The Details:
Narrated by Alix Dunmore
Unabridged

This was haunting and unexpectedly ... sensual... I don't know if that's the right word, exactly, but I wasn't expecting how much I'd be taken in with the beauty of the water and dense heat of summer compared to the innocent exploration of girlhood and how nostalgic that felt for me. Yet, in contrast, how this sweet and pure theme was manipulated in the present scenes and used to the advantage of an older and trusted character. It was uncomfortable but I couldn't stop reading.

In tone, this kind of gave me the Paper Palace vibes, and that makes me want to revisit that title because I had previously dnf'd it.

I loved how haunting the time period and season felt, which isn't a word I would usually use to describe summer and the 70s at all, but there was this whole heavy atmosphere that was rich in melancholy and the gothic and although it wasn't a thriller, there was such a dense layer of suspense and tension at every turn.

Depending on Maeve or Ruth's perspective, it was interesting how warped the mother or daughter's voice sounded to the perspective. As the reader, it was fascinating to see how the other viewed the others actions, justified their own, etc.

I feel like the fall out happened a bit too close to the end. I wanted the fall out to happen sooner so we could see more of the direct consequences span out, but I enjoyed that we got to see more long term scenarios, which felt like more closure than I was expecting. 

I was honestly a little disappointed by this book. I really liked the concept but it took me a longggggg time to care about the characters at all. I felt like I couldn't relate to either of them very much until about halfway through the book. A lot of Maeve's character felt like it was made more complicated than it needed to be for these things to happen. I have no idea why her having been ill as a child was important to her story at all. I hated Stuart from the very first time he was mentioned and I was right. I wish the ending was more satisfying because once we got into the very real complications of these characters and I started to think they were interesting, they just wrapped everything up and everything was "okay" in the end without anyone actually doing anything to get there. I do think it's a good book, I just wanted more out of these characters because I think they deserved it.

I also really think they should have drowned Stuart in the river at the end. It would have been satisfying

Though, I do wonder if maybe the reason the ending wasn't satisyfing is because it was a realistic ending. That is kind of how those things tend to go and I think a lot of my wishing is that I was in Maeve's position once and I wish someone had

DROWNED HIM

instead of just not doing anything about it really. The mom deserved better, too. Stuart deserved worse. 

I loved the writing in this book, the haunted images of pretty girls floating in the river, the complexity of the characters, the way if the past is left unresolved it ends up repeating itself. I found the relationship hard to stomach, but I guess that's the point. It leaves you to make your own decision about who the villains are.