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3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
3.5 stars rounded up to 4
Suspenseful with a final twist that packs one heck of a punch, “The Starter Wife” by Nina Laurin is a well written story that, sadly, fell short for me. I’ve loved plenty of books with characters who were anything but likeable. However, the characters in “The Starter Wife” weren’t simply unlikeable. They were detestable right from the get-go, leaving me hoping for a murder-suicide less than halfway through the book. That’s never a good thing. Not for this reader anyway.
What made the characters so detestable for me was there was never anything to make them sympathetic or compelling. The main character, Claire, is angry from the very first page, but you’re unclear as to why at first. All you know is she’s unhappy with her marriage — and drunk. These seem to be her main traits throughout the book (in addition to being a liar). Her husband Byron is no better. Talk about a horse’s butt! She’s in love with him and wants to fix things, but he seems unable to be anything but critical. Cruel, even.
All of this is not to say “The Starter Wife” is a bad book or one you shouldn’t read. Author Nina Laurin is a talent. The story is well written and full of suspense. You never know what’s coming. The plot twists don’t simply keep you on your toes. They keep you glued to the page. I never once considered not finishing the book. It’s simply that I didn’t enjoy it as much as I would have if Claire and Byron weren’t such horrible, fictional people — or if I’d had a few glasses of wine while reading. As is, I drank water.
Please remember that my opinions of any book are just that. My opinions. “The Starter Wife” wasn’t my cup of tea, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be yours.
Suspenseful with a final twist that packs one heck of a punch, “The Starter Wife” by Nina Laurin is a well written story that, sadly, fell short for me. I’ve loved plenty of books with characters who were anything but likeable. However, the characters in “The Starter Wife” weren’t simply unlikeable. They were detestable right from the get-go, leaving me hoping for a murder-suicide less than halfway through the book. That’s never a good thing. Not for this reader anyway.
What made the characters so detestable for me was there was never anything to make them sympathetic or compelling. The main character, Claire, is angry from the very first page, but you’re unclear as to why at first. All you know is she’s unhappy with her marriage — and drunk. These seem to be her main traits throughout the book (in addition to being a liar). Her husband Byron is no better. Talk about a horse’s butt! She’s in love with him and wants to fix things, but he seems unable to be anything but critical. Cruel, even.
All of this is not to say “The Starter Wife” is a bad book or one you shouldn’t read. Author Nina Laurin is a talent. The story is well written and full of suspense. You never know what’s coming. The plot twists don’t simply keep you on your toes. They keep you glued to the page. I never once considered not finishing the book. It’s simply that I didn’t enjoy it as much as I would have if Claire and Byron weren’t such horrible, fictional people — or if I’d had a few glasses of wine while reading. As is, I drank water.
Please remember that my opinions of any book are just that. My opinions. “The Starter Wife” wasn’t my cup of tea, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be yours.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
This book was very confusing. It is told in 2 parts, the first being Claire, the second Tracy. Claire and Byron are married. She is much younger than Byron, and his second wife. His first wife, Colleen, died earlier - a suspected suicide, although her body was never found. Someone is obsessing about Byron, and you get the sense that something sinister is going to happen to Claire. But, you are being deceived!
I won't put spoilers here, but I wasn't entirely convinced about this storyline. While I understand that obsession is real, this novel set to confuse and to blur the voices.
#TheStarterWife #NinaLaurin
I won't put spoilers here, but I wasn't entirely convinced about this storyline. While I understand that obsession is real, this novel set to confuse and to blur the voices.
#TheStarterWife #NinaLaurin
The Starter Wife has two unreliable narrators. There is the mysterious student who is stalking college professor Byron and his wife and there is Claire, Byron's second wife. The student feels that Byron's wife if not worthy of him and that she must protect him from her devious ways. She actually considers herself his "Guardian Angel", determined that at some point she will be married to Byron and he will know she is the perfect wife for him.
Claire is dealing with feelings of jealousy and resentment towards Byron's first wife, Coleen, whose wealth was responsible for the house they live in and the money they can spend on luxuries. She resents Coleen's former college professor career and also her second career as a painter and she hates that they are still living in the house that Byron and Coleen lived in before Coleen committed suicide.
I can't say that any of the characters in the book are likable although it's hard to know the truth of the other characters because we only see them mostly through Claire's eyes and sometimes through the eyes of the stalking student. When the book starts, Claire begins to get messages from Coleen and phone calls from an anonymous woman, alluding to something that is missing. Claire puts all her effort into finding out who is harassing her while she also is trying to set up fertility treatments behind her husband's back.
The book is very interesting except that the two narrators are so unlikable and seem to have no redeeming qualities that it's hard feel invested in what happens to them. The other characters, seen through those two women's eyes, can't be fleshed out realistically since we aren't getting the real facts about them. I did figure out some plot points ahead of time, but still had no idea how the book would end.
Published June 11th 2019
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC.
Claire is dealing with feelings of jealousy and resentment towards Byron's first wife, Coleen, whose wealth was responsible for the house they live in and the money they can spend on luxuries. She resents Coleen's former college professor career and also her second career as a painter and she hates that they are still living in the house that Byron and Coleen lived in before Coleen committed suicide.
I can't say that any of the characters in the book are likable although it's hard to know the truth of the other characters because we only see them mostly through Claire's eyes and sometimes through the eyes of the stalking student. When the book starts, Claire begins to get messages from Coleen and phone calls from an anonymous woman, alluding to something that is missing. Claire puts all her effort into finding out who is harassing her while she also is trying to set up fertility treatments behind her husband's back.
The book is very interesting except that the two narrators are so unlikable and seem to have no redeeming qualities that it's hard feel invested in what happens to them. The other characters, seen through those two women's eyes, can't be fleshed out realistically since we aren't getting the real facts about them. I did figure out some plot points ahead of time, but still had no idea how the book would end.
Published June 11th 2019
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC.
This book had me until part two and the last handful of chapters. The story built and built and then … disappointed. There were lots of unanswered storylines. I know some folks love that - I’m not one of them.
This does that shitty thing in thrillers I hate where
Spoiler
the protag is the victim in her own POV, but then reveals a game changing twist that makes her the villain which makes all the previous chapters in her POV not! make! any! sense! I know unreliable narrators exist, and I feel like I've read that done well before, but this just ain't it.
"I always do what needs to be done. Especially when it comes to you, my love."
I wanted to love this! I did! The cover is gorgeous and I've read another story by this author that I enjoyed. So I tucked right in to this one and was ready for the mystery and suspense. Instead, I realized the plot twist in the first few chapters and was just disappointed as I continued reading and waited for the reveal. It seemed to take ages and the story got weirder and weirder.I kept hoping to be pulled back in and find myself loving the mystery but I just....couldn't.
But I know many others won't spot the plot twist and will love this one so if it sounds good to you, you should give it a try!!
I wanted to love this! I did! The cover is gorgeous and I've read another story by this author that I enjoyed. So I tucked right in to this one and was ready for the mystery and suspense. Instead, I realized the plot twist in the first few chapters and was just disappointed as I continued reading and waited for the reveal. It seemed to take ages and the story got weirder and weirder.I kept hoping to be pulled back in and find myself loving the mystery but I just....couldn't.
But I know many others won't spot the plot twist and will love this one so if it sounds good to you, you should give it a try!!
