I didn't like this book for the first ninety five percent of it. The narrative structure of talking to a policeman and telling the whole story that way irritated me to no end. It was really a struggle to get through. Until I reached the ending. The plot twist was something that I'm sure a lot of people hate, and I normally hate plot twists like this. I hated it initially, but the the more I thought about the more it grew on me. And then I decided I adored it. It was so masterfully done, and it honestly changed the way I looked at the rest of the story. It honestly took my breath away and I sat there for a good twenty minutes after finishing it just contemplating what the ending meant for everything I'd just read. It took this book from a two star to a four in just a few pages. I was honestly stunned and awed. It's so rare that an ending actively changes how I experience a book, and this was beautiful.

I thought this book was absolutely lovely. Catherine Chung crafted a beautiful story about an immigrant Korean family that was as heartbreaking as it was sweet. I'm not going to lie, the ending had me in tears. I really felt for this family and I was invested from page one. Chung is a wonderful writer. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a family-centric story with all their flaws and regrets.

I will say, the description makes it sound like it's more mystery when it's really about a family and Janie's coming of age. This kind of discrepancy usually annoys me, but this story was so much better than what I was expecting.

I found most of the characters thoroughly unpleasant. I wasn't hoping for anyone to get out safely. Without any characters I cared about, I was just watching crappy things happen to crappy people who probably deserved everything they got. I'd rather read Gone Girl, which was essentially the same plot with more interesting characters. The convoluted story bugged me a bit as well. There were a lot of twists and turns, but having to do a 180 every ten pages got boring really fast. I wanted to like this more than I did, and I can see how people would, but it just wasn't for me.

Of course it was the husband. This book irritated me.

Narrating the story from the POV of a ghost/comatose person was a really unique idea that I think Rosamund Lupton pulled off quite well. It's hard to do well, and I never love the storytelling style, but it was well written here. I actually found myself invested in their story despite their somewhat passive roles. There were a lot of interesting plot points and twists along the way. This didn't have the final twist of Sister that really made that book great for me, but I thought it was a pretty good thriller that I'm glad I read.

I was disappointed by this book, but not altogether surprised that I didn't enjoy it. Apart from the plot twist at the end of Sister, Rosamund Lupton's books have been mediocre for me, and this just didn't quite reach that. The writing was very pretty, but that's about the only positive I have for this book. Child narrators are difficult to write well without being annoying, and I don't think it was successfully done here. Add to that the absurdity of a lot of the plot and the way it just dragged on, and it wasn't a book I was able to enjoy.

I wish I had read this before Tough & Go as I did get some spoilers by reading them out of order, but this was still a really good book. There's something about Lisa Gardner's writing style that even though her books aren't the best written out there, it doesn't matter because they're just so enjoyable. If I have fun reading a book, I can forgive a lot of flaws. That's definitely true here.

This is a reread for me, and I actually listened to the audiobook which made it a very different experience. The first time I read this book was in middle school, and I am honestly surprised by how well it holds up. It's just as good as I remember from back then. A great book with interesting characters and a plot that keeps my interest. I still adore the romance between Campbell and Julia. I still love Jesse. Kate and Anna's relationship still breaks my heart. Even if I don't necessarily like every character, they're still people I care about. Just a great book. Definitely not the last time I'll read it.

This was dark and twisted, but I called the ending pretty early on which made it lose some of its power. (The killer has to be someone they know, there are a limited number of characters, from there it's basic math.) But even despite that, I had a good time reading it. It was dramatic and chilling and terrifying, though I had trouble connecting to it as much as Lisa Gardner's newer books. Still a good read and leaves me happy as ever to continue with her books.

I both read and the physical book and listened to the audiobook, and I would highly recommend the audiobook. It's narrated by Cary Elwes and he does an absolutely amazing job. It's so much better listening to him read it. There are also bits read by other members of the cast and crew which are pretty cool. I loved it. I love The Princess Bride, and this book was just a bunch of people who also loved it talking about what happened on set and sharing little behind the scenes tidbits.

I'd recommend it to anyone who loves The Princess Bride. If you don't love it, you're not gonna get anything out of this book. But if you do, it'll be fun. Especially the audiobook.