Reviews

Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz

tlchand's review against another edition

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3.0

I was engaged throughout the book. But, potentially for the wrong reasons. While the reader should have felt emphathy towards one of the primary charcters, I found myself reading on in the hopes that she would fail. That paired with the suspense undertones that were predicatble caused me not to love the book. However, after completing the last few pages, my impression of the primary character I mentioned earlier were softened slightly. Maybe that was the intention of the author and was the biggest element of suspense intended in the book.

maggiemoore's review against another edition

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2.0

Book club choice and none of us really liked it. Plot lost its way, the big mystery wasn't much of a mystery, characters were unlikable and poorly developed. The changing voice/narration was confusing rather than clever or interesting, the changing POV didn't add anything.

dreavg's review against another edition

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4.0

I found this book intriguing. We each have a moment in our lives that changes the way we look at our lives. It is our perception of that moment that can create the outline of the rest of our lives. This book decribes the after math of such and event and gives the reader the crumbs to try and figure out how that event occured.

jessica22's review against another edition

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lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.0

heatherhazereads's review against another edition

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Read in 2 days. couldn't put it down!

fuzzkins's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

bogfinchgirl's review against another edition

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4.0

I like the book. It was well-written and thought out. It tells the story going back and forth between time periods, but at points did so between paragraphs and I got confused about where I was in time. I had to stop, go back, reread, and figure out we had changed the time narrative. There are a few hanging threads at the end...like Clement Owens, where I thought “wait, what? That’s it?”

On the whole, I recommend this one as worthy of the time to read.

menfrommarrs's review against another edition

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4.0

First apprehension, then empathy, then outrage, justification, disgust…I was on a roller-coaster.

Can’t say the book gave me many happy moments; it kept me on edge waiting, with anticipation and dread, to see what was coming next to twist my theories out of whack.
Spoiler The validity of Amanda’s grounds for dismissal at the beginning of the book was on my mind throughout the story.


The miserly disclosure of bits of a mystery, given from several points of view, had me tense and speculating to the very end.

Ruth drown many times, and I went under with her.

plaidpladd's review against another edition

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2.0

I pretty much had this book figured out in a few chapters, but skimmed the rest to make sure I was right. All of the characters were pretty bland.