Thank you NetGalley, Her Books and P.D. Biber for letting me read “The Choice” in exchange for an honest review.

This was an action packed little thriller! Rebecca is a woman of many secrets. Growing up in an abusive household she never had it easy. Early on she developed a skill, leaving her body behind to escape all the pain her fanatic father caused her.

Later in she marries her high school crush, Drew only to become a widow at 23. Drew turned out to be a petty criminal, in cahoots with the Vincent brothers. A bank was robbed and the money disappeared. The brothers kill Theo and go after his wife Rebecca, maybe she knows where the money is? But she has no clue. She escaped her body and the brothers think her dead. Rebecca wakes up in a hospital, still shocked by the death of her husband and the attack of the brothers. Not trusting police, she flees, leaving Rebecca behind and becoming Sarah.

15 years later she lives a quiet life, having found love again, or so she things. Theo takes her out for a getaway. Turns out, he was hired by the brothers who thinks she has their money. She again leaves her body, but the brothers now know the trick. They take control of her lifeless body and murder Theo, to blackmail Sarah. Her freedom in exchange for the money…

This was one cray cray ride! Did I find it believable? Absolutely not. Some things were way too convenient, other things were just plain crazy.

The writing was not my favourite. The outer body experiences did not always make sense. Sometimes they are told by Sarah, sometimes bystanders. It was a bit confusing at times.

The story was ok, had potential, but I did not find it super twisty or exciting. It was more an action packed thriller than a psychological one. It was ok, nothing bad but also not great.

I think the heroine was very clearly written by a male author. I found it a bit problematic because Sarah was unbelievable at times. Like this stereotypical hysteric female. She made no sense at times. And come one, she just killed someone, then the chapter ends and the new chapter starts with “I’ve finished all eight portions of tiramisu”, like what the actual f…?! I also could not keep up with her changing her name a million times.

Synopsis: This story follows Sarah, a woman on the run after being framed for a forced murder of her lover. Sarah has a choice--give in to the demands of her blackmailers or be turned into the police. Sarah knows she can prove her innocence, but at what cost?

Writing: The writing was one of the biggest turn offs in this book for me. First off, there were too many exclamations. Instead of adding to the chill of the story, it was a bit annoying. Exclamations like “UGHHHH” and “Noooooo!” don’t really instill fear or dread. I would write that in a sentence if I had dropped my coffee on the floor, not if I had just seen a loved one hurt. Instead, I would’ve appreciated more “’No!’ she screamed in terror.” I wouldn’t have added this bit into my review if there weren’t so many instances like this. I felt like it interrupted the story and made it feel cheesy more than anything.

I also felt while reading that I was getting way too much internal dialogue from the narrator. I appreciate seeing into the mind of the narrator, but there were times when I felt I was getting details that didn’t matter at all or have anything to do with the present situation. This also interrupted the story for me—it felt like every other word was a thought encapsulated in parentheses.

Another thing that I wasn’t sure if it was intentional or just a mistake—when writing in first person narrative, the narrator normally stops talking when they’ve lost consciousness. There were times in the book where this happened…and then there was one time where it didn’t. The one time it didn’t happen, the narrator explains it off as an out of body experience, but this experience didn’t seem to happen any of the other few times the narrator passed out. The inconsistency was annoying.

Plot: The story wasn’t bad; in fact, it was the redeeming quality of this book. However, a lot of the things that happened in the story just felt a little too unrealistic, even for a book of fiction. I noted a few parts of the book where this happens, but one stands out to me: the part where our narrator is picked up by a truck driver. You can read what happens in this part for yourself. The issue I had with this part was that it seemed too coincidental. Sometimes coincidences in books seem like fate or maybe an act of the paranormal…and sometimes they just seem out of place.

Summary: Overall, I didn’t hate this book. I didn't like it, but I didn't hate it. The writing was clearly just not my style, and it ruined a lot of the book for me. The plot was okay; if you’re not a writing snob like me and you like murder mysteries, you might be okay with this one.

Page turner? No

Worth it? Not really

It was ok. But not my favourite psychological thriller by any means. I found the storyline a little difficult to follow at times, especially with all the stories about the protagonists past and the various names she’d had. I think there were a few storylines within that I got my wires crossed over at times which added to the confusion. But it was an alright read - I wanted to finish it, I didn’t want to abandon it half way through despite my confusions. I think the end 2 chapters did clear up some of my questions with it which was good as I felt like it had closure at the end of it all!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62004549