Member Reviews

Annie and her family moved from New York to Hawaii to be closer to her Dad and siblings after a traumatic event. However, as she tries to settle into life in Kauai, reminders of her past keep popping up: her dog's collar, a long lost bracelet etc. Then one day a huge storm hits the island. Annie is home alone when a woman knocks on her door seeking shelter.... AND SHE LETS HER IN! As the nights goes on, major red flags occur and Annie starts to realise that this woman isnt a stranger at all.

The premise of this book sounded very promising. However, I struggled to be drawn into the story. Annie came across as rather silly at times (why would she let her stranger into her house in a raging storm when home alone? why did she act like they were best friends and had known each other for ages when skyped friends back in NYC? why did she never listen to her gut when Serena was throwing out major red flag?). I almost DNF'd because it was very annoying and it felt like a vicious cycle of Annie being suspicious and wondering if she had or had not told Serena the information she was currently bringing up about her past and her family in their conversation to everything was ok and this is going to be my new friend. Very repetitive and awkward. I didn't feel tension building or a thrill, I wanted to roll my eyes at Annie.

Maybe locked room thrillers are just not for me.

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Someone Else’s Life started off strong, but I think the story seemed to drag on forever and I lost interest quickly. The writing was good but I think the novel could have been shorter or maybe more thrilling. It is a lot of conversation between the characters.

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I started out liking this story, but when I figured out the plot less than fifty percent of the way through, I was disappointed. It read like a Lifetime movie to me and that really let me down. The prose was easy to read, I could empathize with Annie, but then began questioning certain choices she began to make and then kept on making. I understand that she was in a vulnerable state, but then she wasn't doing enough to move herself away from this state that she had found herself in. This had so much potential to have me on edge, but all it did was make me frustrated and not in a good way.

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Yeah, No. This Thriller had interesting premise but sadly it did not deliver. Had to DNF at 50% because of how poorly executed this book was.

Let's start with the writing style. It felt oddly weird, like it was written by a machine robot. It was just too childlike and fell flat.
I've seen middle grades written alot better. The writing style truly wasn't worthy of an Adult Thriller.

Secondly, the author extensively talked and described everything. As in, literally EVERY. SINGLE. DETAIL. was mentioned.
The dog went. The dog came. He licked his snout, went to the otherside then came back. He sniffed a bug.
Total irrelevant information, not relative to the plot nor character depth. This bored me immensely.
Also, the author has no sense of what 'Too Much Information' means. What use is it to know that the MC went to the bathroom to pee out the wine she drank. 🤦‍♀️

Thirdly, the characters, specifically our MC drove me nuts. She could not have been dumber. I mean, a stranger stumbles upon her humble abode in the middle of strange circumstances and a storm. And although the MC is aware of how crime and thrillers work, she still has the audacity to let the stranger in while she's home alone and serve her tea and wine, and chat the night away.
She even goes to the lengths where she spills her whole life out to this stranger that she barely knows. And worse, she befriends her on the brief notion that the stranger understands what she's going through! And the MC even defends her against the people who truly care about her.
When it was she who had initially felt a feeling of discomfort from the stranger. WHAT EVEN. None of this is believable.
Not to mention that the stranger showed obvious signs of Red Flags that our MC noticed but chose to brush off.

Fourthly, at a certain point it all became too repetitive and dull. The MC doubts the stranger. Stranger does something to reassure her. MC reminiscences the past hardships. They both express their happiness and right choice in being there together and befriending each other. Some loved one asks about MC. She doubts stranger again. And on, and on till I've had enough.

One of the most undercooked thrillers I've ever read. My heart rate did not speed up. I felt no thrill coming of it. It was deathly boring and poorly executed from all sides.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an E-ARC.

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{3.5 stars}

In the middle of an epic storm in Kauai, a stranded motorist knocks on Annie's door. She lets the woman in to wait out the storm and after a few glasses of wine begins to wonder if this woman may have other motives. Both women's pasts are slowly revealed as the storm rages outside and the tension and suspicion heightens with every page.

I want to say that it's hard to believe that someone would so easily let a stranger into their life in one afternoon, but I've seen this with people I know and this book is exactly why. You never know a stranger's motives and in this case for a good portion of this book, I doubted Annie's reliability as a narrator. That coupled with the danger of the storm made for a compelling page turner. I was hoping the ending would have a more sinister twist, it hints at it but I wish it had fully gone for it.

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions above are my own.

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Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of the book drew me in but once I started reading it, I just couldn’t get into it at all.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

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This story started out a little slow for me, however it was hard to put down once it going going! I kind of saw the ending coming. I also wish the setting would have changed places a bit more.

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Thank you @lynliaobutler @amazonpublishing @getredprbooks @letstalkbookspromo for my gifted copy. My thoughts are my own.

Annie is recovering from a traumatic time in her life, after the loss of her mother, her business, and her beloved dog, Lili. She also has experienced another tragedy that is not revealed until later in the story.

Needing to make a fresh start, Annie and her husband, Brody, make the decision to move from New York to Hawaii, where Annie has family.

One stormy night, Annie finds herself alone when a mysterious stranger suddenly knocks on her door. Annie reluctantly offers the stranger shelter during the storm. At first, the two women seem on their way to becoming friends until the stranger reveals a startling secret. Suddenly Annie realizes she is in danger, and she knows she must escape. But when she opens the door she discovers the river is flooding the area and she may not be able to safely escape.

The first half of the book is a slow-burn, that somehow still held my attention. (Maybe it was the locked room setting and the storm!) Then, things suddenly change and the tension increases as the action moves quickly to a startling conclusion. I really loved the setting, in Hawaii!

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This book is currently free on Amazon, for anyone wanting to read it. I love myself a slow burn mystery, and this was just that. Yes, there were obvious red flags being thrown out in the conversations—and that was not my favorite, but other than that—it was a good read.

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Similar to 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗽𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲, it was slow to start and mainly took place in 1 place with two characters talking to each other, only this time very repetitively and "how did you know that" style. The fast-paced ending did reveal twists, but none of this plot would have happened if the lady did not let in a complete stranger when home alone. I was left scratching my head as to why she opened the door in the middle of the storm and welcome her in the first place.

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What’s it about: We meet the main protagonist, Annie Lin as her life slowly disintegrates as she loses her beloved dance studio, loses her mother and dog, and her young son is traumatized after a major accident. To make changes in her life, she decides to move to Hawaii as an attempt to heal. But, then, items from her past start turning up and she meets a woman, Serena, with whom she feels a deep connection with, but things seem to good to be true, and her life will change forever.

Thoughts 💭: The story begins as Annie meets Serena and is framed between their conversations and flashbacks on Annie’s laptop. When I first read the premise, I immediately wanted to check it out. It was also an Amazon First Reads. I enjoyed the tension between Annie and Serena. Motherhood shapes the tension that is at the heart of the novel and the repeated conversations between Serena and Annie.
Moreover, the novel explores interracial relationships as Annie navigates her relationship with her father, with whom she has a poignant conversation about retaining her heritage and tradition. Knowing that thrillers are a difficult genre to pull off, this novel definitely has a mesmerizing theme - what if a stranger appears in your life and claims that the child you have raised is theirs? This theme was explored in the Hindi film Dil Kya Kare, but it was shaped more like a family drama rather than a thriller. I also think that this novel as well teeters between the two genres. I found Serena's characterization extremely creepy, but some parts of the action that took place towards the end of the novel seemed just a tad bit unrealistic. With that said, however, I know that the thriller genre is a difficult one to pull off. I also think there were way too many conversations between the two women, and more action could have been portrayed perhaps through flashbacks - it seemed a little too black and white. Howeve,r overall I think the premise of the novel was good, and worth a read!

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🌺 Someone Else’s Life 🌺

Short synopsis: When a stranger knocks on the door during a rainstorm, Annie let’s her in. Their quick friendship is paved with concern over how she knows the stranger Serena.

My thoughts: This was filled with lots of plot twists and page turning cliffhangers between chapters. The journal entry added a fun element to the story.

Overall, it was page turning where I wanted to know why Serena was suspicious and what happened in Annie’s past to strain her relationships with her husband and child. Towards the middle it got somewhat repetitive and I was just ready for answers.

Read if you love:
* “Locked Room” suspense
* Familiar strangers
* Family drama
* Chapter cliffhangers
* Journal entry elements

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Good book. Repetitive at times. The cover and the description of Hawaii was my favorite thing about this book.

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✨Book Review✨
Someone Else’s Life by Lyn Liao Butler
3/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to @netgalley and @letstalkbookspromo @amazonpublishing for my eARC copy of this book for an honest review.

** Now available as a January Kindle First Reads Pick!

This was an okay read for me. A bit repetitive and the main character was gullible and too naive for my liking. I found her to be rather annoying through the whole read. Like just wanted to shake her and tell her to ‘open your eyes!’ 🙃

The descriptions of Hawaii and the food was the most enticing part. And can we talk about this beautiful cover! 😍 The black and white doesn’t do it justice.

The ending few chapters were the most exciting- a bit out there with twists. But for a debut it was okay. Definitely has potential

The author shows promise. And I’d be interested to see more from her in the future.

Read if you like rainstorms, one room thriller, tropical read.

That is all for now and as always, happy reading! 💕

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A slow burn locked door thriller. Like, really slooow burn. Literally locked door. Annie was stuck in her home due to a rainstorm when an unknown woman knocked on her door seeking shelter when her car broke down. What transpired is a looong wait amidst really bad weather, with a dodgy lady who had her own agenda with Annie. See the premise is great but the execution lacked somewhat. For one, it really dragged on for too long. Firstly, Annie was immediately given the unreliable narrator role. We are hinted to some emotional baggage and bad history. Then we got weird conversations that was repetitive and constant red flag questioning of the mysterious woman, Annie seemed just too slow to react to anything. In fact alot of the parts just kept repeating itself. The big reveal only came about 70% of the way and even then, it still dragged on to the finish line. Quite unfortunate this ended up quite weak for my liking.

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Annie’s a dancer with a fluorishing career when she got married and had her first baby. But then a series of unfortunate events occured forcing her and her family to relocate to Kauai to have a fresh start. The change seemed to have no effect, as Annie began to notice strange things happening —long lost items start reappearing out of nowhere. She wasn’t sure if her memory is failing her or she just forgot about them. She also felt that she’s being watched. When a stranger asked for shelter during a thunderstorm, she invited her in and, well, as this is a suspense thriller, we can guess how it goes down right?

There were so many times in the book that I screamed at Annie for her wrong decisions. But she did acknowledge them and to be fair, she’s in a vulnerable mental state so really, there shouldn’t be any judgement against her seemingly stupid actions.🤷🏻‍♀️ On the plus side, these provided the perfect setup for suspense buildup. Who is this stranger? What does she want with Annie? How come she knows a lot about her? I had so many questions and was so curious about the motives of the stranger that I binge-read this book! Never mind that I had to suspend disbelief on some parts of the story, the author was truly very good in keeping me engaged until the end. I guess the mouth-watering food descriptions helped 😂 and of course, the storm with rising flood - so atmospheric and fitting backdrop for danger! Plotwise, there were a lot of twists that will leave your jaw hanging so it’s a good thriller to add to your list. Just remember this is fiction and suspend your disbelief from time to time and you’re all good!😉

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Thank you to the author, Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this book, and the setting, are great. Unfortunately, the execution is anything but. Our protagonist's life has crumbled and fallen apart over the last few years, and she and her family have regrouped and moved to Hawaii to be near family. In spite of the move, the protagonist seems to be stuck in terms of making a fresh start, and there is a lot of (understandable) self-doubt and hesitation. And then, as the weather takes a nasty turn, with a huge storm developing, she lets a woman seeking shelter into her house - in spite of weird vibes from the beginning. This is when it all went off the rails for me. So, so many red flags are ignored, again and again. So much repetitive dialogue, and hints of the past teased that are never pulled into the narrative in a coherent way until much too late. Twists foreseeable from a mile off, and nothing to move the plot forward - this strained all my goodwill way past the limit and I was happy to finish and move on to reading something more enjoyable.

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Annie and her family have relocated to Hawaii after a series of devastating events have forced them to start over. One night a storm like Hawaii doesn’t usually see comes through and Annie is home alone struggling with her inner demons when a stranger knocks on her door saying that her car has broken down and needs shelter from the storm. Reluctantly, Annie lets her in and the two soon find themselves bonding over bottles of wine and as they share personal stories, how eerily similar their lives are.
This was a slow burn, locked room thriller and the setting of Hawaii in a storm was perfect. The flaws for me were that so much of the conversation was repetitive and derivative and ultra simplistic. And there were so many red flags that Annie ignored which I know were necessary to propel the story forward but it made for me the read go “oh come on!” Maybe a bit of editing to shorten it some would have made me enjoy it a little more.
Thanks to Thomas and Mercer and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

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This story takes place over one very stormy day in Hawaii. A stranger comes to Annie’s door because her car broke down and she needs a place to wait out the storm. As the two women start sharing their stories, the other woman seems to know a lot about Annie.

You have to just go with the story many times. Annie has many opportunities to leave her house and the woman but she does not despite her uneasiness with that woman. Disregard these moments and enjoy the rest of the story. It is full of gaslighting and twists. The setting, even with the heavy rain, is beautiful. I enjoyed this story a lot.

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Someone Else’s Life is an unputdownable domestic suspense set on the beautiful island of Kauai, Hawaii. At just under 300 pages, this is a quick, fast-paced read perfect for a rainy day or lazy Sunday. The action-packed ending was exactly what I was hoping for, a final culmination of craziness that builds from the beginning.

Thank you to @letstalkbookspromo @amazonpublishing @getredprbooks and @lynliaobutler for the advanced copy and allowing me to be part of this tour!

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