Author: Calia Read
Genre: New Adult/Romance/Mystery
Maturity Rating: 17+
*WARNING*: THIS BOOK CONTAINS TRAUMA TRIGGERS.
Rating: 5/5
My Quickie Synopsis: Naomi Carradine finds herself institutionalized at a psych ward after a series of unfortunate events. She's sure that she doesn't belong there, but she can't seem to unravel the mystery surrounding her circumstances.
Character Building: 1/1
Well hello there, new author! (Well, at least new to me!) Ms. Read takes on quite the challenge in making these characters believable. You sympathize with the plight of Naomi and find yourself right along side her trying to figure out what in the world could possibly be happening to her. Lachlan is adorable, Max is steamy and Lana provides the perfect balance to Naomi.
Plot Strength: 0.5/1
There are definitely occasions when it's hard to follow what's going on in the story. It can be a little all over the place. However, that being said, I think that it was partially intentional in trying to portray the instability in Naomi. While I understand the concept, I don't think it helped the story mesh very well and detracted from the amazing book that Ms. Read has created.
Sincerity: 1/1
Unfortunately, this book is steeped in believable situations. I only say unfortunately because some of the issues at hand are extremely dark. Ms. Read handles them well, and she does it with tact, so the difficulty of the topics add to the overall story instead of detract or distract.
Editing: 1/1
I am a firm believer than an editor should not only be reviewing grammatical issues, but they should help an author achieve a better flow. Honestly, I could take off points here for those moments of disorganization I mentioned earlier. However, as I already took off points from plot strength, I will give a full score to editing. I'm not heartless, I suppose :)
Pacing: 1/1
This is another one of those "stay up all night to finish" kind of books. Even if you think you know what's going on, you're going to want to keep reading until you get that confirmation. The only downfall of the pacing comes at the end. Once the mystery is fully revealed, the rest of the book starts to feel very stiff. But the climax is so intense, that I think that it's inevitable for the book to take on that impression.
Bonus! Thought-Provoking: 0.5/0.5
I can't truly get into all of the ways that this book is thought-provoking without giving away major plot points. I will say this though: Never judge a person too quickly because you never know what they're going through or what they've already endured.
My Icing on Top:
I would advise any prospective readers to avoid spoilers like the plague. This book relies heavily on its "AHA" moment, and if you already know what's going on, I truly think that the book would lose part of its appeal. Also, please heed my warning! I was highly upset that this book did not come with a trigger warning. I went into it reading it as a normal psycho mystery, but there are definitely darker elements there that may prove to be too much for some readers.
If you're looking to add a little mystery to your book line-up and can handle some darker elements, give Unravel a try! Happy reading!
-K
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