I wanted to like this book more than I did. Not because I thought it was bad (I actually thought it was really good), but the storytelling inhibited my enjoyment. It's told in nonlinear style, mostly alternating between the present timeline and ten years prior. If it had been just those two timelines narrated by the main character, I'd have been okay, but it also covered time in between at random intervals and other characters' backstories. I didn't think she did a bad job at it, I just can't take a nonlinear timeline and put it back together again. My brain doesn't work that way, and I struggled with that aspect more than anything else.

The short chapters also made that worse for me. Perhaps if the story had been a little more linear or the chapters a little longer, I would have been able to enjoy this book a whole lot more.

I actually thought the characters and the overarching story were compelling, and I really liked her writing style. She's so descriptive and graphic in her writing without being lyrical or flowery. I enjoy flowery writing, but her frank, straight forward descriptions were a great reminder that writing doesn't have to be flowery to be descriptive.

I do understand why people really love this book, it just wasn't for me. I'm left feeling like I missed out because the lack of enjoyment was definitely a problem on my end. I would be down to read the sequel, or other VE Schwab books, especially if they're not written in the same nonlinear format.