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sarahmarge98's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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
4.75
erindecker's review
5.0
This is my 2nd 5 star review for some amazing #LSBBT authors and I think this is my favorite read of May thus far! This book made me cry and made me smile. I loved every minute from beginning to end. It was just icing on the cake when I realized that Eliza Maxwell lives in the same small town as me!
This story follows Jenna Shaw who is grieving after a tragic accident in which she lost her family. She stumbles upon Lars Jorgensen who also knows a lot about loss and in their journey throughout the novel, the two get to know each other and realize that they can help each other find the answers they need in order to live with their grief everyday. Throughout the novel, Jenna has an inner monologue with her deceased eldest daughter who sort of acts as her conscience. At first, I completely did not understand this because it is introduced as the first sentence in the book and wasn’t really properly explained until much later, BUT I got over it the deeper I got into the plot.
Eliza Maxwell makes the characters in this novel come to life completely. Each character seems completely real and complicated from the two main characters to the unsubstantial side characters. She has a way of giving depth to the characters emotions and envokes the same emotions in the reader. I legit bawled for the last 100 pages. My lovely signed copy is completely tear stained. I am okay with that though, not many books can bring out that sort of emotion from me.
This book is for fans of thriller and mystery. My favorite part is definitely the plot twist that wraps up the mystery within this book (I wish I could say more but I cannot and will not spoil any part of this book. You need to read it!!)
This story follows Jenna Shaw who is grieving after a tragic accident in which she lost her family. She stumbles upon Lars Jorgensen who also knows a lot about loss and in their journey throughout the novel, the two get to know each other and realize that they can help each other find the answers they need in order to live with their grief everyday. Throughout the novel, Jenna has an inner monologue with her deceased eldest daughter who sort of acts as her conscience. At first, I completely did not understand this because it is introduced as the first sentence in the book and wasn’t really properly explained until much later, BUT I got over it the deeper I got into the plot.
Eliza Maxwell makes the characters in this novel come to life completely. Each character seems completely real and complicated from the two main characters to the unsubstantial side characters. She has a way of giving depth to the characters emotions and envokes the same emotions in the reader. I legit bawled for the last 100 pages. My lovely signed copy is completely tear stained. I am okay with that though, not many books can bring out that sort of emotion from me.
This book is for fans of thriller and mystery. My favorite part is definitely the plot twist that wraps up the mystery within this book (I wish I could say more but I cannot and will not spoil any part of this book. You need to read it!!)
myjourney2020's review against another edition
5.0
Loved the writing style and characters! Sad, but poignant. Loved the ending. Will no doubt be one of my favorite books of the year!
annaloyd's review
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Overall liked quite a bit! The biggest thing I cannot stop thinking about is the superrrr short chapters! Ugh!
marvelmamadoc's review against another edition
5.0
I read this book in a day. Such an emotional and touching read.
creaseinthespinebooks's review against another edition
2.0
I loved the first three quarters of it, so very sad, but a wonderful story - then, for some reason it changed to complete nonsense and very unbelievable and i think she completely forgot what the plot of the book. Had a hard time reading but wanted to finish it
shereadsceaselessly's review against another edition
2.0
I kept waiting for a mystery or something (anything) to emerge to make me care about what was going on in this novel. Finally, at Chapter 20, this book turned into something mildly interesting. But until then it's just us (the readers), following around a suicidal and barely communicative Jenna, as she grieves for her recently deceased husband and children.
And oh, what fun! Jenna also has a once-precocious-now-sarcastic teenage daughter scolding her in her head. Add to that the utter joy of Jenna being trapped in a crappy and frozen little "town" in Minnesota with a 70-something cranky old man who's also dealing with a crapload of tragedy and loss.
What, we're not all totally relating? *sigh* This is no recipe for (this reader's) success.
This book has such high ratings, and even after reading through the reviews here in Goodreads, I can't figure out why. I feel like everyone else read a different book than I did, one that was interesting, with great characters, and a rich story. I didn't get any of that out of [b:The Widow's Watcher|36434976|The Widow's Watcher|Eliza Maxwell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1524509608l/36434976._SY75_.jpg|58135541].
And oh, what fun! Jenna also has a once-precocious-now-sarcastic teenage daughter scolding her in her head. Add to that the utter joy of Jenna being trapped in a crappy and frozen little "town" in Minnesota with a 70-something cranky old man who's also dealing with a crapload of tragedy and loss.
What, we're not all totally relating? *sigh* This is no recipe for (this reader's) success.
This book has such high ratings, and even after reading through the reviews here in Goodreads, I can't figure out why. I feel like everyone else read a different book than I did, one that was interesting, with great characters, and a rich story. I didn't get any of that out of [b:The Widow's Watcher|36434976|The Widow's Watcher|Eliza Maxwell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1524509608l/36434976._SY75_.jpg|58135541].
jojodee's review against another edition
5.0
Not what I had expected
When I picked up this book I didn’t anticipate the way it would work out. The writing grabbed me immediately and didn’t let its grip loosen as I read on. Wonderful characters, beautiful writing. Highly recommended.
When I picked up this book I didn’t anticipate the way it would work out. The writing grabbed me immediately and didn’t let its grip loosen as I read on. Wonderful characters, beautiful writing. Highly recommended.