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Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated Her Every Fear in Books

Mar 15, 2018  
Her Every Fear
Her Every Fear
Peter Swanson | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
6
6.8 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
Read my review here: https://bookbumzuky.wordpress.com/

NOW AVAILABLE!

<b><i>Face it. Accept it. Float with it. Let time pass.</i></b>

Kate, our anxiety riddled main character, has just flat swapped with her American cousin in order to boost her confidence and try to escape her haunted past for a little while, but as soon as she arrives at her cousin's luxurious apartment, things begin to go sour. Her new next door neighbour has been murdered, and her secretive American cousin seems to the main suspect.

<b>This <i>could</i> have been <i>so</i> good.</b> Swanson’s last hit novel, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1427280826">The Kind Worth Killing</a> (aw look at my baby review) was so goddamn exciting and thrilling but this was completely missing whatever spark the other had. A co-reviewer (Maxi/Slothreads) commented that this book was “uninspired” and I couldn’t have put that any better myself, hence why I’m quoting it. This had potential to work and be great but I feel like Swanson was pushed for time by his editors on this and spewed out whatever came to mind first. I know I sound like a total arse for saying that but I’m just really disappointed in this novel! <b>Warning: some spoilers ahead.</b>

Let’s start off by talking about our uninteresting characters. Kate suffers from anxiety disorder, made a lot worse by a terrifying incident she had with her ex boyfriend, so she decides to travel across the pond and into her cousin's apartment. While anxiety is something I’m all too familiar with, I don’t actually have any sympathy for Kate, as we’re supposed to. If she was really as damaged as she is made out to be, I find it very hard to believe she would move to America for 6 months all by herself, make friends and chat with everyone she comes across and sleep with a guy, Alan, who’s admitted to be a creepy window watcher after 3 days of knowing him. Next comes ol’ cousin Corbin who’s a cliche jock. Swanson makes him out to be the guilt ridden, caring man but after the revelation of his bad deeds in the past, how are we supposed to like him or feel sorry for him? It makes all the empathetic talk from him seem so creepy. Our only interesting character is, of course, the psycho. A bit of an over-the-top, cliche psycho, but at least worth reading about.

My <b>main</b> issue with this novel is the repetition of scenes. Our narrator chops and changes several times in the novel, so we’re often presented with a retelling of what we’ve already been told by another narrator. I’d say that at least 25% of this book is a repeat of a part we’ve already read, so it gets very tedious, very quickly. Another issue with this novel is the lack of plot twist, I mean, there is a plot twist, but it’s not that exciting and it happens early on in the novel, so the rest of the book plays out exactly how you would expect it to. Can I also quickly just complain about the unnecessary focus on the fact that Alan is Jewish? It made me uncomfortable. And that Swanson should have done some more research into England because we don’t have £100 notes.

This novel had great potential, but in the end, it was a let down. The “ending” was terribly mediocre and then the remaining chapters were a waste of time to read, they really could have been removed.

Thanks to Netgalley and Faber & Faber Ltd for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.
  
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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Follow Me Back in Books

Oct 15, 2020  
Follow Me Back
Follow Me Back
A.V. Geiger | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
6
7.0 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is the sixth book in my #atozchallenge! I'm challenging myself to read a book from my shelves that starts with each letter of the alphabet.

Tessa Hart spends most (okay all) of her days in her bedroom. After an incident that causes her intense anxiety and agoraphobia, her one outlet and escape is the online world of pop star Eric Thorn. She can lose herself in his music, as well as the digital chatter of Twitter. For Eric, though, online is a scary place, where he fears his fans' obsessive behavior. He's even more scared in real life, especially after one of his fellow stars is murdered by a crazed fan. But online media is key to his success, according to his PR team. So Eric decides to ruin his image via a trolling Twitter account--of his own making. But his plan derails quickly and he finds himself involved in his deepest and most meaningful relationship to date, albeit a virtual one. But when he and his Twitter friend agree to meet, everything goes wrong.

This is one of those books that you know will probably be incredibly silly and cheesy, and it was definitely both of those things. But I still read it in one day, because, well, sometimes you just need silly and cheesy in your life. I was all for something related to Twitter that didn't involve politics and the world ending.

Honestly, Follow Me Back was quite addictive and easy-to-read, even if I wanted to shake Tessa and Eric sometimes for their bad decisions. Some early honesty would have avoided a lot of angst. It's told via the point-of-view of both characters, along with excerpts from police interrogations. Through the police pieces, we know something bad has happened--then we back up to the events that lead up to it. The book delves into the pressures of stardom, along with anxiety, assault, and mental illness. It's a little all over the place, at times--perhaps trying to throw us off course, but I appreciated that it did try to cover Tessa's issues respectfully. There's Eric and Tessa's relationship, as well as a bit of a mystery element.

Overall, this was just an escapist novel for me, and it did its job fairly well. My only problem was that it ended with a cliffhanger ending, so while I did move this book off my shelf, I am going to have to track down book #2 to see how it all ends. Darn it! Still, 3 stars for a fun and crazy ride.