Member Reviews
Absolutely loved this book!
The writing style was really good and I look forward to reading any other books from this author in the future :)
This is a really important book and one that I have found difficult, but felt compelled to read.
A story about a sexual assault set in the aftermath of the #metoomovement, this book really hits in the nail on the head I think when it comes to exploring how so much, yet so little has changed.
This was the interesting book because I didn't actually feel a deep connection with the victim. It was clearly that she had few friends and that her status made people too envious, suspicious or nervous to get close to her. However putting us in that position as readers reminds us that a victim's background, personality or reaction is irrelevant, they still deserve to be believed and supported through their trauma.
The only character I truly felt connection with was the misguided hero of the story, Trevor.
Overall, a gripping and important story about longlasting trauma and how appearances can be deceiving.
🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
"Every night for the rest of her life she was going to close her eyes and get it from one side or the other: what they did and what she did. One side would press and the other side would press, and eventually her brain would break."
Hmm, I'm not sure what to make of this one. Not much really happened. I didn't connect with any of the characters and it read a bit like an American rich teens drama. It wasn't anything I haven't already heard or watched before. I'm not sure if I'd read another by this author.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for approving me for this book.
I felt the writing was done well in this book but there was just something missing for me and I couldn't get into it and enjoy it as much as I hoped I would.
Although there are a number of characters that are sometimes a little difficult to keep up with I was thoroughly invested in this novel.
The first half was good but I struggled with the second half. It’s an ok thriller, but I felt it could have been stronger.
I really enjoyed the first half of the book. But then it fell down for me. There are multiple POV and I had a hard time connecting with the main character Claudia.
She doesn’t remember. He won’t let her forget.
From a distance, Claudia Castro has it all: the famous family, the trust fund, thousands of Instagram followers, and a spot in NYU’s freshman class. But then one drunken night everything changes.
Her memory hazy, Claudia cuts herself off from her family, seeking solace in a new friendship, but when the rest of school comes back from spring break, Claudia is missing...
A dark intense thriller, I liked this young adult book. Believable characters and storyline. A nice quick read. I would like to read more from this author. Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. #netgalley #themissinghours
Claudia awakes after a heavy night out, and finds she has been assaulted. With no way to find out what has happened, she keeps silent.
Then the horror gets worse, a video of the assault is circulated. Claudia decides to seek revenge on those who have wronged her.
An excellent book, great back story of Claudia's parents and friends. Explores well the feeling of not wanting to tell anyone, blame culture and perceptions of consent. Excellent read from an excellent author!
Thank you for NetGalley for providing me with this book for review. A thought provoking read, very well written.
Claudia Castro, an it girl, wakes up after a drunken night with a black eye and a hazy memory. She’s stops communicating with her family and friends and goes MIA.
I was really not expecting to enjoy this book and I’ve been putting it off for a while. Its an incredibly easy and gripping read and not the story line i was expecting at all!
I don’t want to give any spoilers away but I absolutely loved the ending. It was so powerful!
I really struggled with this one 😬 I just didn’t find it gripping at all and it struggled to keep my attention. I thought the storyline was quite weak with not a lot happening until near the end of the book.
Claudia Castro wakes up one morning, bloody and in pain, with no memory of what happened last night or how she got back to the student dorm.
This is a story about r@pe and about wealthy, entitled young men who think they can get away with anything. And anyway - wasn’t she asking for it? If you were to speak to any woman who been se*ually abused or r@ped I’m sure they would tell you they were not “asking for it”!
It is spring break and the dorms are pretty empty. Claudia just wants to hide away and lick her wounds but she runs into Trevor in the hallway. Trevor seems to be genuine nice guy and he brings Claudia food and coffee and generally looks out for her. He feels protective of her and wants to help her. But when a video of “the incident” gets sent around Claudia is distraught! There are two men involved - one of them is named, fittingly I thought, Chad.
Chad’s father is used to throwing money at problems to make them go away but that won’t work this time. How does Claudia take back control of her story, the answer may surprise you!
This story pulled no punches. Claudia was a party girl but the incident nearly destroyed her. Her anguish was palpable. The story was so realistic, we read about these things almost daily and many people wonder why so few victims speak up but the author addressed this very well in the book. We are also painfully aware that many young men get away with abusing women because there is no concrete proof - it’s he said, she said. And besides why would you ruin the future of a bright, young (wealthy) man for a 20 minute lapse of judgement? Claudia struck a blow for victims everywhere and I was cheering her on. The pacing was, however, inconsistent and the middle of the book was a bit flat which is why I marked it down. It was nevertheless an interesting story. Many thanks to Netgalley and Faber and Faber Ltd for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.
It seemed to be a great idea. intriguing premise, but unfortunately did not deliver for me.
The main character has some issues of identity for me and therefore I could not believe/buy/get invested in her ways of dealing with things.
This made the book very unreliable for me and unfortunately, I do not enjoy characters like this, whose motivations seem too odd for me to buy into.
Thank you to NetGalley, Julia Dahl and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The first few chapters of this I loved, I think the topic of sexual assault was handled really well, but then after that the book became confusing. It’s worth reading for the first part though.
The book started out quite promising, a graphic opening scene as the main character realises she has been raped. The rest of the story is a little disappointing, although has you on tenterhooks at times, but the ending slightly lame. That said, I read it in 24 hours as I hoped to find that justice would be done to the perpetrators.
A little too predictable for me this was but I read it all and all in all it was ok but someone else would enjoy it more maybe …
Dark, Devastating…
Claudia Castro has it all. Doesn’t she? It appears so, but look closer. After a drunken evening Claudia retreats into herself. In every possible way. Until, suddenly, she’s missing. A dark and devastating suspense which goes way deeper than a straightforward revenge scenario, it is emotionally exhausting and yet gripping. A powerful tale indeed.
From a distance, Claudia Castro has it all: the famous family, the trust fund, thousands of Instagram followers, and a spot in NYU’s freshman class. But then one drunken night everything changes….. her memory hazy, Claudia cuts herself off from her family, seeking solace in a new friendship, but when the rest of school comes back from spring break, Claudia is missing...Immersive, suspenseful and humane, this is a novel to savour…… includes some sensitive topics
I had been looking forward to reading this book for a while and it did not disappoint. Gotta love a long weekend where you can binge read 😊 I was immediately drawn into the story, the opening chapter horrific for the main character and I wanted to know more.
Claudia is a rich kid with the perfect life… or is she? She has thousands of followers on Instagram, is she studying art at NYU, she is popular and has a healthy trust fund. What more could she want? Behind all of this is a lonely girl who just wants to be loved. She wakes early one night in her dorm room with no memory of what happened the night before. She is bruised and battered and soon realises that she has been raped. It is spring break and her friends are not around. She finds comfort in a stranger… and then she goes missing.
This is a tough story to read at times. There are some pretty graphic scenes. It is the story of fame, power and revenge, how far would you do to seek justice? I just had to keep reading. At times it was a little far fetched but then again, people with money have no limits right.
Thanks to NetGalley and Faber and Faber for my advanced copy of this book to read.