Rating ⭐⭐
...and that's being extremely generous.
This is going to be one of those weird review/non-reviews because there is no way to really say anything without spoiling something and this book, I just don't have the energy for that kind of post tonight. I'll go low-key shade instead of rage-shouting like I did with This is How I Lied.
I actually liked the book to begin with. I was interested and not at all sure where it was going and then it suddenly dawned on me exactly where it was going and sure enough, around halfway through that's where we ended up. Even so, I kept going because I wanted to see what else was in store. The bigger twist at the end I did not see coming and when I first finished the book I thought this would be a solid 3-4 star rating. I didn't even think the twist at the end was necessary,
Then I actually thought about the book as a whole, and realized what both women did was extremely fucked up. The Replacement was justified in her own twisted way, because of what happened to her family, and before she knew all the facts about Vanessa.
But what Vanessa did to her? GARBAGE. She is genuinely a terrible human being for it, despite the fact that she pulled it off perfectly. Like, she needed an out, but come on. Ruining someone else's life in the process is not the way to go about it. Vanessa knew that everything that happened to her would happen to the next one. That's what makes it so terrible.
The more I thought about it, I realized that the surprise twist at the end with who the Replacement really was, THAT was what made the book worth two stars.
Otherwise, blech.
It's interesting how your rating changed but you make valid points why you ended up giving it 2 stars. I am curious to find out who the Replacement was but I don't have the energy to read a book where I'll feel "bleh" at the end.
ReplyDeleteDon't bother wasting that energy, this one is absolute nonsense!
DeleteI have taken a fairly solemn oath not to read anymore books like this. Won't you join me? There is so much great fiction out there.
ReplyDeleteI am not a fiction reader at all, unless it is a thriller like this - but better than this book's nonsense. I have come across some really great thrillers, both adult and YA, that I make room for amongst all the non-fiction that I love so much.
DeleteWhy would Vanessa do that to Replacement? Everyone else reviews that I've read has given good reviews. Although I get if the twist is horrible it would pull the rating down.
ReplyDeleteVanessa was being abused and she found an out by basically orchestrating a way to look like an alcoholic so her husband/abuser would have an affair with his office assistant (the replacement wife). I don't understand how the book has such great reviews because this book is absolute TRASH.
DeleteWTF
DeleteIt's a very stupid book. Do not be fooled by the high ratings.
Delete