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

I was originally drawn to this book because of the cover, it is gorgeous. I really enjoyed the main character, Laura. I expected there to be more psychological thriller, but it was more a book about self discovery with a little creepiness, later explained as misunderstanding. It was interesting and kept me engaged. It was a quick read, as well. I probably wouldn’t reread it, though.

Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the opportunity to read this book prior to publication.

Thank you NetGalley for gifting me with this ARC.

This book gives definitely gives of White Lotus vibes! This book has the perfect beachy setting for a great thrilling mystery. This highlights how female friendships are strong and passionate. There’s nothing better than a powerful friendship. Laura meets Diana on a lovers getaway and when Diana disappears, Laura suspects something bad happened and is intrigued to find out what happened.

3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ rounded up. I love it when books allow me to self-reflect - to see myself differently at the end. This book was like a mirror for me, probing at the tiniest of insecurities.

Laura's mom has always told her, "The world is for married couples, not single people." Dating just doesn't seem to work out for Laura. When David finally asks her out in the middle of the law firm, Laura can't believe it. After two months of dating, he asks her to take a trip with him to Eleuthera, in the Bahamas, and Laura is ecstatic. When they get to their luxury resort, Laura discovers an unusual woman named Diana who has traveled by herself. Intrigued by Diana's bold confidence and nonchalant air, they become acquaintances and decide to hike together while David meets with a client. When Diana goes missing on the hike, Laura becomes a person of interest as she tries to find out what actually happened to her hiking partner.

I found this book to be uniquely dissonant. On one hand, the plot, conflict, relationships, and ending carried at an unexpectedly monotone pace. On the other hand, I think that this is what I DID enjoy about the book. There was mystery, high stakes, and wonder. There were no thrills. The protagonist, Laura, had a complete character arc, but no other characters did. Though the book felt much ado about nothing, I found that to be somewhat refreshing. Since completion, I have been thinking quite a bit about the storyline, along with it's ending. I am still not sure how the title fits, but that could just be me.

Thank you Netgalley, Sandra Chwialkowska, and Blackstone Publishing for this eARC in exchange for my honest review

Catty. Complicated. Tropical. Wouldn’t repeat

This was an interesting book. I went into it blind and didn’t really know what to expect.
This is a story about female friendship more then anything. It’s has suspense elements l, but I wouldn’t categorize it as thriller or suspense. Maybe mystery.
All in all I enjoyed this book. Also, the cover is so perfect. Love.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my gifted free ecopy.

This book was only okay for me. It did start off strong, but I got a little bored about half way through. The ending was not my favorite and left me very confused. I will be reading more of the authors books in the future.

It seemed like a vacation in paradise

Laura Phillips is in a new relationship with Dave, a fellow lawyer. When he suggests taking a vacation together at a resort in the Caribbean Laura is excited...as a single woman she hadn't felt comfortable in taking trips alone, but thinks that this might be the start of a new aspect to her life. The resort is beautiful, both exotic and luxurious, and it also seems very much tailored to couples. Laura notices that there is one solo traveller, a woman named Diana, and becomes curious about her. As they meet and spend time together, Laura finds herself sharing things about herself which she normally keeps private. When Diana suddenly disappears, Laura is both concerned for her new friend's safety and also realizes that she herself could be under suspicion. As she starts to obsess about Diana....who was she really? What happened to her?...she also does some soul searching of her own.
With beautiful writing, an exotic location, and an interesting premise, The Ends of Things started out to be an excellent thriller. By the time I had finished the book, however, I no longer looked at it as a thriller but as more of a women's fiction book with some suspenseful elements. The main protagonist Laura is thoroughly developed, although I have to admit I found her somewhat annoying (a circumstance that generally detracts from my liking of a book). In reading other reviews written about this novel, I find that I am not alone in either of those observations. I can't say whether I would have had a different opinion of the book if I hadn't gone into it assuming that it was a suspenseful thriller; many have suggested that readers approach this as a blank slate rather than as a thriller, and I would agree with that advice. It was an enjoyable read overall, just not what I thought that it was going to be, hence my rating. Readers of authors like Katherine Wood, Vi Keeland and Sara Ochs might want to give this a try. My thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for allowing me early access to this debut novel.

I really liked the ending, but started off a bit slow for me. I was already not liking Dave before they ever left for vacation. He pretty much came across as an a$$hole from the beginning. And I honestly didn't understand the reasoning as to why her firm needed to be called before authorities. That made no sense to me. Since I can't give half stars here, I had to give it 4, otherwise I'd have given ut 3.5 stars. It's definitely not a terrible read, just some things that just didn't make sense with me.

Ugh, this is hard for me to review. The premise was good, I enjoyed the plot. But the main character rubbed me the wrong way. She was obsessive and infuriating. Because of her, is why I gave this 3 stars instead of 3.5 or 4. I would go into this blind as the synopsis can give away some big parts of the plot.