Scan barcode
malknox96's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
vickijustwantstoread's review against another edition
4.0
So you really need to pick up this debut by new author Kristin Mulligan. I had no preconceptions and hadn't even read the description but was reading as a buddy read for The Read Rover Book Club. It's hard to pick a genre...there is STEAMY romance, twisty twists and an ending that will leave you wanting MORE!!!
emsalwaysreading's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
booksbytheglass's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I KNEW NOTHING GOING INTO THIS ONE (and it was the best experience not gonna lie) 🧐
I knew: it was written by a fellow bookstagrammer, it was wildly popular, and it was some sort of blend between steamy romance and mystery thriller …
while those assumptions were all correct, it was SO MUCH MORE!!
from the moment one of the characters says to sam and stella, twin siblings, “am I in an episode of all my children?” - I knew exactly that I was hooked
sam and stella couldn’t be further apart from each other. stella is manipulative and determined to be happier than her brother and all sam wants is to move on from the past. enter harper, a new love interest from sam that stella is bound to hate.
AND Y’ALL THE SECRETS 👀
I love that the major plot twist hit halfway through and then the book hit the reverse key and we got to see everything again through different eyes!! so cleverly done!!
and the steam??? uh no one told me how well written and HAWT that would be 🥵🤌🏼
overall, once the halfway omg moment hit, I did get a little bored as the rest played out pretty predictably, but I absolutely was so engrossed the entire time!!
and how frickin rude was that cliffhanger ending bye!!
I love discovering new indie authors so if this sounds up your alley, DEFINITELY give it a shot!!!
rating: 4 stars
wine pairing: williamette valley pinot noir
I knew: it was written by a fellow bookstagrammer, it was wildly popular, and it was some sort of blend between steamy romance and mystery thriller …
while those assumptions were all correct, it was SO MUCH MORE!!
from the moment one of the characters says to sam and stella, twin siblings, “am I in an episode of all my children?” - I knew exactly that I was hooked
sam and stella couldn’t be further apart from each other. stella is manipulative and determined to be happier than her brother and all sam wants is to move on from the past. enter harper, a new love interest from sam that stella is bound to hate.
AND Y’ALL THE SECRETS 👀
I love that the major plot twist hit halfway through and then the book hit the reverse key and we got to see everything again through different eyes!! so cleverly done!!
and the steam??? uh no one told me how well written and HAWT that would be 🥵🤌🏼
overall, once the halfway omg moment hit, I did get a little bored as the rest played out pretty predictably, but I absolutely was so engrossed the entire time!!
and how frickin rude was that cliffhanger ending bye!!
I love discovering new indie authors so if this sounds up your alley, DEFINITELY give it a shot!!!
rating: 4 stars
wine pairing: williamette valley pinot noir
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity and Death of parent
readwithstef's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
catsandbookstacks's review
2.0
Competitive narcissist Stella always wants her twin brother Sam to do better. She's engaged, has an awesome job and a close relationship with her brother, so why can't he level up? Playboy Sam is just living his life and moving on from his past when he meets Harper. It seems like Stella will never be completely satisfied with Sam's choices especially once she hears about Harper. The sibling rivalry appears one sided until Sam decides that Harper is a keeper and starts to push back on Stella's judgmental tendencies.
This one is really hard to provide a description and review for without spilling the beans on the twist. Unfortunately this one didn't work for me but it has good bones. The book is split into two parts, the first being from a male's POV and the second from a woman's. I was very suspicious throughout all of part one and wasn't 100% sure where it was taking me. My predictions did prove to be correct but for less seasoned thriller readers, I'm sure they won't see what's coming.
Sam's POV is an exploration of the sexual relationship between him and Harper, a girl he connected with when his friends stood him up at the bar. This section is extremely sex forward and while I normally enjoy really steamy reads, this one didn't rev my engine. Between the word choices and Sam's actions, I just couldn't connect and didn't find it attractive whatsoever. I don't know if the intent of this section was to showcase a likeable/dislikeable character but Sam's character confused me. His friends all thought he was so kind, but he came across as an arrogant and vain frat boy. Sam's aversion to commitment made sense once his past was explained though I wasn't able to feel the guilt and sadness I probably should've.
The woman's POV flowed better than Sam's for me and felt more eloquent (intentional?). I applaud the twist but was lacking background information into the woman's nature and past. I have too many questions about how she did things to buy into it fully. This POV also goes back in time and rehashes many of the same scenes as Sam's POV, which felt repetitive and didn't feel absolutely necessary after the reveal. This time would've been more valuable spent exploring her past in order to explain her character.
All in all, very intriguing romantic suspense/soap opera first novel but needs more tightening and focus. I will try Mulligan's future novels because I can see what she was going for even if it didn't land for me.
This one is really hard to provide a description and review for without spilling the beans on the twist. Unfortunately this one didn't work for me but it has good bones. The book is split into two parts, the first being from a male's POV and the second from a woman's. I was very suspicious throughout all of part one and wasn't 100% sure where it was taking me. My predictions did prove to be correct but for less seasoned thriller readers, I'm sure they won't see what's coming.
Sam's POV is an exploration of the sexual relationship between him and Harper, a girl he connected with when his friends stood him up at the bar. This section is extremely sex forward and while I normally enjoy really steamy reads, this one didn't rev my engine. Between the word choices and Sam's actions, I just couldn't connect and didn't find it attractive whatsoever. I don't know if the intent of this section was to showcase a likeable/dislikeable character but Sam's character confused me. His friends all thought he was so kind, but he came across as an arrogant and vain frat boy. Sam's aversion to commitment made sense once his past was explained though I wasn't able to feel the guilt and sadness I probably should've.
The woman's POV flowed better than Sam's for me and felt more eloquent (intentional?). I applaud the twist but was lacking background information into the woman's nature and past. I have too many questions about how she did things to buy into it fully. This POV also goes back in time and rehashes many of the same scenes as Sam's POV, which felt repetitive and didn't feel absolutely necessary after the reveal. This time would've been more valuable spent exploring her past in order to explain her character.
All in all, very intriguing romantic suspense/soap opera first novel but needs more tightening and focus. I will try Mulligan's future novels because I can see what she was going for even if it didn't land for me.
beasbookspr's review
5.0
This is the story of twin brother and sister, Sam and Stella, growing up in a competitive (rival) relationship, always trying to prove ( at least one of them) who has a better and happier life. Now as adults things are not what you think they should be.
I don't want to say much about the book since I would highly recommend you to read it knowing very little.
You will scream, you'll probably cry and will definitely be mad with a few characters. So many twists and turns, that you won't be able to stop reading and thinking about it until you understand what's going on in this story. Also, steamy alert
I don't want to say much about the book since I would highly recommend you to read it knowing very little.
You will scream, you'll probably cry and will definitely be mad with a few characters. So many twists and turns, that you won't be able to stop reading and thinking about it until you understand what's going on in this story. Also, steamy alert