Showing posts with label Gallery Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gallery Books. Show all posts

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Behind Every Lie by Christina McDonald

Title: Behind Every Lie by Christina McDonald
Publisher: Gallery Books, Pocket Books



How much would you remember if you survived a lightning strike? If you were Eva Hansen, not very much. Eva wakes up in the hospital with no memory of how she got there or who murdered her mother Kat. She soon learns that she is a suspect in the murder. Even though their relationship had always been awkward, could she really have murdered Kat?

So begins Eva's search for some answers. After finding a letter from Kat that reveals some dark family secrets, Eva begins to doubt everything in her life, including herself. Eva soon journeys to England to seek out the truth and the rest of her mother's secrets. She's soon forced to confront some of her own.

There were a few unbelievable plot points. Who is able to just walk out of the hospital after being struck by lightning? What kind of police detective is just going to let you hop an international flight to another country? How convenient is it for you that your ex-boyfriend just happens to have an apartment in the same country that you're flying off to? Other than those, the story is well done.

While I understand why Eva is the way she is (not going to spoil plot points), in the beginning she is so annoying. She is extremely clingy and she lets her fiance Liam control her life. He just manages the hell out of her and she just lets him. I was pleased to see that as the story progressed she seemed to start recovering some of her inner strength. 

I wish this book had been longer as the journey to the end seemed a bit rushed and as if there was a lot of information crammed into a short period. The author does do an incredible job of dropping bread crumbs to lead you down the path. The conclusion, while parts were obvious, the author still managed to sneak in a few twists to be satisfying.

I would definitely read this again. While not in my top ten favorites, it's a good and solid read and very enjoyable.

Thanks to Gallery Books, Pocket Books, and Netgalley.com for providing me an ARC to read in exchange for a honest review.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Follow Me by Kathleen Barber

Title: Follow Me by Kathleen Barber
Publisher: Gallery, Pocket Books, Gallery Books


I absolutely loved the series "You" on Netflix so when they said fans of the show would love this book I said count me in. That being said I was disappointed. Let me explain.

Audrey Miller is a young influencer on Instagram with tons of followers and a seemingly perfect life. She decides to change cities and coincidentally moves closer to the stalker. Now that she's local, he can amp his cyber stalking up to the next level.

She's not likeable at all. If there was even a tiny shred of her life or personality that people could relate to or empathize with then this book would have been a lot better. At one point I wanted to reach in the book and strangle her myself. At the very least tell her to shut up.

Her glamorous life is a sham. She stages photos just to get the most likes, which I'm sure all of the influencers on Instagram do. She never, ever can just enjoy the moment. She's always looking for the next "perfect shot" and she ends up missing so much. Her stalker, for example. 

She also uses people. Her sorority sister who she starts living with due to her stalker? She doesn't even really like the other woman. She tolerates her and uses her for a place to live and to make connections in a new city.

The ex-boyfriend? She uses him for sex and security when she is scared and delights in torturing him when she starts dating again. Then she wonders why he blows up at her.

The identity of the stalker was pretty clear from about the half way point of the book, the last few chapters were rushed and unsurprising, and the ending tied everything up in a neat bow but was really disappointing.

What I took away from this book is that perfection on Instagram is hardly, if ever, real. Also, people should maybe post less on social media and enjoy the moment more.

Many thanks to Gallery Books, Pocket Books, and Netgalley.com for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.