Day: January 1, 2020

What a way to start a new year of reading! From a body hanging at the entrance to an elite girls’ school (literally the first sentence of the book) to the shocking finale, this book was filled with twists galore and had me engrossed the entire time.

The plot on its own was intriguing because the author sets up from the beginning that not everything is as it appears; this goes for situations as well as people. I loved the way the author put little hints into the narrative to nudge the reader that something might be relevant.

Now, I realize that several authors do this, as they guide their characters and the reader through the story. What makes this author stand out, however,  is how the hints are dropped. They are rarely overt and never scream out obviously. Instead, they are almost throwaways or asides that only a careful and clever reader will catch.

As an example, I re-read the first few chapters before writing this review (to refresh my memory). Having finished the story, I was amazed to see how many little hints were scattered within the first chapter alone. To me, this is just genius.

Because the plot was so twisty, I really can’t get into details (if you have read any of my reviews, you know that I loathe spoilers and book report reviews). I thought that the characters were fully realized, and I could imagine the action taking place in real life – nothing seemed too far-fetched. Given that the author had experience within an all-girls school, this makes sense.

I also liked that the chapter titles gave a hint of what would be revealed in the chapter. And that is what made this book so good; each chapter gave the reader just a little bit more of the bigger picture until the climax (or is it?) of the story. And just when you think everything is resolved…well, you’re wrong – it isn’t. Keep reading until the very last word.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from the author.

Oh, and if this book is any indication of how my reading year will go, I cannot WAIT to jump in!

Author Bio

J.T. Ellison is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 20 novels, and the EMMY-award winning co-host of A WORD ON WORDS, Nashville’s premier literary show. With millions of books in print, her work has won critical acclaim, prestigious awards, and has been published in 26 countries. Ellison lives in Nashville with her husband and twin kittens.