Don’t Close Your Eyes by Holly Seddon
Synopsis:
Twin sisters Robin and Sarah haven’t spoken in years.
Robin can’t leave her house. A complete shut-in, she spends her days spying on her neighbors, subtly meddling in their lives. But she can’t keep her demons out forever. Someone from her past has returned, and is desperate to get inside.
Sarah can’t go home. Her husband has kicked her out, forcibly denying her access to their toddler. Sarah will do anything to get her daughter back, but she’s unraveling under the mounting pressure of concealing the dark secrets of her past. And her lies are catching up to her.
The novel takes readers back in time to witness the complex family dynamics that formed Robin and Sarah into the emotionally damaged, estranged young women they’ve become. As the gripping and intricate layers of their shared past are slowly peeled away, the shocks and twists will keep readers breathless long after the final page.
I feel like I had a love hate relationship with this book. Kind of like most people have with their siblings. I enjoyed reading it and the twist was very unexpected, however, I feel like one big part of the story was just under realised. With Robins unexpected visitor turning out to be harmless I feel like the seriousness of Robins condition kind of gets brushed over. I have struggled a little with agoraphobia in my life and it just feels a little like it’s not fully fleshed out. I have never gotten to the point where I can’t leave the house but I have, at times, found it very difficult to and had panic attacks trying to step into the outside world. With everything that goes on in this book Robin has to overcome her fears to find out what her sister is up to and it’s amazing that she does, but I don’t know it just seems a bit lost in this one thing. I love every other part of the book. It’s gritty and I couldn’t put it down as I needed to know what would happen and what had happened to these two sisters. Especially as I am so close to my sister and I could never imagine something driving us apart to the point of no contact. Overall I really liked this book and would recommend giving it a read.
I give this book 4/5
Not Working by Lisa Owens
Synopsis:
Claire Flannery has just quit her office job, hoping to take some time to discover her real passion. The problem is, she s not exactly sure how to go about finding it. Without the distractions of a regular routine, Claire confronts the best and worst parts of herself: the generous, attentive part that visits her grandmother for tea and cooks special meals for her boyfriend, Luke, and the part that she feels will never measure up and makes regrettable comments after too many glasses of wine. What emerges is a candid, moving portrait of a clear-eyed heroine trying to forge her own way, a wholly relatable character whose imperfections and uncanny observations highlight what makes us all different and yet inescapably linked.
So I purchased this book on a whim when I didn’t have anything to read on a train journey. Waterstones had their buy one get one half price offer on and I love a good bargain so picked up a couple. I got this one as I once quit my job without a real plan of what I was going to do next, which is exactly what the protagonist Claire does, so I thought maybe I could relate.
I thought this would be something funny to read but I didn’t think it was as funny as I had hopped. I also found it difficult to relate to Claire because of the way it was written. Rather than being a through line it was written more in the style of diary entries. This made me feel a little more ditached from Claire. I also struggled with the fact that throughout the book an issue with Claire’s mother is quite overlooked. I know if I had an issue with my mom I would make it my priority to resolve that issue. However, I wouldn’t say it was a bad book. It certainly had times that I laughed out loud. I just think maybe it’s not for me.
I gave this book 1/5
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All Synopsis Are Taken From Goodreads
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