Reviews

The Things We Lost by Maggie Giles

mimi2018's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

kxlevesque's review

3.0

2.5 rounded up*

Honestly, Maddie and Jack should have ended up together. Jack wasn’t cheating with multiple women, (the Texas waitress and Parisian trainer were Maddie), he seemed to genuinely care about her and he would have left Arabella if Maddie asked. I also think their personalities matched up better.

I’m against her and Nathan because 1. She has all of her memories of him from her previous timeline and I think that would cause a lot of issues & 2. They clearly weren’t happy together in the long run and she only stayed with him because she wants her kids full time (not a healthy reason to stay in a seemingly loveless marriage)

And what was up with Nathan saying he’ll be home soon and then disappearing and not answering his phone before she switched timelines? I was disappointed when I realized it wouldn’t be explained…

On a great note, I couldn’t put down the first half of the book! It was fun and more mysterious than I expected!

stephwilltell's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

3.0

jeri's review

challenging medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

mariestill's review

emotional inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective tense medium-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

5.0

A wonderful debut that has you asking, "What if..."

chocolatecows's review

4.0

Ahh! Thank you to the publisher for the ARC so I can review it.

This book took me on a whirlwind and I absolutely did not mind at all. I really enjoyed this book and finished it so so fast!

The decisions that you make on a daily basis have a big impact on the different outcomes in your life. Maddie is soon discovering what may have happened in an alternate version of her life.

sixelad03's review

mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

Maggie is a woman in her thirties, an author and a mother whose marriage seems to be falling apart. She goes to bed one night consumed with guilt over the betrayal she has committed. However, she wakes up the next day ten years younger, with a man in her bed who is not her husband and her two little girls never born. She has to learn to adapt to this new reality and bear the consequences of it.

The version I read of this book is an uncorrected proof, so my opinion may be based on elements that will not be present in the final version.

This is Maggie Giles’ first novel, and it really is very promising. I was quickly drawn into the story and couldn’t put the book down all day. I am one of those people who often ask, ‘what if?’ and this book is a representation of that question that is often on our minds.

‘What if I had done things differently? What if I had made different choices? Where would I be today? Would I have a better life?’ All of this is set against a background of mystery that we try to unravel along with Maddie, the main character. However, I was a bit frustrated not to know more about why Maddie woke up in this new reality, I admit I would have liked to know more about that. The ending wasn’t necessarily to my taste either, I’m left with far too many unanswered questions.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and I recommend it.

Thanks to NetGalley, Rising Action Publishing Co and Maggie Giles for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.