Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

164 reviews

triforcefusion's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.5

As a thriller, this book created some tension in the beginning, but as it went along, it became boring. There are too many ideas going on to intentionally mislead and confuse the reader. It is not smart. The entire storyline that includes sexual assault is completely unnecessary and ads nothing of substance to the book. I hate books that use sexual assault for the horror/shock of it just to be horrific and shocking. It did nothing with it other than be vulgar. 

The main character/s are very unlikeable and I hope that this author had a consultant for mental illness, or else she is just using mental illness tropes/notions to write the story she wants. I would have given it a 1 if there wasn't two final "gotcha" moments, one of which doesn't even make sense based on the characterization of the main character/s. I feel I can see the author smirk and say, "Aren't I so clever?" No. You are not. 

Her writing is fine, 0.5 stars. 
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amplawrence's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • 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

1.0

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elle_laine's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book was one heck of a ride…
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jasminanne's review against another edition

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The stalking and sexual assault triggers are a bit too much. 
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ljtademy3's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This book seemed to drag a bit for the first half of it. It gives you the impression that you can predict what is going to happen and in some ways you absolutely can. The twists are not predictable, but with the way that the story is laid out, I found the twists more confusing than shocking and engaging. I had to look up a book explanation once I finished reading to make sense of it all and once I did, it felt like the story made less sense. The book wasn’t all bad though. I found the diary chapters very interesting and engaging. It was just not as exciting as I had hoped overall.
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lauren610's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Could not out this book down! I loved it and the unexpected twists. 
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alexisgarcia's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

please PLEASE check the trigger warnings  before reading!!

i felt like the coma chapters were really slow and dragged for me. the twists were okay but some of them seemed so pointless. some of the twists were unnecessary and awful. it brought the book down so far for me. there was no reason for some of the book content to be in there. 
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reburkah's review against another edition

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mysterious tense slow-paced
  • 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

2.25

I felt this book to be incredibly slow. It dragged on forever and the book is less than 300 pages. The narrator is unlikable and I was uninterested in what happened to her.
The rape scene was entirely unnecessary and added nothing to the plot. There was no need for that character at all.
I wish there had been more definition between diary and real life as I found it to be confusing to what had actually happened. The scenes where she was in the coma were redundant and boring which ruins the excitement of the book considering it's about a character in a coma. 
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samanthaosleger's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Read if you like...
⏰ Alternating timelines 
📖 Binge-worthy thrillers 
🧠 Psychological thrillers 
❌ Unreliable narrators 
🤔 Ambiguous endings 
✏️ Diary Entries 
📝 Short chapters 

✨ “My name is Amber Reynolds, & there are three things you should know about me. 
  1. I’m in a coma.
  2. My husband doesn’t love me anymore.
  3. Sometimes I lie.”

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney is told from alternating timelines, including current time (while she is in the coma), recent past (just before the coma), and distant past (childhood diary entries).

☁️ This was a page-turner, and I didn’t see the twists coming. While there were several twists, I felt a few to be implausible. The end had me going… “WHAT JUST HAPPENED?” 🤯 I was baffled after the final chapter and had to look up what had happened. I found various threads of other readers discussing interpretations of different parts of the ending. I was glad to know I wasn’t alone in being confused. With that said, make sure to read very carefully, or even better, buddy read this one, so you have someone to discuss it with! The plot and characters get a bit twisty. Overall, it’s an interesting thriller and an easy read, but it left me with more questions than answers. It’s my third Feeney book, and I wouldn’t say I liked it as much as Rock, Paper, Scissors, but I think I liked it more than Daisy Darker. 

Ending so confusing…. here are my thoughts ① Confused about Edward… like the fact that he ends up working at the hospital that Amber is a patient at seems too convenient… but maybe he knew that was the closest hospital to her? ② “Amber made me do it”. It totally made me believe that amber was the psycho one and Claire was doing what amber wanted. Then after reading everyone else’s reviews thought differently that it may have been planted there by Claire. Not sure? ③ What is the anniversary at the end? Who leaves the bracelet? ④ Does Paul not love her anymore? Still curious about his role in everything? ⑤ I Definitely thought that Edward was dead and that Claire and amber killed him since something about them “not having an alibi” was mentioned even though they were never asked.
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dnlrbchd's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This one was a bit of a mess. Stuck it out because I've liked some of Feeney's other books but this one didn't totally do it for me.
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