Firstly, thank you for the advanced copy of this book. The book to me was a little different to others I have read and from the blurb and cover sounded an interesting read with an intriguing storyline. I really like reading books in this genre and was excited to receive this book as it sounded right up my street.
However, in the end I felt the book left me with more questions than answers. The book, I thought, had so much more potential to be more tense, atmospheric and have so many more complexities woven into the plot and the lives of the characters. Despite this, there were parts of the novel that were quite dark with an intense and menacing atmosphere. This was particularly the case with Vidar's character.
I also felt the story was a little slow to begin with, but the second half picked up a bit of pace. I felt that more could of happened in the first half of the book to build up the tension and could of expanded on some of the details surrounding Vidar's and Liv's relationship.
Additionally, the characters, I feel, could have had more depth to them and could have been developed further. I really struggled to connect with Liv, however really enjoyed Liam's character and was really rooting for him to succeed in changing his ways by the end. I found Liv to be a very complex character and was struggling to know how I felt about her throughout and felt like I was constantly blowing hot and cold. Overall, I did build up empathy with her character and wanted her to be able to move forwards with her life.
Furthermore, I really enjoyed the descriptions throughout the book, especially those atoning to the landscape. The author did an amazing job of bringing the scenery and landscape to life, to the extent that I felt I was there. I could imagine the snow crunching under my feel, the cold finding its way into my bones and the smell of the pine forests. These descriptions were also brilliant at giving a sense of isolation and alienation as well as glimpse to some of the remotest parts of Sweden.
Overall, I quite enjoyed reading this book and would have loved to have given it a couple of more stars, however I did feel the book was missing something for me. The writing style also made the novel very easy to read and an excellent translation was provided. At times, I found the book a little hard to read though, not because of the writing, but because of some of the themes covered within its pages. The book has a whole host of themes and some of the overriding ones include control, manipulation and feeling trapped.
In general, I would recommend this book, particularly to someone who was looking for a slow-burning thriller. I'm also still interested and intrigued to read her first novel the Silver Road. On a final note I think this book will stay with me for a while and it is one that I find my self thinking about.
However, in the end I felt the book left me with more questions than answers. The book, I thought, had so much more potential to be more tense, atmospheric and have so many more complexities woven into the plot and the lives of the characters. Despite this, there were parts of the novel that were quite dark with an intense and menacing atmosphere. This was particularly the case with Vidar's character.
I also felt the story was a little slow to begin with, but the second half picked up a bit of pace. I felt that more could of happened in the first half of the book to build up the tension and could of expanded on some of the details surrounding Vidar's and Liv's relationship.
Additionally, the characters, I feel, could have had more depth to them and could have been developed further. I really struggled to connect with Liv, however really enjoyed Liam's character and was really rooting for him to succeed in changing his ways by the end. I found Liv to be a very complex character and was struggling to know how I felt about her throughout and felt like I was constantly blowing hot and cold. Overall, I did build up empathy with her character and wanted her to be able to move forwards with her life.
Furthermore, I really enjoyed the descriptions throughout the book, especially those atoning to the landscape. The author did an amazing job of bringing the scenery and landscape to life, to the extent that I felt I was there. I could imagine the snow crunching under my feel, the cold finding its way into my bones and the smell of the pine forests. These descriptions were also brilliant at giving a sense of isolation and alienation as well as glimpse to some of the remotest parts of Sweden.
Overall, I quite enjoyed reading this book and would have loved to have given it a couple of more stars, however I did feel the book was missing something for me. The writing style also made the novel very easy to read and an excellent translation was provided. At times, I found the book a little hard to read though, not because of the writing, but because of some of the themes covered within its pages. The book has a whole host of themes and some of the overriding ones include control, manipulation and feeling trapped.
In general, I would recommend this book, particularly to someone who was looking for a slow-burning thriller. I'm also still interested and intrigued to read her first novel the Silver Road. On a final note I think this book will stay with me for a while and it is one that I find my self thinking about.