When reclusive novelist Senna Richards wakes up on her thirty-third birthday, everything has changed. Caged behind an electrical fence, locked in a house in the middle of the snow, Senna is left to decode the clues to find out why she was taken. If she wants her freedom, she has to take a close look at her past. But, her past has a heartbeat...and her kidnapper is nowhere to be found. With her survival hanging by a thread, Senna soon realizes this is a game. A dangerous one. Only the truth can set her free.
BUY: Amazon
It
pains me to write this review because I adore Tarryn Fisher, so I am going to
keep it as short as possible.
There
was an unbelievable amount of hype surrounding this book, and with Tarryn
Fisher being one of my favorite authors, I ate it up. My excitement levels kept
rising and by the time Mud Vein was
released, I was almost shaking with anticipation. I dove in, reading to be
blown away; to read it start to finish in one sitting. I was expecting
greatness. I didn’t get it. I got *sigh* disappointment. It took me 3 days to
get 31% into this book, that’s how little it pulled me in. Boredom was the main
thing I felt during the first third of the book. It seemed repetitive, and
there was little to no advancement. I understand the need for detail, to paint a
picture of the nightmare that these two were living, but it just didn’t draw me
in. I was purposely finding other things to do instead of reading this book.
Now, anyone who knows me knows that I rarely ever label a book DNF without
giving it a fair shot. I always try to at least make it to 50% and if at that
point I’m still struggling, I’ll throw in the towel. So, I stuck with it – not just
because of my own little rule and not just because I heard from other readers
that it picks up exponentially after the halfway mark – but also because I refused
to believe that Tarryn Fisher could write a book that I wouldn’t be able to
finish. There was just no way that was possible. It had to get better, it just had to.
I
read the final 70% in one sitting – partially because it did pick up around 55%
which peaked my interest level, but partially because I just wanted to finish
it. So, now that I have had some time to really contemplate how I feel about
this story, here are my final thoughts…
It
wasn’t horrible. It wasn’t great. It was just…okay, I guess. I have seen so
many rave reviews (Erica LOVED IT) but personally, I just don’t
get it. And that sucks.
I am
incredibly bummed that I didn’t fall in love with this novel like so many other
readers did. The storyline was creative, I like psychological thrillers, I absolutely
love Tarryn Fisher’s writing, but
this novel just fell flat for me. The main characters weren’t tugging at my
heartstrings, and to be honest, I didn’t even like Senna the majority of the
time. Did I feel for her in certain situations? Absolutely. But she had so few
redeeming qualities in my eyes that it was hard for me to legitimately care
about her. Isaac was just…*shrugs* I don’t quite know what to say about him. I didn’t
dislike him, but I didn’t really like him either. He was just there.
I was also incredibly disappointed with the carousel scene. It was built up into this huge incident that clearly made both of them unnerved considering the room, and when I actually found out what the significance of the carousel room was…and what happened on a carousel years ago…I was sitting there thinking “That’s it??? THAT’S why the room is so dreaded?!”.
Regardless
of how I feel about this novel, Tarryn Fisher will always be an auto-buy author
for me. Her writing is wonderful, but this particular story just didn’t capture
me. I wish it had. I think the slow beginning and my nonchalance for the
characters are what killed it for me. Also, I didn’t necessarily buy the
identity of the “zookeeper.” I mean, I guess it makes sense and I certainly wouldn’t
have guessed that person but…meh, I don’t know. That’s kind of how I feel about
this book. “Meehhh.”
So,
I’m going to stop talking about it and move on. It wasn’t for me, that’s the
bottom line. Even though I didn’t like it,
PLEASE don’t let this deter you from reading it. This is strictly my opinion. Tarryn
Fisher is an amazing author, and I don’t regret reading this simply because her
writing is superb and there were some wonderful lines that I highlighted – I just
wish I had better things to say about it overall.
3 STARS
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