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lmaru's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I only read this book because of the setting, a place I had visited recently and loved. Unfortunately, only half the book takes place there. In general, I would call this a bougie soap opera, a book exploring the vexed relationships between four mostly unlikable people. There's a bit of a mystery element at the end. If you liked the Sicily season of The White Lotus, this is the book for you!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
rob_in_richmond's review against another edition
Libby borrow, never finished (before trip to Sicily).
celiapowell's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this story of a holiday gone wrong - two couples, one with their 10 year old daughter, visit a little Italian island together. Every adult has a share in the narrative, sometimes showing different viewpoints of the same events, but not in a repetitive way. I enjoyed the way it all unspooled.
ari76's review against another edition
emotional
tense
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
2.75
samhoward's review against another edition
4.0
Very fun, very fast-paced, voice-driven domestic thriller about two families vacationing together in Italy.
pia_de_e's review against another edition
4.0
Two couples (who don't really like one another much) travel from the States for a holiday in Italy. There's Finn and Taylor and Lizzie and Michael. With them is the extremely strange and annoying ten year old daughter of Finn and Taylor (we later find out she has extreme shyness syndrome, or so her mother says). Also, Finn and Lizzie were a couple long before they married their new partners. And sometime during the vacation, the mistress of one of them appears.
All this is a recipe for disaster. They are all extremely dysfunctional, and after a few days together, all they do is get on each others nerves and complain about the others. The book is narrated by the four main characters and I have to say they are each more obnoxious than the next.
I mostly have to like the characters to get involved with a book, but in this case I didn't care how unlikeable or childish they were, or how they messed up their lives, careers or marriages. With a book so well written as Siracusa, you just read on.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
All this is a recipe for disaster. They are all extremely dysfunctional, and after a few days together, all they do is get on each others nerves and complain about the others. The book is narrated by the four main characters and I have to say they are each more obnoxious than the next.
I mostly have to like the characters to get involved with a book, but in this case I didn't care how unlikeable or childish they were, or how they messed up their lives, careers or marriages. With a book so well written as Siracusa, you just read on.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
hah2024's review against another edition
2.0
Okay, so this probably isn’t actually a fair review of the book. Because there was one glaring problem I had with it, and it was kind of my fault.
However, there was quite a bit of sex—though not overly detailed so that was at least convenient—and language, so I wasn’t a fan of that. Those my second and third biggest problems with the book, aside from the fact that the plot just wasn’t what I was hoping for. Not my thing.
Now, the biggest, glaring problem: I read the back of the book where it said it had the pacing of a psychological thriller. And somehow, my brain interpreted that as it actually being a psychological thriller. So know, this is a DRAMA, not a psychological thriller. Whoops, my bad.
Besides all that, the writing just wasn’t really my thing. Especially Michael’s point of view—my word, what is that man’s issue with himself as the subject? When he would outline things he did, jt was always, “Walked alone that night. Took the long way home. Opened the door to the hotel. Didn’t want to sleep.” I was BEGGING him for first person pronouns, my goodness.
I finished the book because I was hoping for a more exciting ending, but it didn’t really deliver. And it’s hard to summon sympathy for these characters—they’re not just unlikeable, they’re stupid, hypocritical, and extremely selfish. And I feel like their ‘unlikeableness’ didn’t even come to much. When it serves a purpose, when it propels characters, unlikeableness can work. Like the Great Gatsby—they’re all selfish, lying, cheaters, but it goes deeper than that. And you really see the consequences and the changes the characters go through in the story. This though—the characters’ unlikeableness was more just a fact about them, like the color of their hair, rather than a personality trait to make the story more interesting. I don’t know, it all kind of fell flat.
However, there was quite a bit of sex—though not overly detailed so that was at least convenient—and language, so I wasn’t a fan of that. Those my second and third biggest problems with the book, aside from the fact that the plot just wasn’t what I was hoping for. Not my thing.
Now, the biggest, glaring problem: I read the back of the book where it said it had the pacing of a psychological thriller. And somehow, my brain interpreted that as it actually being a psychological thriller. So know, this is a DRAMA, not a psychological thriller. Whoops, my bad.
Besides all that, the writing just wasn’t really my thing. Especially Michael’s point of view—my word, what is that man’s issue with himself as the subject? When he would outline things he did, jt was always, “Walked alone that night. Took the long way home. Opened the door to the hotel. Didn’t want to sleep.” I was BEGGING him for first person pronouns, my goodness.
I finished the book because I was hoping for a more exciting ending, but it didn’t really deliver. And it’s hard to summon sympathy for these characters—they’re not just unlikeable, they’re stupid, hypocritical, and extremely selfish. And I feel like their ‘unlikeableness’ didn’t even come to much. When it serves a purpose, when it propels characters, unlikeableness can work. Like the Great Gatsby—they’re all selfish, lying, cheaters, but it goes deeper than that. And you really see the consequences and the changes the characters go through in the story. This though—the characters’ unlikeableness was more just a fact about them, like the color of their hair, rather than a personality trait to make the story more interesting. I don’t know, it all kind of fell flat.
katelibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
Great character study, not a lot of surprises but a great book for dissecting personalities in and outside of marriage. I really, really liked this book a lot.
kristianawithak's review against another edition
3.0
I’m not usually a fan of foreshadowing, but it’s used well throughout the novel, especially with the changing vantage points. The story unfolds through the view of its four main characters and it is executed excellently. Each character has their own voice and style and held the attention of the reader while they held the chapter. The structure is part of the appeal and the foreshadowing builds to a satisfying end.
There were some great quotes: “Husbands and wives collaborate, hiding even from themselves who is calling the shots and who is along for the ride.”
“Devine the insecurities and compliment it.”
There were some great quotes: “Husbands and wives collaborate, hiding even from themselves who is calling the shots and who is along for the ride.”
“Devine the insecurities and compliment it.”