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This book lover’s link-up isn’t restrictive, joins great books with even better bloggers, and creates a wonderful space for conversation. I love that the prompts are open ended, meaning you can be as literal or as figurative as you’d like. We’ll pick the theme, you’ll pick the book, and then we’ll all link up at the end of the month. Sounds fun, right?
This month’s prompt was to read a book in a single day. I should point out that since I was on vacation for the last ten days, I had several things to choose from! Once I conquered my 1000 page novel (thank you, husband), I was averaging a book a day for the remainder of our trip. I should also point out that because of our trip, I completely failed to send out the reminder email to our subscribers. If you aren’t ready to link up today, please come back and join us later in the month. We’ll leave the linky widget open until next month’s post, so you have plenty of time. Not to mention, this post centers around a book you can read in a day, so technically, you could link up tomorrow.
Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough
Don’t Trust This Book. Don’t Trust These People. Don’t Trust Yourself. And whatever you do, DON’T give away that ending. Louise: Since her husband walked out, Louise has made her son her world, supporting them both with her part-time job. But all that changes when she meets… David: Young, successful and charming – Louise cannot believe a man like him would look at her twice let alone be attracted to her. But that all comes to a grinding halt when she meets his wife… Adele: Beautiful, elegant and sweet – Louise’s new friend seems perfect in every way. As she becomes obsessed by this flawless couple, entangled in the intricate web of their marriage, they each, in turn, reach out to her. But only when she gets to know them both does she begin to see the cracks. Is David really is the man she thought she knew and is Adele as vulnerable as she appears? Just what terrible secrets are they both hiding and how far will they go to keep them?
Book Description via Amazon | Buy Here
RIVETING.
What part of the book could you NOT get enough of? The constant changing of perspectives works so well in this novel. You are never in one person’s head for too long and the switch always happens at the best (or worst!) possible moment. I love that you get to know each character from their own perspective, which really helps to keep you guessing on what is going on. Unreliable narrators are one of my favorite plot devices ever.
ELEMENTS.
How did you relate to/care for the characters? What’s your thought on the plot line and twists and turns? Even though I couldn’t relate at all to Louise’s one night stand and subsequent extramarital affair, I did come to care for a her a great deal. I was a nervous wreck throughout the book and I was always so worried that she was trusting the wrong person at the wrong time. As for twists and turns, this one packs a punch. Do yourself a favor and don’t read too much about this one. You do not want to spoil the ending. I got so many messages on Instagram last week from people who were disappointed with how this one ended. I could not disagree more! Even though its a bit unconventional, I couldn’t wipe the look of surprise off my face. I desperately want to talk with someone about this one, so read it soon!
ASSOCIATE.
What other books are like this one? If none, did it remind you of a particular TV or movie with it’s themes and characters? Does it serendipitous-ly line-up with things going on in your life or the news right now? This is one of those books that is hard to compare, especially given that it was sandwiched in between two other thrillers that I loved. I will say that the ending reminded me a bit of Gone Girl. Yes, every new thriller purports to be the next Gone Girl, but I need you to take me seriously on this one. There are things going on throughout the book that don’t draw your attention until the final chapter and you will feel totally gobsmacked.
DESIGN.
You know you judged this book by the cover. What did you think of it? How did it relate to the contents of the novel? And the font and layout of the pages? I loved the cover. There is a subtle newspaper quality of the image and the relationship between the photograph and the title and the content is just perfect.
STARS.
How many out of five do you give this book? Would you recommend this book to a friend? I’m giving this one four stars. If I’m talking entertainment value, surprise, and un-put-down-ability — I would give it a solid five with no regrets, but the extremity to which I needed to suspend reality for the briefest of moments cost it a star. Granted, that scene made the book. It’s one of those weird moments where you can’t decide if those five sentences made you fall in love with the book or if you should throw it across the room. Either way, they made me want to read it again.
You know what makes a book club even more fun? When you get to share it with all of your (virtual) friends! We would love it if you would share with your own readers or give us a little shout on social media (use the hashtag #collaboreads). The more the merrier! We’ve even put our heads together and come up with a prompt list for the entire year so that you can plan ahead. Join us on Tuesday, July 25th, when we’ll be chatting about your perfect summer read.
Every time Rachel and I share Collaboreads on social media or publish our latest book review, we always get comments from readers who forgot about the link party or didn’t finish their book in time. I thought it might be great to offer reminder emails for those of you who planned to link up, but didn’t, so feel free to use the subscription form below to get those monthly reminders. You aren’t signing up for a weekly newsletter and we won’t be sending you any spam. You’ll get two, book-related, emails each month — one two weeks before our link party to remind you of the monthly topic and a second email closer to our posting date, so you don’t accidentally run out of time. Enter your email address below and we’ll take care of the rest!
