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emma_sky's review
- 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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Murder and Death
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Blood
Minor: Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Bullying, and Gaslighting
kelly_e's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 3.00
Pub Date: January 9, 2024
I received a complimentary ALC from Macmillan Audio via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted #Ad
T H R E E • W O R D S
Ominous • Entertaining • Predictable
📖 S Y N O P S I S
When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she's not only North Carolina's richest woman, she's also its most notorious. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child and a widow four times over, Ruby ruled the tiny town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family's estate high in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
But in the aftermath of her death, her adopted son, Camden, wants little to do with the house or the money—and even less to do with the surviving McTavishes. Instead, he rejects his inheritance, settling into a normal life as an English teacher in Colorado and marrying Jules, a woman just as eager to escape her own messy past.
Ten years later, his uncle's death pulls Cam and Jules back into the family fold at Ashby House. Its views are just as stunning as ever, its rooms just as elegant, but the legacy of Ruby is inescapable.
Soon, Jules and Cam realize that an inheritance can entail far more than what's written in a will––and that the bonds of family stretch far beyond the grave.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I have certainly seen all of the hype and love for Rachel Hawkins, yet I had never been inclined to pick one up for myself, until now. Why now? There was an intense discussion about her books at one of my in-person book club meetings that piqued my curiosity. Not really knowing where to start I decided to go with her most recent The Heiress.
Told in multiple POVs, this novel read like it was trying to be The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo's (a book I loved) suspenseful cousin. Because of this fact nothing felt original and it was easy to predict the twists and turns. The characters were all kind of icky and engaged in questionable behaviour.
My favourite aspect of the book were the letter from Ruby. This element allowed me to get a glimpse into Ruby's mind, despite her being dead. Additionally, the audiobook narrated by a full cast of Dan Bittner, Eliza Fossn John Pirhallan and Patti Murin, added so much personality to the characters. The standout in the narration was Ruby's voice. I will say the pacing of the narration is very slow and one that will likely need to be sped up.
In my opinion, The Heiress was yet another run-of-the-mill domestic suspense that was entertaining while reading, yet nothing really shocking happens and it's not something I will remember a week or two from now. I would definitely give this author another chance and can understand why there is so much love for her books.
📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• isolated settings
• gothic elements
• inheritance plot lines
⚠️ CW: kidnapping, toxic relationship, domestic abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, alcohol, death, death of parent, violence, gun violence, murder, fire/fire injury, adoption, cursing, suicide, classism, mental illness, alcoholism, drug abuse, injury/injury detail, pregnancy
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"There should be some kind of warning when your life is about to change forever."
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Violence, Gun violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Death of parent, Death, and Cursing
Minor: Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Suicide, Classism, Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail
adoptionamalauna's review
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
Minor: Addiction, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Death, Death of parent, Bullying, Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Car accident, and Classism
ashrad's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Murder and Domestic abuse
Minor: Drug use
prairieraven's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Vomit, Death of parent, Abandonment, Ableism, Cursing, Grief, Sexual assault, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexism, Stalking, Terminal illness, Miscarriage, Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Cancer, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Classism, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Infertility, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Medical content, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Car accident, and Child death
kenziburke's review
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Murder, Domestic abuse, Cursing, and Suicide
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Pregnancy
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
While I saw some twists coming, others surprised me. I like how the book was paced as it kept me engaged. As well as the mix of narrative POVs, letters, and articles.
The characters weren't particularly likable, but just likable enough for you to care about them.
Narrator(s) Rating: 5 stars
The narrators did an excellent job, and the constant change of narrators as you went from each part kept me engaged instead of my attention wandering.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Suicide, Cursing, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Murder, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Grief, and Alcohol
Moderate: Child abuse, Terminal illness, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, and Infertility
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Car accident, Self harm, and Sexual content
shelfreflectionofficial's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
“You should have stayed away, Camden. I think you’ll be sorry that you didn’t.”
This is my second Rachel Hawkins book— last year I read The Villa. I think I’m going to be done with this author. Both books had 100 f-words so I’m assuming that’s the norm for her and it’s gonna be a dealbreaker for me. Not to mention I don’t really find her characters very likeable either.
Her writing has the twisty dysfunctional families vibe and there’s just not enough interesting or quality suspense/mystery to make the rest worth it.
I’m disappointed because I had this book on my list of Most Anticipated Books of this year, but so was The Villa the year before so I think I need to finally learn my lesson.
Basic Premise
The heiress is Ruby McTavish Kellmore, kidnapped for 8 months at age three but then found and grew up to inherit the family fortune instead of her sister (Nelle); receiver of the nickname Ruby Kill-more due to the deaths of her four husbands; suspected to not actually be Ruby; and dead for ten years now yet still pulling the strings with her money.
Camden is the son she adopted later in her life and the subsequent heir and current holder of the family fortune. He tried to escape that life and family but has been called back home to deal with some pressing matters.
Nelle and her descendants want the money they believe is rightfully theirs. When Cam and his wife get back to the family estate so begins a game of legal discoveries, threats, and such that leads to at least one other death.
People aren’t who they say they are and the money may destroy them all before anyone can even spend it.
The formatting of the book is a mixture of first person POV chapters of Camden and his wife, Jules, with a variety of newspaper and magazine articles, and a series of letters written at the hand of Ruby before she died telling us what really happened to all of her husbands.
I’m not always a fan of the letter trope because the writer always narrates in an unnatural manner and gives details they would never normally give. They are needed for us readers to understand more of the story, but that’s not my preferred method of obtaining information.
I was intrigued by the plot and the mystery of the heiress and her husbands, but I didn’t really like any of the characters. I feel neutral about Cam but that’s because he’s the ‘hero’ character who is kinda flat and uninteresting. And really the swearing kinda ruined my ability to be invested in the story. At least it had a mostly satisfying ending.
Recommendation
If you don’t care about swearing and you like soap opera-type mysteries, you may like this, but overall I feel like there are better books than this to read.
I would probably instead recommend the book The Rosewood Hunt. It’s also about a rich matriarch who basically owns a town and everyone wants a piece of the pie. The difference is that when she dies, though there are heirs, the money is missing and there is a hunt to figure out what she did with it.
It’s a YA book (though I would still say more for adult audience), but I found that book a lot more likeable than this one. It still has swearing, but probably about half of what is in The Heiress.
[Content Advisory: 94 f-words, 65 s-words; sexual references but nothing too graphic; trigger warning for (a little bit of) domestic abuse]
**Received an ARC via NetGalley**
Graphic: Cursing
Minor: Domestic abuse
torturedreadersdept's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Abandonment, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Body horror, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Kidnapping, and Toxic relationship