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3.04 AVERAGE
3.04 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Compared to the type kinds of mystery/crime/thriller books I've been into lately, this one moved at breakneck speed, in the sense that you're doing "Whoa, what?" head motions the entire time, and not necessarily in a bad way. I'm biased on any book with queer-centric content though. Since I'm not a consistent review writer, I'll just go ahead with a spoiler section (just to be safe):
On the question of "Are the flaws of the main character(s) a main focus of the book?" I'm going to say aaaabsolutely, and somehow it didn't even turn me off. It honestly helped propel me towards finding out what the hell is going on along with our anxiety riddled, jumps-to-conclusions-without-fact-checking main character Kelly. I'm not sure I can call her a protagonist since she herself spends every other thought second-guessing her own social existence, but there's a balance of "oh girl, what a choice" with "mmm, relatable content" in the air with her the whole time too.
The story literally begins with a rash decision, where Kelly is in a severely rocky patch with her fiancé, and to get some time apart, she decides to go moving in with a woman she hasn't seen since high school and has only recently reconnected with (through Instagram messages). This is basically because that woman is now successful and hot and mysterious and writes books that turn Kelly on (her line of reasoning), and she doesn't want her mother and best friend to know about her boy troubles. All of this while in a pandemic lockdown too, but on we go.
Despite this foundation, and a long list of other rash conclusions, choices, and judgements, she still finds time in the middle of it all to call someone else's choices "reckless". The good thing is, no one in our cast of characters is perfect, they're all just human and all varying degrees of sane. While she flip-flops between her own convictions, the story is still plot driven enough that she's along for the ride, instead of driving it herself and I personally think that works.
The ending also came out of nowhere, because even I was distracted by the misdirects and the fast pace of events and wasn't paying enough attention to the peripherals. I didn't feel let down or like stretches were being made, it was grounded just enough that I was satisfied when closing the back cover. That's really all I can ask for from books of this sort of genre, plus again, saphhic content automatically gets my vote of confidence either way.
On the question of "Are the flaws of the main character(s) a main focus of the book?" I'm going to say aaaabsolutely, and somehow it didn't even turn me off. It honestly helped propel me towards finding out what the hell is going on along with our anxiety riddled, jumps-to-conclusions-without-fact-checking main character Kelly. I'm not sure I can call her a protagonist since she herself spends every other thought second-guessing her own social existence, but there's a balance of "oh girl, what a choice" with "mmm, relatable content" in the air with her the whole time too.
The story literally begins with a rash decision, where Kelly is in a severely rocky patch with her fiancé, and to get some time apart, she decides to go moving in with a woman she hasn't seen since high school and has only recently reconnected with (through Instagram messages). This is basically because that woman is now successful and hot and mysterious and writes books that turn Kelly on (her line of reasoning), and she doesn't want her mother and best friend to know about her boy troubles. All of this while in a pandemic lockdown too, but on we go.
Despite this foundation, and a long list of other rash conclusions, choices, and judgements, she still finds time in the middle of it all to call someone else's choices "reckless". The good thing is, no one in our cast of characters is perfect, they're all just human and all varying degrees of sane. While she flip-flops between her own convictions, the story is still plot driven enough that she's along for the ride, instead of driving it herself and I personally think that works.
The ending also came out of nowhere, because even I was distracted by the misdirects and the fast pace of events and wasn't paying enough attention to the peripherals. I didn't feel let down or like stretches were being made, it was grounded just enough that I was satisfied when closing the back cover. That's really all I can ask for from books of this sort of genre, plus again, saphhic content automatically gets my vote of confidence either way.
This was a disappointment. Characters were unlikable and clichéd, and the main character repeatedly made stupid choices. This led in a direction that, in the end, felt disconnected from the rest of the story. I didn't feel anything for most of these characters, really, because they lacked depth. I regret having spent full price on this book too, particularly due to her acknowledgements at the end, about several Republicans saying "truly horrific things" about the LGBTQ+ community and the rest of the party saying nothing about it. Really..? What things, exactly? Do you have an example of this? Do you realize there are plenty of people who are buying your book who likely vote Republican and your sweeping assumption and generalization really alienate that part of your readership... just saying. I won't be buying any more of her books, not because they feature LGBTQ+ characters and situations. I really wanted to read her other book, too, We Were Never Here, but not anymore. She clearly doesn't want or need my support or that of many others.
dark
mysterious
tense
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:
Yes
I was so excited for this book to come out, with Andrea’s previous book We Were Never Here being one of my favourite reads. This book is VERY different from that one, but I definitely still enjoyed it. It was dark, sexy and tense with some great twists. It was definitely not the book I was expecting, as I went into it with a vague idea of what I thought was going to happen and all those expectations were basically wrong. It was written in such a way that a lot of the tension and uncertainty that the main character is feeling is conveyed through to the reader. It was great to read a book set in the pandemic, with lockdowns and isolation still being fresh in our minds it really adds another layer of intensity to a novel. This was a slower paced, character driven domestic mystery/thriller. It would be the perfect holiday read. Very excited to see what Andrea comes out with next.
mysterious
tense
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:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
the plot was intriguing but pretty much everyone in it was unlikable. i would have preferred that more backstory was trickled in throughout instead of having huge reveals in the last couple chapters. i liked the queer and nonmonogamous leanings but the rest of the book fell short for me.
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes