Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (704)

Content

Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated The Move in Books

Oct 2, 2020

I am very excited to be part of the Blog Tour for The Move by Felicity Everett. Especially on New Year’s Day, finishing the year with a blog tour. Thank you to the team at HQ, for sending me an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Karen moves into a new home with her husband Nick. It is a new house and a fresh start. But it is still the same husband.

I do love myself a bit of family thriller and drama novels. The Move seemed like the perfect choice to get myself cosy, right before saying goodbye to the old year and entering the “new year – new me” attitude. And in the end, it does have this vibe, as our main female protagonist finds her true self and starts making the right choices in her life.

However, this book was not as exciting as I expected it to be.

There is a woman that is going through a hard time and a mental health recovery, judging by her memories and thoughts. Her husband had an affair and she didn’t handle that well at all. But now, it seems that she is well. Her husband got them a new home, with new neighbors, in the idyllic little village, where she can do the things she loves the most.

But her neighbors are not the best kind of type – they all seem weird. And her husband is not really listening to her when she speaks. Her child Ethan is here and there, the relationship shattered by the actions of his father.

And we spend the whole book standing by Karen’s side, watching all the dull things she is doing in the house, talking to her neighbors and being depressed and constantly worrying about everything.

I felt bad for Karen, because she is still going through a mental breakdown, even though really trying to figure out her life. She is really trying, but her husband, friends and neighbors are slowly pushing her down again. The Move has a very big voice on mental health. How important it is that we have our support network next to us, and I am glad that Karen finds Cath in all that mess of a life. Also, how important it is to trust your own guts. When all your friends keep telling you your marriage is perfect and you are so lucky, only because it looks so from the outside, you shouldn’t always believe them. Don’t ever ignore the little things. And don’t ever stay with a man that doesn’t believe in you.

As far as the book goes though, it was quite monotonous and uninteresting. No major plot twists, no big cliff-hanger. I was reading the whole time, waiting for the big moment to come, and it never did.

And in the end, even though we clearly know what choice Karen makes for her life, we don’t have a conclusive ending. We have one of those endings that sort of finishes and lets the reader figure out what happens next. I am not a fan of those, and it might be why I am slightly disappointed in how it all wrapped up.

I would still recommend it if you love family dramas and thrillers. However, if you are expecting for a book that will keep you on the edge, I am afraid you need to still keep looking.

Kudos

Dolphin Simulator

Games and Entertainment

(0 Ratings) Rate It

App

Dive into the ocean and swim to your hearts content as a wild Dolphin! Explore a vast underwater...

Magzter - 9000+ Magazines

News and Magazines & Newspapers

(0 Ratings) Rate It

App

* World's largest digital magazine app with 9,400+ magazines! * Read unlimited magazines and...

Cyclemeter Cycling Running GPS

Health & Fitness

(0 Ratings) Rate It

App Watch

Cyclemeter is the most advanced application for cyclists ever designed for a mobile device. Built...

health and fitness

ClareR (6086 KP) rated Lullaby in Books

Aug 16, 2018

Lullaby

Leila Slimani | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry

6.5

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

A very uncomfortable read.

We know straight from the very first page what has happened and who committed the murder of 2 small children: it’s the nanny. This book is far more to do with the ‘why’ of it. Why exactly did she do it? Were there any mitigating circumstances?
This short novel shows a middle-aged woman who is very lonely, poor and under-educated. She does the work she loves though, looking after children in their own homes. She becomes very attached to all of her charges, and it seems that they all adore her.
This isn’t a story with a nice explanation or reason for a murder. It’s a lot like real life in that way: sometimes people become overwhelmed and can’t cope. It seemed obvious to me from early in that the nanny, Louise, had mental health problems. She seemed to be given full responsibility of two small children for a large part of the day, whilst their parents worked really long hours. I think the changing opinions of the parents don’t help her: one minute she can do no wrong and is an integral part of the family, the next, she’s ‘just’ the hired help. The ending isn’t wrapped up all nicely with a resolution. There’s no happy ending for any of them. Just like real life. I wasn’t surprised to learn that this could actually be based on the true story of a nanny murdering her employers children in much the same way, which made it all the more chilling.
If you’re not ok with reading about child murders, I’d steer well clear of this book, otherwise, it’s a very compelling read.