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2.93 AVERAGE
2.93 AVERAGE
Couldn't really get into it and then read the reviews and gave up
This one was a little slow for me. I was interested enough to finish the book, but was not super engaged with the characters or plot. Almost stopped a few times throughout the book. I’m happy to have finished and found out the ending, but not one of my favorites.
Jessica Strawser writes suburban life very well. Her stories and plotlines could be right out of Desperate House Wives. She weaves stories around completely normal lives, but concentrates her writing on what really happens behind closed doors.
Everyone has friends we grew up with or grew close to in college that we did everything with. You the same interests, hobbies and were just connected at the hip. But life happens and it’s impossible to stay frozen in time. So these friendships have to evolve too, which is hard, especially when physical distance separates the two.
Molly and Liza are two such friends. Molly has gone the domestic route–two kids, picket fence, you the know the drill. And even though Liza was also super close to Molly’s husband, when two people have children and a life together, a friend is always a third wheel to some extent. So Liza, looking for her own life, moves to Chicago, partly to avoid the new awkwardness. And they grow apart, tale as old as time.
Strawser picks up the story one night as they struggle through their now awkward friendship, trying to figure out where they stand. Liza sees an intruder enter Molly’s house and everything goes haywire. I can’t give much more away, but Strawser paints a very realistic portrait of what happens when a friendship and a marriage break down. And the secrets we keep that destroy everything.
I liked this one, it was a good story. For me personally, as the story shifted and was much more about Molly and Daniel and their relationship, I wanted more on Liza’s life. She was the protagonist and while loose ends about Molly’s life were tied up by the end, Liza was just kind of left hanging.
Liza had issues, but they were swept under the rug and she was given a consolation prize that was supposed to make me as a reader happy. And I guess I was a little happy, but the end just seemed to cut off and the story felt very unresolved. Maybe there is a sequel in the works?
Special thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for an e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This one is out February 5! My review will be published on my blog, Women in Trouble Book Blog on January 22, 2019.
Everyone has friends we grew up with or grew close to in college that we did everything with. You the same interests, hobbies and were just connected at the hip. But life happens and it’s impossible to stay frozen in time. So these friendships have to evolve too, which is hard, especially when physical distance separates the two.
Molly and Liza are two such friends. Molly has gone the domestic route–two kids, picket fence, you the know the drill. And even though Liza was also super close to Molly’s husband, when two people have children and a life together, a friend is always a third wheel to some extent. So Liza, looking for her own life, moves to Chicago, partly to avoid the new awkwardness. And they grow apart, tale as old as time.
Strawser picks up the story one night as they struggle through their now awkward friendship, trying to figure out where they stand. Liza sees an intruder enter Molly’s house and everything goes haywire. I can’t give much more away, but Strawser paints a very realistic portrait of what happens when a friendship and a marriage break down. And the secrets we keep that destroy everything.
I liked this one, it was a good story. For me personally, as the story shifted and was much more about Molly and Daniel and their relationship, I wanted more on Liza’s life. She was the protagonist and while loose ends about Molly’s life were tied up by the end, Liza was just kind of left hanging.
Liza had issues, but they were swept under the rug and she was given a consolation prize that was supposed to make me as a reader happy. And I guess I was a little happy, but the end just seemed to cut off and the story felt very unresolved. Maybe there is a sequel in the works?
Special thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for an e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This one is out February 5! My review will be published on my blog, Women in Trouble Book Blog on January 22, 2019.
Very middle of the road for me. I liked the premise- that a friend witnessed an intruder on a zoom call & things get weird from there- but it became a little too boring after the halfway point. I got tired of Molly and Daniel’s dysfunctional relationship. And sadly, I was bored of Liza’s neurosis even though she had every reason to be that way. The ending just didn’t pack the punch I wanted it to— and the one character that I actually did like (Rick and his daughter, Rosie), got the shaft. I’m glad I read it, but it could’ve been better.
The first chapter catches your interest, intrigue, but then it is all over the place with each chapter from a different character, and the story loosely connected to the beginning. This is not a thriller, is a story of trying to reconnect relationships whether that be marriage or friendships.
I felt for Liza, being thrown into the mess of a marriage of her best friend, and their struggles with health, finances, honesty, and trust.
I felt for Liza, being thrown into the mess of a marriage of her best friend, and their struggles with health, finances, honesty, and trust.
I'm going to prepare a gourmet dinner for you, all the trimmings. By the time I finish describing it, you can almost taste it. Except, when you get here, I'm going to give you a hotdog and chips on a paper plate - and not even a good hotdog, just a plain, cheap wiener on a bun. Disappointed? Yeah, that's how I feel about this book.
I read the blurb, which sounds like a thriller or at least a good mystery. This is neither. Oh, it starts out that way. Once the masked man enters the picture, I was sitting up and taking notice. Then, it turns into something else, and the masked man becomes something on the periphery, barely even mentioned. So, even though Amazon has it listed as ranking pretty high in the domestic thriller genre, this is not a thriller. Not even close. Domestic drama, definitely. There's more drama than you can shake a stick at, but there are no thrills here after that one scene with masked man.
Once things veered away from the mystery man, I became confused. Am I reading the right book? I went back and re-read the blurb. Yep, that's what I thought it said. So, where is this book that I can't put down? Let me add here that I have no problem with dramas. In fact, I quite like them if the story holds my interest. This one did not. It's a story that drags on about a handful of unlikable people who have made a mess of their lives and don't know how to fix it. I ended up skimming over half of this one, and while I did get some answers about the masked man, even that was less than satisfying.
Maybe this book or this author's style just isn't for me, or maybe it's because I expected one thing and found another. Whatever the reason, this one fell short and left me disappointed.
I read the blurb, which sounds like a thriller or at least a good mystery. This is neither. Oh, it starts out that way. Once the masked man enters the picture, I was sitting up and taking notice. Then, it turns into something else, and the masked man becomes something on the periphery, barely even mentioned. So, even though Amazon has it listed as ranking pretty high in the domestic thriller genre, this is not a thriller. Not even close. Domestic drama, definitely. There's more drama than you can shake a stick at, but there are no thrills here after that one scene with masked man.
Once things veered away from the mystery man, I became confused. Am I reading the right book? I went back and re-read the blurb. Yep, that's what I thought it said. So, where is this book that I can't put down? Let me add here that I have no problem with dramas. In fact, I quite like them if the story holds my interest. This one did not. It's a story that drags on about a handful of unlikable people who have made a mess of their lives and don't know how to fix it. I ended up skimming over half of this one, and while I did get some answers about the masked man, even that was less than satisfying.
Maybe this book or this author's style just isn't for me, or maybe it's because I expected one thing and found another. Whatever the reason, this one fell short and left me disappointed.
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is my first time reading Strawser, but not my last. This kept me going, wondering what I'd find out next about one of the relationships between any 2 of the main characters (of which there were 5 + the romantic interest that enters partway through). At the start of the story there is an incident with an intruder. One would think that this would be the main thread until WHO it was is revealed. However, this was not the case. This is a multi-layered story about relationships - with our spouses, life long friends, close friends of the opposite sex, neighbors. The story is about what some people can be driven to do when the stress gets to be too much be it at home or work or the combination of the two; one starts to feel like they're drowning; feeling like your marriage is falling apart; what can happen between friends when there's distance and differences in status (married vs single, etc). A page turner.
Yet another fantastic novel by Jessica Strawser. The subtlety within the novel of just going about your daily life while under the surface everything is flowing out of control is page turning bliss for this story. I felt a strong bond with each character and only found myself wishing things could have gone differently with just one character. All in all a great read that I highly recommend.
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No