Reviews

i saw someone say this was a mindfuck so of course i had to run to read this because describing a book as a “mindfuck” to me will have me dropping everything to read that book. sad to report this was anything but a mindfuck.

i liked behind her eyes way more than this one. it felt like this was an effort to make an extension of behind her eyes which did not quite meet the shock factor in that book. the vibes were similar but the execution was not. the first 40% was quite slow and repetitive (which in some instances was quite fitting because of the subject matter) but it eventually picked up after she started hanging out with caroline.

the execution of the drama and situation with her teenage daughter chloe disappointed me because i really wanted a certain someone to be confronted so bad. that person got off way too easy in my opinion.

the end was nothing spectacular, underwhelming, and predictable so that also left me disappointed.

2.5 stars!

renlau13's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I really struggled to get into this book. I guess I just didn't really vibe with the writing style or the main character and it felt very dry despite an intriguing premise. It really picked up after the halfway point, though, and I really enjoyed the latter half.

I really didn't expect the

supernatural / mystical

twist but I actually ended up liking it a lot. The villain monologue at the end where they just explain every single thing that happened out loud was pretty cliche but makes sense for the genre. I was going to say it was a little unrealistic that the sisters

just ended up friends again at the end so easily

but thinking about it, I have siblings and it do be like that sometimes.

I was disappointed that the epilogue includes a casual mention of another unstable woman who can't be trusted with her child with no deeper thought or acknowledgement when it seemed like the whole point of the book was unraveling that stereotype. I guess it was supposed to make a point about the cyclical nature of these things, but after everything Emma had been through by that point it struck me as odd that she wouldn't at least acknowledge that.

Overall, the latter half was definitely more interesting than the first but I'm not still not exactly rushing out to read all her other books. It was an interesting concept, I just don't think the author's writing style is for me.

anonymouspageturner's review against another edition

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4.0

Sarah Pinborough has done it again!!

I honestly couldn’t have enjoyed this book more! I read it within a day or two because I couldn’t put it down. Insomnia brought exactly what you want in a thriller; twists, a creepy atmosphere and the most unreliable narrator you could ever imagine. Sometimes thrillers can be really monotonous but this was anything but!

I think it’s really important to go into this with an open mind and not to expect a super realistic story wrapped up in a bow. If you’ve read Behind Her Eyes, you know the author has a very unique way to wrap things up. I’m still thinking about the ending of this one

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