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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
It was good enough for me to keep reading because I wanted to know how it was going to end. I was ready for the BIG surprise. I think it was a solid read. It needed to be shortened by 100 pages or so. It just seemed to drag too long in some places. After the book about the spa, I was not sure I would read anything by her again, so I am glad I gave it another shot.
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The audiobook narrator was great. So many characters and I was never confused. This was a such a fun read. A mother disappears. Did the father kill her? The four children are torn. And there was that mysterious woman who had stayed with them for a couple of months. Moriarty is so great at dropping in small details that make you go, "Hmm, that's random," only for them to come back later in an important way.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I often think that Liane Moriarty's books are incorrectly marketed as thrillers... it's more like a literary fiction but with a mystery woven throughout.
I found that the siblings were pretty interchangeable (especially the brothers, couldn't really distinguish them in my mind) and the 'miscommunication' or 'lack of communication' trope was HEAVILY used throughout this book.
However, I liked the slow unraveling of the story, finding out who Savannah was, and the small clues left throughout.
I found that the siblings were pretty interchangeable (especially the brothers, couldn't really distinguish them in my mind) and the 'miscommunication' or 'lack of communication' trope was HEAVILY used throughout this book.
However, I liked the slow unraveling of the story, finding out who Savannah was, and the small clues left throughout.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
fast-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:
Yes
Read for my apartment complex's book club - April 2024
2.5 stars
I've been going back and forth between a 2.5 and 3 stars for this one. I ultimately went with 2.5 because if I hadn't been reading this for a book club, I probably would have DNF'd this pretty early on.
As I was reading this, I really thought it was going to be Gone Girl vibes and then when I was just disappointed.
This also felt entirely too long and I just didn't feel connected to any of the characters really. I had a hard time understand their actions and motivations and honestly, the reason Savannah had for coming to their house just felt so....flimsy. And how everything wrapped up was just too convenient and I had a hard time suspending my belief on it.
I also didn't love how often we switched POVs and the number of POVs we got felt so excessive, it was really jarring and hard to follow at times. Also whyyyyy did we have to end with COVID?? I read books like this to forget about the real world and when that happened it just really took me out of the book, even more than already.
TLDR; I did not like this book for many reasons :)
2.5 stars
I've been going back and forth between a 2.5 and 3 stars for this one. I ultimately went with 2.5 because if I hadn't been reading this for a book club, I probably would have DNF'd this pretty early on.
As I was reading this, I really thought it was going to be Gone Girl vibes and then when
Spoiler
Joy came back and was just like "oh I just needed time alone" and there was no nefarious intentions to her disappearance,This also felt entirely too long and I just didn't feel connected to any of the characters really. I had a hard time understand their actions and motivations and honestly, the reason Savannah had for coming to their house just felt so....flimsy. And how everything wrapped up was just too convenient and I had a hard time suspending my belief on it.
I also didn't love how often we switched POVs and the number of POVs we got felt so excessive, it was really jarring and hard to follow at times. Also whyyyyy did we have to end with COVID?? I read books like this to forget about the real world and when that happened it just really took me out of the book, even more than already.
TLDR; I did not like this book for many reasons :)
The ONLY reason I kept listening to this was I enjoyed the Aussie accent of the narrator. SUCH a boring book. SUCH a dissatisfying, underwhelming ending. Ugh. If they make a tv show out of this one, I'll be amazed.
Two stars because there was some value in the way women are burdened and asked to give up themselves, mental illness, marriages as viewed from outside versus inside. But still...blech.
Two stars because there was some value in the way women are burdened and asked to give up themselves, mental illness, marriages as viewed from outside versus inside. But still...blech.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes