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A review by arianatee
The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.5
I went into this long after having put it on my TBR and all I could remember was that the genre was "thriller." That being said, I think that is absolutely not the way to read this considering the subject matter and the various content warnings that should come with the book. It deals with cults, abuse and death. Our main character Shay finds out that her college friend Laurel has died while listening to a podcast created by one of her childhood friends, Jamie. I was excited to find out there was a podcast element to the book, though I'm afraid the transcripts made the book feel a bit choppy instead of flowing easily from one scene to the next. Now, I did listen to this on audio, so that may have played a part in this disjointed feeling, but overall it was still an enjoyable read.
I loved the set up and mystery and that was a very solid set-up, and it was only later in the book where some elements seemed to annoy me. The themes were really dark and heavy, but it actually didn't read that dark the way some parts were written. It was just the way that she and Jamie felt like they had to do it all and solve the mystery around Laurel's death that seemed a bit amateurish. It leant more towards the popcorn-thriller side of things in the end I feel.
My main gripe is really with the main character. Of course considering her past in college she was affected deeply by the death of her friend. However, it seemed odd how much she kept claiming to know who "Laurel was" when they'd only known each other during college and not kept in touch. Shay didn't know her before college (turns out Laurel had been quite depressed) and didn't keep in touch for the past seven years. So whenever Shay claims that certain actions "don't sound like Laurel," it really bothered me because while yes, it may not sound like the girl you knew for about two years, the last two years of college and after were an incredibly different time. Shay acts like she's the only one that knows Laurel and it just irked me the wrong way.
Now, at the end of the day the book is really a 3.5/5 for me because I still felt like the beginning half of the book was really strong. The second half just felt less serious than the beginning and Shay's actions to me played more like that of a lost girl still in college and not that of someone about 30. Also her marriage really didn't even need to play a part in the book at all. It was a small subplot that really only served to add tension to the romance with Jamie, but we barely get to know anything at all about her marriage so the impact of her choosing to leave her husband in the end felt like something I could have told you on page two. Despite all the little things that annoyed me, the writing was really well done and the plot was pretty decent so I was still entertained and want to check out more from this author in the future.
I loved the set up and mystery and that was a very solid set-up, and it was only later in the book where some elements seemed to annoy me. The themes were really dark and heavy, but it actually didn't read that dark the way some parts were written. It was just the way that she and Jamie felt like they had to do it all and solve the mystery around Laurel's death that seemed a bit amateurish. It leant more towards the popcorn-thriller side of things in the end I feel.
My main gripe is really with the main character. Of course considering her past in college she was affected deeply by the death of her friend. However, it seemed odd how much she kept claiming to know who "Laurel was" when they'd only known each other during college and not kept in touch. Shay didn't know her before college (turns out Laurel had been quite depressed) and didn't keep in touch for the past seven years. So whenever Shay claims that certain actions "don't sound like Laurel," it really bothered me because while yes, it may not sound like the girl you knew for about two years, the last two years of college and after were an incredibly different time. Shay acts like she's the only one that knows Laurel and it just irked me the wrong way.
Now, at the end of the day the book is really a 3.5/5 for me because I still felt like the beginning half of the book was really strong. The second half just felt less serious than the beginning and Shay's actions to me played more like that of a lost girl still in college and not that of someone about 30. Also her marriage really didn't even need to play a part in the book at all. It was a small subplot that really only served to add tension to the romance with Jamie, but we barely get to know anything at all about her marriage so the impact of her choosing to leave her husband in the end felt like something I could have told you on page two. Despite all the little things that annoyed me, the writing was really well done and the plot was pretty decent so I was still entertained and want to check out more from this author in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault
Moderate: Suicide