Did I like this book? Yes,
Was the plot interesting? Yes
The curse/wikipedia entries were excellent, as were the throwbacks into Jess and Clara’s pasts.
The technology described in the book seemed a bit reaching- I have never heard of perfectly opaque hologram projections…
Also, it’s definitely a case of unreliable narration which, if you somehow missed it on your own, the author spells it out for you in the final chapter. I found that unnecessary. Lots going on here - cool free ARC from NetGalley

This book was ok. I expected a bit more than was delivered. But, overall I would recommend giving it a try.

This book had me hooked from the first page! The whole idea of deepfakes, AI, cancel culture and technology fooling us is so timely and was executed very well in this book. I found myself feeling bad and rooting for every character, you could resonate with how they were each feeling. The biggest issue I have with it though was the ending, it just didn’t quite stick the landing for me. Without giving anything away it just felt rushed and unfulfilling. I was waiting for the big reveal to be something more than what it was. The ending fell flat for me, but otherwise I throughly enjoyed the book!

I enjoyed this terrifying romp through technology and our worst impulses. Almost as much fun as Sligar’s debut.

The vantage point :

Thank you to Netgalley, Farrar, Strauss & Giroux and the author for providing me the eARC of The vantage point.

Modern technology - a BOON or BAN??

A Vantage point is a position or place that allows one a wide or favourable overall view of a scene or situation which is ironically quite contrary to the circumstances the characters are currently facing.

Clara and Jess are bestfriend's since middle school despite their vastly different upbringings. This is their story over the years, detailing the doubts and setbacks they have faced both individually and together, and the looming family curse that threatens to disrupt their seemingly perfect lives.

Starting with the premise, it had everything I wanted: multiple POVs, mystery creating tension, a story set on a small island, a generational curse, and a fresh take on modern technology. The writing was good and immersive, but that's where the positives end. Despite these promising elements, the execution fell short. I had heard a lot about the author's previous book and was genuinely excited after getting the eARC, but my expectations were not met at all.

The mystery was well-crafted and kept me suspecting everyone, but the final reveal and the motive disrupted everything. The ending felt abrupt and off-putting to the point where it simply didn't make any sense.

The one two aspects I appreciated were the portrayal of human complexity woven throughout the story, prompting reflection. It highlighted how people are rarely content with what they have, often envying others who, in turn, envy them, believing everyone else leads a better life. And the portrayal of eating disorder.

CW: Death of a loved one, description of several accidents, social media harrassment, eating disorder and grief.

3.5 stars - Clara and Teddy Wieland were orphaned as teenagers and inherited their infamous family estate, "Vantage Point". The story mostly follows them as adults, but ping-pongs back to their childhoods and late-teen years to further explain the caveats of the sibling relationship. Over the course of the first few chapters, you learn (via "Wikipedia" entries) about the Wieland Curse and those who have fallen to it, which adds to the plotline and builds the story nicely and provides some dark humor.

While there are overarching themes about privacy, slut-shaming, classism, political optics, and deepfakes, the author stays very surface-level and doesn't delve too much into detail. The references make it feel current but glossed over, as if they're only being introduced to check off a buzzword.

As much as I enjoyed the writing, I had a very hard time completing this book. This is one of those instances where the first chapter of the book tells you the entire storyline, and then you spend the whole time looking for other ways it could end differently.

Thank you to NetGalley, and Farrar, Strauss & Giroux for the advance copy!

Thank you to #netgalley and #sarasligar for the ARC of #vantagepoint book. With the ARC, the cover art wasn't available. I did see the cover on #netgalley and until I started composing my review, didn't see that the house called #vantagepoint was there. The green borders distracted from that. I think the house should be the main focus point since it is part of the story.

This book was a quick read with well developed characters and a plot point that reminded me of the Kennedy's because of the "curse". The story was given from different points of view, a sister and her bestie who married the sister's brother. The brother I really didn't care for complete dbag. But the whole deep fake, AI, nonsense was a lot to keep up with and . I did overall enjoy the story and what I really, really enjoyed was the wiki snippets of how different family members died as a result of the "curse" . Overall a good story but a bit of tweaking would make it amazing.

This author is an exceptional descriptive writer, and I found the vivid imagery a lot of fun to read. Although I found the reveal to be a bit obvious, it was a fun journey getting to it all the same. The tension is excellent -- I had so much sympathy for Clara, but the fact that everyone else found her an unreliable source felt entirely believable. I found Teddy's abrupt shift in demeanor a little frustrating. Even though we know he was a selfish individual, it felt like a flip of a switch when he went from being a caring brother and husband to complete sociopath with little explanation.

Thanks to Net galley and the publisher for this arc. I did enjoy the story of the fall of a prominent family but did not find any of the characters very likeable. The political aspect was a nice touch. It did have a dark setting which also went well with the overall theme of the story. The ending left me satisfied.

This was a great thriller! I enjoyed it so much! I can’t wait until publication day when I can recommend it to all my bookish friends!!

This book is crafted as something between a thriller and contemporary fiction with a gothic element. I appreciate the mystery and character development weaved together. This book had a great premise of a family curse and I enjoyed that throughout the story I was trying to understand if the mystery and curse was real or some form of a ghost story. While figuring this out the author had a great way of truly diving into the characters personal journeys and the way they are all connected. Especially as you read chapters from their childhood and now adulthood. The way it ended was also very interesting and made me really reflect on how the characters were each involved with one another and what they meant to eachother.

I do think at times it felt like it weighed heavier on the characters than the psychological thriller mystery curse part. By the end of the book I think there were many good ideas and themes that were not strung together well enough. There was a gothic home of a rich family, a curse, holograms and deep fakes, complicated relationships between siblings and friends. All great things but thrown together without fully flushing each out. I wish there had been more about the curse or not have it at all.

Overall it was a good read, if I had to rate it in comparison to others in the same genres I would give it a 3.25. I would still have read it and would still recommend to my friends who like thrillers.

The cover is great! Very striking and does express the story well while still being captivating. Based on the cover I would pick it up at a bookstore.

A book's ending is paramount to a story's overall quality. Once you reach the end of a 350+ page book, the climax, the pivotal moment you've been waiting for after hours and hours of spending your precious time reading it cannot be a letdown. A bad ending will leave a bad taste in a person's brain-mouth that can tarnish the entire reading experience.

Unfortunately, Vantage Point's ending was so bad, so ridiculous, and so expected that it was actually unexpected, because it had been hinted at, extremely obviously, since the very beginning.

This novel follows the downfall of a fictional wealthy family as the (dickhead) older brother, Teddy, is in the running for a political campaign. His wife is Jess, a total pushover and bore, and Teddy's younger sister Clara is Jess's best friend. Clara is suffering from a raging eating disorder and has been a handful for most of her life, which makes her the perfect target for a scandal where no one will believe her when she claims it's not real. So, when a graphic sex tape of hers is released, and she begins to suspect she may be a victim of deep fakes, neither Jess nor her (I cannot stress this enough, dickhead) brother believes her.

Maybe I should have read the description of this novel a little better, but I was not expecting the entire plot of this book to essentially be about AI and deepfakes. It's not a topic I'm at all interested in reading about, but throughout most of the book, I was surprised by how much I was enjoying it. While the plot wasn't what I typically choose to read ("Gothic"? Gothic where? Why is this book being pitched as gothic!?), I thought the writing was good, the characters were developed and clear, and I was sailing through, ready for the mystery to be solved! But once answers began to unravel, I found myself scoffing and guffawing at the ridiculousness. I cannot say anymore without giving out spoilers, but I couldn't have thought of a more anti-climatic finish than Vantage Point delivered.

This was, sadly, a flop for me! 2 stars.

Thank you Netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the ARC.

Set in a beautiful family home on the cliffs of Maine, Teddy and Clara are wealthy children of parents who died tragically when they were young. In fact, the Weigand family is plagued by tragedies that happened in April over hundreds of years. Clara’s best friend Jess married Teddy and the book follows their relationship and its issues while Clara fights an eating disorder, Jess struggles with fitting into a wealthy family, and Teddy runs for office. Throughout, they struggle with the April curse and what it means to them.

Told from both Clara's point of view and Jess', we slowly learn about Jess' marriage to Teddy and Clara's struggles with feeling responsible fo her parents' deaths. All the while, Teddy is a strong protector. However, the book has twisty turns as these relationships unfold throughout the book. A well-told story with a somewhat unbelievable ending. I enjoyed it!

Thank you NetGalley and Farrar, Straus, and Giroux for sharing “Vantage Point” by Sara Sligar. Vantage Point is the story about best friends Clara Wieland and Jess. Clara and her brother Teddy are from the wealthy and powerful Wieland family. The Wieland kids grew up at Vantage Point a well known estate on an island. There is a belief among the locals that the Wieland family is cursed as family members over the years have died in the month of April. Jess is brought up by a single mom and works for all she has. She and Clara become friends in elementary school. In high school, Clara goes off to Halpern School in New Hampshire and Jess stays at the public high school on the island. As a teen while home on break from private school, Clara witnesses her parents’ death and is haunted by the loss. There is a distance in the friendship that continues from high school through college. After a fight with her mom, Jess visits Clara in NYC. After this visit an incident occurs and they are back in each others lives. Jess marries Teddy who later is running for a Senate seat when things get turned upside down. The three lives will never be the same.
I enjoyed the book and the twist and turns. I would recommend to others who like unexpected twist.

I did feel the later half of story wasn’t as compelling as the first half. Teddy’s changes seemed abrupt without any previous examples or signs. The final chapter ended in my mind abruptly without many details that led to end.

Sligar's writing is sharp and engaging, with a keen eye for detail that brings the characters and setting to life. The plot twists and turns, keeping readers guessing until the very last page. The exploration of themes such as ambition, betrayal, and hidden motives adds depth to the story, making it not just a thrilling read, but a thought-provoking one as well.

Overall, "Vantage Point" is a must-read for fans of suspenseful, character-driven novels. Sara Sligar has crafted a tale that will linger in your mind long after you finish the book.
Thank you for the ARC

At first I thought this book was elegant and suspenseful. However, the more I kept reading, it failed to hold my interest. It was marketed as "gothic" and I'm not sure that's accurate. The character development for Clara and Jess is great. The many childhood flashbacks work fairly well. The artificial intelligence and holograms? Well, that pushed it past the point of credibility for me. This simply doesn't read like a gothic mystery. Maybe if it were marketed differently, that might help.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-galley; all opinions in this review are 100% my own.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and Sara Sligar for the ARC. I had high hopes for this book, but I had to DNF it by 20%. I did not like the way the story was heading with the revenge porn and the way her family reacted to the trauma. I knew there would be more sexual assault and more victim shaming, and I can't read that. Anyone who has been through these types of traumas is going to struggle with this. It felt shame-y to me.
A strong trigger warning stating; rape, victim shaming, revenge porn is needed/required.

There was just way too much going on. So much that I was bored and struggling to get through. I like my thrillers to be fast paced and keeping me hooked. This just wasn't it for me.

Thank you to NetGally and Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux for this ARC copy to read and review.
Vantage Point is to be published on January 14, 2025.

Situated on a small island in Maine, Clara and her brother, Teddy, live in the shadow of a family curse. The story starts on April 1st which is the beginning of the month that the curse tends to strike down family members dating back through generations. Teddy is running for the US Senate with his wife, Jess, by his side (she also is Clara's best friend). When the campaign starts being targeted by incriminating videos, Clara goes on the hunt to find who is behind the videos. The story alternates between the 3 characters perspectives of events while giving the backstory to their complicated relationships. It really had me guessing right until the end with a plot twist I didn't expect. This book is a definite page turner.

I liked the idea of this book and the gothic vibes with the family curse, but it moved very slowly in the middle and the deepfakes and holograms took away from the gothic vibes. I feel like it would have held my interest more if the events that happened to these characters were natural.

Likes-
•Wikipedia articles detailing the deaths of ancestors, all in the cursed month of April
•Character development for Clara and Jess
•Flashbacks of their childhood friendship leading up to Jess marrying Clara’s brother
•Mysterious elements surrounding the videos and rattling their brains over whether they were real

Dislikes-
•Teddy. What a grade-a asshole.
•Deepfakes and holograms- I just didn’t feel like they fit. As the story played out and the reason behind them became known, I got it. But they took away from the gothic vibes of the story. I felt like I was reading two different stories.
•The ending statements. Why would the sister and the wife switch places and make people believe they’re the other? It was just weird.

Maybe it’s because I requested this ARC because I wanted a solid, gothic mystery and it just didn’t hit like I hoped it would.

Thank you, NetGalley for allowing me to provide an honest review.