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mickysbookworm's review
4.0
Shocking. Unpredictable. Twisty.
All the good things a thriller should be.
Loved the police presence in this but that it wasn’t the main focus.
Very enjoyable .
All the good things a thriller should be.
Loved the police presence in this but that it wasn’t the main focus.
Very enjoyable .
meagsbooknook's review
4.0
Thank you to Titan Books for my free copy in exchange for an honest review!
First, I want to start by saying Kudos to the marketing team over at Titan Books because when I received my copy the props that were included sucked me right in. [Check out my IG page www.instagram.com/meagsbooknook if you want to see the props.]
The story line follows Kate, a child psychiatrist, who has a dark family history of her own. As the story progresses you are able to dive deeper and deeper into her family history and you will think you have it all figured out...Don't be too sure! You just might be in for some surprises (hehe). I know I certainly was!
This is not one of those stories that is going to build up and then just let you down in the end. Personally, I enjoyed the ending even more after sitting on it for a bit and drinking in everything I had just read. The pieces all fit perfectly and made sense in the end.
First, I want to start by saying Kudos to the marketing team over at Titan Books because when I received my copy the props that were included sucked me right in. [Check out my IG page www.instagram.com/meagsbooknook if you want to see the props.]
The story line follows Kate, a child psychiatrist, who has a dark family history of her own. As the story progresses you are able to dive deeper and deeper into her family history and you will think you have it all figured out...Don't be too sure! You just might be in for some surprises (hehe). I know I certainly was!
This is not one of those stories that is going to build up and then just let you down in the end. Personally, I enjoyed the ending even more after sitting on it for a bit and drinking in everything I had just read. The pieces all fit perfectly and made sense in the end.
mfrabbiele's review
5.0
Simply one of those books that I couldn't put down. 10/10 would read again AND recommend to a friend. Thrilling. Suspenseful. Great read.
Can this be a movie?
Best read of the year.
Can this be a movie?
Best read of the year.
afoley8's review
4.0
I enjoyed this book a lot. It had a bit of romance a bit of surprise, all centered around a classic whodunnit plot. I wasn’t suspecting the ending but everything ended up neatly tied up.
victoria_forbes's review against another edition
5.0
This book is incredibly underrated, let me start this review off with that point of honesty. I was quite nervous going into this book as it was one that my boyfriend picked out for me while we were searching at a thrift shop and I had never heard of it. I was also nervous going into this book due to some harsh comments that I read prior to reading the book myself- I really do need to stop reading all the one star reviews.
I think one of the reasons that this book was easily a 5 star for me was due to the combination of psychology and criminology. These two topics made up the majority of my university degree, making it all quite captivating. The book did a fantastic job of showing you the minds of the mentally ill, especially when their illness is neglected for far too long. The criminology aspect of this book was apparent for the entirety of the book but was never overwhelming to the point that someone who is not well versed in the topic wouldn't enjoy it.
Finally, I saw multiple reviews where people said they never saw the ending coming until the book was almost over. I will say that I hadn't quite figured it out, but I had it down to two theories, one of which was how it ended. This was well done though because it kept you engaged and curious about the book until it wrapped up. Once the answers were revealed to the reader, I did burn through the end of the book in no time because I craved answers to everything! This was another thing that was well done by Blanchard, she did a fantastic job at tying together all loose ends that you may not have even questioned.
Overall just extremely impressed by Alice Blanchard's work and I look forward to looking into more of her books in the near future.
I think one of the reasons that this book was easily a 5 star for me was due to the combination of psychology and criminology. These two topics made up the majority of my university degree, making it all quite captivating. The book did a fantastic job of showing you the minds of the mentally ill, especially when their illness is neglected for far too long. The criminology aspect of this book was apparent for the entirety of the book but was never overwhelming to the point that someone who is not well versed in the topic wouldn't enjoy it.
Finally, I saw multiple reviews where people said they never saw the ending coming until the book was almost over. I will say that I hadn't quite figured it out, but I had it down to two theories, one of which was how it ended. This was well done though because it kept you engaged and curious about the book until it wrapped up. Once the answers were revealed to the reader, I did burn through the end of the book in no time because I craved answers to everything! This was another thing that was well done by Blanchard, she did a fantastic job at tying together all loose ends that you may not have even questioned.
Overall just extremely impressed by Alice Blanchard's work and I look forward to looking into more of her books in the near future.
bibliophilebookclub's review
4.0
A Breath After Drowning is one of those books that gets its hooks into you quite early on, but you don’t realize it until you try to put it down. I found myself thinking about the story and the characters when I wasn’t reading it, which is always a sign of a good book for me.
Character-driven for the first while, the author does a great job of getting the reader invested in Kate’s life and her work. We learn her routine, her issues arising from her sister’s death and how she deals with her job as a psychologist on a daily basis. This all builds a foundation for how dark the book gets.
This is a really gripping book, I loved how the author wove past and present events, and how it all played out between the pages. I won’t lie, I had some suspicions along the way, but this in no way detracted from my enjoyment of the book. Guessing something isn’t the same as seeing how creatively the author will bring you towards the ultimate denouement, and Alice Blanchard does this beautifully.
Engaging, clever and more than a little dark in places, A Breath After Drowning is a most excellent psychological thriller.
Highly recommended!
Character-driven for the first while, the author does a great job of getting the reader invested in Kate’s life and her work. We learn her routine, her issues arising from her sister’s death and how she deals with her job as a psychologist on a daily basis. This all builds a foundation for how dark the book gets.
This is a really gripping book, I loved how the author wove past and present events, and how it all played out between the pages. I won’t lie, I had some suspicions along the way, but this in no way detracted from my enjoyment of the book. Guessing something isn’t the same as seeing how creatively the author will bring you towards the ultimate denouement, and Alice Blanchard does this beautifully.
Engaging, clever and more than a little dark in places, A Breath After Drowning is a most excellent psychological thriller.
Highly recommended!
glitterandtwang's review
3.0
When one of psychiatrist Kate Wolfe's patients commits suicide, she finds herself struggling to stay afloat. A disturbed teen, Maddie Ward, is left at her hospital - and Maddie knows more about Kate than she should. In fact, Maddie's mother, Nellie, was the key witness in the murder case of Kate's sister several years earlier.
There are quite a few twists and turns in this novel. It definitely kept me guessing, but the final reveal just didn't quite ring true to me - it felt more like it came from out of nowhere than that it had been built up throughout the story. The misdirection may have been intentional, but I was just left feeling that the plot could have hung together a little better than it ultimately did.
I received a galley copy of this book via a Goodreads Giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
There are quite a few twists and turns in this novel. It definitely kept me guessing, but the final reveal just didn't quite ring true to me - it felt more like it came from out of nowhere than that it had been built up throughout the story. The misdirection may have been intentional, but I was just left feeling that the plot could have hung together a little better than it ultimately did.
I received a galley copy of this book via a Goodreads Giveaway in exchange for an honest review.