I read a book from this author last year and loved it, can not say the same for this one.
This was unbelievably boring, with one of the most frustrating main characters I have come across in a while.
Most of this takes place across like 2 nights and the conclusions this character jumps to are ridiculous. She spends much of the book running around panicking for absolutely no real reason.
Near the end, I thought it was going in a good direction but then it did a complete 180 and decided to go with a tired cliche you've seen before.
Truly didn't enjoy much in this one.
1.5 stars

Adele is an actress struggling to make ends meet working for a motel waiting for a big break. When she fails an audition and her past in her home, Ireland, starts to haunt her, she decides it is finally time to give up. Acting is not for her. Then she gets the call she's been waiting for - a last-minute motion picture where she will star in the main role. The problem - it's shooting in Ireland where she has tried to bury a past filled with trauma and mistakes.

When we first meet Adele, there is an immediate feeling of unease about her and you just know the plot line that follows will be thrilling and maybe a little spooky. She's working a dead end job, gets the call of a lifetime and as soon as she steps foot on the set of this film, it just gets worse and worse. I loved reading this building anxiety as Adele encounters real and imagined horrors on the set of this film. From a sleazy crew member to spooky sounds in the night, power outages. It ticked all of the boxes for a good thriller/horror book. I was hooked.

And then, unfortunately, we go the "big reveal." We discover what's been going on, who is behind the perfect little touches that I loved so much... and it fell apart for me. It seemed incredibly unlikely. There was nothing shocking or exciting about it. It unfolded at an odd pace. And the book itself acknowledged that it was a boring ending that wouldn't captivate an audience! Two characters literally have this conversation on the page! It tanked for me right there. I was so disappointed because the build up is fantastic.

The audiobook is quite well done. The narrator for Adele was wonderful to listen to. Her accent gave it a great authenticity versus listening to someone that isn't from Ireland doing their best at the accent.

I received a reviewer copy of Run Time by Catherine Ryan Howard from the publisher Blackstone Books from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What It’s About: Adele Rafferty is licking her wounds in LA after her last role ended in disaster. Just when she decides to give up on this career, she is offered a role in a low budget horror movie by an up and coming director, however this horror movie slowly becomes a real life horror story.

What I Loved: The premise is original and gives a unique premise to the alone in the wilderness theme. This book mixes the Ireland movie/TV scene with paranoia with mystery. I think this book is very creative and is squarely in the horror genre.

What I didn’t like so much: Okay, so there's a lot here. The first is that we have a 'poor little famous girl' who really has no background to make us care about her (okay, I feel like this is pretty standard with thrillers, but with the ambitious original premise, I expected a bit more). I found Adele quite annoying. There were too many male characters and I really couldn't keep track of all them which made the shocking moments maybe less shocking? Also, this book has a script within a book so we also get the story of the movie Adele is acting in and it kind of breaks up the novel in a confusing way?

Who Should Read It: People who wish there was more Hollywood in their deserted woods thrillers.

Summary: A fascinating premise that didn't quite deliver for me.

This is a book within a book, within a movie that gets made into a book then a movie. Lol. Some of it is happening in real time, some as a movie script, all of it based on a book that only exists in the movie. Scratching your head? You’re not alone.
I really wanted to love this book. Unfortunately I couldn’t get past Adele’s paranoia and the endless chapters of her running from nothing. It was all running and panic and no climax. The actual climax/twist was totally predictable and unsatisfying.
As an audiobook, it was well done. I enjoyed the narrators and felt they fit the book. It helped having another narrator for the movie scene parts of the book, helping to break it up.
I’m so sad I didn’t love this book. I really like this writer. But the book needed so much more then what was given. Maybe throwing something supernatural in it, or an actual deranged killer, would have saved it. Without it, it fell flat

I’m having a hard time trying to figure out how to write this review. The writing was stellar and I loved the originality of incorporating a screen play within a thriller, but…it wasn’t very thrilling. Which makes me sad, because Catherine Ryan Howard is one of my favorite (and auto-buy) authors. Not much really happened. There weren’t any twists, but just some mild mystery that was quickly explained and tied with a nice bow. I did listen to the audiobook, and it was a lot of fun, so at least there was that.

I had higher expectations for this because I loved the author's previous book so much. However, I thought it was still very interesting & a unique story.

This book was amazing. I absolutely loved so many things about it. Listening to the audio sealed the deal for me. The format, the characters, the audio…all of it!

Adele is surviving after escaping Ireland to LA to continue her acting career after an incident on the last movie she was filming. After let down after let down Adele finally gets the call she has been waiting for – the lead actress in a feature film. She is over the moon excited and quickly jumps on a plane back to Ireland to be the star. Things are off once she arrives and finds a skeleton crew of all men in the middle of the woods in a small secluded town. Things only get stranger from there, from lost items to random vague texts – Adele starts to question herself. Then she wakes up and is all alone on set, in the dark and rain. Frightened and alone, and scared for her life Adele tries to find the road but only gets lost in the dark. Adele can’t help but finding parallels to the movie script as she tries to find help.

I can’t say enough good things about this book. The premise was so fun switching from movie set to future to past. It was done very well and I didn’t get lost or confused at all as sometimes happens with multiple timelines. I also really enjoyed that this was all told from Adele’s point of view. Single POV novels don’t always work for me as I like seeing things from different perspective but this one worked and it worked well. This was a solid read and really a lot of fun. This book is out now so make sure to check it out – like run to get your copy – its that good.

This is a very intricately plotted book. There's a story in a story in a story kind of vibe through a book and a movie script. While sometimes a bit complicated to sort out in your mind, the level of creativity is impressive and kept me so invested! I was very impressed with the final chapter...a great way to both tie things up and make the reader say, "hmm?" I think if you enjoyed 56 Days by the same author you'll enjoy this one too.

I am a big fan of Catherine Ryan Howard's crime thrillers but 'Run Time' fell short of the mark for me. The book contains a dash of Irish folklore, a film set and a protagonist looking to redeem herself in the industry. I guess the plot can best be described as metafiction. It's a long read/listen. The audiobook cast performed their parts well enough, I just didn't love it and think the overall reception will be mixed.

This was interesting but it really was quite boring, repetitive, and long for me. I found the main character to be SO unlikable, one of those characters you want to shake for making such poor choices, and the story overall to be both convoluted and forgetful.

Run Time is the second Catherine Ryan Howard's book I’ve read, and it gave me all the vibes I was craving. Great atmosphere, great setting and enough mystery and suspense to make you turn those pages faster.

I enjoyed how unnerving the feeling of isolation sometimes felt. I wouldn't say the book was very scary, but it occasionally gave me the goosebumps.

I'm really glad I got a chance to read the early copy of Run Time. It was just the kind of slow suspenseful thriller I was in the mood for.

I’ve listened to Run Time as an audiobook, which is full cast and done pretty well – perfect to set the atmosphere!

I loved 56 Days and, after this one, Howard has become one of my favorite thriller authors. There's something about her writing that really works for me. Can't wait to read more from her.

If you want to see my much more in depth review, you can check it out on my book blog NovelOnMyMind.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Run Time by Catherine Ryan Howard in exchange for an honest review.

After reading the summary, I was super interested and excited for this book. It did feel a little slow to start, but once I was a few chapters in it took off running. I loved the back and forth between what was actually happening and the script. It really added to the anticipation of everything and what was possibly going to happen. This book had me guessing and I wasn’t too surprised by the twists but it didn’t ruin the ending.

I did feel like the “why” was a little eh and didn’t really feel that explained, but since I listened to the audiobook of it I could’ve just not caught it. The ending I wish there was a little something more, maybe just a few more things wrapped up. This would definitely be a fun movie adaptation though. Overall, I enjoyed this movie themed thriller and would recommend to anyone who’s wanting a fun read.

Read this if…you like books within books (or in this case, a book within a movie within a book).

A big thanks to Netgalley, Blackstone Publishing, and the author for an ALC and a finished copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Adele Rafferty is a washed-up soap star who finally lands the part that could turn her career around. The horror movie is shooting in a very remote location in Ireland, which means there’s no cell service or neighbors to ask for help when strange things start to happen on set. Adele isn’t sure if she’s having some kind of mental break or if someone on set is out to get her. This role may turn out to be her ticket to stardom or it could be her final scene.

I loved the premise of this book. It had a complex plot with a book inside of a movie inside of another book. It was confusing at times, but everything made sense in the end. The big twist was pretty easy to see coming, but the twists and turns leading up to the climax took me by surprise. Reliable narrators are always fun and Adele kept me guessing the entire time. The setting of the book had a life of its own and really added to the spooky atmosphere. Overall, I enjoyed this one and think it’s a solid addition to CRH’s body of work. If you’re a fan of her other novels, I think you’d enjoy Run Time as well.

First book by this author and not sure if I'll go back for more. I do however feel like I would recommend this book to customers looking for psychological thrillers. Was amazed by how all the pieces fit together at the end.

I've been a Catherine Ryan Howard fan for a while - she's a brilliant suspense author. "Run Time" can safely be added to her list of successes.

Thank you to @netgalley and @blackstonepublishing for this audio ARC!

🎥 Movie-making can be murder.

The project
Final Draft, a psychological horror. Promising Young Thing Steve Dade will direct.

The tagline
'Based on a terrifying true story. That hasn't happened - yet.'

The location
A cottage deep in a forest, miles from anywhere in the wintry wilds of West Cork.

The lead
Former soap-star Adele Rafferty has stepped in to replace the original actress at the very last minute. She can't help but hope that this will be her big break.

The problem
Something isn't quite right on the set of Final Draft.
Adele is about to discover that the real horror lies off the page...

💭 Something isn’t quite right that’s for sure! Adele was ready for a lead that would take her somewhere, even if it seems a little off. I liked her character and glad she was not completely oblivious to it all. I was able to predict the ending early on, but the creep factor kept my attention. I loved the back and forth with the script and what was going on in the present.

I am a HUGE Catherine Ryan Howard fan and was so thrilled to be approved for this arc.

As always, this author delivered a solid thriller! She is so good at planting hints all throughout the story. I love getting to the end of a CRH book and realizing that the answers were there for me to find all along. I love it even more when I don't figure things out and am surprised.

This story had the perfect spooky setting and although I don't always love an unreliable narrator, it was very well done in Run Time.

⭐️ rating: 4 STARS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 genre: suspense/thriller
🎧 length: 10 Hours, 31 Minutes
👩🏻‍🦰 narrator: 8/10

This was a wild ride! Every time you think you know what's happening, the next chapter entirely unravels it and you have to go back to step one. Seeing everything unfold from Adele's point-of-view really kept you guessing as she began to question her own sanity & whether or not what was happening was reality.

I absolutely loved the script pages that came between some of the chapters. I felt that it really added to the experience as you saw what happened to Kate and how it paralleled what was happening to Adele.

The ending wrapped everything up pretty nicely. I wish we'd seen more from some of the other characters to explain HOW everything came together, but overall it was satisfying and "believable" - as far as suspense novels can be sometimes.

This was so close to being great - it had all the elements there, it felt like it couldn't decide if it was thriller or horror, which, to me, left it wanting a bit. But I really enjoyed the read overall and it kept me interested and engaged.

This was a pacey and fun thriller that didn't do anything particularly groundbreaking but was an entertaining ride. I enjoyed the multi-layered meta-narrative aspect of the plot, although it did become a bit forced at times. I thought that the plot itself was well constructed, albeit fairly predictable and that the characters all performed their necessary actions throughout. Fun but ultimately, pretty forgettable.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.