Wednesday, January 15, 2014

How To Be a Good Wife

How To Be a Good Wife by Emma Chapman
Series? No
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Date: Oct 15, 2013
How did I get this book? free Advance Reader's Copy from the publisher via Shelf Awareness for my honest review
My Rating: 2 of 5 stars
GoodReads | Author | Publisher

I have been avoiding writing this review because it's been hard to put my disappointment into words. I've read such high praise for this debut and the premise seemed so promising. I love literary suspense and I normally find unreliable narrators fascinating. I am not the kind of person who needs every single thing tied up with a little bow at the end of a story, but for the love of God, this one didn't tie up much of anything! I closed the book and felt like none of my questions were answered. None! And while I understand why the voice of the narrator in the beginning of the book was so simplistic and child-like given the fact she was medicated at the time, it was really starting to drive me crazy. I almost DNF'ed this one, but I felt compelled to read on to see how things would turn out -- making it even more of a disappointment in the end. The writing is good and the characters are interesting, but I can't honestly say I recommend this book.

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9 comments:

  1. Aww, that's a disappointment! Well, every book isn't for every reader. I still plan to read this one but will temper my expectations a bit.

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    1. I would be so interested to see what you think about it -- I love seeing different perspectives! It is quite short and a fast read, so definitely worth a shot if it's something you were already thinking about reading.

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    2. I'll be sure to let you know when I get around to it!

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  2. A short and sweet review. I hate it when a book doesn't turn out how I would've liked - very frustrating!
    :-)
    Bits & Bobs

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    1. Very frustrating indeed -- I forever an optimist and hope things will get better!

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  3. How disappointing! I think my favorite books are often those that tie everything up neatly. For a book to get away with some ambiguity at the end, it has to be very good or else I'm likely to feel a bit let down by the ending. Given that, I definitely don't think is for me! Great review :)

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    1. Thanks! Yea, there was just a bit too much unanswered for me.

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  4. I would be so frustrated. I thank you for reading this before I did... now I will not be reading it. lol I really enjoy unreliable narrators too, as you know thanks to the wonderful Mara Dyer books. Hopefully your next read is better!

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    1. YAY for Mara Dyer! I can't wait for the 3rd book to come out :)

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I'd love to hear what you think :)