כוכב אחד אבד.
עדיין ספר מצוין.
בדרך הם עוצרים בתחנת רענון נטושה, שם קריסטין מבקשת להחליף את בגדיה, שהוכתמו בקפה, עקב סטיה חדה בדרך.
אלא שהזוג ככל הנראה לא צופה מספיק בסרטי אימה, שכן ברור שאסור בתכלית האיסור לעצור בתחנות רענון נטושות. קריסטין מותקפת על ידי פסיכופת עם סכין קצבים ביד, שמותיר אותה מעולפת ומרוחה בדם. כשהיא מתעוררת, היא מגלה שהמכונית ריקה, ודניאל נחטף על ידי הפסיכופת אשר מודיע לה באמצעות מסרונים בטלפון הנייד, שאם לא תפעל לפי הוראותיו, הארוס שלה ימות ביסורים.
בכך מתחיל משחק חולני, בקצב מסחרר, כמו רכבת הרים מטורפת, בין מוח אכזרי שלא יבחל במאום לבין אשה חזקה ואמיצה, שתעשה הכל כדי להציל את בן זוגה.
מדובר במותחן אימה מעולה, עם טוויסט חזק, לחובבי הז'אנר בלבד.
לגבי הניקוד: שלושת רבעי מהספר עבר עלי בחמישה כוכבים אבל לקראת הסוף הסופרת התחילה להגזים, והכתיבה המקורית הפכה למיחזור של סרטי אימה מוכרים, כך שלמרבה הצער, כוכב אחד אבד.
עדיין ספר מצוין.
Oh for goodness sake - you have got to be kidding me! This book was off to a good start with intense situations, and a thrilling premise, but then it jumps the shark (and I'm not talking about the shocking twist that even my grandma saw coming) . It was all just a bit too ridiculous, but it didn't stop there. In fact, you ain't seen nothin' yet! A lot of this was laughable and if it were a movie, it would likely be a great candidate for MST3K!