Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an eARC in exchange for a review.

The Safe Place would be a perfect suspense/thriller to pick up in the summer if you're looking for a French locale getaway without leaving your couch. I'd highly recommend picking it up when you're on the beach, lake, or the pool if you're looking for a book that will draw you in and keep you here with its fast pace. 

I did find it a bit predictable, but that could be expected when the the characters are all in one setting for the majority of the novel in a forced proximity scenario. The short chapters and the three POVs really kept me looking forward to picking the book back up. 

In summary: I was just really confused for almost 300 pages.

I was hoping to enjoy this book. I was assuming I would love it and it would be a five star read. However, that's not the case. The synopsis had some qualities I was looking forward to, but personally I don't think the plot had anything substantial to offer after reading. I do think it was well written, but I just think it missed the mark. The plot was written as to be very clever and witty, but ended up being tedious to read. 

Ava, as a character had almost no development and she seemed almost unrealistic as a character? Become an expat teaching English grammar in Hong Kong, make friends that have ambitious careers, but make no moves to improve your own career? Have a millennial existential crisis over power dynamics and sexual orientation? Sounds about right and realistic for our generation, but making that plot made it hard for the plot to develop. 

Edith and Julian served as vessels for some "awakenings" in Ava's life. Julian constantly told Ava she wasn't doing anything with her life and Edith was her awakening that she might like women which became an existential crisis. 

Am I now wary to read Normal People by Sally Rooney knowing this was fashioned after that? Yes.

Forgettable in the way that I forgot I turned the volume down on the audiobook and didn’t care that I missed about 20 minutes of it. 

I did appreciate the audiobook performance and recommend it. I also appreciated Zelda’s character growth. When We Were Vikings gave me major Ruthless Oaths We Made vibes as we don’t often get a main character with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

If The Prophets does not win some kind of an award this year, I’ll be very surprised. What an amazing debut!

I highly recommend listening on audio.

With or Without You follows Stella, a nurse who falls into a coma after a night in from a winter storm with her long time musician partner, Simon. Throughout novel, we follow her (and Simon) as she is in her coma and then beyond when she must figure out what she does next when she can no longer be a nurse.

This story, at least I hope, seems to be realistic (as I've never been in a coma, I can't say it is). It's about finding yourself when your life completely changes, for both Stella and for Simon.

With or Without You has it all: friendship, heartbreak, life changing obstacles, friendship, and self discovery. 

It left me asking myself, " What would happen to me if I woke up from a coma?".