I really loved this book in a new to me author. The characters and location really and to the story. I can't wait to read the next one. This book keeps you guessing until the end.

DNF

I did not read this book and I know longer have any interest in reading it. This was during the beginning of my NetGalley “everything looks great so I am going to request it without looking into the book. I have definitely become more selective in choosing what books I want to request and read.

I had such a hard time with this book. The story sounded interesting from the synopsis. A husband is killed in a car accident hundreds of miles from where he should be. The wife is on a personal mission to uncover his secrets. There is the initial mystery that intrigues you, however the character (mother & young daughter) are very odd, which perhaps that is the intention however I could not stay focused due to the writing. I only made it through 25% of the book and finally gave up. There are too many incomplete sentences and I did not like the pace of the book.

When a pregnant wife with one young daughter and what she thought was a happy, contented marriage learns that her husband died during an accident, you immediately sympathize with her, right? Even more so when she learns that he died some place far away from where he said he’d be. Now you not only feel bad for her, you also are pretty upset with the dearly departed.

I liked Alice in the beginning of this book. I was angry on her behalf, and I wanted to know what in the world her husband was up to. But then, somewhere around the 25% mark, I stopped caring because Alice, it turns out, is not all that likable.

Obsessed – and I do mean OBSESSED – with finding out what happens, she moves into the community where Chris died, using her maiden name, and then proceeds to spy on her new neighbors. Spy, stalk, and otherwise creep. I lost patience with her.

Chris, on the other hand, remained a point of interest. The problem is that by the time Daniel Sánchez Arévalo reveals what Chris was up to, I’d lost interest in the whole thing. I wanted to like Alice. I wanted to be on her side. But she’s so unpleasant that I couldn’t stay invested in her.

I get that she was devastated, felt betrayed, and assumed the absolute worst. I would, too. I might even move to where my husband died to try and get answers. But there seemed to be other, more expeditious and less invasive ways to get those answers.

The story idea is interesting. For that reason, I know I’ll read more from Daniel Sánchez Arévalo.

You know that feeling when a book ends and it gives you the best, happiest, warmest internal feeling of joy? Well, that just happened for me when I finished #alicesisland by Daniel Sanchez Arevalo. This was my first book by him, but I really enjoyed the writing. Best of all, this book is now available, and it has something for everyone. Love, family, friendship, Heartbreak. All the best themes wrapped up in one book. Can it get any better? I think not! 😍 Thank you @netgalley @atriabooks and @simonandschuster for my review copy!

What a wonderful book. I've never read Daniel Sanchez Arevalo before and I was very impressed. He appears to write in Spanish and this book read beautifully if it was translated. When I started this story I immediately thought I had read something very similar recently. Husband dies in car accident and wife discovers he had a secret life with another wife and family. I was very wrong. Alice's husband does die in a car accident and she can't figure out why he was not at his business trip destination. She is very pregnant and becomes obsessed with tracing her husband's destination. She and her daughter finally arrive on the island where is was a regular visitor. She and her children eventually move there as she continues to investigate. This book could be very real life. Everything Alice does is possible, I did get a little upset with her when she used camera's for other purposes. I loved Alice and her determination and the more you read about her husband Chris you hoped he didn't have a mistress hiding on the island. Buy this one, it's great. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I give Alice’s Island 4 stars. I found it to be the right type of thriller/mystery for me. Nothing too intense with violence or content, although there was a fair amount of bad language and way too much unnecessary sex. I found the way that we were in Alice’s head to be really interesting and I really feel like I got to know her. I loved how the book was broken up into different sections related to several classic books. It was fun to read those sections through the paradigm of those stories. One thing I struggled with was keeping track of the many characters, but it was helpful when it would put them back in context.
Trigger warning: cussing, sex and a scene with drug use.

This book was a mixed review for me. The plot was intriguing and carried me to the end. But none of the characters were likable, and it really wasn't believable.

Alice's Island by Daniel Sánchez Arévalo is a so-so domestic mystery.

Alice Dupont's husband dies of natural causes, a brain aneurysm, in his car miles away from where he said he was. Alice, soon to be the mother of two, undertakes an investigation of her own to find out why her husband was on the road where his car was found and where he had been coming from before that, as he was clearly on his way home from somewhere else. She retraces her husband's trip and finds clues that lead her to Robin Island, a small island located near Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. Alice moves to the island, using her maiden name, with her two daughters, six-year-old Olivia and infant Ruby. She then sets out to spy on the residents of the small island in an attempt to find out what her husband was doing and if he was cheating on her.

This is Arévalo's first novel to appear in English. Perhaps something was lost in the translation, as far as the actual writing goes, so I'm giving a pass to any quibbles with the writing and the dialogue. I can say that the novel felt padded and I was losing patience with it and Alice. The search was interminable and, well, stupid and pointless. She wanted to know where he had been, so why not tell the truth to people? Why make up a lie? Why move to the island and continue lying? Why not simply tell people who you are and what you want to know? All the bribing people, clandestine spying on people, and supposition about what could have happened was pointless and especially trying on this reader.

Alice herself starts out as a sympathetic character. Her husband has just died, she is close to having their second daughter, and she doesn't know why he was in that part of the country. Then she starts to lose credibility as her weird search for "the truth" begins along with her needless lying. She loses all sympathy when she begins spending large sums of money (at a conveniently placed spy store) to actively spy and snoop on people and begins an affair with a married man. A novel with an interesting start, tedious overly-padded middle, and uninteresting, albeit happy, ending.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Atria Books.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2019/04/alices-island.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2794079862
https://www.librarything.com/work/22569491/book/168029202
https://twitter.com/SheTreadsSoftly/status/1120019752854990853

⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

Ugh you guys, Alice's Island by Daniel Sánchez Arévalo is such a tough one for me. I was interested in what was going on and liked it, but for various reasons it just wasn't my favorite.

What it's about: Alice Dupont thinks she has the perfect marriage, but when her husband dies in a car accident somewhere other than where he said he would be, she has to question just how much of her marriage is actually a lie. Her search for the truth leads her to a place called Robin's Island situated between Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. As she gets to know the people on the small island and insinuates herself into their lives through spying on them, she starts to realize she's turning into someone she doesn't even recognize. Between spying, taking care of her two little girls, and trying to figure out just what her husband was doing on Robin's Island she has a lot on her plate, will she ever figure out what Chris was doing there?

I wanted to love Alice's Island, I really did, but between how slow it read for me and the real lack of anything going on, it just fell short. The book seems to be more about the characters than the actual mystery itself, which is something that I wasn't really expecting. I didn't mind this, but I think the book could be marketed a little differently.

Alice's Island is the first book this author has had translated from Spanish to English and I think the translation might have been a cause for some of the issues I had with this book. It seemed like it was reading pretty quickly, but in reality it wasn't. It took me almost 7.5 hours to read and it's only 400 pages. I think there are some unnecessary parts, like Alice's internal monologue, that could have been removed to make it more concise and not so long.

I was really interested in the story itself though, and Alice was pretty unbelievable in the lengths she goes to to find out what her husband was doing before he died. I loved reading about her two daughters, especially the older one Olivia, and how her dad's death affected her. It was pretty sad, but at the same time so heartfelt and it ends up being hopeful by the time we get to the end of the book. The chapters didn't feel too long either, and there is some great character development.

Final Thought: While Alice's Island didn't end up being my favorite book ever, it was still an interesting read. I think if you go into it aware that it is more about the characters than the actual mystery you might like it a bit more. I was surprised at the ending as well and I think a lot of people won't be able to figure it out either. I did end up skimming a bit, so with all of these things combined it left me at a 3/5 rating. I would definitely still recommend this to the right person though and would be interested in reading more from Daniel Sánchez Arévalo.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Alice's Island is a character-driven mystery/thriller that starts off very slowly (almost too slowly) but gradually picks up and pace and intensity. For those who enjoy mysteries/thrillers that focus less on "thrills and devote perhaps slightly more than is necessary page time to characters and their motivations, this is a worthwhile read.

When this book started out, I was unsure of it. The beginning reminded me so much of one of my favorite books from last year, All This I Will Give To You and there were definitely a few similarities overall. But the rest of the story diverted quite a bit making it original, interesting, heartbreaking, and hopeful. Though the continuous invasions of privacy with cameras was a bit icky, I really did enjoy the book and found Alice’s journey amazing. So much growth for her even while going through hell and questioning everything about her marriage, life, parenthood, and self.

I was totally mesmerized by this novel. Yes, there are a lot of books out there with a spouse's secrets and lies, but this was a refreshing twist on the "I have a double life that you know nothing about" plot-line. When Alice gets the late night call that husband Chris has had a fatal accident, of course she is devastated as they seemed to have a perfect marriage with six-year-old Olivia and baby Ruby on the way. But when the pieces don't quite fit and Alice discovers he was far from where he'd said he was, she is committed to finding the truth about where and why. Her journey (both physical and emotional) leads her to Robin Island, a small island outside of Nantucket where she begins investigating while trying to make a life for herself and her two girls. What follows is a twisty story with lots of quirky characters, spy cams, and relationships forged and broken. Arevalo speaks to the themes of love, obsession, redemption, grief, and the lengths to which one will go to validate existence and find the truth. I loved every minute of it!

This was a great character driven family mystery. It did move a little slow at times but I enjoyed the slow build of the plot. I did think it was strange Alice’s crazy antics were never really addressed. I didn’t love this book but I did enjoy it and think others would too!

Alice’s Island starts out with a mystery that quickly turns into an obsession.

Chris is killed on a road he shouldn’t have been on while traveling home to his very pregnant wife, Alice. Alice obsesses about finding out where Chris was on the night of his death. Once she uncovers his secret life, she spends a healthy chunk of Chris’ $1.5 million insurance on spying on the neighbors in Chris’ hideaway.

In Alice’s Island, Alice goes off the rails and really should have spent her money on therapy. It is painful to watch her continuing downward spiral. Worse, after the first 25% of the book, the constant spying on her new neighbors was just boring. I kept thinking it would tie together in the end. It, or at least most of it, didn’t.

However, the romance was interesting. If you don’t mind having an unsympathetic narrator, you may like Alice’s Island. But for me it was a 3 star read.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

4 Wow, this was messed up! stars

I think I have to begin this review by being a bit nostalgic. June 2012, Gone Girl is released and I do believe it opened the floodgates in the literary world for female protagonists to be unreliable and crazy to various degrees. Hallelujah! Yes, because just when I think I can discuss in the court of readers that I have met the craziest character ever, a new piece of evidence is submitted. Daniel Sánchez Arévalo's Alice will no doubt receive a mix of empathy and horror. Personally, I believe that she may be one of my candidates formost memorable character of 2019.

A phone call in the middle of the night results in Alice Dupont's entire world coming to a crashing halt. Her husband, Chris dies in a motor vehicle accident and she is now a widow with two young daughters. Alice soon learns that her husband was keeping secrets and soon follows a course that is unusual and begs the question if the definition of obsession needs to be redefined.

Alice, honey, it's your new friend, Erin. I really believe that all women should explore their inner Liam Neeson( a la Taken), but maybe only in their dreams. I am relieved that you put aside money for your daughters education, but using all the rest for expensive spy equipment? Girl, I am both a bit in awe that you were able to hook it all up, but building clocks so you can see into their homes. Horrifying! We also need to have the privacy talk, I know that in 2019 oversharing is now an intricate part of how we operate in society. But even George Orwell would ask you to stand down.

If I had a quibble or complaint, it is perhaps that the story is a bit too long and perhaps a bit more editing away at some of the secrets of neighbors.

I would not feel guilty about recommending this book, but it may terrify a few readers. Forget about Big Brother! Alice is watching...




Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for a digital galley in exchange for an honest review

Goodreads review 12/04/19
Publication Date 16/04/19

Alice thought she had the perfect marriage and life until her life came crashing down when she received a call telling her that her husband was killed in a car accident.....the kicker was that he was not where he said he was and far from home! Now the question is why....why was he on this island? Alice decides to pick up everything and move to this island to see why her husband was there.....but is she really ready for the truth.
I look forward to read more from Daniel!

After a fatal car accident, Alice uncovers secrets about her husband that shatter her world.

Alice always believed she had the perfect marriage, until things didn't add up after her husbands car accident,  Why was he so far from home?  What could he be hiding?  

Alice is determined to find out what her husband was hiding, and clues take her to an Island where she takes up residence. She begins her own investigation, questioning people on the island and wanting to learn anything  and everything they knew about Chris. She became obsessed with every detail that might lead to secrets Chris was keeping.

I was a bit confused after so much searching and wasn't really sure where the novel was going. While their were moments of suspense, I was struggling with the pace and Alice's ongoing search and became a bit distracted.

After Alice's over the top co-vert plan to learn what Chris was doing and who he was involved with, she comes to understand more about life and how she controls her life and how to life it.

Thanks to NG and Atria for my review copy. Book is out April 2019

So this book had some really great moments and some not so great. The six year old daughter was a highlight with strong characterization and dialogue. Olivia' s relationship with the adopted dog called Pony because he wasn't one are well done. The main character, Alice, is seeking out answers to her husband's car wreck on the way to a little island she knows nothing about. She moves there and investigates using questionable methods. This is where it gets too detailed with residents who have nothing to do with the plot and too much information about spy equipment. There is a love story that is satisfying but the end is anti-climatic. One that I kept reading because of the highs.

Copy provided by the Publisher and NetGalley

I initially was able to become somewhat involved with this book. About 1/4 of the way through it I thought oh wow this is just way too long.. Way too much conversation, listening to the conversation she was secretly taping was actually painful.. I did manage to skim through the middle, just to find out what happened to Chris. Even that part of it was unbelievable And unrealistic. To listen to Barbara go on and on about her and Chris's story. The Way Alice dealt with her husband's unexpected and untimely death was totally unbelievable. The conversations that she had with her daughter Olivia seemed forced, fake! Giving birth on that island? I mean really what woman would really want to be that far away on a Remote island when her baby was due within weeks. That being said thank you for my advanced copy, but sorry this just wasn't a book for me. No I would not recommend it to friends and family.