3 or 3.5. It took me a while to decide on a rating as there were aspects that I really enjoyed AND disliked about this novel.
What I enjoyed
� The uniqu3 or 3.5. It took me a while to decide on a rating as there were aspects that I really enjoyed AND disliked about this novel.
What I enjoyed
� The unique premise and protagonist, I love an anti-hero as being in their point of view is so fascinating and different!! Gretchen was not too crazy considering she can function within society but enough nuances to make me interested in her.
� The dual point of view and timeline, I have both positives and negatives in the way it was done. I love it when stories start off with a bang and then slowly go back into the past to unravel the crime. I also enjoyed how the current timeline would then be followed by the corresponding past event so it was like revealing the other puzzle piece.
� The interactions between Viola and Gretchen. Psychopath vs sociopath, I love it! I just wish there was more!
What I didn’t enjoy
� The non chronological order of Reed’s timeline. It was different but I didn’t like it because it felt messy, there was too much jumping to the past and future. Rather than show past events leading up to the death...It went the opposite way and in a random order towards a different case which was confusing and disappointing because I was more interested in Violet.
� The loose ends of the past. Considering how much focus and build up of mystery there was around the past, I was waiting for a jaw dropping revelation that never came. (view spoiler)[(Tess� disappearance and death was glossed over) (hide spoiler)].
� The fact that Gretchen calls other people empaths. I didn’t mind it the first few times but it got irritating. Sometimes it felt like the use of the word sociopath and empaths was the biggest reminder that Gretchen was in fact a sociopath.
Theme and the missed potential! (view spoiler)[ � This was my first time seeing a book where the husband is a victim of domestic violence. It lightly touched on the issues of men being abused and the stigma that it has:
“Men who were abused by women were never taken seriously. He would become the butt of their jokes�
� Upon reflection, I feel it was a missed opportunity to focus on domestic violence and an incredibly complex family where the mother and daughter were abusive psychopaths and the husband and boys were the victims. How crazy is that! Instead the focus was on the relationship between Tess, Reed and Claire. As I didn’t get deep insights into the family and I wasn’t emotionally invested, the revelation was anticlimactic and I didn’t feel anything for the man who gave his life for his son. (hide spoiler)]
Plot The book is told in first person with alternating views of Theo and Deirdre. I like this format because (usually) each chapter/perspe1.5/5 stars.
Plot The book is told in first person with alternating views of Theo and Deirdre. I like this format because (usually) each chapter/perspective would end in suspense and a cliffhanger. This was not the case for “Her Last Breath� as each reveal didn’t wow or hook me. I actually liked the motives and plot ideas, however, it was the investigation, lead up and reveal that really didn’t create the impact it could’ve.
Deidre didn’t know Caroline as well as she thought, which was a great set up for uncovering the other side of Caroline’s life, as well as the truth about other characters and shocking reveals. However, the pace felt slow because the actual investigation into the clues and Theo’s past fell flat, especially the twist which was very anticlimactic. I found myself wanting to skim through it, especially the dialogue.
I don’t understand why Caroline would leave such little and ambiguous clues upon her death? The clues were something I'd expect from an escape room. The book mentioned that she was spooked and in a rush but couldn’t she have at least left a name in Deirdre’s message at the very least?
Characters When the setting is based around the rich, I’m usually skeptical about the characters because sometimes they can be shallow and stereotypical. Sadly, these characters fell into this category.
Deirdre Amongst the rich characters, there is always one upstanding poor person and in this case it was Deirdre. Except she wasn’t particularly upstanding or likeable. The way she blurted out her thoughts and revealed her hand was too straightforward and a bit cringe worthy. If you suspected someone to have murdered your sister would you tell them your suspicions from the get go? She was a victim of 2 major incidents which would have been nothing short of traumatizing however the way she talked about it and continues on as normal was unrealistic. Their impacts were played down to the point where it was as if she got into a small school yard fight instead.
Juliet Juliet is the typical rich mean girl. I didn’t enjoy her scenes because they were just soapy. She was a very shallow and basic 1 dimensional character. I cringed when she said “I’m hot�.
Theo The only character I didn’t mind was Theo. He’s a decent person that was born into a family with agendas and issues. If anything I was rooting more for Theo to find the truth than Deirdre. I wasn’t very interested in his parents and in-laws, it felt more of a distraction. Maybe because I had already lost interest and wanted to get to the end.
This is my third book from the Amazon “First Reads� program and each time, I get hooked from the blurb, however it doesn’t live up to expectations and I’m left very disappointed! Has anyone enjoyed their picks, I'd be keen to hear! ...more
This book had potential, it had the recipe to keep me on the edge of my seat, however it just fell short at every single opportunity and all the reveaThis book had potential, it had the recipe to keep me on the edge of my seat, however it just fell short at every single opportunity and all the reveals were flat and disappointing. The story felt simple and straightforward as there weren't enough variables, detail or tension to keep me engaged and create any impact.
Characters Overall I didn’t love or hate any characters, they are quite simple. The only character that was really explored and I found somewhat interesting was Nichole as we learn about her traumatic past from her point of view and how it has affected her. Krystal, being the strong decisive sister, I did find her generic and unmemorable. We learn about Veronica and her mother through Nichole’s/Krystal’s point of view but there wasn’t enough detail about them to understand their character and behaviour and why they treated the sisters so poorly.
Outside of these 4 characters there was very little focus on the others and it was clear some were simply fillers. For example Whitney the school bully was so superficial and cliche. There was nothing memorable about the doctor, the detective or even Aiden! As Nichole’s husband and being involved in the fire I would’ve thought we’d learn more about him and his wealthy, powerful family but they were glossed over and so high level.
Plot and Progression It started off strong with the mystery around the fire where Nichole is in hospital due to a psychotic episode and Aiden suffering from severe burns in ICU. I was hooked at the start and I was expecting lots of evidence and reveals but it only went downhill from there and never recovered.
The first portion of the past to set the scene of the sister’s hard upbringing was essentially schoolyard bullying. Krystal and Nichole were always wary of what Veronica would do to them, but it wasn’t dark or sinister enough to create any suspense or build up to the first incident. It was just boring. Although all the incidents created some excitement and tension, they’re glossed over and resolved very quickly, including the twist. The events leading up to the twist fell flat and there aren't many variables which didn’t leave much room to guess and be surprised. For example there are only a few characters to focus on and there was so little evidence or findings from the actual night of the fire
Overall this is a quick and easy read that I would not recommend as details are light, characters are unmemorable and disappointing twists....more
This book was slow, shallow and straight forward. The first ~10% was ok but it went downhill from there. I was expecting the wives to try and outsmartThis book was slow, shallow and straight forward. The first ~10% was ok but it went downhill from there. I was expecting the wives to try and outsmart each other and make some clever moves but the majority of the book was essentially some immature bickering and trying to one up each other. It was incredibly shallow and soapy. There was no real development or major revelations throughout the book. Ashlyn the daughter investigates Tish’s past but it was really just a filler because that information is already told from Tish’s perspective and it's nothing exciting.
All the characters were superficial and not likeable at all. The husband was desperate and an absolute door mat, his character made me think - is he really a CEO? I found it ridiculous how he was forced by his wife to leave his own IPO party early for a weekend away…”no� just isn’t in his vocabulary?
I wouldn’t even recommend this as a quick read. ...more
Joanna Chu (The ChuseyReader)
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