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odurant8's review
there was an upcoming animal scene, and I couldn't go any further.
litwithleigh's review against another edition
1.0
Thank you Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. IYKYK, my reviews are ALWAYS honest.
Writing: 4/5 | Plot: LMFAAOOOOOOO/5 | Ending: oh ok?/5
SYNOPSIS
A missing boy. A husband with another family. A wife with a couple skeletons in her closet. A bunch of ?????
MY OPINION
Anddddd another author bites the dust. Similar to [b:Little Red House|60599818|Little Red House|Liv Andersson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1649513524l/60599818._SY75_.jpg|95522248], the writing ain't BAD but it's clear the plot is written to be picked up as an HBO series, because the math did not mathulate. Even Albert Einstein couldn't figure out how any of Beatrice's behaviour added up.
I picked this up because I was intrigued by the concept of Beatrice knowing that her husband was dipping his dong in other ketchup cups and how that would play out when his son went missing... if this is what entices you as well, forget it. The book has little to do with Beatrice's wildin ass husband and missing love child and more to do with Beatrice being a stage 5 dumbass. Unfortunately, I can't say much more without spoilies soooo....
SPOILERS ALERT... SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM
Ight so Beatrice is like Shay in [b:The Last Housewife|59349100|The Last Housewife|Ashley Winstead|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1649778403l/59349100._SY75_.jpg|93510806] in regards to being indoctrined into some weird ass cult in about 15 seconds. Beatrice is kidnapped by the father of the boy that she was assigned to as a social worker and at first she's like hey this is not cool, and then the dad is like ok but I'm actually a scientist that the gov is tryna kill because I'm too smart for these fools... and if you need proof here's my notebooks. Beatrice reads them and then suddenly she's okay with being kidnapped and not only that but she's in LOVE with her kidnapper???? HUH??? So you read his lil diary and was like, yep checks out, and it totally makes sense as to why he had to hold me captive! Girl cmon.
The author completely skipped the steps where Beatrice is mentally broken down by this paranoid schizophrenic loser and succumbs to being held captive. One day she's not chill with it, and the next day she's going full Martha Stewart in the kitchen for the family. Also, she's given a car to buss around town but never thinks of driving to the police station... oh and I guess no one gives af about her disappearance because the police stop by one time to question the family (it was the last place she was seen) and then... that's it? She even goes out to a whole ass job interview and no one blinks an eyes. Ok then.
In the present, Beatrice is obvi being hunted down by someone who knows her sordid past. At one point, she's on this secluded island where she's renovating some janky ass former asylum, and she finds the exact outfit she wore to her job interview (where she unknowingly dropped off a bomb), in full display. So what does miss smarty pants do? Get off the island? Call the police? Nope. She runs into the rain, stops, and screams at full volume while "the rain washes away my tears" AND THEN SHE GOES BACK TO THE COTTAGE AND PAINST A WHOLE ASS MURAL DURING THE NIGHT???? LMFAOAOODJFOJFOJF??????? Literal Darwinism. Why call the police or get to safety when you can express yourself with art???????
The same shit happens again and again on this secluded island to the point where you're like, hoe if you die, I really don't care, you kinda deserve it. At one point, Beatrice decides that her torturer must've packed their bags and given up because their antics stop, so she just continues on as normal LMAOOO. Sooooo you don't actually want to know who was behind all this? But of course shit starts up again and Beatrice decides now is the perfect time to hunt down some professor and ask if he wants to do something with the patient files she found while cleaning out the abandoned asylum? Because we really needed four pages of that journey when SOMEONE IS TRYNA RUIN YOUR WHOLE ASS LIFE??????
Ok ad somewhere along the way Beatrice hires a PI who has the skills of my dog Nobu tryna get to his bed in the dark (good luck, buddy). In fact, Beatrice has to tell this guy "did you try searching for him with his maiden name?" and he dead ass says "you think that'll help?" JFC did this man have a lobotomy or something? Later, Beatrice has to once again tell mans how to do his job to find Luke, who happens to just be a short trip away, living his best life as a gay carpenter. Because of course he is. Beatrice, I sincerely hope you asked for a refund, because this PI couldn't detect his left foot from his right.
Then we get to the end which is either 1) the world's most abrupt cliffhanger or 2) setting this up to be a series. Please not #2. We don't need any more of Beatrice's stupid ass antics. Again, nothing made sense during this scene. So homegirl has been bopping about tryna psychologically torture you, setting off bombs, and snatching innocent children but when you finally find her... she's just chillin and is like hey wanna go inside to this isolated home and talk? And Beatrice is like, le duh, I love walking into the lion's den. And to top it all off, you help homegirl ESCAPE on a boat to Canada with you??? FOR WHAT??????????????
SPOILERS DONE
Liv, you can actually write, but your plots are messier than I was on my 21st birthday after 10 $1 shots. Get yourself a developmental editor and sort this shit out because you're wasting your talents on this nonsensical faffing about ass plot. A big disappointment.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: 256 pages only, the prose is actually good
Cons: the plot made absolutely no sense, Beatrice is the world's dumbest "protagonist", the ending was ??????
_____________________________
For some sick reason, do you want to hear more of my nonsense? Check out my podcast: Novels & Nonsense streaming everywhere.
Writing: 4/5 | Plot: LMFAAOOOOOOO/5 | Ending: oh ok?/5
SYNOPSIS
A missing boy. A husband with another family. A wife with a couple skeletons in her closet. A bunch of ?????
MY OPINION
Anddddd another author bites the dust. Similar to [b:Little Red House|60599818|Little Red House|Liv Andersson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1649513524l/60599818._SY75_.jpg|95522248], the writing ain't BAD but it's clear the plot is written to be picked up as an HBO series, because the math did not mathulate. Even Albert Einstein couldn't figure out how any of Beatrice's behaviour added up.
I picked this up because I was intrigued by the concept of Beatrice knowing that her husband was dipping his dong in other ketchup cups and how that would play out when his son went missing... if this is what entices you as well, forget it. The book has little to do with Beatrice's wildin ass husband and missing love child and more to do with Beatrice being a stage 5 dumbass. Unfortunately, I can't say much more without spoilies soooo....
SPOILERS ALERT... SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM
Ight so Beatrice is like Shay in [b:The Last Housewife|59349100|The Last Housewife|Ashley Winstead|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1649778403l/59349100._SY75_.jpg|93510806] in regards to being indoctrined into some weird ass cult in about 15 seconds. Beatrice is kidnapped by the father of the boy that she was assigned to as a social worker and at first she's like hey this is not cool, and then the dad is like ok but I'm actually a scientist that the gov is tryna kill because I'm too smart for these fools... and if you need proof here's my notebooks. Beatrice reads them and then suddenly she's okay with being kidnapped and not only that but she's in LOVE with her kidnapper???? HUH??? So you read his lil diary and was like, yep checks out, and it totally makes sense as to why he had to hold me captive! Girl cmon.
The author completely skipped the steps where Beatrice is mentally broken down by this paranoid schizophrenic loser and succumbs to being held captive. One day she's not chill with it, and the next day she's going full Martha Stewart in the kitchen for the family. Also, she's given a car to buss around town but never thinks of driving to the police station... oh and I guess no one gives af about her disappearance because the police stop by one time to question the family (it was the last place she was seen) and then... that's it? She even goes out to a whole ass job interview and no one blinks an eyes. Ok then.
In the present, Beatrice is obvi being hunted down by someone who knows her sordid past. At one point, she's on this secluded island where she's renovating some janky ass former asylum, and she finds the exact outfit she wore to her job interview (where she unknowingly dropped off a bomb), in full display. So what does miss smarty pants do? Get off the island? Call the police? Nope. She runs into the rain, stops, and screams at full volume while "the rain washes away my tears" AND THEN SHE GOES BACK TO THE COTTAGE AND PAINST A WHOLE ASS MURAL DURING THE NIGHT???? LMFAOAOODJFOJFOJF??????? Literal Darwinism. Why call the police or get to safety when you can express yourself with art???????
The same shit happens again and again on this secluded island to the point where you're like, hoe if you die, I really don't care, you kinda deserve it. At one point, Beatrice decides that her torturer must've packed their bags and given up because their antics stop, so she just continues on as normal LMAOOO. Sooooo you don't actually want to know who was behind all this? But of course shit starts up again and Beatrice decides now is the perfect time to hunt down some professor and ask if he wants to do something with the patient files she found while cleaning out the abandoned asylum? Because we really needed four pages of that journey when SOMEONE IS TRYNA RUIN YOUR WHOLE ASS LIFE??????
Ok ad somewhere along the way Beatrice hires a PI who has the skills of my dog Nobu tryna get to his bed in the dark (good luck, buddy). In fact, Beatrice has to tell this guy "did you try searching for him with his maiden name?" and he dead ass says "you think that'll help?" JFC did this man have a lobotomy or something? Later, Beatrice has to once again tell mans how to do his job to find Luke, who happens to just be a short trip away, living his best life as a gay carpenter. Because of course he is. Beatrice, I sincerely hope you asked for a refund, because this PI couldn't detect his left foot from his right.
Then we get to the end which is either 1) the world's most abrupt cliffhanger or 2) setting this up to be a series. Please not #2. We don't need any more of Beatrice's stupid ass antics. Again, nothing made sense during this scene. So homegirl has been bopping about tryna psychologically torture you, setting off bombs, and snatching innocent children but when you finally find her... she's just chillin and is like hey wanna go inside to this isolated home and talk? And Beatrice is like, le duh, I love walking into the lion's den. And to top it all off, you help homegirl ESCAPE on a boat to Canada with you??? FOR WHAT??????????????
SPOILERS DONE
Liv, you can actually write, but your plots are messier than I was on my 21st birthday after 10 $1 shots. Get yourself a developmental editor and sort this shit out because you're wasting your talents on this nonsensical faffing about ass plot. A big disappointment.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: 256 pages only, the prose is actually good
Cons: the plot made absolutely no sense, Beatrice is the world's dumbest "protagonist", the ending was ??????
_____________________________
For some sick reason, do you want to hear more of my nonsense? Check out my podcast: Novels & Nonsense streaming everywhere.
stephreadsit's review against another edition
4.0
This was a very enjoyable, chilling, thrilling and suspense filled book full of twists and I truly never could have guessed the ending. I loved the multiple POVs and alternating timeline and enjoyed the characters and getting to read about the MC’s past. It was a super quick, page-turner popcorn thriller. I loved the ending and just really enjoyed this book overall! It was my first book by this author and certainly won’t be my last!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for my early digital copy for my honest thoughts and review!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for my early digital copy for my honest thoughts and review!
arieljrramos's review
dark
mysterious
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
3.0
alexanderthegrateful's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you Liv Andersson, Crooked Lane Books, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
2.5-3/5: I really struggled to get into this book and it took me quite a few days to get through. I pushed through solely because it was an ARC and I wanted to provide an honest review. The time jumps were very confusing and I had a hard time keeping track of all the characters and who was who between timelines.
I did enjoy the last 25% of the book when it finally hooked me, but the ending was anticlimactic for me. I definitely wouldn’t pick this one up to read a second time, but hopefully the finished copy has some identifying information at the beginning of each chapter to help the reader keep up.
2.5-3/5: I really struggled to get into this book and it took me quite a few days to get through. I pushed through solely because it was an ARC and I wanted to provide an honest review. The time jumps were very confusing and I had a hard time keeping track of all the characters and who was who between timelines.
I did enjoy the last 25% of the book when it finally hooked me, but the ending was anticlimactic for me. I definitely wouldn’t pick this one up to read a second time, but hopefully the finished copy has some identifying information at the beginning of each chapter to help the reader keep up.
michellefre's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you Liv Andersson, Crooked Lane Books, and NetGalley for an ARC of Leave the Lights in exchange for my honest feedback. I LOVED this book and I could not wait to finish it! I love that it was a shorter book and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time I read it. I did feel that sometimes a bit of time was wasted on irrelevant things, such as Beatrice hunting down the professor about the medical files. The author spent quite some time talking about that and then in the end it was completely irrelevant other than the two files she took out of it? And this is completely personal preference but I hate ambiguous endings and this left me wanting more answers. I also wish she would’ve gone into detail more about Beatrice’s husband and his mistress. Other than that, I absolutely adored this book. 4.5/5 stars.
thelovelylibrarylady's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
3.0
While this novel was well written, I found certain plot points to be predictable. One of my biggest reading pet peeves is when I figure out twists before they are meant to be revealed, which happened more than once in this story. If you are a fan of atmospheric thrillers, you will enjoy Leave The Lights On. Andersson’s descriptions of Cape Morgan, Maine were so fantastic that I had to Google to see if it was a real place (it is not) and truly elevated this title.
(PUB DATE: AVAILABLE NOW)
(I received an audio recording of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed above are my own.)
jennilathrop's review
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
This was a pretty standard mystery. Andersson is a good story teller and weaves the past and present together really well. The story is fairly standard with a few red herrings that are nicely dealt with. The end was a quieter end than expected and I was surprised by the choice. For future me who forgets how these things end: Grace is Luke's sister and the one kidnapping the kids. In the end, Beatrice fakes her own death and she and Grace escape to take on the identities of two of the women who died at the asylum on the island.