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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Well… to be honest, I really liked and enjoyed this book. Surprisingly good! And I say "surprisingly" because Lucinda Berry's books usually give me the ick when it comes to their endings—they never feel like they have a solid conclusion. But this one did!
The plot twist was great, even though, having some basic knowledge of religious cults, I could already imagine what Kate was capable of. It was heartbreaking to see what happened to the little girl, and I was honestly annoyed with Scott. I mean… I don’t even know what I’d do in his situation, but letting back into your life the woman who abandoned you for years and suddenly reappears? Questionable.
And Meredith—Scott’s current wife—wow. Mommy, you have to truly love someone and have an insane level of emotional and mental maturity to handle things the way she did. I have to give her credit for that!
The plot twist was great, even though, having some basic knowledge of religious cults, I could already imagine what Kate was capable of. It was heartbreaking to see what happened to the little girl, and I was honestly annoyed with Scott. I mean… I don’t even know what I’d do in his situation, but letting back into your life the woman who abandoned you for years and suddenly reappears? Questionable.
And Meredith—Scott’s current wife—wow. Mommy, you have to truly love someone and have an insane level of emotional and mental maturity to handle things the way she did. I have to give her credit for that!
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment
Moderate: Child abuse, Self harm
Minor: Infertility, Fire/Fire injury
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
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:
Yes
dark
medium-paced
Kate Bennett reappears after being missing for eleven years. She is clutching an infant and has escaped a cult. Her family had mourned her and attempted to rebuild their lives, but Kate's reintroduction proves to be a complicated transition for everyone, and the dark truth about what happened threatens to destroy them all.
I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed with this. I am a big Lucinda Berry fan. I have read most of her books, and this is the only one I haven't really enjoyed. I find cults fascinating, and I also love the idea of a missing person returning (though I will admit I have read many books with this premise and a lot of them haven't landed for me). My biggest problem with this book is Kate herself. I found her to be insufferable, both in the flashbacks to before the disappearance as well as the things she was doing after. I found the story to be engaging overall and the pacing kept me interested. Had the ending been better this could have maybe been saved a bit, but alas. Lucinda Berry has a way of making me really feel something with the darkness of her books, and there is always a level of moral ambiguity, but this one did not pull me in the same way her other books have.
I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed with this. I am a big Lucinda Berry fan. I have read most of her books, and this is the only one I haven't really enjoyed. I find cults fascinating, and I also love the idea of a missing person returning (though I will admit I have read many books with this premise and a lot of them haven't landed for me). My biggest problem with this book is Kate herself. I found her to be insufferable, both in the flashbacks to before the disappearance as well as the things she was doing after. I found the story to be engaging overall and the pacing kept me interested. Had the ending been better this could have maybe been saved a bit, but alas. Lucinda Berry has a way of making me really feel something with the darkness of her books, and there is always a level of moral ambiguity, but this one did not pull me in the same way her other books have.
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Though I found this to be much more mysterious than thrilling (the stakes weren’t super high), this story kept my attention & I turned every page with interest. I loved the three perspectives we got, including the mother’s past of her time/experiences in the cult.
I wasn’t a fan of the rushed ending or the last lines, which are pretty much the only issues I currently have with this.
It’s a fun, quick read overall, with short chapters and shady characters.
I wasn’t a fan of the rushed ending or the last lines, which are pretty much the only issues I currently have with this.
It’s a fun, quick read overall, with short chapters and shady characters.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced