Reviews

Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris

thisisgettingstupid999's review against another edition

3.0

It’s Gone Girl meets Rebecca in this tale of boy meets girl, boy treats girl badly, girl disappears, boy meets girl’s sister. Now, it looks like (first) girl may be back, or is someone trying to mess up his relationship with her sister?
This has an interesting set up but, unfortunately, I’ve read a lot of this type of book and found the ‘twist’ pretty obvious. I had it largely worked it out before I was halfway through the book , which meant there was an awful lot of ‘what does it all mean? ‘ kind of musing to wade through.

Spoiler

I do wish that fewer psychological thrillers were plotted around someone being crazy. And in this book, who’s the craziest? The woman who adopts the personalities of her dead loved ones? The man who beats his loved ones up?
The denouement is unconvincing – what’s all that about the peat bog? – spelling out what we already knew with a few unlikely embellishments. (After an extensive search for Layla, police were unable to find the driver of a car in the area because they believed it was a man and in fact, it was a woman! Back to cop school for you lot!)

I think the success of this book relies on how quickly you understand what’s going on. So, if you’re a smart-arse-seen-it-all-before kind of reader it might not be for you. Nevertheless, I found it a light, entertaining read with an interesting use of Russian dolls.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Net Galley for this ARC.

hrsmoot's review

3.0

Slow start and middle, but ending picked up with a surprising ending.

karairene's review

5.0

Please understand this is my favorite author so I am biased.... But I loved this book. Perfect amount of thriller to keep you excited but good amount of character development to the point of a strong fiction. This roped me in immediately and I couldn't put it down. You're not sure the answers to your many questions until the very end. Unpredictable. If you enjoyed her other reads, you'll undoubtedly enjoy this.

cheries35plus's review against another edition

2.0

I loved The Breakdown and Behind Closed Doors. This one never met the standards of her prior works. This thriller utterly lacked any thrill factor. The characters were not well defined. The main character, Finn, was unlikable and he did not know who or what he wanted, it was impossible to feel sympathetic for him, or even like him. Finn made remarks that often caused me to roll my eyes and shake my head. I never felt drawn into the story and often felt bored. I did not care about any of the characters, not care what happened to them. Something with the whole plot or character development (or both) seemed off on this one. I guessed the "secret" quite early on, which was disappointing. But, I still have high hopes Paris's next novel will return to the greatness she is capable of.

katiespooner27's review

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

fictionalkat's review

4.0

This is my first time winning an advance copy book and I couldn't be more pleased it was from B.A. Paris! I have to admit, I went into this a lot more critical than the Breakdown. Now that I know just what types of twists and turns could be coming, I was looking for every breadcrumb dropped along the way. It's a quick read, and escalates a little more slowly than I would like, but I still couldn't put it down. I highly recommend you bring this back home with you. (See what I did there? Yea, that's why I can't be an author. This is what I find funny. Or punny, if you will.)

firekissedlibrary's review

4.0

I think I hated the main characters (Ellen, Finn & Layla) at least 4 different times throughout the book and then there were times I felt for them. This book is messy and fucked up. It touches on topics that aren't really brought up often (at least in the books I read anyway). It's dark and full of suspense & has you thinking a million different things. This book had so many twists and turns that I didn't see the ending coming. AT ALL. I was shocked to say the least. BA Paris did a good job with this. **TRIGGER WARNING - maybe?** I was in an abusive relationship and was abused for 4-5 years, I normally avoid books that touch on that topic. Going into this I had no idea it was going to get that dark. This book was too bad compared to others but I'm glad the topic wasn't overly done.

i_dont_read_blurbs's review against another edition

3.0

Bring me Back started off on a fascinating path. Being a B.A. Paris novel, I was excited to see what would happen in the twist, but I was disappointed. It was a THEN and NOW type of story, however, it seemed to be on repeat. The same scenario occurred so frequently that I couldn't help but think I would never get through that scene.

It did keep you reading by ending each chapter with the catchy, cheesy lines like you see on the news or hear on the radio to keep you through commercial. It did its job.

So, I didn't love it and I didn't hate it. It was a good, quick read, just not as intense as the other B.A. Paris books which is ok, it just didn't delve deep enough into the story for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC! I can't wait to see what is next.

meahjones's review

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

jennlopez's review

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0