I would describe this book as a light thriller/mystery meets the dark and unsettling. The plot was a unique take on ‘what if I married a serial killer?’ and I think the author was able to play it out very well. There were some pitfalls and some very obnoxious inconsistencies throughout, but I think the execution of writing an edge of your seat thriller was pretty okay.

I enjoyed the short chapters. It gave the book a very quick pace and each chapter ended with you wanting to keep reading (what's another 4-5 pages?). This book is also told from a multiperspective which adds to the speedy build-up to the climax. I found myself really enjoying the first half of this and I could not put it down.

Once I got to about the halfway point, the storytelling fell very flat. I started to feel as if someone were narrating a scene to me rather than me reading a scene. As the story progressed, I began having a difficult time really believing the story and its characters because there were so many inconsistencies and many unexplained loose ends. I am also not a fan of women on a journey who happen to find love along the way, and especially in a few days’ time.

If you are looking for a light, fast-paced breezy mystery, I say this is probably the book for you. There is a pretty sick revenge scene near the end of this, so if you don’t look past the surface, it is a pretty good read.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. #Netgalley

This novel is a lite suspense/thriller take on what could happen at the start of the end of the world. Two families who could not be more different are stuck together and must face their own prejudices and learn to work together. This was a great portrayal of how people need to come together and learn to care for each other despite our differences.

I really enjoyed this book and I applaud the author for giving us a unique perspective of each and every character. You could tell who was speaking/thinking based on the way they spoke/thought and how their emotions were portrayed. I think this was a book about real people facing real problems and it was a great read.

The writing style is very “wordy” and could sometimes get out of hand. I know some people despise wordy writing but I found that this book did it fairly well despite a sprinkling of overly wordy parts. I will also say this book is VERY MILD. There are scenes that could be disturbing, but this is most definitely not a horror filled novel. I had higher hopes for a more thrilling scenario but this fell short of that.

Overall, I thought the book was very well written and I was intrigued from the start. If you’re looking for a light suspenseful novel with undertones of great character development, this is probably the book for you.

This memoir is a powerful recounting of being a part of an abusive same sex relationship. Carmen retells her life living with her all around abusive girlfriend and how their relationship molded her view of the world and the effects this had on her mental health.

I really enjoyed the writing of this and I think Carmen has such a beautiful way of writing. The wording and flow felt natural and never over bearing. She also gives us a new perspective on abuse in queer relationships and how we as a queer society are always seen as happy go lucky and that nothing ever could go wrong in a gay (happy) relationship.

I did have a few pitfalls with this though. While this does scream ‘Memoir’, there were tons of parts where tv shows and movies scenes were told in detail and I just don’t think they added to the overall story. And despite the lovely writing, I found myself having a hard time feeling attached. The scenes never really broke surface level so this felt like more of someone telling you what happened to them versus reading a memoir. I also did not like the second-person narration, it did not grasp me and felt unnecessary.

Overall, this book was okay. I admire the representation and the author for telling her story. She deserves all of the good things and I wish nothing but better days for her.

This book is a mystery/crime drama about a group of rich friends who have a lot of secrets. Once these secrets start resurfacing, this group of friends must decide how far they are willing to go to protect each other.

I thought the author did a really good job of secret weaving and tying everything together. Every secret had a purpose, which was very satisfying. And despite how predictable most mystery books have become, this one was a bit shocking with how it ended.

Unfortunately, this book was way too much all at once. There were so many characters and perspectives to keep track of and I feel like this hindered the ability to develop the characters past one characteristic. Also, listening to this on audio was very hard to distinguish the characters from one another because almost every character had the same tone/voice.

This book was an okay read. If you’re looking for a twisty turny book that has you trying to connect all of the dots (and can keep up with the many many characters), this is probably the book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. *********

This was my first Natasha Pulley book and I can honestly say she will be an author I look forward to reading in the future. She is able to tell a unique story that has you gripped from the beginning and she creates very developed, likable characters.

This historical fiction is set in 1960’s Soviet Russia and has some suspenseful qualities to it. There is a lot of science speak in this as well so be prepared to learn while you read.

I enjoyed the setting of this book. It felt very well researched and the author was able to describe in detail every new scene and it’s characteristics. The science was also very well researched because it didn’t feel made up and it actually made sense. Each character had their own understanding of it and we get to learn alongside some of them. I do enjoy books where the characters are likable and almost every character in this book had likable features. It may have been “too likable” at points, but I don’t think it ever passed the line into annoying.

I do think this book could have used some fine tuning though. There were moments throughout reading where I felt like I was reading a novel set in modern day and not 1960’s Soviet Russia. Some of the language used seemed too “modern” and there were phrases that I think those characters just wouldn’t say. As much as I really enjoyed this book, I found myself highlighting many small inconsistencies and scenes where characters acted ‘out of character’. I could see that things were added into the story for the story’s sake so I don’t really blame the author.

Overall, I thought this book was good. I liked the story, the characters, and I got to learn some more about a topic I’ve always found interesting. I would recommend this to people who like historical fiction and chemical science.