Tag: thriller book

TBR, Top Ten Tuesdays

❄️Winter TBR❄️

by amyleighreads11 Comments on ❄️Winter TBR❄️

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is the books I plan to read this Winter! I’m in the mood for a lot of mystery/thriller books this Winter so that is what I am going to try and pick up over the next couple of months and these are the 10 at the top of my TBR!

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The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

His and Hers by Alice Feeney

The Other People by C.J. Tudor

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

Dead to Her by Sarah Pinborough

Don’t You Cry by Mary Kubica

So Happy for You by Celia Laskey

The It Girl by Ruth Ware

The Last to Vanish by Megan Miranda

Reviews

Hide Review

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*SPOILERS BELOW*

The challenge: spend a week hiding in an abandoned amusement park and don’t get caught. The prize: enough money to change everything. Even though everyone is desperate to win–to seize their dream futures or escape their haunting pasts–Mack feels sure that she can beat her competitors. All she has to do is hide, and she’s an expert at that. It’s the reason she’s alive, and her family isn’t.

Mack was definitely an interesting character. She has been through so much in her life you really can’t help but sympathize with her and want her to make it through the competition. We aren’t really given much about her age or appearance I feel and even though we are see things through her perspective the most I didn’t feel as connected to her as what I possibly could have.

All of the other characters took a while for me to get situated with. I think the introduction to the majority of them was a little rushed and they weren’t very distinguishable until after most of them were already dead. I think the two Ava’s were at the forefront because Mack met them first and they have the same name which I thought was an interesting choice for the author to make. Braden was a sweetheart, from the few chapters we get from his perspective he genuinely felt like such a empathetic, joyful person. Legrand I was intrigued by from the start and I didn’t think he would be as integral to the storyline than what he actually was.

I liked the way all of the characters were linked at the end. I had always thought their selection of competitors was very random but after finding out why each of them was there it made sense and was an unpredictable twist. I would of liked to find out more about the history of these families and what spurned the first 14 of them to forge this covenant. We get a pretty brief history through the journals but I found myself wanting to know more and I definitely have some questions that were left unanswered.

The supernatural element of the monster I found to be lacking. I appreciated how affected the characters were when they saw this creature but I was feeling underwhelmed by the descriptions of it. It just didn’t sound very scary so I couldn’t really take it seriously. The whole book revolves around this monster and how it’s been devouring generations of these people and it just didn’t seem alarming or terrifying enough.

⭐️3/5 stars It was an ok read.. a lot of unexpected twists!

Reviews

Behind Her Eyes Review

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*BEWARE OF SPOILERS*

Louise is a single mom, a secretary, stuck in a modern-day rut. On a rare night out, she meets a man in a bar and sparks fly. Though he leaves after they kiss, she’s thrilled she finally connected with someone. When Louise arrives at work on Monday, she meets her new boss, David. The man from the bar. The very married man from the bar…who says the kiss was a terrible mistake but who still can’t keep his eyes off Louise.

Louise I enjoyed as a character. Her perspective being the other woman in a marriage was interesting to read from especially since she’s quite relatable. Some of the decisions she makes like continuing her friendship with Adele were not the greatest but I can see why she would want to.

Adele I honestly thought was inconsequential at first. I figured this was just mainly focus on David’s infidelity’s and finding out that he was actually behind the fire that killed her parents. I definitely didn’t think she would progress into the sociopathic character she was portrayed to be in the end. I was very much intrigued and entertained by the way she played Louise and orchestrated everything, to say I was shocked would be an understatement.

David is a tricky one. I can understand the predicament he has found himself in being stuck in this marriage with Adele but if he would of just come clean from the start like he wanted to none of this would of happened. I think he is just as culpable as Adele and I feel like there should of been some ramifications for being an accessory. He is still a cheater at the end of the day and there was nothing really about the man that appealed to me. I don’t understand why Adele and Louise are both so enamored by him, we only ever see him drunk and crazed most of the time.

The overall pacing was very well done. Though not a lot happens for about 3/4 of this book I still felt compelled to continue reading and figure out what Adele was going to do next and what was this secret she was holding over David’s head. I liked the supernatural element, it gave the book a little excitement, especially after Louise figured it out.

⭐️4/5 stars That last twist at the end was mind blowing!!

Reviews

All Her Little Secrets Review

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*BEWARE OF SPOILERS BELOW*

Ellice Littlejohn seemingly has it all: an Ivy League law degree, a well-paying job as a corporate attorney in midtown Atlanta, great friends, and a “for fun” relationship with a rich, charming executive—her white boss, Michael. But everything changes one cold January morning when Ellice goes to meet Michael… and finds him dead with a gunshot to his head.

Ellice was definitely an interesting character. I honestly didn’t think she had much to hide per se but as the story progresses and we find out more of her secrets I felt sad for her. She had a traumatic upbringing and even though she managed to escape her circumstances she was left feeling immense guilt for leaving her little brother there. Which is obviously why she kept bailing him out and loaning him money. I liked to see her kind of devolve as she delves further into the mystery behind Michael’s death and who she thought was behind it.

I think it would of been more interesting if this was a dual perspective from Sam’s point of view as well. He is so wrapped up in this whole conspiracy and he eventually pays for it with his life. I still feel like he could of gave us more insight into what they had to deal with in childhood and it could of been a fascinating to see how contrasting their lives are now.

I did however really enjoyed the flashbacks to Ellice’s past. I like that there was more to her than what we originally perceived. Vera I adore and I liked the fact that she is still a major factor in both Ellice and Sam’s life and they continue to visit and show their love for her. It added a lot of depth to the storyline and showed us why Ellice acts the way she does and her reasonings behind her decisions she’s made in her life, like keeping her little secrets.

In terms of the actual mystery surrounding Michael’s death and who was behind it, I was underwhelmed. I just feel like there wasn’t enough high stakes moments that could of upped my entertainment factor. I want to be shocked and even though there were some twists throughout the plot I didn’t foresee it was all that interesting to find out. Talks about shipments and deliveries and gun orders to find out about a secret deal that leads to a conspiracy was boring.

⭐️2/5 stars I was just a little bored at times..

Reviews

Sharp Objects Review

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*SOME SPOILERS*

When two girls are abducted and killed in Missouri, journalist Camille Preaker is sent back to her home town to report on the crimes. Long-haunted by a childhood tragedy and estranged from her mother for years, Camille suddenly finds herself installed once again in her family’s mansion, reacquainting herself with her distant mother and the half-sister she barely knows – a precocious 13-year-old who holds a disquieting grip on the town.

I love the premise of this book, having Camille return to her home town after years to report about the two murdered children. We learn about the setting through Camille’s memory and how she compares to how it is now. There is already that mystery surrounding why Camille left in the first place and why she doesn’t speak to her mother.

I have to say I found myself at times being sympathetic towards Camille but I can’t say I actually liked her as a character. I think she was at times a little problematic and she really should of recused herself from the story from the beginning. She knew it would be triggering to come back to town and she definitely unravels and makes some strange decisions.

I absolutely hated Adora and Amma but I can say that’s a positive for Gillian Flynn for making me have a reaction to the characters she’s written. The over sexualised nature of Amma and the casualness she exudes whenever she is being nasty or inappropriate was horrifying. I just wish Camille would of exerted some form of authority over her and told her what she was doing was bad which I feel she’s never been told in her life. Adora on the other hand was just unnerving and weird.

I enjoyed the fact that there is the overarching mystery surrounding the girls murdered and I found the way Camille uncovered it to be entertaining for sure. The way the plot unravels and we start to have more a clear picture as to who the murderer was very intriguing. I had my suspicions from the start and the misdirect was a great touch but I was eventually correct.

⭐️3/5 stars Shocking and twisted!