A review by worldsunlikeourown
This Golden State by Marit Weisenberg

4.0

Read more reviews on my blog at Worlds Unlike Our Own.

This book was a last minute addition to my TBR after I saw a couple of great reviews for it. The concept was so fascinating that I couldn’t help but pick it up. It was an entertaining read and the buildup of the tension was very well done, and the air of mystery maintained throughout. I was continuously wondering what exactly Poppy’s parents were hiding and why they lived the strange life they did. It was a thriller of course, but it was also a coming of age novel for Poppy as she begins to unearth long hidden family secrets and starts to wonder who she is outside the isolated life she has led with her parents and sister.

The part that didn’t work for me however, was that it felt rather unrealistic that Poppy didn’t think about digging into her family’s past for some answers way before this. I also thought that the big reveal fell a little flat in proportion to the buildup – it could have been so much more dramatic.

This book actually has a lot of scope for a sequel and it’s something I’d definitely be interested in reading. Despite this book having wrapped up the major plot points, there are still a lot of questions that could be answered. Overall, this was a pretty good read and I would recommend it for fans of thrillers!