Scan barcode
bechlette47's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Minor: Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Abandonment
toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Infertility, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Sexual content, Medical content, and Murder
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Excrement, and Abortion
bloo_0's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, and Violence
kktaylor11's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
IT GOT SO GOOD!! I was wrong! All the things I thought I had figured out were NOT figured out. It's still really more of a 3.5, but because it surprised me, I'll round up. It's a good escape book - not something I would put on my shelf or ever re-read, but one I'd recommend to someone who likes mystery/domestic drama.
That said, I do have a few frustrations (see spoilers)
Similarly, I think Robin's "oddness" is hyper-exaggerated when she is first introduced. She comes across as not all there mentally, her language and mannerisms are exaggerated to make her seem much older and out of touch with reality. Then at the end she's suddenly totally normal and just Adam's loving ex-wife. I think that was a touch misleading.
I also think the twist-twist-twist ending was too convenient, and left too many threads unexplained. The wife/ex-wife letter situation was enough -- it was VERY well done! Once it was made clear and I looked back I realized IT was done perfectly. At the very beginning there was a part where Amelia commented that Adam "never wanted to have a baby" because he couldn't imagine not recognizing its face...but then the early letters were all about IVF which didn't make sense....then suddenly it did. He didn't want to have a baby with AMELIA, but he was happy to with Robin. That twist was enough. We didn't need the "Amelia was the one who killed your mother" moment (which didn't really seem realistic, and didn't really explain why Amelia had to basically BECOME Robin in order to make Adam like her....and we REALLY didn't need the "Adam remembers killing his own mother and Amelia taking the blame" moment. That was just too much. Also, the memories of Harry and the hair cutting and the investigator...it was just overkill. Stick with Robin had a bad childhood and escaped as soon as she could and let Amelia die of her asthma.
I also thought the faceblindness aspect was fascinating, but inaccurate. I've done a lot of reading on this, and Feeney seems to almost abuse this trait as a justification for things in this story. Someone with faceblindness their entire life, like Adam, would not be as ABSOLUTELY CLUELESS as Adam is. It's definitely a justification for not being able to read emotions in people's faces, but faces are not "like a van gogh painting" -- the features are all there, and those with face blindness for their whole life (like Adam) have learned a million coping mechanisms and are MUCH more aware of things like tone of voice, body style, gait, mannerisms, etc. So the constant "I don't know what's going on because of my faceblindness" in order to move the story line along was frustrating. (Side note, if you're interested in this, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-MzNPcEh6M">HERE</a> is a great short video on it !)
Overall, though -- this was a good one, and definitely worth the 4-5 hours it took me to read it!
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
theimposter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
lily_peach's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Infertility, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, and Murder
Minor: Death, Suicide, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
necessary_rotting's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
This book has been so heavily praised and to me was beyond lackluster. The only praise I can provide is that I managed to finish it, which is the only reason it's getting 1 star instead of zero. This is my first Alice Feeney novel and most likely my last. I do see how others could tote this novel, but it was not for me.
Marketed as a page-turner but was a struggle to get through between the lack of connection and phrases used. I knew all hope was lost when I read the statement “I’ve never been great at sticking to rules”. There was no depth to the characters in this book. Not only that, but for what we know of the characters their behavior and interactions don’t make sense.
The only time I felt myself somewhat compelled to keep reading was during the “twist” that gave you an “oh” which lasted for about ten pages before spiraling to be even worse than before. The story had potential, but really fell flat.
While reading I felt as though I was watching a cringey low-budget Netflix movie that I finished just for the sake of doing so.
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Infertility
daniellepaige86's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infertility, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
haylethal's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting
vereadsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Death of parent, and Gaslighting