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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
I love a good dark, gritty, twisty thriller but this book was not that. The book overall was just miserable. Nothing good at all comes out of this story, dreadful things just keep happening over and over. If you have any triggers at all, stay away from this book. This story contains instances of, hate crimes, brutal child abuse, racism, domestic violence, sexual assault, rape, and incest. None of the characters in this small town did anything at all to stop any of the violence. In fact, most of the town participated in it(except for a select few).
None of the characters were very likable at all. Every single character in this book either knows of something horrible that has happened or has done something horrible themselves. The only reason I continued reading was that I kept hoping that something good would finally happen.
The author is not a bad writer, but this story and its characters were not well developed. I felt as if all characters were one-dimensional and the story just fell flat.
Many thanks to Atria Books, Netgalley, and Anna Bailey for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
None of the characters were very likable at all. Every single character in this book either knows of something horrible that has happened or has done something horrible themselves. The only reason I continued reading was that I kept hoping that something good would finally happen.
The author is not a bad writer, but this story and its characters were not well developed. I felt as if all characters were one-dimensional and the story just fell flat.
Many thanks to Atria Books, Netgalley, and Anna Bailey for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Abi is one of those girls who you just know is going to make it out of her small town. She’s beautiful, she’s independent, she’s got spunk and she can take care of herself. All the essentials are there. But sometimes, you can’t overcome a dysfunctional. It’s in her family, it’s in the town, it’s even running rampant at the church. So what happened to Abi?
As we learn more about everyone she left behind when she disappeared, there are many suspects that it’s almost impossible to tell. And beyond that, there’s so much reason why she would just disappear on her own too. We’ve got her alcoholic dad who is seriously messed up from his time in Vietnam. Her mom, who, despite being abused for years, stays with her abuser and allows her children to suffer too. We have the hot, but slightly criminal boy from a good family and the quirky independent Persian guy who the whole town hates just because he’s different.
There’s much going on in Where the Truth Lies, it will keep you turning pages far past your bedtime. Special thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review. This one is out August 3.
As we learn more about everyone she left behind when she disappeared, there are many suspects that it’s almost impossible to tell. And beyond that, there’s so much reason why she would just disappear on her own too. We’ve got her alcoholic dad who is seriously messed up from his time in Vietnam. Her mom, who, despite being abused for years, stays with her abuser and allows her children to suffer too. We have the hot, but slightly criminal boy from a good family and the quirky independent Persian guy who the whole town hates just because he’s different.
There’s much going on in Where the Truth Lies, it will keep you turning pages far past your bedtime. Special thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review. This one is out August 3.
slow-moving and very character-oriented, giving you time to learn about most of the characters in depth. I didn't want to put the book down and just wanted to finish it in one sitting! The end of the book is where everything ramps up as all the pieces start falling into place.
WHERE THE TRUTH LIES
By: Anna Bailey
Initially, I had a hard time jumping into the story. The writing felt a bit bumpy and scattered. I wasn’t sure exactly what story was being told. Part of that had to do with one of the major themes in the book, which was religion.
This book was FULL of religion and religious context. The mystery in the story took a ride in the backseat for most of the book. It was a focus, but there were so many heavy themes going on that it at times felt like a literary fiction title. This is NOT a light read.
There were several times while reading that I felt like I was unattached from the characters, which given the material, is not good.
Overall, this was three stars for me. I do recommend this title to readers looking for depth in themes, specifically religion, abuse, family systems, and family curses. If you are looking for a heavy thriller that explores who you are in relation to who you worship, I recommend this title.
Thanks to @netgalley and @atriabooks for this advanced reader's copy!
By: Anna Bailey
Initially, I had a hard time jumping into the story. The writing felt a bit bumpy and scattered. I wasn’t sure exactly what story was being told. Part of that had to do with one of the major themes in the book, which was religion.
This book was FULL of religion and religious context. The mystery in the story took a ride in the backseat for most of the book. It was a focus, but there were so many heavy themes going on that it at times felt like a literary fiction title. This is NOT a light read.
There were several times while reading that I felt like I was unattached from the characters, which given the material, is not good.
Overall, this was three stars for me. I do recommend this title to readers looking for depth in themes, specifically religion, abuse, family systems, and family curses. If you are looking for a heavy thriller that explores who you are in relation to who you worship, I recommend this title.
Thanks to @netgalley and @atriabooks for this advanced reader's copy!
This book didn't do it for me. It's definitely on the cusp between two and three stars, but I'm going to round down to 2 stars. The book was ~fine~ but I just really hated the ending and most of the characters. *spoilers* in the end, there's a "twist" involving incest and, truly, that ruined the book for me. Certain graphic sexual components like this are topics that make my stomach twist and aren't something I generally want to read in my free time. This is obviously no dig at the author's writing abilities, I just don't enjoy reading about some topics and this is one of them.
I also just didn't fully connect with the story. The people in the text are so hateful and there was so much heartbreak! I don't remember the characters' names and some of the plot lines are fuzzy, so I'm just going to leave it at this. *again* cool cover though!
I also just didn't fully connect with the story. The people in the text are so hateful and there was so much heartbreak! I don't remember the characters' names and some of the plot lines are fuzzy, so I'm just going to leave it at this. *again* cool cover though!
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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:
Yes
I hate this book. It’s A DNF not by my choice but because it sucks so bad. I try to always finish books I’m an English teacher. And the switching between characters is difficult to follow you cannot tell what’s going on. By chapter 10 the only thing I got from This book is a girl is missing that’s it.. it is classified as suspense and there is zero suspense..