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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
it was decent with a leaving you hanging ending
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking
3.8 stars
Follow Me Back is endlessly thrilling. It's fast paced and well sequenced, and a book that will leave you with a cliffhanger in that awful ending that you almost wish didn't happen. My first impression upon finishing this book was a good one. I was most definitely entertained and thrilled by the story, and mostly invested in the exchange between Tessa and Eric. So let me say, this is worth reading if you're in it for that. Eric's side of the story shows some of the negatives of being famous, and what life being famous might be like. Follow Me Back is also one of those stories that involve anonymous love before meet/love through message exchange themes (why am I stumbling onto this trope a lot more than expected lately?) and like I've said before, it's not my favourite, and I dislike the trope more when the character do fall in love before actually meeting face to face. So despite my gripes on it, I think Geiger does it well enough. Certainly Eric has a good reason to hide behind his alternative identity. I just kind of wish they didn't express their love until after. But. Their final scene together was really endearing.
However, when I thought about it later, I realised a few points worth nothing:
1) It looks like we get a good round picture of what makes both Tessa and Eric tick - why they have the problems that they have, why they are escaping into the worlds that they are, and how and why they come into initial contact. However, when I thought about it later, for example, yes, Tessa is agoraphobic, mostly due to a reason that's primary to the main plot. However, although we're told it started happening during her time at a creative writing thing, I never really felt I understood Tessa's actual self. Like her likes and dislikes. Why her and her boyfriend were together, and the depth of her relationship with her mother (which felt really shallow, even when they were actually interacting). She would have had friends before her incident, but there's no reference of them now.
We see her interact with some people via Twitter, but some parts added more questions than answers. The same can be said about Eric. The most obvious explanations for him are clear, but it never felt like he had any solid connections. In a way, Eric's character development felt more in depth, except that a lot of the time, there didn't feel like a strong connection to his life before he was famous, just how much he was beginning to hate being famous. Which is fine, and well done, it just lacked that little bit extra.
2) The plot twists had me holding on, really holding on, except the last one. Look, it was a good twist, but it had me conflicted. One, it has indeed got me to read the next book. Two, it ruined the nice lovely scene between Eric and Tessa.
3) Although it's carefully noted throughout the book that Tessa has trouble opening up to strangers, as well as the encouragement her therapist gives her. These all seems to be thrown out the door in the last bit. Some of is mostly sensible in relation to the plot, with enough logic in relation to how it was set up. But the other part just had me wondering how both of them could be so stupid. In saying that, like I said, the plot is done well enough, and the scenes are crafted with enough mystery that some choices made at the end seemed to make sense.
Overall
I'm already reading the sequel, primarily (because this all Follow Me Back seemed to have going for it and kept me holding on) for the mystery and Eric and Tessa.
Follow Me Back is endlessly thrilling. It's fast paced and well sequenced, and a book that will leave you with a cliffhanger in that awful ending that you almost wish didn't happen. My first impression upon finishing this book was a good one. I was most definitely entertained and thrilled by the story, and mostly invested in the exchange between Tessa and Eric. So let me say, this is worth reading if you're in it for that. Eric's side of the story shows some of the negatives of being famous, and what life being famous might be like. Follow Me Back is also one of those stories that involve anonymous love before meet/love through message exchange themes (why am I stumbling onto this trope a lot more than expected lately?) and like I've said before, it's not my favourite, and I dislike the trope more when the character do fall in love before actually meeting face to face. So despite my gripes on it, I think Geiger does it well enough. Certainly Eric has a good reason to hide behind his alternative identity. I just kind of wish they didn't express their love until after. But. Their final scene together was really endearing.
However, when I thought about it later, I realised a few points worth nothing:
1) It looks like we get a good round picture of what makes both Tessa and Eric tick - why they have the problems that they have, why they are escaping into the worlds that they are, and how and why they come into initial contact. However, when I thought about it later, for example, yes, Tessa is agoraphobic, mostly due to a reason that's primary to the main plot. However, although we're told it started happening during her time at a creative writing thing, I never really felt I understood Tessa's actual self. Like her likes and dislikes. Why her and her boyfriend were together, and the depth of her relationship with her mother (which felt really shallow, even when they were actually interacting). She would have had friends before her incident, but there's no reference of them now.
We see her interact with some people via Twitter, but some parts added more questions than answers. The same can be said about Eric. The most obvious explanations for him are clear, but it never felt like he had any solid connections. In a way, Eric's character development felt more in depth, except that a lot of the time, there didn't feel like a strong connection to his life before he was famous, just how much he was beginning to hate being famous. Which is fine, and well done, it just lacked that little bit extra.
2) The plot twists had me holding on, really holding on, except the last one. Look, it was a good twist, but it had me conflicted. One, it has indeed got me to read the next book. Two, it ruined the nice lovely scene between Eric and Tessa.
3) Although it's carefully noted throughout the book that Tessa has trouble opening up to strangers, as well as the encouragement her therapist gives her. These all seems to be thrown out the door in the last bit. Some of is mostly sensible in relation to the plot, with enough logic in relation to how it was set up. But the other part just had me wondering how both of them could be so stupid. In saying that, like I said, the plot is done well enough, and the scenes are crafted with enough mystery that some choices made at the end seemed to make sense.
Overall
I'm already reading the sequel, primarily (because this all Follow Me Back seemed to have going for it and kept me holding on) for the mystery and Eric and Tessa.
skim skim skimmidy skim. the book characters were boring, predictable and flat. i rolled my eyes 24/7 and the book flow was choppy and weird. not my cup of tea.
it gets better as the story progress... could not believe the ending! need 3.5 stars not quite 4
So…this book is CRAZY. As I was reading, I thought that this was a nice departure from my normal genres–I don’t read a lot of thrillers (psychological or otherwise). I honestly didn’t expect too much from the plot. I thought it would just be a very basic twist at the end. But about halfway through I started to suspect that things weren’t going to end up being the way I thought they would be. Was Eric going to end up being the stalker instead of Tessa? What about that weird Mrs. Eric Thorn from Twitter? How does she fit in? What the heck happened to Tessa last summer? Then the ending kind of came out of nowhere, but it also makes sense. At this point, however, I find myself very uncertain about the very end (was it an epilogue?). I didn’t anticipate this being more than one book and I’m very confused as to what is actually happening. Confused in a good way though. The only thing I didn’t particularly care for is the way that Tessa’s mom and boyfriend treated her mental issues. I mean, I don’t know how I would react in their shoes, but they seemed so insensitive! Also, WHAT IS UP WITH TESSA’S PSYCHIATRIST???
I was a little skeptical about this book a first. I had just finished an amazing book and was cautious about how good this book was going to be. I didn't realize how much I would fall in love. I will definitely be reading the next book in the duology.
The ending of this book left me speechless. I wasn’t ready for that
3.5 stars. The book would have gotten a higher rating if we skipped the dark ending and let it just be the happy ending before the last chapter
The only thing my mind can come up with right now is what the fuck.
Talk about a rollercoaster of emotions. This is my first book by EK Blair and I plan on going back to read the rest now. I seriously need book 2 like NOW. If you are not a fan of cliffhangers, you need to wait until book 2 comes out before you start reading this one.
These characters are your typical rich teenage high school kids. They live in an affluent part of Tampa and hang out at the beach. The outcast is there because, one of the dads pulled some strings to get him in at the school and paid his way. He is a great student, good friend, and falls for the new girl as soon as he bumps into her. He also has some seriously dark secrets that trickle out over time and WOW!
The outcome was totally not what I expected. At first, I didn’t think I wanted to finish this book because of the content, but then I couldn’t stop reading it. Before I knew it, it was done and I was screaming for more. I need more NOW!
These characters are your typical rich teenage high school kids. They live in an affluent part of Tampa and hang out at the beach. The outcast is there because, one of the dads pulled some strings to get him in at the school and paid his way. He is a great student, good friend, and falls for the new girl as soon as he bumps into her. He also has some seriously dark secrets that trickle out over time and WOW!
The outcome was totally not what I expected. At first, I didn’t think I wanted to finish this book because of the content, but then I couldn’t stop reading it. Before I knew it, it was done and I was screaming for more. I need more NOW!