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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
The mystery-thriller part of this book was perfect.
Gripping from start to finish, I couldn’t put this book down.
I loved the characters, and I was so invested in the story!
The reveal was amazing and shocking, I didn’t expect it. It was so good.
The villain is one of the best I’ve read about - Complex, interesting, and completely psychotic.
Mia Sheridan, you are EVIL... in the best way possible.
There were some really heart-wrenching moments as well, and as a whole, this book was a roller-coaster of emotions.
The romance part of this book was not bad, just not my favorite personally. It did add a lot to the story, though, which I appreciated.
This is my first read by this author. I liked her writing, it was powerful.
I think it’s so cool she’s a romance author, and she wrote such an amazing dark mystery thriller. I love it.
Gripping from start to finish, I couldn’t put this book down.
I loved the characters, and I was so invested in the story!
The reveal was amazing and shocking, I didn’t expect it. It was so good.
The villain is one of the best I’ve read about - Complex, interesting, and completely psychotic.
Mia Sheridan, you are EVIL... in the best way possible.
There were some really heart-wrenching moments as well, and as a whole, this book was a roller-coaster of emotions.
The romance part of this book was not bad, just not my favorite personally. It did add a lot to the story, though, which I appreciated.
This is my first read by this author. I liked her writing, it was powerful.
I think it’s so cool she’s a romance author, and she wrote such an amazing dark mystery thriller. I love it.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
“Who is to blame?”
Work? Sleep? Family obligations? Forget those because this book is completely unputdownable!!!
My attempt to convey the awesomeness of this book is going to fall way short in this review. I don’t think I can adequately articulate the roller coaster of emotions and the multitude of “who done it” guesses I had as I read through this book.
There is definitely a dark element to this book as Josie is held captive for almost a year and is repeatedly raped. The story flips back and forth between “before” and now, so at least it is not 300 pages of her captivity. You get a break from the captivity aspect as you flip to the future and watch her relationship with Zach unfold and follow along with the investigation as they try to determine who the bad guy is. I really appreciated the break because Josie in captivity was heartbreaking. This girl endured unimaginable things.
Work? Sleep? Family obligations? Forget those because this book is completely unputdownable!!!
My attempt to convey the awesomeness of this book is going to fall way short in this review. I don’t think I can adequately articulate the roller coaster of emotions and the multitude of “who done it” guesses I had as I read through this book.
There is definitely a dark element to this book as Josie is held captive for almost a year and is repeatedly raped. The story flips back and forth between “before” and now, so at least it is not 300 pages of her captivity. You get a break from the captivity aspect as you flip to the future and watch her relationship with Zach unfold and follow along with the investigation as they try to determine who the bad guy is. I really appreciated the break because Josie in captivity was heartbreaking. This girl endured unimaginable things.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Mia Sheridan! Wow!
This book was incredible. I was hooked right from the start. I found it almost impossible to put down. It was as if the pages turned themselves! I just had to know what happened next! I don’t want to spoil a thing about this story. Do yourself a favor & go in completely blind.
Mia tried her hand at a totally different genre & I hope she does it again because this was one of the most seamless, complex, thrillers I’ve ever read. It was like watching a true crime drama play out in front of me. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time connecting dots & ruling out suspects. I highly recommend this one!
*ARC generously provided by author in exchange for an honest review.
This book was incredible. I was hooked right from the start. I found it almost impossible to put down. It was as if the pages turned themselves! I just had to know what happened next! I don’t want to spoil a thing about this story. Do yourself a favor & go in completely blind.
Mia tried her hand at a totally different genre & I hope she does it again because this was one of the most seamless, complex, thrillers I’ve ever read. It was like watching a true crime drama play out in front of me. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time connecting dots & ruling out suspects. I highly recommend this one!
*ARC generously provided by author in exchange for an honest review.
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
4.5 stars
Where the Blame Lies is unlike any Mia Sheridan book I’ve read before, and I liked it. I really liked it. There’s enough detail to convey the horror of the victim’s situation, to develop a connection to her and maintain the suspense, but not so gory that it’s unbearably painful to read.
Josie is such a brave fighter and Zach is an immensely compassionate detective. Their romance is fine but it takes a backseat to the mystery—as it should with this particular story. I would actually be just as happy without the romantic element. The dark, emotional plot is quite original and the mystery kept me guessing. I even enjoyed the less than tidy resolution. A satisfying read all around.
About the audiobook:
Cassie Dalton and Teddy Hamilton are perfectly cast as Josie and Zach. Their narration is fantastic.
Recommended for fans of:
Mysteries
Suspense
Dark stories
Fierce heroines
Where the Blame Lies is unlike any Mia Sheridan book I’ve read before, and I liked it. I really liked it. There’s enough detail to convey the horror of the victim’s situation, to develop a connection to her and maintain the suspense, but not so gory that it’s unbearably painful to read.
Josie is such a brave fighter and Zach is an immensely compassionate detective. Their romance is fine but it takes a backseat to the mystery—as it should with this particular story. I would actually be just as happy without the romantic element. The dark, emotional plot is quite original and the mystery kept me guessing. I even enjoyed the less than tidy resolution. A satisfying read all around.
About the audiobook:
Cassie Dalton and Teddy Hamilton are perfectly cast as Josie and Zach. Their narration is fantastic.
Recommended for fans of:
Mysteries
Suspense
Dark stories
Fierce heroines
Oh my heart. I had to stay up WAY past my bedtime b/c I just needed to finish this. I would love an extended epilogue.
So many emotions. So many twists. So many things that make you think.
So many emotions. So many twists. So many things that make you think.
Josie's journey through some truly horrific events was incredibly difficult to read. It was so intense that I had to pause a few times, but even with all the trauma, it was hard to feel much sympathy for her. Despite everyone around her bending over backwards to help, she came off as incredibly selfish, self serving and thoughtless…everything was always about her. She only reached out to others only when she needed something, and it became really frustrating. Almost 9 years later… I don’t know, like still?
When her friend goes missing, Josie doesn’t come close to showing the same level of commitment her friend had for her. She seems to just go on with her life, experiencing small moments of pain as if it were a stranger or like she was watching a show or maybe reading but not her “best friend.”She didn’t even take basic actions like posting a flyer for her missing friend, which was so disappointing. It was all about Josie her, her, her…and it felt like her “care” was entirely performative.
The impulsive actions she takes throughout the book are maddening. She acts without thinking, and her constant apologies don’t feel sincere. I was actually starting to like Zach at first, but then he seemed to just excuse Josie's behavior because of her looks, which was frustrating.
As for the whole lamenting, and all the things the inner monologues attempted to lie to us like we forgot how it happened…the “crying for each other” thing honestly, was another layer of her selfishness and inability to see beyond herself. Josie literally said she wanted to let him go for his own good, which made no sense considering what was happening. Smart even through her pleas… I can’t give out too much here… but I can’t stand when characters lie about events that were shared already like what did we forget? 😩 okay, now this is playing out as stream of consciousness or something…
Anyway, back to Josie, At times, her behavior felt so out of place, and it was hard to chalk it up to anything other than her selfishness. She wasn’t a good person before or after everything went down, and her actions in the new life did not help her any…
By the end, at least she did something right, even though the letter she wrote felt a bit self-righteous and didn’t provide much clarity. For a moment, I honestly wondered if she was going to be this awful the whole way through, but thankfully, she did manage to redeem herself with one action that was for someone else… I hope if she shows up in the next book her friend, Reagan, moves on with her life and forgets about Josie and the neighbor stays on her side of the fence so to speak…
Do I recommend? Not really… I’ve read books where characters did not go through half of this but you felt and connect… Josie was a bad soul to begin with so…
(Some people enjoyed the story I suppose)
When her friend goes missing, Josie doesn’t come close to showing the same level of commitment her friend had for her. She seems to just go on with her life, experiencing small moments of pain as if it were a stranger or like she was watching a show or maybe reading but not her “best friend.”She didn’t even take basic actions like posting a flyer for her missing friend, which was so disappointing. It was all about Josie her, her, her…and it felt like her “care” was entirely performative.
The impulsive actions she takes throughout the book are maddening. She acts without thinking, and her constant apologies don’t feel sincere. I was actually starting to like Zach at first, but then he seemed to just excuse Josie's behavior because of her looks, which was frustrating.
As for the whole lamenting, and all the things the inner monologues attempted to lie to us like we forgot how it happened…the “crying for each other” thing honestly, was another layer of her selfishness and inability to see beyond herself. Josie literally said she wanted to let him go for his own good, which made no sense considering what was happening. Smart even through her pleas… I can’t give out too much here… but I can’t stand when characters lie about events that were shared already like what did we forget? 😩 okay, now this is playing out as stream of consciousness or something…
Anyway, back to Josie, At times, her behavior felt so out of place, and it was hard to chalk it up to anything other than her selfishness. She wasn’t a good person before or after everything went down, and her actions in the new life did not help her any…
By the end, at least she did something right, even though the letter she wrote felt a bit self-righteous and didn’t provide much clarity. For a moment, I honestly wondered if she was going to be this awful the whole way through, but thankfully, she did manage to redeem herself with one action that was for someone else… I hope if she shows up in the next book her friend, Reagan, moves on with her life and forgets about Josie and the neighbor stays on her side of the fence so to speak…
Do I recommend? Not really… I’ve read books where characters did not go through half of this but you felt and connect… Josie was a bad soul to begin with so…
(Some people enjoyed the story I suppose)