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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
No words. Just don’t waste your time. Great premise and good potential for plot and so so poorly executed. I breastfed both of my kids and this felt like a La Leche handbook instead of a murder mystery. God, it was just so awful.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
The last sentence of each chapter was really the only thing that kept the book in my hands…..
I wanted to like this story more than I did. It was a fast paced story of a woman who's partner disappears. The story unfolds with some secrets being revealed. I found the main character Janine to be a bit much, always doubting herself and not much confidence. The author throws in another twist right at the end of the story, which could have been left out all together.
Thank you Putnam for my beautiful gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. IYKYK, my reviews are always honest.
Writing: 3/5 | Plot: 3/5 | Ending: 3/5
SYNOPSIS
Janie is a new mom struggling with connecting with her newborn Freya. One night, her husband Max offers to take care of Freya's nighttime feedings so Janie can get some much-needed rest. But when she wakes to a screaming and unfed Freya, she realizes Max has gone. And things go from bad to worse when he becomes a prime suspect in the murder of a seemingly random woman.
MY OPINION
First of all, this cover has everything I love: neon coloured font and shades of purple, pink, and red. Is this relevant to the quality of the book? No. I just felt like sharing.
ANYWAYS. I found this book really hard to rate. Why? I'm not a mother. Plain and simple. In all honesty, I found the detailed breastfeeding descriptions in EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER a bit tiresome. I do not have a problem with breastfeeding; kids gotta eat. But the sheer number of breastfeeding scenes was giving me propaganda vibes because she didn't spend as much time describing changing Freya's diapers, an activity which according to Google happens 10-12 times per day for a newborn. If there had been more balance across the repetitive tasks of motherhood, it would've felt more genuine, instead of hyper-fixating on breastfeeding. However, I didn't take this fact into account with my rating because maybe if I was a mother, I would feel differently?
I did appreciate the authenticity of a mother who felt "conned" into motherhood. She made some great points about how society reacts more harshly when a woman abandons her child vs. a man. A single mother is oftentimes looked at with disdain, while a single father is heralded as a hero and a Great Guy™. The raw accounts of Janie struggling to love Freya the way she thought she should, struggling with the demands of motherhood, and struggling with her family and friends' expectations of how she should feel, were very heartfelt.
I think if you liked how the [b:The Last Housewife|59349100|The Last Housewife|Ashley Winstead|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1649778403l/59349100._SY75_.jpg|93510806] tackled women's issues within a thriller, you will most likely vibulate with this one. The writing was much better than The Last Housewife IMO. Stronger overall but still a little melodramatic here and there, with some questionable lines: "Out had so many meanings, but it was always that—out. Living. My pores, opening up, like the world was a sauna, and I was there to sweat out the bad stuff, soak up the good" (uhh??)
I'm gonna keep it a stack with you, Max is a stage 5 dumbass. Another Goodreader, Melissa, asked "why all the subterfuge?" and I second this question. Homie could've explained things real quick to Janie before taking off and becoming a prime suspect in murder. And his lil phone calls where he answered nothing and acted like some deep-op CIA agent killed me LOL. I understand this was done to add suspense, but I want to believe there's a better way than her husband making the worst choices possible....
SPOILERS SO SCROLL DOWN
My biggest issue with this book was the r@pe reveal at the end. It felt like the author wanted to throw in a lil consent in the workplace/men abusing authority in the workplace message for the readers. Which is fine, but it also felt manipulative in a sense because seemed it "redeemed" Janie from being a cheater. She never questioned being a cheater in the beginning; in fact she seemed very clear on the fact they had sex and there were vibes. But then near the end it was like, oh wait! It was r@pe! I'm still a "good" person! And how she figured it out had me like ?????? She took a piss and the urine stung the abrasions aroung her v@g hole? What? Why is she peeing like that? Seems like a medical issue? And this was before the kid, so that's not the reason either. I know not all streams are straight, but the logistics of this particular pee stream seemed questionable.
END OF SPOILERS
All in all, if you like your thrillers with a side of women's issues, you might vibulate with this. Plus the cover will look gorg on your bookshelf duh.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: authentic look at the struggles of being a new mom, complex characters
Cons: unnecessary lying, ending was ????, Max needs a brain scan because his decision making is horrible
Writing: 3/5 | Plot: 3/5 | Ending: 3/5
SYNOPSIS
Janie is a new mom struggling with connecting with her newborn Freya. One night, her husband Max offers to take care of Freya's nighttime feedings so Janie can get some much-needed rest. But when she wakes to a screaming and unfed Freya, she realizes Max has gone. And things go from bad to worse when he becomes a prime suspect in the murder of a seemingly random woman.
MY OPINION
First of all, this cover has everything I love: neon coloured font and shades of purple, pink, and red. Is this relevant to the quality of the book? No. I just felt like sharing.
ANYWAYS. I found this book really hard to rate. Why? I'm not a mother. Plain and simple. In all honesty, I found the detailed breastfeeding descriptions in EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER a bit tiresome. I do not have a problem with breastfeeding; kids gotta eat. But the sheer number of breastfeeding scenes was giving me propaganda vibes because she didn't spend as much time describing changing Freya's diapers, an activity which according to Google happens 10-12 times per day for a newborn. If there had been more balance across the repetitive tasks of motherhood, it would've felt more genuine, instead of hyper-fixating on breastfeeding. However, I didn't take this fact into account with my rating because maybe if I was a mother, I would feel differently?
I did appreciate the authenticity of a mother who felt "conned" into motherhood. She made some great points about how society reacts more harshly when a woman abandons her child vs. a man. A single mother is oftentimes looked at with disdain, while a single father is heralded as a hero and a Great Guy™. The raw accounts of Janie struggling to love Freya the way she thought she should, struggling with the demands of motherhood, and struggling with her family and friends' expectations of how she should feel, were very heartfelt.
I think if you liked how the [b:The Last Housewife|59349100|The Last Housewife|Ashley Winstead|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1649778403l/59349100._SY75_.jpg|93510806] tackled women's issues within a thriller, you will most likely vibulate with this one. The writing was much better than The Last Housewife IMO. Stronger overall but still a little melodramatic here and there, with some questionable lines: "Out had so many meanings, but it was always that—out. Living. My pores, opening up, like the world was a sauna, and I was there to sweat out the bad stuff, soak up the good" (uhh??)
I'm gonna keep it a stack with you, Max is a stage 5 dumbass. Another Goodreader, Melissa, asked "why all the subterfuge?" and I second this question. Homie could've explained things real quick to Janie before taking off and becoming a prime suspect in murder. And his lil phone calls where he answered nothing and acted like some deep-op CIA agent killed me LOL. I understand this was done to add suspense, but I want to believe there's a better way than her husband making the worst choices possible....
SPOILERS SO SCROLL DOWN
My biggest issue with this book was the r@pe reveal at the end. It felt like the author wanted to throw in a lil consent in the workplace/men abusing authority in the workplace message for the readers. Which is fine, but it also felt manipulative in a sense because seemed it "redeemed" Janie from being a cheater. She never questioned being a cheater in the beginning; in fact she seemed very clear on the fact they had sex and there were vibes. But then near the end it was like, oh wait! It was r@pe! I'm still a "good" person! And how she figured it out had me like ?????? She took a piss and the urine stung the abrasions aroung her v@g hole? What? Why is she peeing like that? Seems like a medical issue? And this was before the kid, so that's not the reason either. I know not all streams are straight, but the logistics of this particular pee stream seemed questionable.
END OF SPOILERS
All in all, if you like your thrillers with a side of women's issues, you might vibulate with this. Plus the cover will look gorg on your bookshelf duh.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: authentic look at the struggles of being a new mom, complex characters
Cons: unnecessary lying, ending was ????, Max needs a brain scan because his decision making is horrible
The story moved at a slow pace and felt repetitive. There were too many scenes focused on breastfeeding, with excessive talk about her breasts and milk. At times, it felt like the story would finally pick up, but instead, it would delve into breastfeeding/breasts/milk scenes again. Like, this is almost the climax of the story and it goes “I pushed up from the bed and walked to the chair opposite of Max. My boobs had began to throb” You are kidding right?
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes