THE RETURN BY RACHEL HARRISON

4/12/2020

While I wish I could have rated this one higher, I simply can't because it was not my cup of tea. I was expecting a psychological thriller of some kind but it wasn't even close.

Rating: ★★
Release Date: March 24, 2020
Genre: Horror
Series: None. Complete standalone.
Pages: 304 pages
Format: eBook. ARC.

A group of friends reunite after one of them has returned from a mysterious two-year disappearance in this edgy and haunting debut.

Julie is missing, and no one believes she will ever return—except Elise. Elise knows Julie better than anyone, and feels it in her bones that her best friend is out there and that one day Julie will come back. She’s right. Two years to the day that Julie went missing, she reappears with no memory of where she’s been or what happened to her.

Along with Molly and Mae, their two close friends from college, the women decide to reunite at a remote inn. But the second Elise sees Julie, she knows something is wrong—she’s emaciated, with sallow skin and odd appetites. And as the weekend unfurls, it becomes impossible to deny that the Julie who vanished two years ago is not the same Julie who came back. But then who—or what—is she?

PURCHASE A COPY

AMAZON PRINT | AMAZON KINDLE | LISTEN WITH AUDIBLE

READ MY BOOK REVIEW

Release Date: March 24, 2020
Actual Rating: 2.5 stars

Horror | Mystery

I'm finding it hard to put into words how I felt about this book. There are a few reasons for this. [1.] this book was extremely different than I thought it was going to be based on the blurb. Take a second and read the blurb and tell me if it screams mystery to you. Because to me it does. [2.] The characters were (literally and figuratively LIFELESS). When I read a book I want to connect with the characters even if it's on a base level. They don't all have to be built up into realistic people who I come to "know" but there needs to be SOMETHING to which I connect. Nope. Not here. You get minor glimpses into who they are but honestly not even close to enough in order to find some commonality with them. That is, unless you are two faced and afraid to speak your mind. If that't the case these characters may be for you! Finally, the build up was SLOW and the TWIST at the end was underwhelming. I feel like I saw it coming a mile away but was hoping for events to take a different turn... Well, it didn't. I don't want to spoil it for you but there was something missing and I don't like the feeling of now having the whole picture. See my spoiler here if your curious (view spoiler)

I'm not going to bother writing an extensive review for this book because unfortunately it wasn't really my cup of tea. However, I recommend readers looking into other reviews to see whether this book would be for you or not. Don't base your feelings just on my feelings!