That one Reese Witherspoon book club pick that you see everywhere. I remember I bought this book the day it came out, full priced too, thinking I was in for treat.

That’s the thing with books that are heavily marketed by book publishing houses, they overhype a mediocre book to you and you are left unsatisfied with a negative $30 in your bank account.

☕️Here’s the tea ☕️

I enjoyed the rhythm and the mystery element of this novel. There was a lot going on that kept you at the edge of your seat. This novel follows the story of a rich single dad who suddenly disappears, and leaves his daughter in the hands of his wife AKA the cringe step-mom. But what makes this story so interesting is why he disappeared. Without spoiling it, turns out you don’t want to mess with the mafia.

But the characters? Oh yeah, we don’t like them. In all honesty, these characters are not likable. They don’t have any likable traits. These characters are not fully fleshed out, they are just there to to help tell the story rather the ones telling the story. But that’s what you get in mystery novels. Most mystery novels are all about the plot and nothing about the characters. It’s always the minor characters that you root for.

🥸 So Why Is It So Damn Popular? 🥸

1. The Plot. The plot of the story is enough to get keep you on your toes, and make you wanna read page after page.
2. The major theme of family. The book has an over arching theme about family, and how we all make sacrifices for those who we love. In other words, it’s the perfect hallmark movie told in a book.
3. It’s basic enough to be read by everyone. Books like these do so well in the New York Bestsellers list because it’s easy to read, it keeps you on your toes, and you know all the white moms will love it.

🥴 Do I recommend this book to everyone? 🥴

Is this a must-read book? No.

This book is a good book to read when you want to read a book with a good plot. I was going to rate this book three stars, but the ending earned an extra star. It’s not THAT good, but it did exceed my expectations on how this book was going to end.

I recommend this book to people who want to read rather than watch a movie. Or to people who want a juicy story to read at the beach.

If you are a white mom who doesn’t read literary novels and read bestsellers, you will love this book! This book is really made for the moms, but if you are mom who is a huge feminist, doesn’t buy into gender norms, or macho man energy; this is definitely not the book for you.

Or if you are looking for your next favorite book or your next book club pick, I would pass on this one.