Audiobook Review: Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough
Insomnia
Author: Sarah Pinborough
Narrator: Sarah Durham
Published: March 30, 2022
Audiobook: 10 hours 9 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: July 27-August 2, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Audiobook Description:
Emma Averell loves her life—her high-powered legal career, her two beautiful children, and her wonderful stay-at-home husband—but it wasn’t always so perfect. When she was just five years old, Emma and her older sister went into foster care because of a horrific incident with their mother. Her sister can remember a time when their mother was loving and “normal,” but Emma can only remember her as one thing—a monster. And that monster emerged right around their mother’s fortieth birthday, the same age Emma is approaching now.
Emma desperately wants to keep her successful life separate from her past, so she has always hidden her childhood trauma. But then she’s unable to sleep, and now losing time during the day, also one of the first symptoms her mother showed. Is the madness in her blood, just as her mother predicted? Could she end up hurting her family in her foggy, frenetic state? Or is she truly beginning to lose her mind?
Jessica’s Review:
This is a book with unreliable narrators, and we know how those can be for me. But I went in suspecting that was going to be the case and it was. But I actually enjoyed this one. The big twist wasn’t really a twist for me, it was more of a “Yeah. Ok. I see that!” I felt that there was tension with Emma. Is she becoming a monster like her mother did when she turned 40? 40 is a big enough birthday and I had some issues with it, but to add this to the mix? That alone is enough to make someone go crazy!
The narrator was Sarah Durham who did a good job! I will look for more of her narrations.
I’ve only ever read Behind Her Eyes, which was amazing! I’m definitely adding more of her books to my tbr!
First Line Friday #12
Today’s First Line Friday is a newer book that I reviewed here. This is promoted with a #wtfthatending and it really meets that expectation! I did not see that ending coming!
Pinch myself and say I AM AWAKE once an hour.
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. 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.
[Top]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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