Reviews

The Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell

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raquel71's review against another edition

4.0

Rounded up to 4.5 stars. This is the second Lisa Jewell book I've read, and I enjoyed its twists, turns, and red herrings. Pip was my favorite character - wise girl of just 12 years of age. I didn't dislike any of the parents, although many of them were getting huge eyerolls from me with some of their actions (or non-actions, I should say) and their parenting.

If I were asked what the moral of this story is, I'd say it is a bit of a cautionary tale of what can happen when you get a little too close with neighbors.

Sidenote: Loved the cover of the book! I've always had a fascination with England and was excited to read this book.

clairezidich's review against another edition

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3.0

Meh. I like the idea of the book but it could have been so much better! It was painfully slow and dreary but the writing style was enjoyable. I read a lot of crime/mysteries and this book felt like it attempted to be both of those things but never really hit the mark. There was nothing gritty, nothing overly shocking, nothing to really pull me in with anticipation of what was to come. I was prepared for a dramatic ending but that never came either. This could have been an amazing book but it ended up being very forgettable.

darklitwithnic's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5 ⭐️ rounded down

This is the 3rd book I’ve read by Lisa Jewell and I love her work! This book really did have an interesting storyline but the ending threw me a bit. It honestly left me wanting more, which bummed me out! I found myself saying - wait, that’s it?

irishlassofcork's review against another edition

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3.0

I received this as an ARC from Netgalley. I honestly almost gave up on this about 50 pages in. I felt like the story was bouncing back and forth too much in the first 50 pages, even though I understand that Jewell was trying to establish the storyline. I feel it would have been better to focus on Clare and Pip and eventually slip Adele in. Of course, what caught me was the community dynamic; this was by far the strongest piece of the novel. While I found some of the characters interesting, I sort of wanted to yell at the two mom figures. The biggest issue with this story is the fact that I knew the second something happened to Grace who did it. Not everyone did I'm sure, but because of my own surety, the final act of this novel dragged for me.