Reviews with content warning for Kidnapping - With My Little Eye: A Novel

It's got issues and a couple of things that barely work. None of her books are perfect but I enjoy reading all of them and they always keep me interested. It's not my favorite of her work but Honor is definitely one of my favorite JJ characters. It has funny moments and relatable ones and then it gets super dark. I have seen her books called chicklit and I don't think that's quite fair. I don't know what I would call them except mystery/thriller. I will continue to read anything she writes.

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devynreadsnovels's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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lgmelcher's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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chailady's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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lemurdance's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Meribel Mills has discovered the dark side of fame in the form of an escalating stalker. Fleeing across the country to save her young teen daughter and herself, she also learns that it isn't really possible to be both celebrity and anonymous in any location.

I received a Netgalley digital ARC of this book. There were a fair number of typos and a couple of glaring errors I ran across that hopefully will be fixed for final publication.

For a main character, Meribel seemed...flat. I found her 12-turning-13 daughter, Honor, a much more interesting and well-rounded character; whereas Mirabel was often reduced to "oh she's an actor" tropes. (Actually, there are more than a few eyeroll-inducing "my actor brain" mentions that essentially implied being an actor brings about superpowers. While actors may be wired differently...just no.)

As a thriller, after a somewhat slow build for over half the book, a lot of unexpected twists happened in quick succession. Were this not a book waiting for review, I definitely would have put it down several times instead of pushing through.

Character flaws aside, this one gets 4 stars from me for the truly surprising plot twists, a thrilling final few chapters with parallel stories, and for excellent inclusive writing for a character with autism. It's not my favorite Joshilyn Jackson book, but it's a solid thriller.

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bookswithmybulldog's review against another edition

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dark 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

4.0

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