A review by alilbitofmonica
When She Was Me: A Novel by Marlee Bush

dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Wow. I did not see this coming, but this was a fantastic thriller that turned from a 4 star at 70% into a 4.5-5 star read by the ending.

The twists and turns in this are spectacular. The author does a fantastic job at giving you enough to hook you and pull you in, while still remaining vague enough in details to keep things suspicious and suspenseful. I genuinely had such a good time reading this - especially the closer we got to the end.

- Cassie and Lenora were two fascinating characters - I truly never knew who I was supposed to like more or who was being sketchy and suspicious.
- The setting is automatically eerie by having them live in a cabin in the woods, but add in the other mysterious happenings and you've got yourself a classic setup for a good thrill.
- The introduction of Sarah and then the Meadows family sets off a whole new slew of drama that keeps you guessing at what is truly going on those cabins.
- The flashback chapters are the perfect blend of uncovering secrets of the past while remaining just vague enough to really make you think "do I even know what I'm reading right now?" - the way these chapters do not use names to tell you who is who makes you really stop and think about which sister we're talking about and I loved that element.
- The underlying narrative of sisterhood and what someone will or won't do for their family is so good here and it's all so dark and twisted