kaitlynisliterate's Reviews (466)

I read the first book in the series and did not like it. However, I thought that there was some promise for a sequel especially now that Drew Devlin’s POV is removed. Unfortunately, this book was even worse than the previous one.

The new main character in this book is Greg, known to Fern as “Roger.” Greg was a “casual friend” of Drew’s and suspects that Drew’s wife, Fern, is actually responsible for his murder. His suspicion is based on one single piece of evidence: Drew told him years ago about an incident where Fern become extremely angry and jealous when she suspected that Drew was cheating. His reasoning is totally absurd because it’s a huge leap from a jealous wife to a murderer. For the first half of the book, Greg does not find a single additional piece of evidence to implicate Fern but somehow only becomes more convinced of Fern’s guilt. Greg comes across as extremely weird and obsessive even when the narrative constantly tries to portray him as a hero.

At least the first book created some tension as we follow Drew’s growing lies and subterfuge while Fern schemes against her husband. This book doesn’t even attempt that since everything has already been laid out in the first few chapters. Greg explains his plan to seduce Fern, get her drunk, and record her murder confession or find evidence implicating her in the murder of Drew. For the next 80% of the book, it plays out exactly as he wanted. Fern remains totally oblivious to Greg’s plan for most of the book so her POVs are totally uninteresting. In fact, most of Fern’s POV chapters basically just recount her interactions with Greg which we already see in his POV chapters so they’re not only boring but also narratively useless.

Alice’s POV is even more unnecessary since she’s in prison the whole time and does not do anything that affects the story at all. Her POV chapters exist solely to set up a third book in the series. This book is already pretty short but is comprised mostly of filler material. 

Apart from the nonsensical plot and characters, the writing is also cringe-inducing. Every chapter ends with a bit of heavy-handed foreshadowing that quickly became extremely annoying. Greg’s POV chapters end with him wondering if his life is in danger from Fern. Literally, a child could guess what is about to happen to Greg.

In fact, all of the characters seem to have a child’s understanding of adult life. In the first book, it made sense to some extent that Drew’s profession as a doctor would be a major component of the story. However, in this book, the fact that Drew was a doctor and Fern was a doctor’s wife is mentioned constantly in a really forced way, completely randomly. Fern constantly mentions how Drew’s profession meant they had amazing social lives and were always attending “decadent dinner parties” and “glitzy galas.” Drew was a general practitioner, not a surgeon or specialist! He’s not a multi-millionaire and his life insurance would not have made Fern one either. I have no idea how you can write a book series about a doctor and his wife without even doing basic research or attempting to have any semblance of reality.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a well-done thriller! It deftly handles heavy topics of addiction, childhood trauma, and mental illness much better than most thriller/mystery writers. In the author’s note at the end of the book, Quinn mentions that she drew on her own experiences in rehab and journey to recovery. There were some elements that were unrealistic and required a lot of suspension of disbelief (such as a casino covering 20k in supplemental rehab fees, not to mention offering extremely good insurance, for one of their mid-level employees). However, the internal monologue of the main character, Meg’s, struggle with addiction felt very raw and real, not simply a plot device to create an unreliable narrator. 

 

The book’s blurb does not mention or allude to this at all so I was surprised to find that it is written with a dual POV. There is Meg, who enters rehab as a patient to uncover the truth of her sister’s death, and Cara, the manager of the rehab. I actually thought the dual POV was well executed as Meg and Cara are essentially running parallel but separate investigations so there’s not a lot of overlap or the same scene from both POVs. 

 

There are some parts, especially in the first half of the book, that drag on too long and events essentially repeat themselves (eg: detectives visiting the rehab multiple times to the same response). If those parts were removed or reworked, it would have made the pacing so much better. 

 

The plot twists were really great in combining both POVs together though a bit too foreshadowed. The ending felt a bit too rushed by trying to tie up all loose ends neatly. 

 

Overall, super engaging and once I got past the slow beginning, I couldn’t put it down! 

 

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. 

This was a decent read but definitely not the psychological suspense that it claims to be.

I was interested to read about toxic male friendships especially since toxic female friendships are very well represented in the thriller/suspense genre. However, this falls short of the mark because Carl is just so clearly awful and Jason is a complete idiot. Both Alice and Jason are complete pushovers when it comes to Carl. I felt frustrated and unsympathetic to them because they almost make it too easy for him to take advantage of them, especially Jason.

The plot twists were the most disappointing part of this book. The big (and honestly only) plot twist was extremely easy to guess. I expected at least one of the three central characters (Alice, Jason, Carl) to have an ulterior motive/secret scheme. Carl especially seemed set up to be hiding something but nothing ever came of it. Truly disappointing.
 

Thank you NetGalley and Joffe Books for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. 

 Once I started reading this book, I could not put it down. I thought I was going to read a few chapters before bed but ended up reading it all in one sitting (and staying up way too late). 

 

This book deals with some extremely dark themes and does not hold back its punches. 

 

The characterization is extremely well-done. The main character, Silas’, is extremely compelling and relatable. His pain, self-loathing, confusion, and anger radiate through every page. His older brother, George, is perhaps the most interesting character in the entire book. He is the “nice” side of medical eugenics. He is a “true believer” in the accepted medical theories of the time and the required “treatment” for Veil sickness. He genuinely thinks that he is helping Silas. But his complicity and later active participation in the horrors of Braxton’s show how kind words and gentle touches amount to nothing in the face of a system that demands violence to maintain. The other “villains” of the book are equally ambiguous on whether they actually believe what they are saying, if they truly think that their cruelty is for their “patients” benefit. Because it doesn’t matter if they are cynics or dupes, the pain that they inflict is real either way. 

 

Thank you NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. 

Really enjoyed the twists and turns. Way too many POVs though. Also the plot twist in the final chapter was completely unrealistic.

An amazing start for a very promising series. 

 

The book centers around a polyamorous relationship between the three main characters: Sachielle, Zanya, and Ash/the Dragon. 

 

What I liked most was that there was genuine care/affection, rather than solely lust, between the characters. Ash is incredibly respectful of Sachi and Zanya’s existing relationship and unlike many male romance protagonists, actually possesses the self-control to not think solely about his own desire. While Sachi and Ash have an immediate attraction and are then emotionally bonded, Zanya and Ash get together more slowly.  I think this book strikes the perfect balance between instant-love and slow burn. 

 

I also loved the side characters who consisted of members of the High Court, the immortal gods of the Everlasting Dream, and the Raven Guard, the personal guards of the Dragon and his consort. I hope we get more of their backstory, particularly of the Siren and the Wolf, in the next book. 

 

I loved the poly representation and how the relationship dynamics were handled. Also, everyone always makes sure to receive enthusiastic consent. 

 

Perhaps I am in the minority for readers of fantasy romances but I wish there was more happening outside of the relationship between the three main characters. The last chapter sets up the villain for the next book (and presumably the series) but we have gotten so little detail about him in the first book that it seems very rushed. Even though we are told that the villain has an extensive history with the High Court, this is never discussed or explored in any detail. Ash, who previously defeated this villain, almost never talks about his past outside of extremely sanitized fireside stories. The chapters in his POV are focused mostly on his interactions with and/or thoughts about Sachi and Zanya. This is a shame because he could/should have been the character setting up the actual plot. 

 

Thank you NetGalley and Montlake for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. 

Translation is sort of janky at times.

I laughed, I cried, I felt so many emotions while reading this book.