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Synopsis:
There’s something wrong with this family.
Mary Shaw’s the doting mother, showering her children with gifts from the heart and the pocketbook. Wes Shaw’s different than his siblings—darker, awkward, the perpetual ne’er-do-well.
The Shaws have survived divorce and death, but something sinister is in their midst. The truth threatens to tear them apart. The lies threaten to tear them apart.
There’s no neutral ground, no place to hide. Ultimately, each family member must make a choice with irreversible consequences.
Review:
I read this book in less than 24 hours during a slump, however, this wasn’t a particularly spectacular book, it was simply an easy read that didn’t require too much brain power. I’m also glad I got this one for free, however, I would definitely consider reading more of Williams’ books in the future! Especially is I find myself in a slump again (which no doubt I will).
I didn’t read the synopsis before going into this, so I thought the book was going to be something completely different from what I got. They say to not judge a book by its cover! What I thought I was going to get was a dark book about family abuse, but it wasn’t quite that, at least not in the way that immediately comes to mind.
This definitely has a really interesting and reasonably dark plot but I couldn’t quite take it seriously due to the characters. While the story was rather serious in nature, the characters felt childish in comparison. As the plot went on to tackle some tricky subjects, the joviality of Wes and his family made everything feel far less serious than it should have been and I feel like this took away from the aim of the whole story.
Apart from enjoying this enough to speed through it in 24 hours, I don’t really have much else to say about it. I will probably forget about the story in a few months. I would recommend this only as a quick binge read for a time when you’re not looking for anything to difficult to read or maybe you’re just chilling out on holiday.
*Buy it here: Amazon UK
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It can be interesting to see which books can pull us out of a reading slump. I agree, though, it’s not always our favorite books which do it — sometimes we just need the fun fluff reads. I’m glad you enjoyed this one enough to read it during your slump!
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I often find it’s book I’m not in love with that help get me out of my slumps but I also often don’t want to pick up a book I know is most likley going to be a 3 star read… it’s a Catch-22!!
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Maybe it’s because the 3-star books don’t come with any pressure. You don’t expect them to be great, so you’re allowed to read without loving it?
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I think you’re right, there’s no disppointment if they’re only average books because you weren’t expecting much from the start 🙂
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I have found that sometimes the average books are easier to read because they’re not intimidating. They can be fun without having to be special or meaningful or deep. That’s why I like cozy mysteries so much.
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Great review, and while this doesn’t seem like a perfect read I am glad that you were able to power through it during a slump. I love finding books that are just easy to read when I am struggling.
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Thanks! I’m so happy I managed to push through this one, and so quickly too! 🙂
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