Please. Everyone STOP trying to be Gone Girl. Gone Girl is Gone. It was great, I get it. But Y’all gonna make this genre gone if ya’ll don’t stop. Be gone with that mess. GONE, girl.
Shortest Summary Ever: Tabitha Girard remembers that summer when she was 17 and completely in love with Connor Ford – handsome, rich, and all hers. For a summer. Now she’s in her 30’s, waitressing and handsome Connor is sitting here. The one who got away. In her restaurant. But he’s married to Nina, a mega-wealthy, powerful woman. But their attraction is undeniable… thus begins a romance rekindled and when Nina takes her own life, it seems like everything will now come together for Tabitha. So why is it all falling apart?
My thoughts: Ugh.
I don’t cherish giving poor reviews but I’m going to be honest. The description of this book is so wrong. It’s more romance-y than mystery-y (new word points for me). Without spoilers I can say this – I despise stupid, foolish, naive but pretty female leads. They are annoying, and that was Tabitha.
(Uh-oh, I’m on a roll here) It’s clear from the tone the reader is supposed to feel for Tabitha, but that’s not the actual experience for me. She’s kind of an awful person. Connor has to swoop in to make her happy? Nooooo. And he’s kind of a jerk. The other is that the wife Nina doesn’t seem that neurotic or controlling to me as the jacket description claims (duh, her husband IS cheating), so her death was confusing. I felt bad for her but the writing seemed to assume the reader would be happy for Tabitha? Not spoilers – this is all in the jacket!
The redemption was that it was a fast read and the story did advance, though just not in any believable way for me. I just couldn’t get on board with this one.
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Genre: Chic Lit/domestic fiction.
Recommend to: If you can suspend a lot of disbelief, if you’ve pined for “the one who got away” this might be more enjoyable. It is a quick beach read.
Not recommended to: if you dislike weak female protagonists.
Thank you to the author Michele Campbell, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my always-honest review.
