Everything about this book seemed so promising...

The Ends of Things by Sandra Chwialkowska has the premise of a woman befriending another woman on a vacation in the Bahamas, but the latter seemingly vanishes without a trace.

My biggest gripe with this book is how it's marketed as a thriller suspense but, without revealing too much, it really isn't. Had I known this, I might've DNF'd it, but I kept reading because I kept expecting something that wouldn't happen.

It is also difficult to sympathize with the FMC. The conflict introduced between her and her boyfriend, as well as the high school "trauma" she repeatedly references, do not feel like enough to justify her erratic behavior. What's concerning is the fact that she is supposed to be a good lawyer, but her actions are so questionable that this detail is hard to believe.

With that being said, if you are in the mood for a more pensive read based on female friendships lost and gained, then this may be the book for you. But if you are expecting a thriller suspense, the anticlimactic plot may leave you frustrated in the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Ends of Things is available everywhere now.

Well on the positive side it was a super quick read……..not sure that balances out the negative for me.
I do understand Laura’s mindset about traveling/eating alone and the personal growth it takes to move past that. I was very much like her about that many years ago. But other than that and her obsession with Chloe and Diana, it’s hard to relate to her. Dave is an awful person which I’m pretty sure everybody but Laura knew from the beginning. There was really no mystery or thrill. Very much felt like women’s fiction.
I would say 2.5/5 stars for me which I absolutely hate to do.

This was a good read, but not really my typical style. I wouldn’t call this much of a thriller. Maybe more of a mystery.

Laura and her new boyfriend Dave take a spur of the moment to a tropical destination. While there, Laura notices a woman alone at the couples resort and finds it odd, but also intriguing, Diana. Laura and Diana start to get to know each other a bit more, but then Diana mysteriously vanishes.

Pros
Character driven
Atmosphere
Mystery
Thought provoking

Cons
Slower paced
Not enough thrill for me

The End of Things by Sandra Chwialkowska had a promising premise of a thrilling suspense taking place at a tropical resort. The publisher’s blurb sold me with their statement, “perfect for fans of…The White Lotus.” Unfortunately, I felt the need to DNF this book at nearly 30%.

Living inside the protagonist’s head page after page was not bringing me joy. The ongoing descriptions of Laura choosing certain material items, including, wine glasses, sunscreen (spray vs. lotion), menu items in a restaurant, and a romper from the hotel gift shop, quickly grew tiresome. The fact that this Yale-educated, successful attorney, completely lacked confidence, and even felt the need to justify what kind of sunscreen she was purchasing, seemed over-the-top and unbelievable. A reader, in a similar stage of life as Laura, might be able to relate to the protagonist’s inner dialogue with more understanding and empathy than I was able to.

That being said, not every book is for every reader, but every book has its reader. I was not the ideal reader for this book, but I do believe there will be those that find The End of Things to be an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing, Inc for the ARC of The End of Things by Chandra Chwialkowska in exchange for my honest review.

I liked the concept of what I think this novel was going for despite the fact that the synopsis makes it sound like it is going to be much more ominous. I just didn't love the flow of the writing and think the theme of personal reflection and growth fell flat because of it. I do love the title in relation to the theme & the cover is the best part. Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the ARC and happy publication day

I honestly believe I would have liked this better had it not been described as a thriller. This was more women's fiction with a hint of mystery. This is about friendship as well as self exploration, and the prose in that regard was as beautiful as the cover. The protagonist was an interesting, intriguing person that I couldn't help but root for. With that storyline alone, this was an excellent read. However, the mystery storyline left me scratching my head and still questioning how to rate this. Three and a half stars.

Thank you, Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing, for this ARC.

The Ends of Things by Sandra Chwialkowska is a thrilling suspense debut novel.
This has been intriguing and moves at the perfect pace.
I have devoured page after page, completely hooked and unable to predict where this one was going.

I couldn’t even get into it really. It was so bad. I wasn’t sure if it was just me so I checked other reviews and I wasn’t the only one who felt this way. This was a DNF for me. My friend who finished the book told me not to waste my time.

This book was really quite interesting and unique given it starts out as one genre, and ends up in a completely different place. It's hard not to spoil anything, but I went into it thinking it was going to be something much scarier than it was, so it fell a bit flat in that regard, but I really liked the writing. For someone looking for a vacation suspense book, not so much a thriller, I think it is perfect! I liked the characterization and the mystery, and overall enjoyed it!

It's a slow burn that fizzles away into nothing. This isn't a thriller. There's no suspense, just the story of a woman on a hastily planned vacation with a guy she's only been dating for a couple of months. She can't decide what to order at the resort's restaurant without looking at the tables around her to see what the other women are eating. I found her impossible to identify with and in the end, although I guess she learns a valuable lesson, nothing actually happens.

On a romantic trip to the Bahamas, Laura befriends a mysterious woman, Diana, who suddenly vanishes. Drawn into the investigation, Laura discovers secrets and deception in paradise, turning her dream vacation into a dangerous nightmare.

Umm did I read the same book as everyone else? This book was so bad. I was interested until I wasn’t. The mysterious woman turned out to be no one at all’s there was no twist and it was just wrapped up and closed. I would not consider this a thriller or mystery at all. Sorry but this wasn’t it for me.

I actually thought this book was a good debut. Quirky characters. Obsessions. Social awkwardness. Beautiful island. Mysterious circumstances. What's not to like! I enjoyed it because I just got home from the Bahamas, and I'm around high school girls who act like this. This made it all the more interesting. The author is descriptive enough that I can picture the scenes in my head! She created relatable situations like being envious of the confident woman vacationing alone. Thank you, NetGalley & Blackstone Publishing, for the ARC & opportunity to provide a review.

I found this story to be pretty anticlimactic. The mystery ended up being a bit of a let down, with no shocking twists along the way. Laura definitely got in her own way too much, which got tiresome as the story progressed.

Overall, the plot was interesting enough for me to keep reading, but didn’t hook or enthrall me. Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

"She thought she had the perfect life … until she met a stranger in paradise."
The End of Things had me captivated from the beginning and the author did a good job writing this one. Sadly, the ending in this book left me confused and I never got the plot twist like I thought was going to happen. This has interesting characters and I loved the setting in this book a lot. Overall, this was a decent read that I enjoyed and would recommend to any reader who likes mystery books. Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for this read in exchange of my honest review of The End of Things by Sandra Chwialkowska.

Laura is a lawyer, who along with her fellow lawyer boyfriend, Dave, decide to take an impulsive romantic vacation to a Bahamian island after having dated less than two months. Once there, Laura notices a woman staying at the same resort who appears to be traveling alone. This brings to mind all of Laura’s own dreams of travelling with her childhood best friend, her own insecurities of going anywhere alone, and how she measures up to other women. Upon striking up a conversation with this woman, they decide to go on a hike together, where the woman disappears, thus creating the mystery part of the narrative.

This book started out strong but stalled out by the end. I think the issue is this book is being promoted in the thriller genre, rather than the women’s fiction genre where it belongs. While there is certainly a mystery involved, it turns out to be anticlimactic and not really the focus of the book. Instead, it’s a study of the various relationships women have with one another, their social expectations and the judgements they pass among themselves.

I enjoyed the mystery part of the narrative, but found the obsession Laura still had with her childhood friend rather tiresome. It did serve to lay the groundwork for her internal struggles, her preoccupation with the solo woman traveler, and further thoughts of her relationships with other women, but if the lure of a suspenseful story in an exotic locale is what drew you to the book to begin with, you may end up disappointed.

Blackstone Publishing via NetGalley kindly provided me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The story begins with Laura and Dave, two lawyers who have recently begun dating, traveling to the Bahamas for a 3-day vacation. While on their trip, Laura befriends Diana, a woman who seems to be on her own at what's basically a couple's resort. When Diana unexpectedly disappears, Laura realizes how little she knows about this mysterious woman.

In the synopsis, this book is referred to as "thrilling suspense" which is totally misleading in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, I really liked the story but it's more about friendship and introspection than anything else. Laura is very realistically portrayed, and I loved her as a character. There is a bit of a mystery involved and mild suspense but more of a character study than anything else.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing via Netgalley for approving my request to read this novel.

Labeling this novel as a suspenseful thriller is a big mistake as it sets readers up with unrealistic expectations. This is more reflective contemporary fiction with some built in suspense. Unfortunately the suspense goes no where and in the end the whole book falls flat. The premise was interesting and I eagerly read on through the book waiting for something to happen. By the end I was just disappointed. Even the self reflection of the main character never led anywhere. There was no character growth.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I was so intrigued and excited by the premise of this book, and just look at the cover! Gorgeous! Who doesn't love a thriller set in paradise?? I've been eying it for so long and couldn't wait to dive in!

This book starts out so well, such a good setup and I couldn't wait to hit the twist because I had no idea what was going to happen and I was just waiting to be SHOOK when it finally hit...

And then it never did. The twist was that this book went rapidly from thriller, to a rather repetitive middle section, to women's lit fic. The ending of this book was so underwhelming that when I hit the last page, all I could think was "that was it?" Now, I've got no beef with lit fit - I enjoy it. But this is billed as a thriller and the beginning is SO promising, but I was so let down. I'd love to see the last 50% of this one entirely reworked with a little more teeth, a little more bite. There were so many ways it could've gone to make it great, and it went none of them.

That said, I really enjoyed the writing. I think this author has promise and definitely has the ability to write well, but the execution could definitely use a little refining. If you decide to pick this one up, don't go into it expecting a thriller like I did, and maybe you'll enjoy it more than me!

I loved the resolution of this thriller. I think it will be very hit or miss for people, but overall the story really worked for me, thanks to the main character, Laura. I don't think she made a single choice I would have, but everything made complete sense for who she is as a person, and it was fun being in a character's head who's so different than me. Laura is a lawyer on a vacation with her newish boyfriend, Dave, also a lawyer, at a fancy couples resort in the Bahamas. She becomes fascinated by a woman at the resort traveling by herself, Diana. Laura has always wished to be secure enough to do something like that, but Diana's confident "otherness" bothers Laura in a way she can't explain. She grows fascinated by Diana, and forges a tentative friendship with her. Until Diana abruptly disappears, and the only person who seems to be taking it seriously is Laura.

Laura was a well-written and fleshed out character, and the narrative about female friendship and relationships was interesting and compelling, but I do wish it had been a little more subtle in some parts (i.e. the flashbacks to her high school best friend, Chloe). I'd have liked to feel those more myself rather than be told how to feel about them. I thought things built really well in this though, to where I didn't see things coming and as they kept stacking up I was just like oh god, how is this going to end?! Definitely a unique read that I recommend to anyone looking for a vacation thriller that stands out from the usual. Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

This one completely fell flat for me. The premise was right up my alley, but I feel like it wasn’t the twisty thriller I was expecting. It even felt like it switched genres half way through