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ana_sofia42's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
litwithleigh's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 rounded up to a 4
One sentence review: A unique take on a domestic thriller that falls short due to an inane number of commas and questionable other writing style choices
SYNOPSIS
On Oct. 29, Jen witnesses her 18-year-old son Todd stab a man outside their house. But when she wakes up the next day, it turns out to be the day prior. Jen begins to move back through time to discover what events led her son to become a killer, and hopefully stop it from happening in the future.
MY OPINION
If you plan to read this, bundle your disbelief up and then YEEEEET it out the window. Time travel is the plot device du jour, so if you try to wrangle with the logistics of it all, you will most likely be hella annoyed. There simply is no rhyme nor reason to why she's moving backwards, but it doesn't matter – time travel is used to demonstrate how small seemingly insignificant details can add up to a disastrous event. That at every turn we can look a bit closer, see a bit more, get out in front of the consequences. Instead, we tend to fly through life in our own bubbles and then when the shoes drops, we're forced to react. What if we could be so present that we could recognize the signs and be more proactive? To me, this is what the book was about. Thank you for attending my Ted Talk.
What held this book back was the questionable grammatical and style choices made by the author. She was comma splicing herself into another dimension. And she missed the mark with the groups of threes by using THE SAME DAMN WORD three times in a row. Please ma'am. To be honest, the intricate plot and introspectiveness in the last half had me full-on Ray Charles to the comma splices. But objectively, an editor could've been used. Gillian, ima have to ask you to step the fuck away from the comma key on your keyboard. Just remove it entirely if you can't resist using it.
In the first half, McAllister was doing entirely too much showing and trying to shove character traits down our throats. YES we understand that Kelly has dry wit and is anti-establishment. YES we get it, your father was repressed. YES we can see you struggle with parenting guilt. Thankfully after she stumbled through this first half, she really hit her stride. Homegirl was spittin motherhood AND marriage facts. And she even tapped into some "telling" that evoked many emotions – especially during the scene with her dad.
Okay, let's get to the plot. So, this book was fairly mass marketed along with some not-so-hot thrillers like The Golden Couple, Unmissing, Stay Awake, The Last Housewife etc. In comparison to these books (a fair comparison because the same marketing attention was doled out), this one stands head and shoulders above. Yes, at its core you have the regular degular domestic thriller is my husband a whackjob trope, but McAllister added complexity with the time travel element. She gave it a unique lens which I haven't read this year.
And on top of that, she did NOT go for cheap shock value or OTT shenanigans. McAllister stayed the course by dropping tidbits throughout and then tying everything together in a calm, cool, and collected fashion. In comparison, the aforementioned books slammed together as many illogical twisty twists as possible in the last 10%, which always annoys tf out of me. I hate when an author tries to bamboozle you into a positive rating by overwhelming you with drama. And thank fuck she didn't toss in the "catching up with a friend over coffee" epilogue – you know the ones that summarize what everyone's up to after the final act? So lazy.
I have to say... the whole ordeal had me looking at my mans sideways because he acts the exact same: stoic, unemotional, free of any fucks to give. WELP LOL
One sentence review: A unique take on a domestic thriller that falls short due to an inane number of commas and questionable other writing style choices
SYNOPSIS
On Oct. 29, Jen witnesses her 18-year-old son Todd stab a man outside their house. But when she wakes up the next day, it turns out to be the day prior. Jen begins to move back through time to discover what events led her son to become a killer, and hopefully stop it from happening in the future.
MY OPINION
If you plan to read this, bundle your disbelief up and then YEEEEET it out the window. Time travel is the plot device du jour, so if you try to wrangle with the logistics of it all, you will most likely be hella annoyed. There simply is no rhyme nor reason to why she's moving backwards, but it doesn't matter – time travel is used to demonstrate how small seemingly insignificant details can add up to a disastrous event. That at every turn we can look a bit closer, see a bit more, get out in front of the consequences. Instead, we tend to fly through life in our own bubbles and then when the shoes drops, we're forced to react. What if we could be so present that we could recognize the signs and be more proactive? To me, this is what the book was about. Thank you for attending my Ted Talk.
What held this book back was the questionable grammatical and style choices made by the author. She was comma splicing herself into another dimension. And she missed the mark with the groups of threes by using THE SAME DAMN WORD three times in a row. Please ma'am. To be honest, the intricate plot and introspectiveness in the last half had me full-on Ray Charles to the comma splices. But objectively, an editor could've been used. Gillian, ima have to ask you to step the fuck away from the comma key on your keyboard. Just remove it entirely if you can't resist using it.
In the first half, McAllister was doing entirely too much showing and trying to shove character traits down our throats. YES we understand that Kelly has dry wit and is anti-establishment. YES we get it, your father was repressed. YES we can see you struggle with parenting guilt. Thankfully after she stumbled through this first half, she really hit her stride. Homegirl was spittin motherhood AND marriage facts. And she even tapped into some "telling" that evoked many emotions – especially during the scene with her dad.
Okay, let's get to the plot. So, this book was fairly mass marketed along with some not-so-hot thrillers like The Golden Couple, Unmissing, Stay Awake, The Last Housewife etc. In comparison to these books (a fair comparison because the same marketing attention was doled out), this one stands head and shoulders above. Yes, at its core you have the regular degular domestic thriller is my husband a whackjob trope, but McAllister added complexity with the time travel element. She gave it a unique lens which I haven't read this year.
And on top of that, she did NOT go for cheap shock value or OTT shenanigans. McAllister stayed the course by dropping tidbits throughout and then tying everything together in a calm, cool, and collected fashion. In comparison, the aforementioned books slammed together as many illogical twisty twists as possible in the last 10%, which always annoys tf out of me. I hate when an author tries to bamboozle you into a positive rating by overwhelming you with drama. And thank fuck she didn't toss in the "catching up with a friend over coffee" epilogue – you know the ones that summarize what everyone's up to after the final act? So lazy.
I have to say... the whole
baa_baa77's review against another edition
3.0
Really a 3.5! I loved the premise and the twists and turns. But it was too long and drawn out in places and hurried through other plot points I was truly invested in. Overall a fun read but not a fantastic one!
susanbonnieo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-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? It's complicated
3.75
christina_cullen's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
3.0
aem538's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-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
4.25
juliamikhno's review against another edition
4.0
4 ⭐️ so good! so unique! so tightly and cleverly plotted. the unraveling of it all and the growing tension is executed so masterfully. so many twists, most of which i didn’t see coming beforehand.
started off a little slow and felt a little long, but then the pace picked up and i was fully immersed into the story. following jen put the puzzle pieces together and solving a crime in reverse was such a rollercoaster. i was really invested in jen’s relationship with her husband and son.
minus star for slight pacing issues, some internalized fatphobia, and constantly repeating any phrase that’s supposed to be #impactful three times.
started off a little slow and felt a little long, but then the pace picked up and i was fully immersed into the story. following jen put the puzzle pieces together and solving a crime in reverse was such a rollercoaster. i was really invested in jen’s relationship with her husband and son.
minus star for slight pacing issues, some internalized fatphobia, and constantly repeating any phrase that’s supposed to be #impactful three times.
killa2022's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-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
3.75
keaganb's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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
5.0
ellag24_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
3.75