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A review by pagesplotsandpints
Just the Nicest Couple by Mary Kubica
3.75
Read Completed 3/1/23 | 3.75 - 4 stars
I almost didn't read this because I saw SO many reviews of how bad the writing was, but thankfully listening to this on audio, the Audiobook narrators did a good job of keeping things flowing and allow for tension on shorter, choppy sentences instead of it feeling stilted and clumsy.
This is probably the only Mary Kubica book I've really been interested in (despite reading all of them) since EVERY LAST LIE, and even then, it was more that I knew the location in the book and that made it more interesting. Apparently I've been leaving multiple books four stars, but I know those were rounded up. I really think the narrators did the heavy lifting on this one, keeping me engaged and interested.
I did like that there was a little mystery the whole time. We find out about an altercation in the woods that may have left Jake dead, but the reveal/confirmation isn't until the end of the book, so while it's heavily implied that Lily killed him, there's still a little question on what exactly happened. I liked that we got to see one half of the couple and the other half of the other couple (Nina of Nina & Jake, and Christian of Lily & Christian) to keep everything connected to the same event and not having too many unessential characters.
I did still have issues with some loose ends and things that just didn't flow cleanly for me.
- There's a red herring that really could have been used more, not just to throw suspicion but actually push that a little more into a threatening or suspenseful territory. It would have been nice to have that connected a bit more and really lean into it so it didn't feel like its sole purpose was just to draw attention away.
- There's a reveal at the end that was a little too out of left field, which was disappointing because that's usually the issue I have with Mary Kubica's books. I'm all for being surprised by a twist, but the twist still has to make sense and be a viable option. This kind of came out of nowhere, and even before the twist was revealed, I thought we could have leaned on a few more plot devices to keep things mysterious and moving forward. I can't really say what that was without spoilers...Nina's mother's vision...
- And things were just a little clunky. The connections between the characters could have been way smoother. I would have loved to have more hints and breadcrumbs to have made a few things not such a surprise. Sure, I could have guessed them, but it's not as satisfying when they're really not hinted at or talked about. It's like yeah, okay. Moving on.
I'll round this one up to four stars because I really was interested the whole time -- again, thanks to the narrators, mostly likely -- mostly with the question of whether or not Jake was actually dead. I keep reading Mary Kubica books despite still having issues with the writing all the time, but this one clicked more than usual.
I almost didn't read this because I saw SO many reviews of how bad the writing was, but thankfully listening to this on audio, the Audiobook narrators did a good job of keeping things flowing and allow for tension on shorter, choppy sentences instead of it feeling stilted and clumsy.
This is probably the only Mary Kubica book I've really been interested in (despite reading all of them) since EVERY LAST LIE, and even then, it was more that I knew the location in the book and that made it more interesting. Apparently I've been leaving multiple books four stars, but I know those were rounded up. I really think the narrators did the heavy lifting on this one, keeping me engaged and interested.
I did like that there was a little mystery the whole time. We find out about an altercation in the woods that may have left Jake dead, but the reveal/confirmation isn't until the end of the book, so while it's heavily implied that Lily killed him, there's still a little question on what exactly happened. I liked that we got to see one half of the couple and the other half of the other couple (Nina of Nina & Jake, and Christian of Lily & Christian) to keep everything connected to the same event and not having too many unessential characters.
I did still have issues with some loose ends and things that just didn't flow cleanly for me.
- There's a red herring that really could have been used more, not just to throw suspicion but actually push that a little more into a threatening or suspenseful territory. It would have been nice to have that connected a bit more and really lean into it so it didn't feel like its sole purpose was just to draw attention away.
- There's a reveal at the end that was a little too out of left field, which was disappointing because that's usually the issue I have with Mary Kubica's books. I'm all for being surprised by a twist, but the twist still has to make sense and be a viable option. This kind of came out of nowhere, and even before the twist was revealed, I thought we could have leaned on a few more plot devices to keep things mysterious and moving forward. I can't really say what that was without spoilers...
- And things were just a little clunky. The connections between the characters could have been way smoother. I would have loved to have more hints and breadcrumbs to have made a few things not such a surprise. Sure, I could have guessed them, but it's not as satisfying when they're really not hinted at or talked about. It's like yeah, okay. Moving on.
I'll round this one up to four stars because I really was interested the whole time -- again, thanks to the narrators, mostly likely -- mostly with the question of whether or not Jake was actually dead. I keep reading Mary Kubica books despite still having issues with the writing all the time, but this one clicked more than usual.