L. G. Davis

I finished this psychological thriller in one sitting, It was impossible for me to stop listening to twists and turns of this compulsive read. Brin is counting down the days to her wedding to the perfect man, Nathan. She is planning the perfect wedding at the perfect venue with the perfect caterer and guests. That is until there is a knock on the door and her past is standing there wanting to be let in. Suddenly little things start to go wrong in Brin's carefully crafted wedding plans. And show more then the little things become bigger things and even dangerous. I really enjoyed the twists and turns in this novel. It totally keep my interest and surprised me at the end. I'm happy to see there is a sequel and I look forward to reading that one too. Recommended for fun. 4 solid stars.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Bookouture Audio for a chance to listen/read an ARC copy of this tantalizing novel. show less

This book really starts with a bang: Paige, a young schoolteacher, is forced to make a difficult decision regarding her trouble-ridden younger brother, Ryan, unknowing of how severe the consequences of her choice would prove to be. Later, with Ryan a paraplegic confined to a wheelchair, Paige would find herself consumed by guilt and doubt over the choice she made. Unfortunately, Ryan does not hesitate to use this guilt against her, seeing fit to torture her in increasingly disturbing ways. show more As the psychological torment continues, Paige finds herself at a crossroads, needing to find a way to deal with the demands of her abusive brother while also trying to reclaim some semblance of her own life.

There is definitely a degree of self-pity within the book that soon wears thin. I mean, yes, it’s important to the characters and the plot development of the book that Paige is a spineless pushover who constantly feels sorry for herself and in fear of her brother, but there are only so many times you can hear this and in so many ways before it starts to wear on you. So, I did ultimately take off a star for that. But, fortunately, otherwise, the characters are rather compelling. Ryan comes across as very sinister, with another side to him, while Paige soon reveals that she herself has another side as well.

Plot-wise, the book is also well-done, as events ultimately build towards a very surprising, though admittedly somewhat illogical, ending that serves as quite a cliffhanger leading into the next book, which fortunately comes out soon. It definitely deserves a solid 4 out of 5 stars as, while it may drag slightly in the middle and lack the advanced polish of more experienced authors, it was a compelling read which kept me hooked throughout and definitely serves as a strong debut.

Please note that I received an ARC of the book from Hidden Gems in exchange for my voluntary and honest review. show less

Don't Blink! It's more like don't breathe Don't Close Your Eyes!

Wow of all the Thrillers I have read this one definitely takes the cake. My heart was in my throat through the whole story. I can't believe what Ryan put Paige through. The verbal emotional and physical abuse that she took from him was unbelievable and to think he was her brother. To blame her for him being shot by his shoddy friends was a big joke. I was super super happy when Paige finally decided to put her foot down and show more stand up to Ryan after all the years of abuse. How sad though but things came to a head with her and Dylan. I honestly thought it was Ryan that killed him. For Paige to move away have a new identity fall in love and get married again was a nice surprise. That all of a sudden things started happening and for a while there I really thought Ryan was alive and that he was the one that was tormenting her never in my wildest dreams did I think there was another person behind all this. I was just happy in the end to find out Caitlin (Paige) and Jared were able to get their life back together and then shocked when Tracy showed up in Caitlin's hospital room and put a gun in her mouth. The best thing that could happen was for Tracy to shoot herself then they know for a fact but Tracy can't hurt them anymore. I truly believe Caitlin loved Ryan and really wished he was back in her life but how much of a life would she have had if things didn't end up the way they did. This is definitely a book I will remember for a long time. show less

I jumped between giving this book a 3 and 4 stars, it started off quite exciting, it stayed quite engaging throughout the book, and it ended quite exciting, for that I'd say it's a 4 star book, however, I had a bit trouble with the MC and her interaction with her brother.

The whole concept of this book was great - coming from someone who lived with a brother who both abused drugs and alcohol for quite a while, I can see where she was coming from, however, there was a lot of the "woe is me" show more syndrome that I HATED. I get the feelings of burden and guilt but - as someone who has been there done that, but I think this was taken way to the point of excess.

I know it was meant to build suspense, but it had me kind of hating the MC a lot, hating the whole mid part of the book, which was frustrating. The end highly made up for it though and now I do want to continue with the series because, cliffhangers amirite? show less