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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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:
Yes
Thank you to Netgalley and Dutton for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this book! I think that this was a well-written mysterious thriller that focused on the dynamics of a family that is slowly falling apart. It definitely hooked me at the beginning with Olivia waking up with bruises and having no memories of the night before. I do think the pace was a bit slow at the beginning and towards the middle. And I found myself figuring out things a bit too early before the book revealed it. Things seemed to be a little too obvious and nothing really surprised or shocked me. It was still interesting to get inside the mind of each family member and see how each of them are dealing with the same big event.
The ending was a bit lukewarm. It seemed a little too easy and like it all wrapped up too perfectly. I don't really feel like any of the characters faced serious consequences for their actions. which was a bit unsatisfying. However, I liked the book overall and would suggest it to a friend.
I enjoyed this book! I think that this was a well-written mysterious thriller that focused on the dynamics of a family that is slowly falling apart. It definitely hooked me at the beginning with Olivia waking up with bruises and having no memories of the night before. I do think the pace was a bit slow at the beginning and towards the middle. And I found myself figuring out things a bit too early before the book revealed it. Things seemed to be a little too obvious and nothing really surprised or shocked me. It was still interesting to get inside the mind of each family member and see how each of them are dealing with the same big event.
The ending was a bit lukewarm. It seemed a little too easy and like it all wrapped up too perfectly. I don't really feel like any of the characters faced serious consequences for their actions. which was a bit unsatisfying. However, I liked the book overall and would suggest it to a friend.
Olivia wakes up aching all over, covered in bruises, and with no idea how she got home. Her parents refuse to speak of it, the door to her bedroom is padlocked closed, and her best friend that she spent the night with won't answer her texts. She's not sure what happened, but she's willing to assume she got blackout drunk and embarrassed herself, and is fine to duck her head and make amends. Her brother doesn't feel the same way though, and wants to get to the bottom of what's made everyone in the house act so weird.
*****
This was definitely an interesting read! The first few chapters had me absolutely hooked. Each character was intriguing but also kind of awful - save for Liv's brother Casper. We got a different perspective of the mystery and how it's affecting the family, without fully getting confirmation until further on in the story.
The pacing was steady, although sometimes slipped into being slower than anticipated for a thriller. We get a lot of backstory from Liv's mom Kay, as she seems to be the central perspective to the story, and pulls the lead away from Liv multiple times. Even though this was an interesting novel, I found the big reveal to be a bit too obvious. From there we get a twist, and then an additional unnecessary twist on top of that that felt odd to toss in.
There was also a change between the parent's relationship towards the end that kind of came out of nowhere and was such a weird addition that I wasn't sure what the intent was. It didn't really impact the main storyline and just left me kind of baffled as to it's inclusion.
All in all this one was decent, but not as captivating as I expected.
*****
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the digital ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own
*****
This was definitely an interesting read! The first few chapters had me absolutely hooked. Each character was intriguing but also kind of awful - save for Liv's brother Casper. We got a different perspective of the mystery and how it's affecting the family, without fully getting confirmation until further on in the story.
The pacing was steady, although sometimes slipped into being slower than anticipated for a thriller. We get a lot of backstory from Liv's mom Kay, as she seems to be the central perspective to the story, and pulls the lead away from Liv multiple times. Even though this was an interesting novel, I found the big reveal to be a bit too obvious. From there we get a twist, and then an additional unnecessary twist on top of that that felt odd to toss in.
There was also a change between the parent's relationship towards the end that kind of came out of nowhere and was such a weird addition that I wasn't sure what the intent was. It didn't really impact the main storyline and just left me kind of baffled as to it's inclusion.
All in all this one was decent, but not as captivating as I expected.
*****
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the digital ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for an early release copy.
After a random wild night, 22 year old Olivia wakes up to new bruises and her parents hiding a secret they didn’t want to tell. As she checks her bruises on her body, notices a new padlock on her bedroom door, she’s left wondering- what really happened last night. Olivia is a recovering wild child having to move back home, living with the consequences of her actions right before her parents eyes, as well as her smart and mature younger brother, Casper.
After a random wild night, 22 year old Olivia wakes up to new bruises and her parents hiding a secret they didn’t want to tell. As she checks her bruises on her body, notices a new padlock on her bedroom door, she’s left wondering- what really happened last night. Olivia is a recovering wild child having to move back home, living with the consequences of her actions right before her parents eyes, as well as her smart and mature younger brother, Casper.
Mostly fun and likeable characters, between Olivia and her brother Casper. While it was mostly obvious what had happened, the moments of her mentally guessing felt like a wasted paragraph here and there. I liked the story being divided primarily into following the two siblings- Olivia as she struggles with remembering what happened and trying to regain purpose; and Casper, as a junior detective with his friend Tye. But I did enjoy Casper more.
There were moments of telling not showing and some opportunities to be edited out. But overall, a family internal explosion all wrapped up in a mystery type thriller that was an interesting read. Funny how the only smart and insightful character was the teenage boy. The ending was a little bit of a let down- felt rushed and things wrapped up with little explantation. It didn’t feel like things you could just sweep under the rug.
medium-paced
The morning after partying with a friend, Olivia wakes up with bruises and no memory of how she got them and now she has no access to her own bedroom. Her father and mother are the only ones that know what went down that night but her mom makes her promise to never speak of that night ever again. Olivia’s brother Casper is determined to uncover the truth of what happened to his sister with the help of a friend. This story makes you wonder how far families are willing to go to protect those they love and whether or not that love is enough to keep them safe.
I was initially really interested in this story based on the blurb but it started off slow and took a while for me to really start liking the story. Once I started to like it I become very interested in the story. I really liked the sleep walking aspect of the story. I was able to predict the cause of her sleepwalking early on but not what she had done while sleepwalking. The plot twist made this story difficult to accurately guess what Olivia had done while sleep walking which I really enjoyed. 70% is when it got really dark and intense and it was the most interesting part of the story. I hated Brian after his actions towards other characters was revealed. The ending was a bit rushed but still enjoyable.
I didn’t enjoy Janus POV. It didn’t feel necessary to the story and I would lose interest while reading his thoughts. I didn’t like his character.
My favorite characters were Olivia, Austin and Casper.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Dark, emotional, and full of slow-burning suspense, The Ones We Love dives deep into the messy ties of family when a complicated bond unravels as old secrets come to light.
The book was a bit too slow for me.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
The book was a bit too slow for me.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I enjoyed this! It was compelling and well executed, even if some parts were frustrating because I wanted a few characters to really get what they deserved. Recommend if you like messy domestic thrillers that are character-driven and full of moral ambiguity - think Robyn Harding or Ozark-style families (the Netflix show).
Energy: Secretive. Chaotic. Serpentine.
🐕 Howls: Some of the over-the-top drama moments made the story feel less grounded but overall it worked.
🐩 Tail Wags: Messy, twisty family dynamics. The experience of adjusting to life in the US. The missing memory trope feeling natural. How the narrative hopped between perspectives. As secrets unravel, new ones take their place.
Scene: 🇺🇸 Los Angeles, California, USA
Perspectives (4): An author of horror books whose latest work was optioned for a movie script; their spouse who used to be a ballerina and now teaches pilates; their adult child who was on track to enter the fashion world but fell into the partying lifestyle; their teenager who feels homesick and senses something is wrong in the family.
Timeline: Linear. 2010s or 2020s. June. ☀️ Summery.
Fuel: Mysteries abound. What did Liv do? Why can’t she remember anything from the previous night? Is she a danger to herself or others? Why are her parents acting so strangely toward her? Why is there a padlock on her bedroom door? Can Cooper and his friend figure out what the family is hiding? Who is blackmailing them and why?
Cred: Plausible to suspended disbelief
Mood Reading Match-Up:
Ceramic dishes. Clammy, sticky air. Breakfast burritos. Plastic outdoor dining set. Glaring concrete. Stink of bleach. Caffeine pills.
- Messy multi-POV storytelling where the reader is always a step ahead (but never all-knowing)
- Flawed families with secrets, lies, and lots of unresolved tension
- Emotionally spiraling characters who are hard to love but hard to look away from
- Popcorn drama meets psychological mystery
- Coming-of-age amateur sleuthing & boy love subplots (friends to lovers, shy crush)
- Behind-closed-doors dysfunction and “what happens in the family stays in the family” energy
- Dark secrets + drama bombs + close calls
- “How far would you go for your family?” core theme
- Mix of casual, reflective, emotionally raw writing style
- Long-suffering moms, existential crises, snowballing bad decisions
- Miscommunications and memory gaps
Content Heads-Up: Adult/minor relationship (very brief mention; sexual fling). Alcohol abuse (family history). Blackmail. Blood. Body shaming, calorie restriction (parent). Cannabis (vaping, brief mention). Death (on page, descriptive). Domestic violence (brief but descriptive, on page). Gun violence. Hit and run. Infidelity (on page, descriptive). Insomnia. Intoxicated driving (brief, on page). Nicotine (cigarettes, cravings). Parental neglect, narcissistic parent. Physical assault, attack. Post-partum symptoms, difficulty bonding. Potential false accusation. Pregnancy, birth (brief but descriptive memories). Sexual content (consenting; mostly behind closed doors). Sleepwalking. Substance abuse (alcohol, pills; partying, addiction). Toxic masculinity.
Rep: Australian. American. Latina. Dutch heritage. French heritage. Cis. Queer. Hetero. Bronzed, pale, black, light brown, really pale, and dark skin tones.
📚 Format: Advance Reader’s Copy from Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley.
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Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infidelity
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Blood, Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Pregnancy
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
The Ones We Love
What an intriguing mystery ARC! There was some plot twists I did not see coming.
This chronicles the life of a family of four after moving from Australia to the US. After a night Olivia can’t remember, her family’s life is forever changed.
The author didn’t great job mixing up the dynamic and leading you down a path, then surprising you with a completely different angle.
The characters felt real which I also like in a book, I felt sucked into the family drama from the beginning!
This is my first book by Anna Snoekstra and I really enjoyed it. It was a combination of mystery and suspense which made it hard for me to put down. If this is the type of book you like to read then I recommend this one.
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for this eARC.
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for this eARC.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes