Rating: 3,5 stars

This was a read-now on @netgalley (thank you) that I couldn't refuse. Apparently my friend Sharada couldn't either, so we ended up reading it together! 😜

I think it's fair to say that neither of us were particularly impressed with it, even though the premise was enticing.

I don't usually notice swear words or cursing in books. I mean, if it serves the purpose, is effective or just fits the bill, the f*** word is more than appreciated. But this book, man, was so full of it that it started to distract me from the actual plot.

But that's not why I'm giving it 3.5 stars, no. The beginning of the book had me yipping with my fist raised, thinking I had a 5 star read in my hands, but then the MC's behaviour started to grate on my nerves and I felt that what had started with a bang started to gradually deflate.

The twist was rather predictable, not to mention the big revelation at the end, which was very hard to believe compared to the facts the reader was given throughout the book. But I suppose I could let that pass as the “unreliable narrator" trope.
That's all I can say without giving away the plot. Better go into it completely blind!

On a positive note, however, the partial setting (Sri Lanka) was great to read, as were the Sri Lankan voices of the characters. It is a pity that the two main characters were rather unlikable.

There were some great creepy moments in this book, which I really enjoyed, so if you’re into that, give it a try!

3.5 stars rounded off to 4

With a unique premise and setting in the exotic island of Sri Lanka, My Sweet Girl is one of those thrillers that starts out with a bang, but sadly peters out in momentum.

Synopsis –

As an adopted kid, Paloma has led a privileged life in California. Now in her thirties, her relationship with her parents is at an all-time low and so is her life in general. When Arun, her roommate is found dead in her flat, she flees her place to go live at her parents'. Soon, the demons of Paloma’s past and childhood in Sri Lanka seem to catch up to her and no matter what she tries, she has to face them head on.

Review -

The timeline alternates between Paloma’s present and her time in the orphanage as a 12 year old girl. It is quickly apparent that she is an unreliable narrator. I found that her past is far more engaging and engrossing, than the present narrative of her messed up adulthood.

I loved the spooky vibes surrounding the orphanage. The author does a great job of picturing the on goings of the place and the way its run. She also gives us an in depth description of the rapport between the girls, their friendships, pre-teenage jealousies and thought processes.

What bothered me was the unlikeable character of Paloma in her current life. Having failed to live up to her parents’ expectations, she is anxiety-ridden, frantic and some of the things she resorts to, were simply preposterous and cringe-worthy.

Thanks to some of her mannerisms, I had guessed the big twist about mid-way. Paloma’s irksome behavior becomes so increasingly annoying that, at times, I wanted to give her a shake and a piece of my mind.

It seems as though the author tries too hard to fool the readers. The twists are casually thrown around and they don’t quite manage to blow us away as intended.

However, I did enjoy the clever way in which Paloma’s history comes back to claw at her, spilling some of her darkest secrets from the orphanage. The suspense around this aspect was handled well by the author.

The ending again wasn’t as impactful as I had expected. It raised some questions that felt unanswered and I wondered about its righteousness.

In my view, this thriller had an amazing potential with its distinctive plot, but the author’s best is yet to come.

Thanks to NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton for the e-ARC in exchange of an honest review!

A dark read which was a little confusing at times and took me a while to get into. A good debit novel.

This was a good story, I was intrigued as to what was gonna happen and I'm glad I picked it up! Want to read more from this author

This book is okay, the writing is good and I liked the dark sass of the main character, but I did not have patience for the plot as it moved sooooooo slowly as this is very much a character driven book. The dual timelines were interesting though and kept me turning the pages.

I really enjoyed the places this book was set in and learning more about them. The world setting was great and really allowed this. I was rotting for the main character and so invested in her story and her world

Great read, flows perfectly. Well-written and completely engaging. I have devoured this book in one sitting with no regrets. I NEED more.

This book was SO GOOD. it is well written with an enaging and compelling plot made even better by a narrator that is so unreliable that you imddeiately dont know what is happening or what you can believe. It was twisty, dark and unpredictable that kept me guessing right up until the end and on the edge of my seat the whole time. One fo the best thrillers I have read this year without a doubt.

I had high expectations from this thriller. Unfortunately they weren’t met.

The story runs in two different timelines and it’s told from the main character’s POV. In itself the plot is good but the narrative is very predictable and flat, lacking the suspense the reader would expect it to have.

The main character wasn’t likeable at all to me. Usually that isn’t an issue for not liking the book but in accordance with the POV and dull action, it pretty much contributed in shaping my opinion.

I enjoyed more reading the past timeline and the events in the orphanage rather than how the story unfolds in real time.

All in all, it’s not a bad book in any sense! But I wasn’t holding my breath reading either.

Paloma was adopted from an orphanage in Sri Lanka, and taken to live in California to a privileged life.

Having disappointed her parents, her relationship with them crumbles. She begins subletting her spare room to Arun. However, Paloma has a deep secret. One that Arun will discover before his death!!!!! What is this secret and who is Arun?

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to see an ARC

Paloma thought her perfect life would begin once she was adopted and made it to America, but she’s about to find out that no matter how far you run, your past always catches up to you…

Ever since she was adopted from a Sri Lankan orphanage, Paloma has had the best of everything—schools, money, and parents so perfect that she fears she'll never live up to them.

Now at thirty years old and recently cut off from her parents’ funds, she decides to sublet the second bedroom of her overpriced San Francisco apartment to Arun, who recently moved from India. Paloma has to admit, it feels good helping someone find their way in America—that is until Arun discovers Paloma's darkest secret, one that could jeopardize her own fragile place in this country.

Before Paloma can pay Arun off, she finds him face down in a pool of blood. She flees the apartment but by the time the police arrive, there's no body—and no evidence that Arun ever even existed in the first place.

Paloma is terrified this is all somehow tangled up in the desperate actions she took to escape Sri Lanka so many years ago. Did Paloma’s secret die with Arun or is she now in greater danger than ever before?

I loved this book so much.
This is very easily my top read of the year so far!! I can't wait to read the author's future works, I'm so hyped!!

THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING!! The book is set in two places at two different timelines - Ratmalana, Sri Lanka (past) and San Francisco, CA (present) and I loved how the chapters kept shifting back and forth. If you love a fast paced thriller with short chapter divisions that makes you want more and a well written unreliable narrator, this one is for you!!

This one had many twists and turns, waiting for you to believe that you know what's happening, only to crash in and make you rethink everything. Even though I had some faint ideas, I didn't see most of them coming! I also loved how the author has incorporated a supernatural element to the narrative.

AND THE ENDING! I did not see that coming! I was momentarily confused, it took me a little time to figure out what happened, and when I did, I was stunned!

Do I have to say more? A total 5/5 read for me! I can't recommend this one enough!

Chilling, Dark, Menacing…
Chilling, dark and menacing psychological suspense with a unique edge. What secret is Paloma keeping? After all, since adoption from Sri Lanka, she has lead a possibly charmed existence. Certainly, a privileged one. Her fortunes have changed, however, and seemingly friendless, she now lives with sub tenant Arun who discovers her secret. When Paloma discovers Arun at the apartment deceased in a pool of blood, she runs and upon her return finds that his body is gone and no trace remains. Twists and turns aplenty. a fast moving narrative and an underlying vein of menace make this a compelling read.

I’ve been thinking about my review of this book for a few days as I’m conflicted. The fundamental story is good but I’m not sure about the execution. I wanted more from the Sri Lanka part: more evocative descriptions about the country, more depth of characters ( actually this is a failing in both the Sri Lankan and Californian stories), more feeling and emotions. The descriptions of life in California wasn’t adequate - the difficulty of fitting in and being an adopted child were glossed over. However I read to the end wanting to know what was happening and whether my theory would be correct. Overall an average read.

I was offered this book as an ARC via NetGalley. I immediately did not take to the main protagonist, Paloma but persevered. The biggest gripe I have with this novel is probably the excessive use of profanity. I admit that I do swear a fair amount myself but there Paloma used so many swear words and was so negative that it was off putting. I gave the book an extra side as there were some good twists that just about made the book worth persevering.

I picked up this page-turning thriller mostly for the location, as I fell in love with Sri Lanka when my husband and I went there on our honeymoon. And though there wasn’t actually as much of the country in there as I’d hoped, I flew through this book very quickly.

This one is a hard one for me to rate. While on the one hand I found it really intriguing and compelling with some thought-provoking passages surrounding race and racism. On the other, I found the main character very annoying, and some of the big reveals pretty guessable.

I think I liked what the author was trying to do but unfortunately I wasn’t too crazy about the execution.

With thanks to Hodder for gifting me a copy to review.

Thank you to netgalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to have access to an eARC for this book in return for an honest review.

Apologies for taking so long with the feedback.

This is a beautiful thriller by a female author which I have not read before so I was a little sceptical, but after reading this book I quickly found that my scepticism was misplaced. The suspense was amazing and the writing style was beautiful

Despite this being a pretty fast paced read for me I was bored throughout.
Overall this felt unrealistic. Usually I can let that go, to an extent, but here I just couldn't. Between the parents not even questioning anything for 18 years, the police barely mentioned or doing anything.
I was just left with so many questions, mainly about how this was even possible. Especially 18 years.
The Paranormal element by the end was pointless. It was supposed to make you question things I guess. But since the plot itself was pretty obvious it didn't add much for me.

I see that everyone who read this really loved it. Unfortunately for me it was not so good. I just could not seem to get into this one. It fell a bit short of what I thought it was going to be.

Thank you #NetGalley for this ARC. I'm so so sorry.
3/5 and the 3 is because I finished it. I just didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

My Sweet Girl by Amanda Jayatissa is a tense and fast paced thriller. The narrator, Palmoa, was brought up in an orphanage in Sri Lanka before being adopted by an American couple, the Evans'. Her new life goes well at first but by the time she's thirty, her relationship with her adoptive parents is almost non existent, she has lost her job and her only friend is her roommate Arun, at least until he begins to blackmail her when he reads a letter that reveals a dark secret from her Sri Lankan childhood. Her first instinct is to flee after calling the police, but she later finds out that when they arrived at her flat, not only had the body disappeared, there was no sign of the incident whatsoever. Is Paloma's secret safe, or is this the beginning of a terrifying ordeal.
This is a fast paced book with plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader hooked. There is a dual time line , with the current day storyline set in San Francisco alternating with chapters set in Paloma's Sri Lankan childhood. Paloma is something of an unreliable narrator which adds to the intrigue of the book. While I guessed the ending very early on, it did not hamper my enjoyment of the unfolding story. I particularly liked the chapters set in Sri Lanka and how the author was able to incorporate her heritage into the book.
I read a review copy courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.