My review
Goldilocks and the three bears — we all remember this story, don’t we? Well if you don’t, then read this book. It will give you a glimpse of what could have happened, of what would have happened, had Goldilocks been devious and psychotic! Gotcha!!
My second book by Sheryl Browne, and I was extremely apprehensive about reading it as I wasn’t overly fond of reading her previous one. But this was something different. The book pulled me in from the initial chapters. The theme of the book was in the title so that was no surprise, but the story pleasantly was!
Alicia, Justin, Sophie and Luke = a happy family
A road traffic accident
Alicia, Justin, and Sophie = a devastated family (a.k.a. the 3 bears)
Enter Paul (a.k.a. Goldilocks) and events start rigmaroling out of control.
Like Goldilocks who tries everything in the bears’ house, Goldilocks Paul here wants the Mama Bear, Alicia. The parts of the affair keep bobbing up and down throughout the story till it reaches a climax.
Loved Papa Bear Justin, he was everything a man should be. Losing his children 6 month old Luke to death, with 15 year old Sophie running away, and the affair being revealed, he was the man at the end of his tether who still persevered for his family. Mama Bear Alicia was often confused and helpless, and wringing her hands instead of talking and confronting. Baby Bear Sophie ran away from the truth and found herself in a luxurious maze not knowing the doors of the maze were shut fast.
Then there were the niggles, they wormed their way in. The story dragged at some parts, the scenes felt repetitive, the characters other than Justin were not likable. AND IT WAS NOT A PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER WITH A SHOCKING TWIST!! Praise the skies, it wasn’t as this was a family drama sitting on the verge of insanity but never really dipping into that insanity.
Sheryl Browne kept me mighty entertained with her book, and I would love to see where she goes next.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and publisher Bookouture, and this is my honest and unbiased opinion
My rating : 4 stars
Book blurb
The moment she opened her eyes, she knew everything had changed. The stale taste of alcohol; her uneasy stomach. She looked at her husband sleeping peacefully, and knew she would never tell anyone what happened last night.
You will think you know what happened to Alicia that night.
You will see a desperate wife, lying to her husband.
You will watch a charming lover, trying to win her back.
You will judge her, just like everyone else.
You will assume you know what happens next. But everything you think you know about the past, the relationships, what drives Alicia and her husband to lie… is wrong.
Product Details
Publication date : 10th August, 2018
Publisher : Bookouture
22 Responses
Nicely written. Sounds very interesting. The cover is great.
Thank you, it is what came into my mind thanks to my niece and her recent fairy tale
😊😁😀😁😊
Lovely lovely review 💜 Shalin
Thank you Priyash♥️
Sounds intriguing, Shalini, but also kind of…sad? Does the family work everything out in the end?
Yes they do… But not in a Thriller-y way but as a family. This book is supposed to be a thriller but the author needs to find a balance. Her previous book ‘baby-sitter’ had too much of unbelievable dark twists and this had nothing just hints of light gray… Hence it became a drama. Maybe in her book, she would find a balance
Great review.. After reading the review I want this book
Thank you so much Ayushi. I have sent you mails for August ours. Please check spam too
Title is interesting
It was okay
Haha we’re opposite on these, I liked the first I’d read from her better. Lovely review Shalini, glad you did enjoy it more than I did. 🙂
I liked her first but couldn’t believe a cop would hire someone as inhouse babysitter without verifying. The events were good, but the disbelief persisted which eclipsed the story
Yay – glad it made you happy!
This book was okay didn’t make me happy, kept me entertained
I liked how you compared it to Goldilocks haha. The book does sound interesting though
My niece had that book in her hand 😉
Thank you so much
I really like this cover. Great review!
I loved it too
I’m just happy it was your niece and not Nicole who inspired the bear analogy 😊😄
I thought of putting the icon… But the bears were good in this… Goldilocks was pretty bad
😂😂