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eleni_flores 's review for:
The Family Remains
by Lisa Jewell
3.5 stars
First of all: I can't believe this is marketed as a standalone sequel. I can't fathom someone picking this up without having read The Family Upstairs and having any idea what is going on or caring at all about these characters without that backstory. It's been a couple years since I read the first one, and even that made it a struggle to keep up with the story.
Aside from that, we followed four different characters from their own perspectives, with three timelines, and several tangential characters—it took a lot of mental gymnastics just to keep all of that straight. And I can't reveal any details about the part that made me the angriest because it's a huge spoiler, but I'll leave it at a part of the ending was hugely unbelievable and unsatisfying.
I'm bumping this up a half star only because I do love Lisa Jewell's writing and storytelling, and it was so propulsive that I did read it in a single weekend.
First of all: I can't believe this is marketed as a standalone sequel. I can't fathom someone picking this up without having read The Family Upstairs and having any idea what is going on or caring at all about these characters without that backstory. It's been a couple years since I read the first one, and even that made it a struggle to keep up with the story.
Aside from that, we followed four different characters from their own perspectives, with three timelines, and several tangential characters—it took a lot of mental gymnastics just to keep all of that straight. And I can't reveal any details about the part that made me the angriest because it's a huge spoiler, but I'll leave it at a part of the ending was hugely unbelievable and unsatisfying.
I'm bumping this up a half star only because I do love Lisa Jewell's writing and storytelling, and it was so propulsive that I did read it in a single weekend.