Reviews

The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding

auroralgr's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? No

3.25

I liked the first half of this book: fast paced, thrilling and dark but once the big twist happens it loses momentum. Still found it very enjoyable and would recommend if you want a cheap thrill.

books_by_the_bottle's review against another edition

5.0

When her restaurant business falls on hard times, Lee Guilliver is left with a massive pile of debt. She leaves with just a few possessions, surviving by waitressing and living in her car. One morning, parked at the beach, she sees a woman walking into the ocean, screaming and apparently trying to drown herself. Lee dives in to save her, but the woman, Hazel, is not happy with her. She tells Lee about her abusive husband and impossible situation she is living in. With no one else to turn to, the women strike up an unlikely friendship and think maybe they can help each other.

What an amazing thriller! The pacing was perfect, and the characters well developed. Told in alternating points of view, you could feel Lee and Hazel’s desperation in their respective situations. I loved their unlikely friendship and how they came to look out for each other. And the twists in this book were SO well done! Without giving spoilers, one of them I thought I was able to predict but when it actually unfolded, I was blown away. This is easily one of those books you could binge-read and I found myself saying “just a few more pages” quite often. This was my first Robyn Harding book but it won’t be my last!

Thank you to Netgalley, Robyn Harding and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC! “The Drowning Woman” releases June 13th.

This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly :)

callieluhman's review against another edition

2.0

I wanted to like this, i really did.
It had some potential but the ending was garbage.

taylorziegler's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

leynee6262's review against another edition

fast-paced

3.25

mckayla_haesch's review against another edition

mysterious tense

3.5

the_bitchy_booker's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.5

A plot within a plot leading to a TRAP!

laurengiac02's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

4.25

mmork29's review against another edition

dark 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? It's complicated

2.25

lindsaysmeldrum's review against another edition

2.0

It’s been a while since a book has made me this angry.

This book combines many of my least favourite things: flat characters, telling, the EXACT same thing repeated through multiple perspectives, and a way too many over the top ‘twists’.

Lee is unhoused, struggling to make ends meet after losing her restaurant in the pandemic. I did like that this was used a motivation to propel the story, I just didn’t like where it went from there. I ended up skimming the last half just to confirm it was as ridiculous as I thought. It was very predictable and unoriginal. It had been described as a page turner, but at no point did I feel excited to read it.

I am very disappointed after having seen so many good reviews. Did we read the same book!?

I’m all for a quick, light read but skip this one if writing quality is a dealbreaker for you too.