Member Reviews
Even though we knew where the ending was going and it was a little predictable, it was a good and enjoyable read. What really shocked me was the epilogue.
I liked the author's writing and the police investigation aspect of the story.
Thank you NetGalley and Inkubator Books for my copy.
I really enjoyed the psychological thriller. It was a page Turner.. all the characters are well developed. I loved the dual POV style. The ending was predictable but was still enjoyable
I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.
Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.
However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x
Not my favorite read, and I sort of feel like I wasted a bit of my time reading this one. I didn’t find it this novel to be very thought provoking or interesting, but it was a good attempt on the author’s end.
Exciting mystery that had you hooked from the off. The book was very well written. Great plot. Very exciting. Fast paced to get your heart racing. Loved this book
I absolutely loved this book! It was such a captivating read! I couldn’t stop reading! I loved the characters and the story! Highly recommend!
I enjoyed this one alot. I would give it 4 out if 5 stars. The main character did kind if get on my nerves at time I enjoyed the story. I was shocked by the ending. I didn't see that coming.
Thank you so much Netgally!
I really enjoyed this Psychological thriller! I loved the dual POV of Hadley and Geneva. It was interesting to see what went through in a teenager's mind and the way she handled everything that was happening to her, with grief and loss. I didn't quite grasp the fairytale stories but once I got more into it, it depend into something that definitely catches my attention. Overall this story was such an attention grabber even with a s low burn type of read. I felt like I was part of this story and feeling everything emotional as they were.
The characters are well written and developed throughout but unfortunately, I found the storyline a little slow. I also found the ending somewhat unbelievable and far fetched. Although this is my opinion, I am sure that others would enjoy.
The past is best kept in the past. Hadley's sanity is put to the test when her past comes back to haunt her. This is a very readable psychological suspense story told from different POVs with a fairy tale element interlaced with the original plot. The epilogue was amazing! Thank you NetGalley and Inkubator Books for my copy.
"Only You" focuses on Hadley, who leads what she thinks is a very satisfying life in a suburban neighborhood with her husband and daughter. She doesn’t like her creepy neighbor Kenny and can’t stand having him near her daughter, even though she’s good friends with Kenny’s mother. Her teenage daughter Geneva is recovering from a terrible loss and dreaming of seeing the world beyond the manicured lawns of suburbia. Then the overly friendly lady who moves into the neighborhood takes an interest in Geneva. It gets increasingly difficult for Hadley to wrap her head around who she can trust when it comes to her daughter, and to make things even worse, a visit by Hadley’s sister ends in unexpected tragedy. It seems like something sinister is set into motion, but could it be that the wheels had started turning longer ago than Hadley dares to think?
This book is just as character-driven as the two previous novels I’ve read by Cathryn Grant, "The Good Mother" and "The Other Couple". This a great strength this author has, developing the characters enough for us to get a sense of what they’re like, then putting them in suspenseful situations that reveal them in a new light. A lot of the thrill comes from setting up expectations about the characters and leading us in one direction, only to show us that something else is actually true. The payoff of investing into the characters is that they seem very fleshed out and believable, even when they make the wrong decisions and are not necessarily likeable. The downside is that some readers may find the plot confusing until everything is set up properly, and this is the case for this book. It does require a little bit of patience and reading carefully even if things don’t make sense yet, and it’s a strategy that doesn’t rely on non-stop heart-pounding action, which may feel like too much of a slow-burn for some readers.
However, I think it’s great that different thriller writers have different approaches to the genre and don’t always combine its ingredients in the same way.
It is interesting how different the POVs are and how they seem to serve a different function in the book: propelling the plot forward, explaining the root of the happenings, providing insight into the characters, and doing a little foreshadowing. A very rewarding turning point while reading the book is when the connection between the two seemingly very different threads of the story finally clicks into place. Finding out about the past events that made the characters into what they are the way we do in this book is very creative and much more entertaining than the traditional flashback. The fairytale reimagining of what happened is very powerful as a device and indirectly shows us much more about the characters than any description could.
The chapters from Geneva’s POV where she talks about her trauma are also very important for the full picture. The reveal at the very end is shocking and really puts the dread of how vulnerable people can be and how easy it is for things to go wrong into perspective.
Great book. Highly recommend and will most defiantly read more by this author and suggest to others!
This was my first story by this author.
I’ve read a few stories lately with a fairytale/myth interspersed throughout. This can be a great addition and really pull things together or tank the whole story. Here,
It worked for me. It took a bit for me really to get into the story and the “story within the story” but once it clicked I found it clever.
Good writing and a cast of mostly unlikable characters. Not very believable but an enjoyable story none the less. I’m still thinking about that ending. I would recommend this and read more by this author.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Inkubator Books for a copy in exchange for a review.
This was really an entertaining book, with a premise I haven't come across before (the fairy tales). I enjoyed the book and will read some more by her in future.
*4.5 Stars*
ARC kindly received via NetGalley for an honest review.
This was a very interesting read that had interesting characters. It kept me thinking about what would happen next and kept me interested in the story. The ending was interesting and I would recommend.
Pretty good mystery with interesting characters.
This wasn't quite the pulse pounding thriller I'd been hoping for. The story is a bit of a slow burn - in that you are confused most of it even though the mystery and deaths start right off. The fairytales and other stories intermixed in were my least favorite part - but they did hold clues to the great picture so they were necessary to the story.
It was good, kept me wanting to know what was going to happen next. I enjoyed it.
<i>A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.</i>
A good book, but the story was unrealistic and the main character is unlikeable. The "thriller" was unbelievable and fairy tale....? And the ending left me hanging dry. If there is a second book.. I don't think I'll be looking forward to that.
Really enjoyed this book. Poor Hadley could easily have been any one of us. The mistakes from her past come back to haunt her!
This is a psychological thriller that will sure keep you up at night reading till 3 am. The twist really just kept me going which just added to the storyline. From what I have come to know is that Cathryn Grant can create amazing storylines and characters that you will for sure get attached to.
I wont talk about the plot because i want this to be a spoiler free review, and plus you can fine many other reviews that will tell you more about the plot somewhere else, so I will try to write a review and what I liked without spoiling anything for other readers.
The characters where really nice, and they were easy to understand. As in you get to know them and just really communicate with them which otherwise suggests that that they where well written. Also, you get 2 main POV’s! Personally i enjoy more than one POV because I like to see the story from another side and another eye. What the other character thinks and all that.
I have to say that I read many other thrillers that I enjoyed more than this book. The writing was good but there where just some irrelevant points which just confuses the reader much like myself.
Otherwise, i really liked this thriller, but not the best I read.
The story follows Hadley, a part time art teacher with a supposedly perfect life. Their are multiple POV Hadley, her daughter Geneva and then there are the two princesses Clementine and Camilla.
Even though there were some slow and confusing parts but all in all the book was a suspenseful page turner that kept you at the edge of your seat. Especially that ending!!