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jennabuythebook's review
4.0
So, when I tell you I was in a complete and total reading rut…I mean it. I’d had a pretty blah time with the last two romances I read and I just didn’t know if I had the brain capacity for a full-blown thriller and despite having a gazillion unread books on my shelf. Absolutely zero of them were calling to me.
Enter: The Acts of Life.
Rarely, RARELY, do I turn to my Kindle to find something to read despite the many perfectly decent free Amazon bestseller books sitting on there waiting for me. But as I sat scrolling, there sat The Acts of Life beaming at me like a shining star in the night sky.
Now I don’t need to tell you anything about this book because if you’ve been around Bookstagram long enough and follow the same circle of peeps that graciously make up my feed, then you’ve seen the rave reviews of our friend, @read.it.and.sleep ‘s book. And here I am to just heap my review on the top of the pile.
The Acts of Life was everything I needed exactly when I needed it. Part romance/part suspense, this book married my two great loves into the most engaging work of fiction I’ve read in quite some time.
Sam and Harper were steamy, ya’ll. The chemistry was sizzling and since I went into this one blind, I didn’t know that at some point, the tables would turn and never stop.
Stella. I loved to hate her but WHY?!? Why do we hate her so?? You’ll just have to read to find out.
Kristin has a true gift with writing and I am so glad I picked this gem up when I did. Read it ya’ll. Here’s your sign.
Enter: The Acts of Life.
Rarely, RARELY, do I turn to my Kindle to find something to read despite the many perfectly decent free Amazon bestseller books sitting on there waiting for me. But as I sat scrolling, there sat The Acts of Life beaming at me like a shining star in the night sky.
Now I don’t need to tell you anything about this book because if you’ve been around Bookstagram long enough and follow the same circle of peeps that graciously make up my feed, then you’ve seen the rave reviews of our friend, @read.it.and.sleep ‘s book. And here I am to just heap my review on the top of the pile.
The Acts of Life was everything I needed exactly when I needed it. Part romance/part suspense, this book married my two great loves into the most engaging work of fiction I’ve read in quite some time.
Sam and Harper were steamy, ya’ll. The chemistry was sizzling and since I went into this one blind, I didn’t know that at some point, the tables would turn and never stop.
Stella. I loved to hate her but WHY?!? Why do we hate her so?? You’ll just have to read to find out.
Kristin has a true gift with writing and I am so glad I picked this gem up when I did. Read it ya’ll. Here’s your sign.
nsa101's review
5.0
Synopsis: Sam and Stella are twins with a deep sibling love/hate relationship. Sam begins dating Harper and he doesn’t quite know what he’s in for or how this will affect his relationship with his sister.
Wow! This was a great book by a debut author. At 478 pages this was a thick book but I binged it in less than 24 hours!
I was impressed with how well-executed and realistic the dialogue was and the twists and turns kept me turning the pages. Also, the steam factor was HIGH so be warned! I am not going to say too much more as I would recommend going into this book blind and just enjoying the ride.
Read this if you like:
❤️Romantic suspense
❤️Family drama
❤️Steamy scenes
❤️California setting
TW: suicide
Wow! This was a great book by a debut author. At 478 pages this was a thick book but I binged it in less than 24 hours!
I was impressed with how well-executed and realistic the dialogue was and the twists and turns kept me turning the pages. Also, the steam factor was HIGH so be warned! I am not going to say too much more as I would recommend going into this book blind and just enjoying the ride.
Read this if you like:
❤️Romantic suspense
❤️Family drama
❤️Steamy scenes
❤️California setting
TW: suicide
jessicasilfenroy's review
4.0
I’m going to start off by saying to go into this book completely blind. I read too many Goodreads reviews before and it ultimately spoiled some of the suspense and led to accurate predictions I may not have guessed otherwise. That being said, I think this was a really strong debut novel that flew by quickly despite the length. I would love some sort of sequel, even if it’s just a novella because ambiguous endings….
Read this if you like:
-Romantic suspense
-Family drama
-Steamy scenes
-CA setting (San Fran and LA)
-Last Mrs. Parish and To Good to Be True
Read this if you like:
-Romantic suspense
-Family drama
-Steamy scenes
-CA setting (San Fran and LA)
-Last Mrs. Parish and To Good to Be True
librarycutie's review
4.0
oh my god, my brain is spiraling! this was such a phenomenal story! i went in thinking it was a steamy romance but nah, NAH! Kristin delivered an incredible thriller with spicy sex woven in!
SPOILERS, HERE ON OUT!
the entire time i was reading TAOL, I thought that Stella, the twin sister, was the psychopath because of how she always tried to sabotage Sam’s relationships and accomplishments and always wanted to be better than him, even when she ruined a relationship, someone’s career, and ultimately entire life. I feel bad for what happened to her in the end because i can’t imaging the pain when she realized she might’ve lost all that mattered to her and it wouldn’t have happened if she just stopped trying to control and sabotage his life.
Harper… Liz… Sophie….! This girl, she’s a bit sloppier than Joe from You but she’s not a murderer. She just wants revenge, and you know I can’t blame her. she’s not a bad person, she just was raised in a very terrible home and is pretty messed up from the trauma. She truly loves Sam and genuinely falls in love with him despite her master plan, she never wanted to hurt anyone, only Stella and Nathaniel’s relationship and careers, not physically. Which is why this is so interesting that that’s not what happened. She feels nothing when their outcome is unexpected, but still didn’t intend for it to happen.
The very end, I can’t too thinking about. Two people dead, one very close to Sam. Harper’s (and Stella’s) old boss sit behind Harper and in that moment I wonder what would happen next. If Sam finds out the truth about everything, I think he might lose it, I really do. And if he lives a happy ever after with Harper, it’s sick and twisted and dark but they both love each other. I don’t know what I would prefer to happen! It’s both a blessing and curse to have an open-ended epilogue like that. Kristin you knew what you were doing, very clever!!
SPOILERS, HERE ON OUT!
the entire time i was reading TAOL, I thought that Stella, the twin sister, was the psychopath because of how she always tried to sabotage Sam’s relationships and accomplishments and always wanted to be better than him, even when she ruined a relationship, someone’s career, and ultimately entire life. I feel bad for what happened to her in the end because i can’t imaging the pain when she realized she might’ve lost all that mattered to her and it wouldn’t have happened if she just stopped trying to control and sabotage his life.
Harper… Liz… Sophie….! This girl, she’s a bit sloppier than Joe from You but she’s not a murderer. She just wants revenge, and you know I can’t blame her. she’s not a bad person, she just was raised in a very terrible home and is pretty messed up from the trauma. She truly loves Sam and genuinely falls in love with him despite her master plan, she never wanted to hurt anyone, only Stella and Nathaniel’s relationship and careers, not physically. Which is why this is so interesting that that’s not what happened. She feels nothing when their outcome is unexpected, but still didn’t intend for it to happen.
The very end, I can’t too thinking about. Two people dead, one very close to Sam. Harper’s (and Stella’s) old boss sit behind Harper and in that moment I wonder what would happen next. If Sam finds out the truth about everything, I think he might lose it, I really do. And if he lives a happy ever after with Harper, it’s sick and twisted and dark but they both love each other. I don’t know what I would prefer to happen! It’s both a blessing and curse to have an open-ended epilogue like that. Kristin you knew what you were doing, very clever!!
hayleymeulenbroeks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
3.75
Plot: 4
Characters: 4
Romance: 3
Enjoyment: 4
Writing: 4
Other: 3
Characters: 4
Romance: 3
Enjoyment: 4
Writing: 4
Other: 3
graceemacee's review
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Death of parent, and Car accident
Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
covingtonscollection's review
5.0
Love love love this smutty thriller. Wow. So unique. Very intriguing. Kept me hooked from the beginning. I loved the multiple POVs. The characters are easy to love and hate at the same time, and in the best way. I would read this again and again!!! Have never read anything like it. But fans of Colleen Hoover and any thriller book would love this!!
sam_gorny's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Sam’s red flags made this not feel like a romance to me, but the twist made the resolution really fly by
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, and Murder
_butfirstbooks's review
3.0
I saw this circulating on Instagram for the longest time late last year and decided to get it.
I’m not sure how to feel about this per say. I wasn’t a big fan of the main character, Sam. He had the arrogant, cocky “frat boy” playboy vibe going and some of his thoughts irked me. The sister was just as worse with her selfish narcissism. I had heard great things, so I still wanted to see this through. At first it just seemed like a one night stand turned relationship and then the huge plot twist hit. Once that bombshell dropped - that’s where the story had me hooked and kept me at the edge of my seat.
After that, I started to feel for the MC. While I loved the second half with everything coming into play, the fast paced plot line, and that amazing cliff hanger I wish we had gotten to that point earlier on rather than having to read 300 out of the almost 500 page book for it to really get interesting. But, I’m glad that it piqued my interest in the second half because now I need to okie what happens next.
If you’re a fan of the show You or soap operas like All My Children this is a great read to satiate that need.
Side note: the cover art is gorgeous, although I’m still confused on the title now that I have read this book.
I’m not sure how to feel about this per say. I wasn’t a big fan of the main character, Sam. He had the arrogant, cocky “frat boy” playboy vibe going and some of his thoughts irked me. The sister was just as worse with her selfish narcissism. I had heard great things, so I still wanted to see this through. At first it just seemed like a one night stand turned relationship and then the huge plot twist hit. Once that bombshell dropped - that’s where the story had me hooked and kept me at the edge of my seat.
After that, I started to feel for the MC. While I loved the second half with everything coming into play, the fast paced plot line, and that amazing cliff hanger I wish we had gotten to that point earlier on rather than having to read 300 out of the almost 500 page book for it to really get interesting. But, I’m glad that it piqued my interest in the second half because now I need to okie what happens next.
If you’re a fan of the show You or soap operas like All My Children this is a great read to satiate that need.
Side note: the cover art is gorgeous, although I’m still confused on the title now that I have read this book.
knitplanjess's review
5.0
4.5 star - holy crap. What did I just read?
I will say that the .5star was deducted because I felt so lost at the plot until about the 60% mark. I also went in blind because I had completely forgotten what I read months earlier about the synopsis.
This was an incredible story - audio narration was perfect to build the suspense. And spice
I will say that the .5star was deducted because I felt so lost at the plot until about the 60% mark. I also went in blind because I had completely forgotten what I read months earlier about the synopsis.
This was an incredible story - audio narration was perfect to build the suspense. And spice