A review by mytileneve
The Lighthouse by Fran Dorricott
2.0
2.5 stars
The tension in the first part of this book was really good. It was really creepy, it kept me on edge, and made me want to find out what happens. However, that's pretty much the only thing I liked about this book...
My first problem with it straight off the bat was that every character's voice in this sounded exactly the same. I often had to flip back to find out whose POV I was reading because they sounded identical and I couldn't even notice the shift to a new POV. I get why the choice to have multiple narrators in this book was made and I agree with it, but I really think more care should have been taken to have the voices sound distinct and personal.
My second problem was that the pacing in the second half of the book felt a bit off and I thought the 'mystery reveal' came too early and by that point I was no longer interested to read the last third of the book. Moreover, I felt like the second half turned into a cliche horror movie where the characters do the stupidest things and you just yell at them to think for a second.
Lastly, the characters felt quite flat and I really could not get myself to care about them. You've got the token jock with a perfect life, his perfect girlboss girlfriend, the try-hard ex with something to prove, the troubled guy, and the token lesbian couple (one an anxious wreck and the other the perfect voice of reason). Even though it seemed like there was an effort to have them be a bit more fleshed out, I really felt like I could not care about them as characters or about their drama and backstory.
Overall, this was a bit mediocre to me. The first half was promising, the second half I felt bored and wanted to finish it. I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either. A perfect middle ground of 2.5 stars.
The tension in the first part of this book was really good. It was really creepy, it kept me on edge, and made me want to find out what happens. However, that's pretty much the only thing I liked about this book...
My first problem with it straight off the bat was that every character's voice in this sounded exactly the same. I often had to flip back to find out whose POV I was reading because they sounded identical and I couldn't even notice the shift to a new POV. I get why the choice to have multiple narrators in this book was made and I agree with it, but I really think more care should have been taken to have the voices sound distinct and personal.
My second problem was that the pacing in the second half of the book felt a bit off and I thought the 'mystery reveal' came too early and by that point I was no longer interested to read the last third of the book. Moreover, I felt like the second half turned into a cliche horror movie where the characters do the stupidest things and you just yell at them to think for a second.
Spoiler
I mean, seriously, they go look for the woman's cave and find it empty, they go check the shack on their way back to the lighthouse and also find it empty, and they never for a second think that on a small island in the middle of a storm if the woman isn't in the cave and she's not in the shack, she's definitely in the lighthouse or cottage?? What were they expecting?Lastly, the characters felt quite flat and I really could not get myself to care about them. You've got the token jock with a perfect life, his perfect girlboss girlfriend, the try-hard ex with something to prove, the troubled guy, and the token lesbian couple (one an anxious wreck and the other the perfect voice of reason). Even though it seemed like there was an effort to have them be a bit more fleshed out, I really felt like I could not care about them as characters or about their drama and backstory.
Overall, this was a bit mediocre to me. The first half was promising, the second half I felt bored and wanted to finish it. I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either. A perfect middle ground of 2.5 stars.