Buddy read with ✨Skye✨! ❤

3.5 stars.

I had high hopes going into this, because the beginning was lovely: the tranquil scenery, Hal's quiet desperation, our literal voice from the past slowly leading us to the secrets of the Westaway family. But somewhere along the way I started to lose investment in the story, because it was unfurling so. freaking. slowly. I couldn't remember which of the Westaway brothers was which, which parts of Hal's "story" were true and which were lies, and sometimes I even forgot what all the fuss was about. So it didn't feel like a mystery — especially since Hal seems to spend her time philosophizing on the nature of humanity (as observed in tarot sessions and as explained by her mother) and the ethics of her situation, just hoping the truth will fall into her lap if she does a minimal amount of poking around and ignoring warning signs.

The reveal made sense but somehow still didn't feel natural; Hal went from total ignorance to suddenly knowing exactly where to look to find each subsequent puzzle piece, which I found hard to believe. I will say that technically I guessed the truth as one of my throwaway theories, just because I suspect everything and everyone when I'm reading mysteries/thrillers, and I have never been less satisfied to have "called" it.

I found the climax and ending a little on the cheesy side, and I was surprised at how ambiguous the definition of family becomes, in comparison to Hal's never-questioned beliefs about fortune/free choice, need and privilege, etc., primarily due to the contrast between

Spoiler

the continued references to Maud as Hal's mother although their biological connection is distant

and

Spoiler

the implication that Hal gets to keep her newfound family (and the estate) in spite of her mother being a distant cousin, because her father is a Westaway sibling

. I'm also bothered by the

Spoiler

bisexual character cheats with the opposite gender trope

, which is both a throwaway line and a red herring but still carries a whiff of biphobia; it's a somewhat minor thing, but every detail matters when I've placed a book on the borderline of two ratings.