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girlonbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
🔑🔑🔑 Three Stars (as rated in Emily's car keys)
Mia Eliot is in Hollywood to make a fresh start. Her personal life may be crumbling around her but professionally she's riding the wave of her new-found fame on the critically acclaimed show called, *Jane*. With nothing and no one holding her back, Mia is determined to land her next big role. But the L.A. scene is a lot more cut-throat than what she's gotten used to in London. Mia finds solace one afternoon in commiserating over the whole charade with another actress at an audition. But only moments later the woman is gone, her keys and wallet left behind in Mia's possession. What began for Mia as a random act of kindness is quickly spiraling into something more dangerous. In a city built on fake personas, how far should one actress go to discover what's real?
Mia Eliot is in Hollywood to make a fresh start. Her personal life may be crumbling around her but professionally she's riding the wave of her new-found fame on the critically acclaimed show called, *Jane*. With nothing and no one holding her back, Mia is determined to land her next big role. But the L.A. scene is a lot more cut-throat than what she's gotten used to in London. Mia finds solace one afternoon in commiserating over the whole charade with another actress at an audition. But only moments later the woman is gone, her keys and wallet left behind in Mia's possession. What began for Mia as a random act of kindness is quickly spiraling into something more dangerous. In a city built on fake personas, how far should one actress go to discover what's real?
“It’s hard not to think the worst when you’re trying not to think the worst.”
I very much wanted to love this story. It has a neat enough premise and I think the bones were there. I just didn't really connect with any of what was happening and felt let down by the end. I can't say it was "bad" in any way, but I certainly had to drag myself through the end. Truth be told, my biggest motivator for finishing this book is that it was my Taurus pick for the month of June and I am nothing if not a completionist!
✨ Read this book because: you need a beach read or something to get you through a flight or longer commute
✨ Content warnings for this book: sexual assault, sexual violence, rape, violence, murder, drowning, gun violence, blackmailing, threats of violence, suicide, stalking
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Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Self harm, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Violence
csunshine17's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
I enjoyed this book and finished it quickly! The writing flowed easily and the twists and turns of the plot were engaging. Even though some of the character's decisions seemed unbelievably rash, it didn't affect my enjoyment of the plot or the character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide
eddyn's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
When I gave this book 5 stars I thought, very snobbishly (is this a word?) is it too much? Can I compare it to the best works of classic literature? are the sentences heart stopping? are the characters fully formed? is it a fully developed world of its own?
But actually, F all this !!
Because this book does what it is supposed to: immersive, the writing flows with the action, it's not literary fiction –but that's not what it is here for– it does not spend much time on the characters and you might not relate to them too much, but for me it didn't bother me. Not all books can be careful character studies, and anyway,it would be a bit boring – they were realistic, so that's enough!
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by the author –who is an actress– and it was just, simply, immersive and for a couple of days I lived this story with the same clarity as one watches a movies and comes out of it forgetting about real life. I might not cite it on my epitaph but who cares!
I think this book worked especially well as an audiobook! Maybe if i'd read it with eyes I wouldn't feel so surrounded and kind of trapped by the story.
Well conclusion of this rambling: it doesn't have to be 'Literature' to be worth 5 stars. :)
But actually, F all this !!
Because this book does what it is supposed to: immersive, the writing flows with the action, it's not literary fiction –but that's not what it is here for– it does not spend much time on the characters and you might not relate to them too much, but for me it didn't bother me. Not all books can be careful character studies, and anyway,it would be a bit boring – they were realistic, so that's enough!
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by the author –who is an actress– and it was just, simply, immersive and for a couple of days I lived this story with the same clarity as one watches a movies and comes out of it forgetting about real life. I might not cite it on my epitaph but who cares!
I think this book worked especially well as an audiobook! Maybe if i'd read it with eyes I wouldn't feel so surrounded and kind of trapped by the story.
Well conclusion of this rambling: it doesn't have to be 'Literature' to be worth 5 stars. :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Suicide
deandra_lalonde's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death, Murder, Rape, Stalking, and Suicide
kamin8882's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
3.75 stars for me.
Well that escalated quickly. Mia is a British actress who Is well known for her role in "Eyre", a Jane Eyre retelling. After her boyfriend, George, leaves her unexpectedly for another actress (Naomi) she is very lost and confused at what the next step should be in her life. With the push of her manager Cynthia, she heads to the US to audition for the role of a lifetime, but she is not the only one after this part. During one of her auditions, she meets Emily, another actress trying for the same part. When Emily's turn is called, she hurriedly hands Mia her wallet and keys and goes into the audition. When Mia comes back out, Emily is no where to be found, her car is still in the parking lot and no one has seen her. Although Mia shouldn't be to concerned, she still has Emilys wallet and car keys and starts to worry about her after she doesn't turn up to retrieve them. Finally, "Emily" comes to get her things, but Mia knows 100% that this person is not the real Emily. This than starts her mission to find out who this person was and where Emily really is.
I liked the concept of this book, however it took a little while to get into anything exciting (about 40%). The first half was background information about Mia's life and such. Once the story got rolling, I couldn't put it down. It was very exciting and made me nervous wondering what was going to happen next. I think the ending could have also ended with more of a punch for the intensity of the situation. The author really was able to show what females specially feel like they need to do to get ahead in the business.
Overall, the story and characters in the book were very interesting. I think it was a slow build thriller, which aren't my personal favorite. I liked to be hooked right from the beginning. Once you get to the thrilling part, it was definitely that...thrilling and exciting. The parts of the book around that weren't as thrilling as I would have hoped. I will definitely be trying another Catherine Steadman book in the future !!
Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.
Well that escalated quickly. Mia is a British actress who Is well known for her role in "Eyre", a Jane Eyre retelling. After her boyfriend, George, leaves her unexpectedly for another actress (Naomi) she is very lost and confused at what the next step should be in her life. With the push of her manager Cynthia, she heads to the US to audition for the role of a lifetime, but she is not the only one after this part. During one of her auditions, she meets Emily, another actress trying for the same part. When Emily's turn is called, she hurriedly hands Mia her wallet and keys and goes into the audition. When Mia comes back out, Emily is no where to be found, her car is still in the parking lot and no one has seen her. Although Mia shouldn't be to concerned, she still has Emilys wallet and car keys and starts to worry about her after she doesn't turn up to retrieve them. Finally, "Emily" comes to get her things, but Mia knows 100% that this person is not the real Emily. This than starts her mission to find out who this person was and where Emily really is.
I liked the concept of this book, however it took a little while to get into anything exciting (about 40%). The first half was background information about Mia's life and such. Once the story got rolling, I couldn't put it down. It was very exciting and made me nervous wondering what was going to happen next. I think the ending could have also ended with more of a punch for the intensity of the situation. The author really was able to show what females specially feel like they need to do to get ahead in the business.
Overall, the story and characters in the book were very interesting. I think it was a slow build thriller, which aren't my personal favorite. I liked to be hooked right from the beginning. Once you get to the thrilling part, it was definitely that...thrilling and exciting. The parts of the book around that weren't as thrilling as I would have hoped. I will definitely be trying another Catherine Steadman book in the future !!
Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Suicide
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