Helpful Score: 8
This book is very entertaining and hard to put down from the first page. I have read beautiful lies and liked this author from the start, after reading this one I am even more impressed. This book does bounce back and forth between then and now and fantasies played out by the mind but it makes the ending so much better in doing so. This book emphasizes the power of the mind and reminds you that no one is innocent.
Helpful Score: 5
Throughout the book it is hard to figure out if the story is all a fantasy Annie's mind created to make itself whole again after events in her life were so tamatic that she is unable to accept them, or if the bizzar things happening to her are real. As a teen Ophlia, later known as Annie, moves to Florida with her mother who marries a mass murderer and rapist who is in prison. Marlowe, the murderer's son, becomes her instant stepbrother, lover and posessor. The story bounces back and forth between present and past memories and experiences. The story is very scarry and definitely a page turner. Annie is a very likeable character who you will want to come out whole in the end.
I really enjoyed this book! As others have mentioned, the book runs on three seperate tracks: the main story line, where "Annie" is a wife and mother with a past she can't perfectly remember, that past as Ophelia, which comes back to her in bits and pieces, and the present, where she's dealing with her imperfectly merged lives. Add to that that her mental issues make her an unintentionally unreliable narrator, and you have a book with twists and turns that may or may not be real.
I liked that the book jumped between past and present, slowly revealing the back story as the action took place in the present. I found that it heightened the level of suspense for me, as did the unreliability of the narration.
I liked that the book jumped between past and present, slowly revealing the back story as the action took place in the present. I found that it heightened the level of suspense for me, as did the unreliability of the narration.
Helpful Score: 3
Interesting book. I was really into it-it involved the reader into the plot. I did find the ending a bit weak though (it could have been me). I would recommend reading it. I feel it is worthy of the time and is one you will remember.
Helpful Score: 3
I really liked this book. I kept reading on to find out exactly what was going on with the main character. I couldn't put it down.
