By Beth O’Leary
If you’ve ever felt personally victimised by a man you’re dating, especially a lying, cheating, narcissistic, avoidant man, then this book will be an emotional rollercoaster. It will make you question everything you think you know, and you won’t see the end coming.
As suggested from the blurb, this book follows the perspective of three different women who have been involved with the same flaky man. The women’s personalities and backstories are notably different, remaining equally entertaining and memorable throughout the book – hats off to O’Leary; that’s a tough thing to achieve. The way the women’s lives interconnect and come together from dating the same man is brilliant; the story has the same allure as a thriller that keeps you hooked from the first few chapters.
Through each point of view, you see a different emotional hardship that the women have been through. Although the author doesn’t dive deep into the darker topics, they are handled well and shown realistically with no sugar-coating for the sake of the story. All of the characters are perfectly flawed and dealing with real life, relatable circumstances that make the story feel grounded.
O’Leary has written this novel in standard third-person past tense, and it stays consistent throughout the different points of view. There is a good balance of showing and telling, so the story feels like a smooth-running movie as you read. Though I won’t lie, the last 25% of the book did drag. As each story is being wrapped up, the cliffhangers and conclusions have a start-and-stop feel as the story jumps from character to character. I felt it could have been condensed to have a more concise climax. But regardless, it’s a great book.
Descriptive writing: 8/10
Character depth: 7/10
Pace of the story: medium.
For fans of Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid.