First Line Friday #27
Today’s First Line Friday is one I picked up at my local county’s semi-annual library sale. I have not been able to read it yet, but hope to one day. It looks like a book you will get sucked into, especially with this first line:
I inspected the knife in my hand.
HER PERFECT LIFE IS A PERFECT LIE.
As a teenager at the prestigious Bradley School, Ani FaNelli endured a shocking, public humiliation that left her desperate to reinvent herself. Now, with a glamorous job, expensive wardrobe, and handsome blue blood fiancé, she’s this close to living the perfect life she’s worked so hard to achieve.
But Ani has a secret.
There’s something else buried in her past that still haunts her, something private and painful that threatens to bubble to the surface and destroy everything.
With a singular voice and twists you won’t see coming, Luckiest Girl Alive explores the unbearable pressure that so many women feel to “have it all” and introduces a heroine whose sharp edges and cutthroat ambition have been protecting a scandalous truth, and a heart that’s bigger than it first appears.
The question remains: will breaking her silence destroy all that she has worked for—or, will it at long last, set Ani free?
He Said/She Said
Author: Erin Kelly
390 pages in Paperback
To Be Published: June 6, 2017
Dates Read: May 10-29, 2017
My Rating: 3.5 stars
Book Summary from Amazon:
In the summer of 1999, Kit and Laura travel to a festival in Cornwall to see a total eclipse of the sun. Kit is an eclipse chaser; Laura has never seen one before. Young and in love, they are certain this will be the first of many they’ll share.
But in the hushed moments after the shadow passes, Laura interrupts a man and a woman. She knows that she saw something terrible. The man denies it. It is her word against his.
The victim seems grateful. Months later, she turns up on their doorstep like a lonely stray. But as her gratitude takes a twisted turn, Laura begins to wonder—did she trust the wrong person?
15 years later, Kit and Laura married are living under new names and completely off the digital grid: no Facebook, only rudimentary cell phones, not in any directories. But as the truth catches up to them, they realize they can no longer keep the past in the past.
From Erin Kelly, queen of the killer twist, He Said/She Said is a gripping tale of the lies we tell to save ourselves, the truths we cannot admit, and how far we will go to make others believe our side of the story.
My Review:
The premise of He Said/She Said intrigued me, so I was excited when I received my ARC in the mail. I made sure to fit it in and have it read by the release date on June 6th. The two narrators are Kit and Laura and we get both of their perspectives of what happened. We also go back and forth in time starting in 1999 at an eclipse festival and fast forward to 2015. As the description says, Laura stumbles across a sexual assault and from there everything changes for Laura and Kit. The fallout from the events of that festival changes everyone’s lives who are involved.
The description of He Said/She Said really had me wondering what was going to happen in this novel. Why would Kit and Laura go to such extremes to stay hidden away from a sexual assault victim? This curiosity is what pulled me into the novel and kept me reading. I wanted to know how it was going to end!
He Said/She Said is a book that very slowly builds itself up to the fast paced ending. I will admit, I had difficulty with it until the halfway mark. I did debate stopping it, but some earlier reviews I read stated that it is worth it to keep reading, which ended up being true for me.
There are twists throughout the novel. I continually changed my mind on who to believe. This novel is truly a ‘he said/she said’ situation and I found myself having no clue who to believe. He Said/She Said is being marketed with #WhoDoYouBelieve and even after reading it I am still blown away by the ending. You continue to guess and have doubts up to that final shocking paragraph! Even with the slow beginning Erin Kelly had a purpose with her writing throughout the novel. I never saw the twists that she wrote coming and when you think you have it figured out, she goes and throws another twist at you.
I give He Said/She Said 3.5 stars as I did struggle for half of the novel. If you are struggling with it, keep going as it will be worth it in the end.
He Said/She Said is recommended.
**Thank you to Minotaur Books for my ARC copy and my solar eclipse glasses to use during the solar eclipse on 8/21!
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Release Day Review: Behind Her Eyes
Author: Sarah Pinborough
304 pages in Paperback
Published: January 31, 2017
Dates Read: January 23-29, 2017
My Rating: 4 Stars
Book Summary from Amazon:
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.
And then Louise bumps into Adele, who’s new to town and in need of a friend. But she also just happens to be married to David. And if you think you know where this story is going, think again, because Behind Her Eyes is like no other book you’ve read before.
David and Adele look like the picture-perfect husband and wife. But then why is David so controlling? And why is Adele so scared of him?
As Louise is drawn into David and Adele’s orbit, she uncovers more puzzling questions than answers. The only thing that is crystal clear is that something in this marriage is very, very wrong. But Louise can’t guess how wrong―and how far a person might go to protect their marriage’s secrets.
In Behind Her Eyes, Sarah Pinborough has written a novel that takes the modern day love triangle and not only turns it on its head, but completely reinvents it in a way that will leave readers reeling.
My Review:
Imagine this: You’re a single mom in a bar and meet this guy. You have a great evening with him and exchange a kiss. You haven’t had a night like that in a long time. Then on Monday morning you arrive to work and meet your new boss who is the man from the bar, and worse yet he is married!
This is just the beginning of Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough. If you think this will be your typical love triangle thriller then you are in for a surprise as it is anything but that!
Behind Her Eyes has two narrators, Louise and Adele; Louise is the mistress and Adele is the wife. The book also contains flashbacks. Behind Her Eyes is yet again another book where you can’t say much without spoilers and you don’t want that with this book!
Behind Her Eyes is a good suspense/thriller, but for me I wasn’t as enthralled as I have been with other thrillers. There was nothing wrong with Sarah Pinborough’s writing which was fabulous. She was very detailed and meticulous with what she wrote. She gives hints to the big twists throughout the novel, and you just have to look. Knowing the ending now, I can see the red herrings throughout.
As I was reading I became worried that the book would not live up to my expectations because of the marketing behind it. The marketing includes a #wtfthatending hashtag. Behind Her Eyes really got going for me towards the end of the book, the last 40 pages. That ending really is a WTF moment.
After completing the book, I had to process what I read. I did figure out what was going to happen a few pages before the big reveal began, but Sarah Pinborough was not finished with me! She took a twist and shocks you by giving you another! The only warning I can give you is to prepare yourself to suspend your sense of belief. That seems to be the way to not be disappointed with Behind Her Eyes.
Behind Her Eyes is recommended. Go ahead and get a copy and prepare yourself for that #wtfthatending moment!
I received an e-arc from NetGalley and physical arc from Flatiron Books via a Facebook giveaway.
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