kirstengrier's review against another edition
3.0
**Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced Kindle edition of this book in exchange for an honest review** 2 1/2 Stars
Rachel and Ariel have been friends for years. Their older children have grown up together and they have helped each other get through tragedies and triumphs. Rachel owns a local hair salon and Ariel is a former TV actress who is now a voice coach for the town's high school students. When an unexplainable and unthinkable event occurs they are forced to rethink their friendship and the whole town is thrown into turmoil.
I had a difficult time getting through this book. There were too many things that I couldn't believe. I couldn't stand Ariel. She was self centered, egotistical, and not a very good mother. I had no sympathy for her and couldn't believe the way she acted in almost every situation. Rachel was a little more likable, but not really. I couldn't put my finger on it but I had a hard time connecting with any character in the book. I couldn't believe the way Ariel looked at and spoke to Cassie, it was infuriating. The way she acted during the courtroom appearance disgusted me. Dressed to the nines and with dark netting covering her face. Obviously trying to make this all about her. The book even mentioned her knowing how to make an exit since she was an actress.
There were also several things which I thought were very unlikely. The violent scene in the book was the first thing. Rachel's son Jared was supposedly attempting a sales pitch in school with his super sharp knife set. No school would ever allow a student to bring a knife set to school. Even if he did have the knife set with him, he wouldn't be walking around holding one of the knives during the encounter. They would be packed away in the kit. It would have been more believable if he had just brought a random knife in from home.
Ariel was addicted to sex. Ok. Never in a million years do I think she would meet a student during a school show in the basement of the school. I just can't see that happening no matter how desperate she is.
Ariel also mentioned a couple times how she was a one man woman and only slept with one at a time. Then the book goes on to talk about about her sleeping with Graham and Jared during the same time period.
Rachel was in such denial about Jared being arrested, she was acting like he was being accused of shoplifting instead of a brutal murder. She joked to her other son KJ to remind her to ground him when this is all over. Ground him? Really? He confessed to murdering your best friend's daughter.
When Remy's friends come to her house they start going through her laptop. In a murder investigation the police would have confiscated that. They took her cell phone and there is no way they wouldn't have taken her laptop too. Her folder labeled "secrets" was a little much. That's like writing Do Not Read Me on the cover of your journal and then leaving it out in the open for anyone to see.
When the cop is questioning Ariel she gets annoyed by him and at one point thinks to herself "he'll never be my boyfriend". Enough already.
When Jared commits suicide a police officer breaks the news to her on the phone. She is dating the Sheriff in town. I would expect him to deliver that type of news to her in person and not have some random cop she doesn't know call her on the phone.
There was a lot of potential in this book, there were just too many little things that added up and left me questioning a lot of the plot.
Rachel and Ariel have been friends for years. Their older children have grown up together and they have helped each other get through tragedies and triumphs. Rachel owns a local hair salon and Ariel is a former TV actress who is now a voice coach for the town's high school students. When an unexplainable and unthinkable event occurs they are forced to rethink their friendship and the whole town is thrown into turmoil.
I had a difficult time getting through this book. There were too many things that I couldn't believe. I couldn't stand Ariel. She was self centered, egotistical, and not a very good mother. I had no sympathy for her and couldn't believe the way she acted in almost every situation. Rachel was a little more likable, but not really. I couldn't put my finger on it but I had a hard time connecting with any character in the book. I couldn't believe the way Ariel looked at and spoke to Cassie, it was infuriating. The way she acted during the courtroom appearance disgusted me. Dressed to the nines and with dark netting covering her face. Obviously trying to make this all about her. The book even mentioned her knowing how to make an exit since she was an actress.
There were also several things which I thought were very unlikely. The violent scene in the book was the first thing. Rachel's son Jared was supposedly attempting a sales pitch in school with his super sharp knife set. No school would ever allow a student to bring a knife set to school. Even if he did have the knife set with him, he wouldn't be walking around holding one of the knives during the encounter. They would be packed away in the kit. It would have been more believable if he had just brought a random knife in from home.
Ariel was addicted to sex. Ok. Never in a million years do I think she would meet a student during a school show in the basement of the school. I just can't see that happening no matter how desperate she is.
Ariel also mentioned a couple times how she was a one man woman and only slept with one at a time. Then the book goes on to talk about about her sleeping with Graham and Jared during the same time period.
Rachel was in such denial about Jared being arrested, she was acting like he was being accused of shoplifting instead of a brutal murder. She joked to her other son KJ to remind her to ground him when this is all over. Ground him? Really? He confessed to murdering your best friend's daughter.
When Remy's friends come to her house they start going through her laptop. In a murder investigation the police would have confiscated that. They took her cell phone and there is no way they wouldn't have taken her laptop too. Her folder labeled "secrets" was a little much. That's like writing Do Not Read Me on the cover of your journal and then leaving it out in the open for anyone to see.
When the cop is questioning Ariel she gets annoyed by him and at one point thinks to herself "he'll never be my boyfriend". Enough already.
When Jared commits suicide a police officer breaks the news to her on the phone. She is dating the Sheriff in town. I would expect him to deliver that type of news to her in person and not have some random cop she doesn't know call her on the phone.
There was a lot of potential in this book, there were just too many little things that added up and left me questioning a lot of the plot.
kristindowner's review against another edition
3.0
Original Post: http://www.nerdprobs.com/books/book-review-domestic-secrets-by-rosalind-noonan/
**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.**
Women's Fiction is quickly becoming one of my go-to reading options. Rosalind Noonan's "Domestic Secrets" drew me in from the homey feeling of the cover to the intriguing, dramatic synopsis of the story. A few things made me bring my rating down, but for the most part this was a fantastic read.
I want to start out by saying Noonan has a great writing style. She's descriptive without being overly so. There is just enough visual assistance to help guide me to put a face with the characters, an image with the street, or a feeling of the room they were in. I find sometimes the visuals are left on the wayside for writers as they want the plot line to be the focal point, but the scene is equally as important. In this case, Noonan nailed it.
The story follows Rachel and Ariel, two single moms forging ahead after to bad marriages, followed by two dead husbands, and now raising teenagers and young children alone. The only support is each other. Polar opposites on parenting styles and personality types... Rachel is the perfect small town mom, while Ariel dreams of the big lights of Hollywood again and merely copes with being the local vocal teacher for the Gleetime kids.
My only major issue with this book was the synopsis spoke of a big tragedy tearing these two families apart, yet it was barely shy of two-thirds through the book when the big tragedy took place. A huge shock, yes. But as the main point in the synopsis, I felt it should have happened way sooner in the book. When I read the back of a book to see what it's about, I expect that to be a large portion of a book. Not just 1/3 of it. Following that and the fact that there was roughly only thirty five percent of the book left, I felt the really good part was rushed. Had the big moment happened sooner, I could have easily give "Domestic Secrets" a four... possibly even a five... star rating. Once that big moment happened I was glued to the book. I had to finish. I read the rest of the book in an hour. The first half of the book was great. Don't get me wrong. Knowing what I know now, though, the first part definitely could have been trimmed of fluff to allow more time for the climax and that portion to play out more. To sum it up, in my opinion, the balance was off.
Good news though! While I had suspicions about what was happening, I definitely had not guessed what the big tragedy was going to be. So hats off to Noonan for surprising me. With my love for crime and suspense books, that can be hard to do! I loved some of the characters and truly despised others. I cried at times (another hard thing to make happen) and laughed at others. Noonan has no problem drawing emotions from the reader.
I will definitely be reading her next work when it comes out. I recommend this for anyone. It is not just women's fiction. It has drama and suspense tangled in with it as well. I mean... we are talking domestic bliss here. What could be more dramatic and suspensful? A great job by Noonan. I really want to give more stars, but the focal point of the book happening so late in the book threw me off a bit. Three very solid stars for Noonan.
**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.**
Women's Fiction is quickly becoming one of my go-to reading options. Rosalind Noonan's "Domestic Secrets" drew me in from the homey feeling of the cover to the intriguing, dramatic synopsis of the story. A few things made me bring my rating down, but for the most part this was a fantastic read.
I want to start out by saying Noonan has a great writing style. She's descriptive without being overly so. There is just enough visual assistance to help guide me to put a face with the characters, an image with the street, or a feeling of the room they were in. I find sometimes the visuals are left on the wayside for writers as they want the plot line to be the focal point, but the scene is equally as important. In this case, Noonan nailed it.
The story follows Rachel and Ariel, two single moms forging ahead after to bad marriages, followed by two dead husbands, and now raising teenagers and young children alone. The only support is each other. Polar opposites on parenting styles and personality types... Rachel is the perfect small town mom, while Ariel dreams of the big lights of Hollywood again and merely copes with being the local vocal teacher for the Gleetime kids.
My only major issue with this book was the synopsis spoke of a big tragedy tearing these two families apart, yet it was barely shy of two-thirds through the book when the big tragedy took place. A huge shock, yes. But as the main point in the synopsis, I felt it should have happened way sooner in the book. When I read the back of a book to see what it's about, I expect that to be a large portion of a book. Not just 1/3 of it. Following that and the fact that there was roughly only thirty five percent of the book left, I felt the really good part was rushed. Had the big moment happened sooner, I could have easily give "Domestic Secrets" a four... possibly even a five... star rating. Once that big moment happened I was glued to the book. I had to finish. I read the rest of the book in an hour. The first half of the book was great. Don't get me wrong. Knowing what I know now, though, the first part definitely could have been trimmed of fluff to allow more time for the climax and that portion to play out more. To sum it up, in my opinion, the balance was off.
Good news though! While I had suspicions about what was happening, I definitely had not guessed what the big tragedy was going to be. So hats off to Noonan for surprising me. With my love for crime and suspense books, that can be hard to do! I loved some of the characters and truly despised others. I cried at times (another hard thing to make happen) and laughed at others. Noonan has no problem drawing emotions from the reader.
I will definitely be reading her next work when it comes out. I recommend this for anyone. It is not just women's fiction. It has drama and suspense tangled in with it as well. I mean... we are talking domestic bliss here. What could be more dramatic and suspensful? A great job by Noonan. I really want to give more stars, but the focal point of the book happening so late in the book threw me off a bit. Three very solid stars for Noonan.
rebecca_isreading's review against another edition
4.0
At first this read as just a book of suburban scandal, but in the last third or so of the book, things suddenly took a darker, more serious turn. The mothers in this book experienced incredible agony and heartbreak, but their different reactions and outcomes made this a disturbing but intriguing read. Advance reading copy provided by Netgalley and the publisher.
terryliz's review against another edition
4.0
I was provided with a free copy of this e-book from Netgalley.
This is the story of two 40-something friends, Ariel and Rachel, who are single moms to teenagers. They've been friends for years throughout marriages and child-rearing. Ariel was once a TV star and has dreams of reviving her career, but is currently a voice teacher to students from the local high school. Rachel owns a hair salon.
I found it really hard to like Ariel. She was so totally into herself and neglectful of her children. Her 'secret' was pretty sick and I can't believe she largely got away with it.
Rachel was a much more likeable character who was a good, kind friend and only wanted the best for her children.
I thought the dialog throughout was very hip and snappy and I instantly got into the book, but as I saw the direction the story was going, I started losing interest. I had a hard time believing a 'friend' could do what she did to another friend's child. I also didn't think we got to find out enough about Rachel's son Jared to understand why he flipped out to the point where he did what he did.
All in all, this was a pretty fast read, but not one I would recommend to my book club.
This is the story of two 40-something friends, Ariel and Rachel, who are single moms to teenagers. They've been friends for years throughout marriages and child-rearing. Ariel was once a TV star and has dreams of reviving her career, but is currently a voice teacher to students from the local high school. Rachel owns a hair salon.
I found it really hard to like Ariel. She was so totally into herself and neglectful of her children. Her 'secret' was pretty sick and I can't believe she largely got away with it.
Rachel was a much more likeable character who was a good, kind friend and only wanted the best for her children.
I thought the dialog throughout was very hip and snappy and I instantly got into the book, but as I saw the direction the story was going, I started losing interest. I had a hard time believing a 'friend' could do what she did to another friend's child. I also didn't think we got to find out enough about Rachel's son Jared to understand why he flipped out to the point where he did what he did.
All in all, this was a pretty fast read, but not one I would recommend to my book club.
kyracbs's review
3.0
Good beach read, way steamier than I expected. It could easily be a movie on the lifetime network!
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