Member Reviews
I was drawn in by the blurb about the book and whilst I enjoyed the book I don't think it quite lived up to its potential. I definitely felt the tension throughout the book and there were enough red herrings and 'carrots dangled' to keep my interest. However, I thought the ending just fell a bit flat and could have been tied up or fleshed out a bit more.
This was a good premise and promised more than it actually delivered. The story line was a bit dis-jointed and I didn't really like the characters. A bit underwhelmed really.
I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book.. Unfortunately although this book had it's moments they were few and far between and I didn't really enjoy the book.
A readable suspense novel that highlights some of the difficulties of flat sharing with strangers. I found the switch between narrators a little disjointed and for me the novel didn’t build tension as much as I’d hoped. There were some unexpected twists and turns and I would like to read future books by this author.
Review
Jessie leaves her physically and mentally abusive boyfriend and moves back to Brighton, close to one of her best friends. She finds a new job and a room to rent in a house share with Sofie, Lauren and Marcus.
However, all is not as it seems with the house. For a start, Ian, the letting agent keeps making excuses to pop in. Marcus barely leaves his room, Sofie copies the way that Jessie dresses and styles her hair. And Lauren, her new “best friend” becomes clingier by the day.
Jessie is pleased to feel part of the house but is certain that someone has tried to break in. Things change for the worse for Jessie and all is not as it seems.
A good book, sadly a bit flat and predictable at the end for me and the ending was cut a bit short. Particularly with reference to Beth one of the previous house occupants. But an enjoyable read.
I rate this book 3 stars 🌟🌟🌟
Thanks
Thank you to the author Jennifer Savin and publishers Penguin Random House for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an independent review.
This is definitely one I felt I had to stick with and plough through. I got to about 35% and seriously considered giving up, I found it all a bit disjointed and quite lacking in lots of aspects..
It flits between charcters/scenarios/past & present very quickly and not always at the right time. Too many POV's, sometimes within one chapter that was quite jarring and puts you off your stride ..
The characters, for me just weren't at all endearing at the beginning of the book, the time that you start investing in them, which didnt help throught the rest of the book.
It felt like a lot, maybe too much, had just be thrown in. As if the author just though 'ahhh why not, let's chuck that in aswell' ..
For this genre there just wasnt enough, if any, twists & turns for my liking, nowhere near enough suspense which we come to expect from a thriller..
The ending was just predictable.
Basically it just didnt hit the spot for me. The premise had me hooked but the actual story just didnt love up yo expectations.
Thanks to netgalley and Penguin Random House UK for the ARC.
Unfortunately I struggled with this book and couldn't really get in to the story line or gel with the characters even though it was a well written book it just didn't 'grab' me.
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House (Ebury Press) for giving me the opportunity to read this book.
This story is about a young female leaving an abusive relationship behind hoping for a new start in Brighton. Slowly she begins to work out exactly who she is living with a what secrets are being hidden.
I enjoyed reading this as it would keep me hooked at points but felt difficult to get into initially. There were moments that threw up some surprises but towards the end it unfortunately became predictable.
The book was well written and easy to follow. I liked the way it was written from the view point of a 3rd person. I think this is what made it easier to follow as there are some time jumps.
Overall a good read but I have read better.
Unfortunately I really struggled to get into this one. The narrator jarred with me and the characters were not endearing enough in the opening chapters for me to become invested in their plight. I had hoped for something that would draw me in from the start and this sadly was not the one. An interesting premise, but the execution fell a little short for me.
Cleverly written book that provides the perspectives of all characters throughout. The book makes you think about how well you really know people and can you really believe everything you see?
A good plot but I did find the way it was written to be confusing, I have to own up to skipping some of it but I did enjoy the plot
This is the story of Jessie Campbell who after a break up with an abusive boyfriend, seeks a new life and new flat mates in Brighton where she has been to university. She eventually finds a room and meets a disparate bunch of room mates - Lauren who is very friendly, Marcus who is a loner and quiet and Sofie who is lively but rarely at the flat as she is in a relationship with Henry.
The book starts well and the scene is set with some tension between Henry and Marcus and it shows the difficulties of flat sharing with strangers. The characters are well crafted and easy to picture, some are likeable and some are not. As the book progresses a series of incidents happen to Jessie which grow progressively worse. The storytelling is competent and the quality of the writing whilst it’s good, I didn’t get as much suspense or menace as the series of events warrant. However, I think the end is good as it leaves you guessing to a certain extent.
I think one of the issues with the book that did not work particularly well is the random switching of characters whose perspective is being told. It isn’t until about 40% that this happens and it took me by surprise, especially since the character switch doesn’t last for long before it flips back to Jessie. I think it interrupts the flow.
Overall, this is a promising debut novel and I think the author is one to watch as she shows real potential.
Thank you to NetGalley and Ebury Publishing for the ARC.
To begin, I’d like to thank Penguin Random House UK, Ebury Publishing for sending me an ARC of this book, and to NetGalley for facilitating. And a huge thank you to Jennifer Savin!
No spoilers as usual in this review.
Having devoured a lot of books in this genre I was hoping for more from this. The characters felt quite generic to me and whilst that’s easy to recognise who is who, it is also easier to see through them all and more difficult to connect with them. And when I say “see through them all” I mean that I had the characters figured out almost immediately so the entire book was waiting for the big climatic reveal of what I had already figured out. Which removed all suspense.
There were a lot of subjects explored in the book: friendship, betrayal, relationships, starting over, mental illness... but I didn’t feel that any of them were in depth enough. They were all a little too stereotypical. And whilst there were aspects that this book that touched upon coercive control and spousal abuse, I didn’t feel like any justice was done to how impactful this is on the victims (besides the obvious side effects. But actually having known someone very close to me who has lived that, it all rang a bit too “generic spousal abuse character” for me.
I’m going to rate this 3 stars which I think is fair. I found this mildly entertaining as a way to pass the time but to me it was very average and for the most part I was rolling my eyes at how cliché it was.
Found this book amazing! Would love to read more of books by this author
5**** from me
Would definitely recommend this to others
This is a good book on the whole. Fairly decent plot and throughly unloveable characters. However if felt lacking in places. So much so I skipped a few pages here and there.
Couldn't get on with the voice. Alot of the dialogue felt fake, which was maybe the point, but I found it hard to get into. I also couldn't work out which character's mind I was in...this was again the point, I think, it's a narration style, but not one I enjoy. I'm sure others will love it though, as the plot is good.
The Wrong Move will have you on the edge of your seat! It’s full of dodgy characters, poor decisions and of course lots of suspense! While it’s written in a way that lets you know who the antagonist is pretty quickly it’s the writing style that truly brings this story to life. I couldn’t look away!
4/5