Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings
Olivia Berrington has a friend that she hasn't spoken to in years and she finds out at the very beginning of this story that her friend has died and they are unsure if the police's findings of car accident are completely true. She must delve into the past and learn about her friends recent past to find the truth.
The format of the book with chapters in the present unfolding the current story and stories from the past to mold your knowledge of their friendship's beginnings was fantastic. I loved learning the ups and downs of their friendship while also learning about how Olivia was going to get to the bottom of it all simultaneously. It made me think about those friends who I talk to often and those from the past and how friends come and go in the seasons of life.
Olivia Berrington has a friend that she hasn't spoken to in years and she finds out at the very beginning of this story that her friend has died and they are unsure if the police's findings of car accident are completely true. She must delve into the past and learn about her friends recent past to find the truth.
The format of the book with chapters in the present unfolding the current story and stories from the past to mold your knowledge of their friendship's beginnings was fantastic. I loved learning the ups and downs of their friendship while also learning about how Olivia was going to get to the bottom of it all simultaneously. It made me think about those friends who I talk to often and those from the past and how friends come and go in the seasons of life.
Languidly passing through her thirties, Livvy Berrington thinks her life is pretty ordinary with a job she hates, a best friend/flatmate she's desperately, one-sidedly smitten with, and absolutely no love prospectsuntil she receives a call that her former best friend, Sally Atkins, has been killed.
Sally's death is at first shocking, then increasingly somber as Livvy revealsthrough a series of extended flashbacks that lead up to the explosive cause to the end of the brightly burning friendshipjust what kind of relationship the two girls had in college. As Livvy learns to cope with losing her best friend she hasn't spoken to in decades, she becomes entangled in an unexpected, unfathomable relationship that arises from the ashes tragedy. Her grief is intertwined with intense, wild stories from her university years, the years that have caused her so much regret, loss, and heartbreak.
While Livvy's reflections of her early twenties are evocative and induce school-age nostalgia, the story itself is banal and way too linear. I found the book unnecessarily wordy at a whopping 504 pages; it contains lots of pointless action and inner dialogue the story could have done without. The lack of structure and actual point to the story made it a bit difficult to read, and the painfully predictable climax and conclusion did nothing to impress me either.
Livvy is a fickle character, and although it's easy to sympathize with her, it's also very easy to find her very pathetic. There were just some moments I wanted to take her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her. While her first-person narration is stylistically rather elementary, Livvy does have her moments of beautiful, introspective reflection. The only reason I enjoyed her perspective is because of her contemplative thoughts on human connections and coping.
Pros: Easy to read // Reflects on the meaning of friendship // Wonderfully nostalgic // Olivia is a deep, observant thinker
Cons: Slowly and irregularly paced // Messy, unmemorable plot // Most characters are insignificant and dislikable (I only really liked Jules, Olivia's sister) // Livvy is a weak character and narrator // Seems to drag on forever
Verdict: Eleanor Moran's most recent novel didn't sweep me away, but it was still an enjoyable story about the value of girl friends and the magic of hope-filled youth. I was mostly disappointed that the big mystery enshrouding Sally's "dark" secrets was calculable and unoriginal, but did appreciate how The Last Time I Saw You probingly explores the tendency we humans have for forever remembering those we have once loved.
Rating: 6 out of 10 hearts (3 stars): Decent for a first read, but I'm not going back; this book is decidedly average (whatever that means!).
Source: Complimentary copy provided by publicist in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you, Wunderkind!).
Sally's death is at first shocking, then increasingly somber as Livvy revealsthrough a series of extended flashbacks that lead up to the explosive cause to the end of the brightly burning friendshipjust what kind of relationship the two girls had in college. As Livvy learns to cope with losing her best friend she hasn't spoken to in decades, she becomes entangled in an unexpected, unfathomable relationship that arises from the ashes tragedy. Her grief is intertwined with intense, wild stories from her university years, the years that have caused her so much regret, loss, and heartbreak.
While Livvy's reflections of her early twenties are evocative and induce school-age nostalgia, the story itself is banal and way too linear. I found the book unnecessarily wordy at a whopping 504 pages; it contains lots of pointless action and inner dialogue the story could have done without. The lack of structure and actual point to the story made it a bit difficult to read, and the painfully predictable climax and conclusion did nothing to impress me either.
Livvy is a fickle character, and although it's easy to sympathize with her, it's also very easy to find her very pathetic. There were just some moments I wanted to take her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her. While her first-person narration is stylistically rather elementary, Livvy does have her moments of beautiful, introspective reflection. The only reason I enjoyed her perspective is because of her contemplative thoughts on human connections and coping.
Pros: Easy to read // Reflects on the meaning of friendship // Wonderfully nostalgic // Olivia is a deep, observant thinker
Cons: Slowly and irregularly paced // Messy, unmemorable plot // Most characters are insignificant and dislikable (I only really liked Jules, Olivia's sister) // Livvy is a weak character and narrator // Seems to drag on forever
Verdict: Eleanor Moran's most recent novel didn't sweep me away, but it was still an enjoyable story about the value of girl friends and the magic of hope-filled youth. I was mostly disappointed that the big mystery enshrouding Sally's "dark" secrets was calculable and unoriginal, but did appreciate how The Last Time I Saw You probingly explores the tendency we humans have for forever remembering those we have once loved.
Rating: 6 out of 10 hearts (3 stars): Decent for a first read, but I'm not going back; this book is decidedly average (whatever that means!).
Source: Complimentary copy provided by publicist in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you, Wunderkind!).
