TW: reference to rape and other sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect.

I had zero expectations going into this book. I was listening on audiobook while I was doing housework (multitasking! YAY!) and as it is a relatively quick audiobook (4ish hours on 2x speed) I was able to get through it in one day.

That was probably the highlight of the story, if I'm being honest. It was quick, and I got chores done at the same time. Other than that, this book was more of a miss than a hit for me.

I just didn't really care for this book. I know that if it had been a physical copy I was trying to read, I would've DNF'd it early on. I didn't like the main characters, especially Jill. She is the worst for most of the book, and even when she starts treating Mandy like a human being, she loses any redemption she had in a pointless love triangle where she is the dirt bag. And seriously, I don't understand why either guy liked her.

The dialogue was mediocre, the characters were one-note, and the plot was tired. Things like molestation and rape felt glossed over. And the fact that Jill's dad had passed away the year before didn't affect me at all. Mostly because Jill treated everyone around her like her own personal punching bag. It's hard to care about someone's grief when they're being a straight-up bitch on every single page.

Also, and this is totally 100% nitpicky and I totally own up to that fact, but the audiobook narrators weren't very good. The one who narrated Jill's parts was specifically annoying. She mispronounced several words (pho was repeatedly pronounced 'fah', and gyro was pronounced 'jai-roh'.) Maybe some people wouldn't think that's a big deal, but it kept taking me out of scenes where they were talking about food. I didn't take off anything from the actual story because of it, but it was annoying.

I didn't think the writing itself was anything to write home about. The author's use of description was lacking at best.

I don't think I'll read another Sara Zarr, but never say never.