Domestic drama that focuses on a family with so many secrets and lies that it will make your head spin!
What it's about: Jason and Karla Connelly have been married for 12 years. They have two young children, 11-year old Holly and 10-year-old Josh. Jason's business is failing and Karla keeps nagging him to get a loan from her father, wealthy businessman Robert Fenton. Now, Robert is, as the author tells us every other page, a real sleazeball -- a "bully, womanizer, misogynist" -- so Jason really doesn't want his money. When Jason finally has no other choice and goes to talk to Robert about a business deal, Robert rocks Jason's world with a bombshell of a secret he's revealed only to finally break up Jason and Karla's marriage -- a goal he's had since the two got together. And things go completely awry from there. NO SPOILERS.
My thoughts about this book: I had a really hard time with this one. It was way too full of redundancy and angst with the same old song on eternal repeat. Thus it seemed to drag on far too long and the dangled hints about the "secrets" got on my nerves since I'd long figured out the big thing. It's told in alternating points of view, Jason and Karla narrating the chapters, so that you're inside both of their heads. I honestly didn't like any of the characters in this drama and didn't feel empathy nor could I manage to relate to anything they were thinking or feeling. What a collection of pathetic losers! OK maybe that's a bit harsh but that sappy love stuff doesn't go too far for me and I couldn't buy it no matter how hard it was being sold.
Should you read it? If you like a plot line that focuses on despicable people hiding important information from their families and if you enjoy meandering around a straight line plot while having a lot of feelings, this would be for you. If you prefer lots of emotional drama, this will be your cup of tea. You may or may not find a twist or surprise, just depends on how many books in this particular genre niche that you read. The characters are paper thin and stereotypical meaning they are either "good" or "bad" and those labels are beat home. And any #metoo supporters will get their validation that lecherous and sexual harassment perpetrators get their just due.
I've read other books by this author and I'll try another one in the future but I just wish for more depth than the usual secrets and lies, bad marriages, poor communication, typical dysfunctional families and I hope for something new in the psychological thriller vein.
My thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the e-book ARC to read and review.
This is a standalone and is not part of any series.
Genre -- domestic drama featuring secrets and lies
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