bookswithbibi's reviews
706 reviews

For about 85% of the book, I was enthralled, super engaged, and unsettled. But then, the repetition started increasing, and I started skimming increasingly, needing to get to the big moment, the climax, where all the cards would be shown…which never actually happened.

While Ingrid started to be more curious and suspicious, the moment I was waiting, the satisfaction never came, and all I was left with was a myriad of questions. While I understand why the author left it that way, I'm frustrated because I read all that for what? I think even a mini epilogue to explain the outside world more and how Benji got there, and how no one raised the alarm about Ingrid's absence, would be beneficial to tie a few things up. Benji is seen doing some weird stuff that I assume, as the reader, is part of the story surrounding the house and its hold on the occupants, but it's never explained, so it ends up being just a strange scene with no weight behind it.

I surprised myself by really enjoying this book, as I didn’t think it'd be for me when I started. But the unsettling atmosphere kept me hooked, and I think the writing captured the setting and the deeply flawed relationships realistically and interestingly. Overall, while I did like the book, not having a solid or semi-solid resolution of the story brings my rating down.

While I quite enjoyed the Old Girls' Behaving Badly, unfortunately the Old Girls' Chateau Escape fell flat for me. I think this was mostly because it felt like the mystery had little to no stakes - that it was just there. I also felt like the multiple POVs distracted from things and that they weren't needed to keep the tension, as I was invested in Gina and not really anyone else. What I enjoyed about the first book was the relationship between Gina and Dorothy, and since it wasn't as present as in book one, I didn't feel as engaged. 

Nevertheless, there were some redeeming moments, and I'd want to see what Dorothy and Gina get up to next. 

Thanks to NG and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for my honest review. 

This is a hard book for me to review. 

On the one hand, I appreciated the commentary on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. On how they (and their families looking for them) get dismissed and forgotten by law enforcement, on the generational trauma and racism, and ongoing colonialism that impacts Indigenous peoples every day. 

On the other hand, I don't think Carrie Starr and her story were the best avenue to make this essential commentary. She mostly elicited such annoyance and negative feelings from me that it distracted from the important messages and themes the author was trying to convey. I also found that the multiple POVs were too much and gave away the mystery. I would've appreciated one or two POVs to get away from Carrie's, but the amount the author had was too much for me. I had sympathy for Carrie, what she went through, and as half-Indigenous, never feeling like she belonged in either the white world or the Indigenous world (something I can relate to as a transracial adoptee). However, I never connected with her, and I was rooting for her to move away from her biases for the sake of the missing women, not specifically for her character development. 

The only redeeming characters I found were the Deer Woman and Chenoa. I loved the storytelling aspect, and the story of Deer Woman was a shining star. 

This was a sweet quick read with some funny and heartwarming moments. However, I was more invested in the developing friendships and characters than the romance. Because of this, I didn’t
mind the fade to black scenes, but I still wish there was a bit more substance and chemistry to the characters;s relationship. I appreciated the mental health and therapy focus and I thought Noah, Ronda and the other players were gems. 

I love Rebecca Jenshak and she has delivered another solid read. I did find, as it was a teen romance, I wasn’t as invested in the romance as her adult books, but I still thought Claire and Austin were cute. I  did find myself slightl more invested in the side characters, however. Rebecca has always delivered a solid cast of characters around the MCs and for me, they were a bit more interesting in this story. 

I really loved Lacey, her loyalty and protectiveness and I’m intrigued by Rowan. Lastly, I liked that while there was a third act breakup, it was pretty low drama and it wasn’t drawn out too long.