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A review by pagesplotsandpints
The New Couple in 5B by Lisa Unger
3.0
Read Completed 3/9/24 | 3 stars
I was excited to read THE NEW COUPLE IN 5B and was really hoping to connect with it. Right off the bat, I really didn't love it and it took until about 35-40% for things to really get interesting. I didn't realize that this was going to sort of be a paranormal twist (not a spoiler -- it's all hinted at early on) and I don't always love that in thrillers. Sometimes it's exciting to wonder whether things are actually ghostly or paranormal, or if it all has a logical explanation, but I just didn't really like how it was all handled in this book. I think I would have preferred if it committed more to being more of a ghost story than having it kind of slide around.
I really didn't like the main character, Rosie, and I just didn't connect with her much. She bothered me a lot in this book and she just felt like a weak character. I didn't like her "seer" abilities and it just felt very underdeveloped. I wanted her to either lean into them and it became a more important part of the book, or not have that be in the story at all. I also found it kind of odd that she called her whole family cons and crooks, basically, and yet she has this real ability.
I also really didn't like the ending of the book. We get a reveal but what it was all building up to.... eh. It just didn't really do it for me. It wasn't what I was hoping for. There is a bit more to the story that was a bit more satisfying but aside from that juicy bit which I enjoyed, the rest of it was all kind odd and far-fetched.
Most of this just felt underdeveloped, but it just wasn't my kind of story, I guess. It's sort of the way I felt when I read LOCK EVERY DOOR by Riley Sager, so if you liked that one, maybe you'll like this too!
I was excited to read THE NEW COUPLE IN 5B and was really hoping to connect with it. Right off the bat, I really didn't love it and it took until about 35-40% for things to really get interesting. I didn't realize that this was going to sort of be a paranormal twist (not a spoiler -- it's all hinted at early on) and I don't always love that in thrillers. Sometimes it's exciting to wonder whether things are actually ghostly or paranormal, or if it all has a logical explanation, but I just didn't really like how it was all handled in this book. I think I would have preferred if it committed more to being more of a ghost story than having it kind of slide around.
I really didn't like the main character, Rosie, and I just didn't connect with her much. She bothered me a lot in this book and she just felt like a weak character. I didn't like her "seer" abilities and it just felt very underdeveloped. I wanted her to either lean into them and it became a more important part of the book, or not have that be in the story at all. I also found it kind of odd that she called her whole family cons and crooks, basically, and yet she has this real ability.
I also really didn't like the ending of the book. We get a reveal but what it was all building up to.... eh. It just didn't really do it for me. It wasn't what I was hoping for. There is a bit more to the story that was a bit more satisfying but aside from that juicy bit which I enjoyed, the rest of it was all kind odd and far-fetched.
Most of this just felt underdeveloped, but it just wasn't my kind of story, I guess. It's sort of the way I felt when I read LOCK EVERY DOOR by Riley Sager, so if you liked that one, maybe you'll like this too!