marik0n's reviews
517 reviews

Σε κάποιους αξίζει ο θάνατος by Peter Swanson
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.

DNFed at 56%
This book threw me right into a reading slump.

The Pact by Sharon Bolton

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

 I first saw this book a couple of days before reading it and I have to admit that I foung the synopsis to be really interesting.

5 rich kids and Megan (not so rich) do typical rich-people-are-stupid things, that inevitably end up with an accident where actually one women and her two daughters are killed. Megan agrees to take the blame in exchange for a favour of each of her friends when she is out of jail. Some times passes (a lot more than Megan and the others thought that would pass) and Megan is finally free. Now, it's their turn to be prisoners.

There is a 3rd person narration that didn't bother me at all. Reading that book caused my heart to raced and I literally couldn't put it down. I was being played, just like the old gang and I was desperate to see how everything would come to an end.

The actual ending was semi-surprising and it felt just kind of rushed. I wouls like it if there were a couple more pages.

Overall, it was a great book and I throughly enjoyed reading it. 

All The Lies by Nicola Sanders

slow-paced

0.0

I feel that even reviewing this book is a waste of my time, but let's give it a go. 

Amy is a ballet dancer, but unfortunately she suffers an accident that ends her carreer. She meets Jason, they fall in love, they get married, he abuses her. Amy can't really rely on anyone, because even her own mother adores her son in law and refuses to believe her daughter (misogyny much?).

The characters were flat and the choices they made were totally unreasonable. The whole plot is based on misogyny and it really doesn't make sense. There was no plot twist, since this is the most predictable book even. The whole 'happily ever after' at the end felt rushed and unrealistic.

There was not even one thing for me to like in this book. 


P.S. I don't know why the writter needs to incorporate so much misogyny into her books. It ends up being comical. 
 

The plot holes in this book...
Amy pretending to be Liz for so long without anyone finding out is just dellusional
The whole relationship with Fabrizio was there in order to... what exactly? Have a romance trope?A woman was abused by her husband for so long, but that didn't even make her hesitate before completely trusting another one?

Don't Let Her Stay by Nicola Sanders

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

1.5

 Joanne, and her husband Richard (19 years older than her) live in the country side with their newborn (Evvie). One day, Richard's daughter from another wedding decides that after going no-contact with her father for 18 months due to him marrying Joanne wants to meet her baby sister and live in their home. What can go wrong, right?

Well, on the pro side, this book was pretty fast-paced, with short chapters. That's it. That's the only reason I am giving it 1.5 star. However, the prons cannot outweight the cons in any way. The plot twist in the end does not compensate for the rest of this book.

If you want to spend some hours feeling extremely angry I totally recommend this book.

That's it folks. The rest of the review contains spoilers about the book, so please do not read ahead if you are not interested in them.

Spoiler alert!!!
Let's take things one by one, shall we?
Richard
Even before marrying Joanne he was acting in a awful way. Throwing tantrums over nothing and manipulating her. (I would have dumped his ass even when dating, long before marrying and having a child with him. The man is obviously unstable). Also, what's up with this whole 'I don't want to talk about my past' bullshit? Why marry someone who refuses to share their past with you?

Richard is such a fucking bastard. He is rude, manipulative, pathologically jealous, condescending, a gaslighter, does not listen to reason nor his wife, he uses her wife's family trauma against her and so much more. Dude not only knew that something was up with his daughter, but he put Joanne and Evvie in immediate danger, in order to..? What exactly? He was completely unfit to become a father and a husband and he clearly shows it in many occasions.

Also, he left Diane and Chloe alone so shortly after Sophie's death. WTF was that? And then she leaves Joanne and Evvie alone with Chloe once again? Even though Joanne is clearly uncomfortable when it comes to Chloe staying with them. I was so angry with him throughout the whole fucking book. Good for him that he died. He had it coming.

Joanne
Why doesn't this woman have a single backbone in her body? She allows both Chloe and Richard to be rude and gaslight her all the fucking time. I mean girl, I get that you are kind of oblivious when you are endangered, but your child? The man was a walking red flag even when they were dating, but she still chose to turn a blind eye. And the he insists that his daughter stays with them even though Joanne is uncomfortable and he treats her like she is a crazy person?! And she stays in this circus? The man sides with his psycho daughter even when she 'missteps' and show her true colours (don't get me started on the fact that he actually knows what she has done). She should have packed her bags and go to Robin.

Chloe
I know a few women like Chloe. Hanging on their daddy (vomiting)/ brother, constantly acting like a child and speaking in that 'uwu' kind of pitched voice. That's a deal breaker for me.

The whole plot didn't really make sense, since RICHARD FREAKING KNEW. The whole thing is based on men being stupid and I can't take it anymore.

P.S.: As I get older, I am more and more shocked by women that decide to marry (and become totally relied on) men that are so much older than themselves after knowing them for limited periods of time. It really helps me support my case, that men this older only prey on younger women in order to manipulate, gaslight and oh-so-often abuse them. 

 

Black Lies by Alessandra Torre

slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

0.0

I didn't like the synopsis from the beginning, but everyone was so excited about it, so I thought I would give it a chance. Furthermore, I am a huge fan of Torre's mysteries, so that was a bonus.

Layana is a spoiled rotten rich girl that decided to start a revolution in her parents' backyard when she accesses her trust found as she turned 25. Long story short, she ends up rebelling by being so "different", "real" and "edgy", while also hooking up with this extremely wealthy, pc smart guy, Brant. A few months into the relationship she finds out Brant's big secret and a some time later she meets Lee. Lee is the exact opposite of Brant and they start an affair.

There were so many issues I had with this book. Besides the more than obvious plot holes, there was nothing to like there. Handfuls of misogyny coupled with Layana's "pick me" attitude, everyone talking about Brant like he is a 3 year old, a hella predictable and highly unrealistic plot twist. That is what this book is. Also, it screamed "FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS" and the whole "Sophie's choice" vibe with Layana, Lee and Brant was just ridiculous. Not even the sex scenes worked for me. 
Just a waste of my time. 

I Know Who You Are by Alice Feeney

dark mysterious sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

2.5

 I was absolutely read to lower this book's rating from 5* to 1 if some of my questions remained unaswered. Guess what? They did!

First things first, the whole reason I kept reading this book was the past pov. I found adult Aimee so annoying and stupid. She lies to the police without a logic reason when she is the main suspect for her husband's disappearance and possibly murder. Like wtf? Another reason I kept reading was that it kind of gave me "Gone girl vibes".

However, my low rating was caused mainly due to the HUGE plot holes that were all over the place. Alice Feeney has written some great books, and I would not recommend you to lose your time with this one. Don't get me wrong, I am more than willing to make a few not-so-logical- jumps when it comes to thrillers, but a lot of things simply didn't make any sense. I read that book in one sitting and my worst fear come to be true; there were tremendous plot holes in this book that just ruined my reading experience. I was really looking forward to some clarifications I only got some miserable crumbs.

Okay, so this is the end of my review. The rest of my comments are just spoilers, so please stop reading if you are not interested in them.
SPOILER ALERT!
Okay, now, let me present some of my questions, and boy, are they many.
1. How did John and Maggie's daughter die? (Eammon had the chance right there to clear so many things up, but he didn't. -0.5 star)
2.Why did they kidnap Cira? How did they smuggle her out of the country without anyone noticing?I mean, even if her biological father never looked for her, the state should be interested in a little girl literary stop existing. (-0.5 star)
3. Did no one find her brother's body?
4. How could her brother look like Maggie and Jack at the same time? (-1 star)
5. What happened to Alicia White?
6.Why didn't Cira never tell anyone her real story? I mean she was abducted and then brutally abused by Maggie and John. Why does she still pretend to be Aimee? (-0.5 star)
7.Why did Maggie and John have so much trouble with their betting shop? Through Cira's pov we get that it is something related to them being Irish, but I couldn't really understand what.
These are only some of my questions that were left unanswered by this book 

No Exit by Taylor Adams

adventurous challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

What a roller coaster, fast-paced, shit show of a book that was! 

Our FMC is Darby Thorne, a college student, who attempts to travel to Utah but gets stuck in a snowstorm at a rest stop, where she sees something she can't unsee; there is a little girl inside one of the parked vans, stuck in a dog cage. Unfortunately, this means that one of the four other people in the rest station is a child kidnapper. Of course, there is no cell phone reception, her phone is drained of battery and there is no way out. 

The thing about this book is that early on we find out who did it. It's not one of those "but who could have done it" kind of books. HOWEVER, THAT'S THE LEAST OF OUR PROBLEMS RIGHT NOW.

If you are in the mood for a claustrophobic, forced-proximity, this-blizzard-is-going-to-be-the-end-of-me thriller, there you have it!

There was a bunch of plot twists in this book, some of them predictable, some not. It's was extremely captivating nevertheless. I simply could not stop reading it. 

When I was in the middle of the book (51.2%) I was like "What more can happen here?! Why is there more?". I was actually shocked that I was only halfway through. My girl Darby really couldn't catch a break.

I absolutely LOVED Darby. She is strategic, balllsy and careful calculates every decision she makes, considering each and every consequence. There chess metaphors were right there, but there was no need. You can't avoid feeling like you're watching a chess game, where each player tries to calculate their opponent's next moves. 

If you are looking for an action-packed, page-turner you should absolutely pick this book up. 

A Fatal Affair by A.R. Torre

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

2.0

 I was looking forward to reading this book long before it was published. 2023 was the year that I discovered A.R. Torre and I mostly enjoy her books. However, this one was below her level.

By no means it was a bad book. It just wasn't mind blowing and the twins plot twist was extremely predictable. On the other hand, if you are new to thrillers, it's pretty much a given that you will enjoy this. There are a lot of povs, most of them not really necessary, but, the chapters are really short and there is a flow when reading.

All in all, it's an okay book that you can enjoy, but do not set yourself for disappointment and consider it a gripping read. 

The Ex by Freida McFadden

mysterious medium-paced

2.0

If you can't tell, I am still in my McFadden binge reading era. 
My main problem with this book was that both Joelle and Cassie annoyed me A LOT. Especially Cassie. She is so childish, despite the fact that she is a 24 (or is it 26? I am not sure) woman. Don't get me started on her big 'secret'. When I found out what it was I immediately lost 40% of my interest in this book. Thankfully the relevation took place at the very end of it. 

Despite understanding almost immediately what the plot twist would be, it was an easy read, with the pages turning without effort. It was okay I guess. Not great, not horrible.

One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

In 'One True Loves' by Taylor Jenkins Reid, the MFC, Emma Blair is facing an impossible situation; one her first wedding anniversary with her husband Jessie (her high school sweetheart), he is envolved in a helipocter accident in the Pacific Ocean and is thought to be gone forever.
Emma is heartbroken, but years later she has eventually managed to stand back up on her own feet and has grabbed another chance at true love and happiness. However, her world is about to be shaken to its core once again, when it is revealed that Jessie actually survived the accident and he is coming back.

That book was just such a complicated, impossible situation. Even though I didn't really like Jessie from the start and I thought that he wasn't actually a match for Emma, she obviously thought otherwise. My point is, that despite the fact that I didn't particularly like him neither as a character nor as her partner, this book still managed to move me and put me through great thought regarding what should Emma do. 

I was pleased with the ending. There are two quotes that totally melted me; 1.' I can't just hope for you, but fight' (YOU GO DO THAT!) and 2. 'I am who I am today because I loved you once'. (Isn't that true for everyone? Don't our loves change and shape us?).

Overall it was another enjoyable book from TJR, I am looking forward to reading the rest of her books.