monalert's review against another edition
1.0
Stopped reading 24 pages in because it was so painful to get through. Characters seemed unrealistic and unhealthy/abusive.
dawnesap2525's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
katelu's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
jennywjordan's review against another edition
4.0
I’m still not sure I know them
Rosemary and Wendy are half sisters connected by genetics, memories, and shared dramatic experiences that neither has discussed with the other. When Wendy shows up on Rosemary’s door, she is in need and Rosemary is too. And hence begins to novel ——Kelley helps us see the plight in struggling to survive and the depths of trying to make a life.
Unfortunately her sympathetic lead is also irresponsible and a bit self pitying She has choices —-and in whether she stays with Leo —- but in how she cares for Wendy. She spends a lot of timing telling us how hard everything is. And it is but, you can choose to complain or do something and unfortunately Rosemary’s doing something generally is not well thought out.
I read the novel quickly and was interested to see how it needed but I never reached the point where I cared very much what happened to Rosemary and I honestly wanted to shake her a bit an say. You escaped —twice—-what will you do now with another chance.
Rosemary and Wendy are half sisters connected by genetics, memories, and shared dramatic experiences that neither has discussed with the other. When Wendy shows up on Rosemary’s door, she is in need and Rosemary is too. And hence begins to novel ——Kelley helps us see the plight in struggling to survive and the depths of trying to make a life.
Unfortunately her sympathetic lead is also irresponsible and a bit self pitying She has choices —-and in whether she stays with Leo —- but in how she cares for Wendy. She spends a lot of timing telling us how hard everything is. And it is but, you can choose to complain or do something and unfortunately Rosemary’s doing something generally is not well thought out.
I read the novel quickly and was interested to see how it needed but I never reached the point where I cared very much what happened to Rosemary and I honestly wanted to shake her a bit an say. You escaped —twice—-what will you do now with another chance.
dapperreads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I found myself picking this up quite awhile ago on my kindle and I forgot about it after my cat ate my kindle charger. Looking through the kindle app on my phone, I spotted it again and remembered that I was entranced in this story and wanted to get back to it. Once I jumped back in, I didn’t want to stop. It’s enthralling - such a different sort of thriller and I really enjoyed every second of it. I honestly can’t believe I forgot about it!
olivialucy's review against another edition
4.0
Well that was interesting. I think the synopsis of this book makes it sound far more fun than it was. It picked up a lot at the end and was quite gripping in the final part. The first part seemed a bit predictable but slightly strange and I wasnt sure if I would keep on with it for a while. Either way I did like it and am glad I stuck with it.
bexellency's review
2.0
Way too many Fifty Shades vibes. Pacing not right for a thriller - the tension never builds nor drives forward. Interesting to read a novel set in Portland OR.
kassielovestoread's review
dark
slow-paced
- 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? It's complicated
3.0
Reading this book felt like a slooooow march to the end of a long, winding journey. This book had a lot of pacing issues for me. In fact, too much in No One Knows Us Here consists of nothing really happening. Yes, there are some unsettling scenes with Rosemary and Leo but I kept waiting for the pace to really pick up (this is supposed to be a thriller, mind you) and it didn't really do that until 75%-80% of the book was done. There's a lull in the story where it's just Rosemary's chaotic day to day and it was overall not an engaging novel for me.
However, I can appreciate that I knew what the purpose of this book was. A cautionary tale and/or a fictional story that has the echoes of familiarity if you watch the news regularly. Rosemary's story is not something out of the realm of possibility (statistically speaking)- it happens to millions of women each day and for that reason, I would recommend this book to others because I feel it could be deeply cathartic to someone out there.
However, I can appreciate that I knew what the purpose of this book was. A cautionary tale and/or a fictional story that has the echoes of familiarity if you watch the news regularly. Rosemary's story is not something out of the realm of possibility (statistically speaking)- it happens to millions of women each day and for that reason, I would recommend this book to others because I feel it could be deeply cathartic to someone out there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual assault
rachael1786's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
paperdollpages's review against another edition
3.0
This was my Kindle FirstReads pick for the month of December. I was drawn to the description and concept of this book!
This book is about a 20-something woman living in Portland barely getting by. She lives with several roommates and works at a cooking supply store. After her roommate encourages her to try escorting as a way to make money, she meets a rich and powerful tech CEO. The man then becomes obsessed with her and pays her to be his pretend girlfriend in exchange for a large paycheck & a dope apartment.
I enjoyed the story and the characters, but it ended up just being an average read. The author’s writing style was difficult to follow. She jumped around a lot with the timeline. The author would often fast forward weeks at time or have missing gaps of time that were filled in by dialogue between the characters with no warning. I would find myself going back a few pages and re-reading because I thought I had missed something. The ending was terrible. The whole “court case” part could have been left out all together. It was totally unnecessary and took the story in a weird direction.
This book is about a 20-something woman living in Portland barely getting by. She lives with several roommates and works at a cooking supply store. After her roommate encourages her to try escorting as a way to make money, she meets a rich and powerful tech CEO. The man then becomes obsessed with her and pays her to be his pretend girlfriend in exchange for a large paycheck & a dope apartment.
I enjoyed the story and the characters, but it ended up just being an average read. The author’s writing style was difficult to follow. She jumped around a lot with the timeline. The author would often fast forward weeks at time or have missing gaps of time that were filled in by dialogue between the characters with no warning. I would find myself going back a few pages and re-reading because I thought I had missed something. The ending was terrible. The whole “court case” part could have been left out all together. It was totally unnecessary and took the story in a weird direction.