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3.09 AVERAGE
3.09 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was excellent. The star deduction was merely a personal preference for the way it ended. I still really really loved this. Give it a read.
3.5 stars rounded up.
I grabbed this one from the library after hearing a lot of praise for Brazier's upcoming release. The premise grabbed me: a woman obsessed with a true crime podcast begins to think the host has gone missing after disappearing from social media for a few weeks. The woman tries to find clues hidden within the podcast and goes back to the host's hometown to try and discover what happened to her.
Initially, I was getting some small town/cult-like vibes, and I liked it! But then, I don't know... it just didn't click for me. I feel the MC was unhinged but sensible, so it didn't quite make sense to me? I would've given this 2.5 stars but the ending bumped it up for me.
Overall wasn't super impressed with this one, but not upset I read it. I'll give Brazier another try with her new release!
PS- The cover is BEAUTIFUL and grabbed my attention more than the synopsis did, if I'm being honest.
I grabbed this one from the library after hearing a lot of praise for Brazier's upcoming release. The premise grabbed me: a woman obsessed with a true crime podcast begins to think the host has gone missing after disappearing from social media for a few weeks. The woman tries to find clues hidden within the podcast and goes back to the host's hometown to try and discover what happened to her.
Initially, I was getting some small town/cult-like vibes, and I liked it! But then, I don't know... it just didn't click for me. I feel the MC was unhinged but sensible, so it didn't quite make sense to me? I would've given this 2.5 stars but the ending bumped it up for me.
Overall wasn't super impressed with this one, but not upset I read it. I'll give Brazier another try with her new release!
PS- The cover is BEAUTIFUL and grabbed my attention more than the synopsis did, if I'm being honest.
Alright friends - to be honest, the cover is what caught me. It’s more inspired than a lot of book covers these days. And the concept was also intriguing...In a true crime obsessed world - “If I Disappear” begs the question - What happens when a true crime podcaster becomes the victim?
Sera Fleece, an incredibly damaged woman (as one needs to be in a book like this), decides it’s time to do something with her life - so, she decides to escape to the ranch where her favorite true crime podcaster, Rachel, has disappeared.
Interesting concept - horrible execution.
First off, the story is told from Sera’s perspective - and she is written so melodramatically, you can’t help but admit she is pretty stupid from jump, and it’s incredibly difficult to feel any level of sympathy for her as she attempts to uncover the mystery.
Throughout the book, she has tons of opportunities to leave the ranch, but apparently her obsession with finding Rachel is enough to keep her there. It wears thin after a while. And her internal dialogue becomes more and more unrealistic as the story drags on.
Additionally, all the other characters - Rachel’s parents, townspeople, and the sexy alcoholic Jed - are all written so unevenly - even if they were suspects, it’s hard to imagine their motives because each chapter, they have different personalities to meet the needs of a poorly written story. For example, Rachel’s mother, Addy, fluctuates between a nasty, crotchety old woman and a kindly, motherly type who always reminds Sera how much she loves having her at the ranch.
The mystery is convoluted, and the conclusion makes it even more confusing - and a wholly unsatisfying payoff. There are plot holes a mile wide - and for the story to work, you have to rely on people being insufferably stupid. And at the end of the day, you really don’t care what happens to Sera - because her character is so insufferable - and probably should have left the ranch the minute they said she could stay in a rat-infested cabin.
Sera Fleece, an incredibly damaged woman (as one needs to be in a book like this), decides it’s time to do something with her life - so, she decides to escape to the ranch where her favorite true crime podcaster, Rachel, has disappeared.
Interesting concept - horrible execution.
First off, the story is told from Sera’s perspective - and she is written so melodramatically, you can’t help but admit she is pretty stupid from jump, and it’s incredibly difficult to feel any level of sympathy for her as she attempts to uncover the mystery.
Throughout the book, she has tons of opportunities to leave the ranch, but apparently her obsession with finding Rachel is enough to keep her there. It wears thin after a while. And her internal dialogue becomes more and more unrealistic as the story drags on.
Additionally, all the other characters - Rachel’s parents, townspeople, and the sexy alcoholic Jed - are all written so unevenly - even if they were suspects, it’s hard to imagine their motives because each chapter, they have different personalities to meet the needs of a poorly written story. For example, Rachel’s mother, Addy, fluctuates between a nasty, crotchety old woman and a kindly, motherly type who always reminds Sera how much she loves having her at the ranch.
The mystery is convoluted, and the conclusion makes it even more confusing - and a wholly unsatisfying payoff. There are plot holes a mile wide - and for the story to work, you have to rely on people being insufferably stupid. And at the end of the day, you really don’t care what happens to Sera - because her character is so insufferable - and probably should have left the ranch the minute they said she could stay in a rat-infested cabin.
3.5 rounded up. I enjoyed this, but it was a book club book and didn't quite hold up as well under scrutiny.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was very into this premise. Medium meh on the delivery.
First impression this person, Sera, sounds like a nut job stalker. I hate how she didn’t really tell us who Rachel was or even really say her name. It was a bit hard to follow and I almost didn’t keep reading. I forced myself to keep reading it. It did get a bit better when the author introduced Jed but still the weird stalker vibe. I get that was part of the point but frankly it turned me off the book. The premise of the book is a good one and could have been a really good story and parts of it were but really, Why does everyone drive a big black truck? Literally, everyone in the book. I absolutely hate the way the book ends. It leaves too much open. I had high hopes for this book but it let me down.
This book was definitely different. The writing style wasn't my favorite and I didn't really like the main character, but I can say that I had no idea how this book would end as I was reading it. However once I got to the ending, that kind of fell flat as well. I couldn't quite understand the explanation/motives, and it just didn't hit the way I was hoping.
3.5
Sera is a creepy SOB. How you gonna show up at someone else’s house looking for them when you don’t know them???? All of this could’ve been avoided and your part in it if you would’ve gotten therapy or like your ex husband said had friends cause wtf.
Anyway, I was intrigued enough to figure out what happened and what happened to Rachel.
Sera is a creepy SOB. How you gonna show up at someone else’s house looking for them when you don’t know them???? All of this could’ve been avoided and your part in it if you would’ve gotten therapy or like your ex husband said had friends cause wtf.
Anyway, I was intrigued enough to figure out what happened and what happened to Rachel.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes