This book just didn't do it for me. it was YA, but I was very confused and had trouble figuring out what was going on.

A great read on one of my favourite murder stories. I ended up purchasing a hard copy of this book as I enjoyed it so much.

I was on a time crunch and didn't find that Lizzie kept my attention. I didn't connect with it as much as I had hoped to (the book felt so different from the discription!).

I had such high hopes for this, and felt so disappointed. Whoever came up with the description for this clearly wasn’t reading the same book because it was so misleading.

Lizzie Borden is struggling with the mental and physical abuse her father and step-mother inflict on her daily while working at her family's Bed & Breakfast as the cook. That's when the new maid, Bridget Sullivan enters her life and everything changes.

I was originally very excited for a modern day Lizzie Borden retelling with a gay twist but was ultimately disappointed with this book. The book was very slow and very predictable, I was able to call the big 'plot twist' VERY early on and was let down when I was correct. I did end up reading the book in one sitting though, but I was not a fan of the writing style and the repetition of words throughout. I was disappointed that the murder and trial were only about 20 pages of this 319 page novel... I would have liked it to be a bigger part to the story.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was ok. I think this book came in a good period with all this interest in true crime but this didn't blow me away in any shape or form

This book had potential, but unfortunately just didn't do it for me. The writing style is as close as I can determine to purple prose as you can possibly get. Not only that, but it is pretty graphic in some passages, not just with actual graphic events but also within Lizzie's mind. It almost gave me a headache to read because my brain felt like it was overflowing with thoughts, most of which were not cohesive. I absolutely detested Lizzie's parents. I know they're supposed to be the villains in this story, but I thought the emphasis on their abuse towards Lizzie went way over the top and made me feel awful about myself even. As if their comments came right through to my soul. I liked Bridget, but she seemed quite manic pixie dream girl to me and pretty one-sided. There wasn't anything particularly interesting about her, even though she was written in a way that we are obviously supposed to think so.

One of the things I noticed specifically about Lizzie however was that there was so much effort to make her accurate to the real Lizzie Borden that she also seems flat and underdeveloped. It feels like the author had to throw all this information about her at us to make sure we knew who she is supposed to be. I almost feel like a few more creative liberties could have been taken. Especially with Lizzie's involvement with the church - yes, it was a part of the real Lizzie Borden's life, but it really had absolutely nothing to do with the plot of the story and felt like a ton of filler that wasn't necessary. I do like the plot twist at the end however, even though I saw it coming a mile away. Everything seems to come to a fairly tidy end with no question as to how the story may play out, which I actually think is a bit of a weakness. I would like a tiny bit more uncertainty about how it is going to end, even if history tells us.

I skimmed through most of the second half, mainly because I felt like it was taking forever for the plot to advance. Yet when it came to the climax or even other exciting plot points, it seems to move rather quickly, which I don't think is advantageous either. One of the things I did like were Lizzie’s dream of being a chef, although if she made something other than meatloaf, that would be okay. In the end, I did power through and finish this, and I do think the idea of a modern retelling of Lizzie Borden is a really cool concept, I just wish it was executed a little better.

For some reason, I have always been fascinated by the Lizzie Borden story, so I was really eager to dive into this one. Overall, I enjoyed this story. There were areas where it lagged a bit and got really heavy with dialogue but, for the most part, it didn't deter my reading experience. It was a great retelling of the Lizzie Borden case that so many have come to be fascinated by!

When I first heard about this book I was super excited. A modern day YA retelling of the infamous Lizzie Borden murders? Yes, please! However, the book fell a little short when it came to my overall expectations. I understand that this story was written for a younger audience, but the writing just didn't captivate me. I read quite a bit of YA, so I am no stranger to it, but the flow of the story, and the way the narrative was written, just didn't do it for me. I ended up skimming quite a bit, because I just didn't care about the dialogue, or what was happening in certain scenes.

That being said, I do think that this story is a good introduction to the world of Lizzie Borden. A lot of retellings of this infamous murder case are for older audiences, and this book would serve as a great starting point for younger readers interested in this unsolved true crime case. A lot of the story stayed true to the actual event, but the author did take some creative liberties. The plot twist at the end, while obvious to me, will likely entertain many readers.

Overall, while I did not wholeheartedly enjoy this book, it did have its moments, and I can understand the appeal to others. If you have a younger reader who is interested in Lizzie Borden, this may be a good starting point for them to dip their toes into her story!