Book Review | Book Chatter

Force of Nature
By Jane Harper
Flatiron Books, 9781250105639, February 2018, 336pp.

The Short of It:

A corporate retreat goes wrong, leaving a missing woman behind.

The Rest of It:

In theory this should have been a real page-turner but in reality it was a story that I really just wanted to give up on. However, because it’s gotten plenty of good reviews from bloggers I respect, I pushed myself to finish it. Me, pushing to get through it didn’t pay off.

A group of catty women head into the wilderness on a corporate retreat. None of them are properly equipped for the elements and when they get lost, they cannot for the life of them pull together as a team and figure a way out. Plus, they aren’t being honest with one another so when one of them goes missing, a woman no one likes, no one really cares about her disappearance. In my opinion, having this unlikable character be the missing woman was a big mistake because I didn’t care if she was found or not.

The added background story of what was going on with the woman at the time of her disappearance really didn’t add anything to the story so I’m not even sure why it was included.

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this one.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

The Incendiaries
By R.O. Kwon
Riverhead Books, 9780735213890, July 2018, 224pp.

The Short of It:

Misplaced faith can blind anyone.

The Rest of It:

Phoebe and Will meet during their first year at Edwards University. Phoebe comes from money. Will, the opposite, doing his best to keep his scholarship while working part-time. In whatever spare time he has, Will finds himself completely obsessed with Phoebe. When Phoebe is lured into a religious cult by its enigmatic leader, John Leal, Will, puts his judgement aside and joins Phoebe and this cult just to be close to her, which ultimately leads them down a path of no return.

The Incendiaries is short but powerful. Beautiful but destructive. As a reader, you can’t help but sense the underlying unease that is interwoven between each page. Phoebe’s increasing passion alarms Will. Her dedication to a group she knows so little about is at once admirable and terrifying. Their love is fleeting and there is a definite sense that something horrible is about to happen.

This is a dark subject but Kwon delicately dances between the dark and the light. The Incendiaries is very well-balanced and simply told. No fluffy language or extra anything but the story will stay with you after turning that last page.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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