GOOD HALF GONE
Tarryn Fisher
First, let me say, I was a big fan before I read GOOD HALF GONE. Second, I STILL AM.
GOOD HALF GONE stars Iris. Iris’s sister was kidnapped right in front of her eyes. Iris has had a lot of trouble getting over her sister’s disappearance. She has built her life around the sequences of that horrible day her sister was kidnapped. And many years later it is still the most horrible thing that ever happened to her.
We meet up with Iris when she goes undercover at a local mental hospital to get information about her sister’s disappearance. We follow as secrets are uncovered and motives are revealed in Tarryn Fisher’s GOOD HALF GONE.
GOOD HALF GONE didn’t work for me. The characters’ quirkiness was distracting and caused a tonal shift that I did not appreciate in a thriller. Each character seemed to be constructed by throwing a dart at a wall. All those elaborate details detracted from the story. It felt almost comedic.
Nothing in the synopsis led me to believe humor would be involved in a kidnapping scenario.
I am a big Tarryn Fisher fan and I have followed her career for years. I want her to win, it’s just not happening this time with this one. I’ll still be here requesting, reserving, buying, reading, and discussing her work.
Thanks to Libro.fm and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Graydon House for the advanced copies!
GOOD HALF GONE…⭐⭐⭐
THE MAIN CHARACTER
Jaclyn Goldis
Are you THE MAIN CHARACTER in your life?
Invited on a once-in-a-lifetime trip, a leisurely train ride across Italy with planned idyllic stops, and promised relaxation amidst the ultimate in luxury land travel on the revamped ORIENT EXPRESS, Rory cannot wait. She wants to be THE MAIN CHARACTER in her life, and she thinks this trip is the beginning of being just that.
She’s looking forward to sipping tea window side, people watching, and maybe losing herself somewhere between the pages of a great book.
But when she shows up it is obvious that someone has something else in mind entirely. Shortly after her arrival other passengers, and familiar passengers start to arrive. Her brother, ex-fiancé, and best friend. Something is underfoot, and we follow along as Rory figures out exactly what that is.
THE MAIN CHARACTER was straightforward, and I can’t imagine it’s going to surprise many readers. The storyline is used without enough of a deviation from the original to be warranted.
The writing is not inspiring and combined with a storyline most people know well (considering the famous novel and several following adaptations) it just didn’t work. Without plot or language, there isn’t much left except for THE MAIN CHARACTER by Jaclyn Goldis.
Thanks to Netgalley, Atria Books | Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the advanced copy!
THE MAIN CHARACTER…⭐⭐
SLOW DANCE
Rainbow Rowell
What I wanted was romance. I wanted true love and happily ever after, what it ended up being was a slow burn that went out before it even got started.
SLOW DANCE by Rainbow Rowell (secretly one of my favorite authors) stars Shiloh and Cary. It feels like they’ve known each other forever. They were friends in school and grew up to live separate lives. Now adults, Shiloh wonders if there might be something more to their connection, Cary has always known there is.
We follow as the years go by and their relationship morphs and changes over time. Will they put their feelings first and permanently change their status? Or will they stay friends forever?
Will they-won’t they can take you a long way but without a little bit of sizzle every once in a while the fire will go out. This romance pairing didn’t work for me, unfortunately. I did not connect with either of the main characters. Even though I didn’t connect with the characters I enjoyed the writing and carriage of the story.
As the book went on, I grew frustrated with how slowly everything moved, and I wished the characters were more in the driver’s seat of their lives, rather than observing from the passenger seat. My biggest problem with SLOW DANCE was the pace of the relationship between Shiloh and Cary.
I love Rainbow Rowell and will probably check out everything she publishes. Oddly, it seems although I don’t often read young adult literature, I prefer Rainbow’s novels for young adults.
Thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow for the advanced copy!
SLOW DANCE…⭐⭐⭐
