Welcome to Litsy!

I still liked her first book more but this one kept my mind off things for a few days. Most of the characters were a bit unlikable. I do like that Audrain is not afraid to highlight the difficult parts of raising kids. The hard part of being a mom but wanting to have a successful career. How parents sometimes don‘t know how to navigate a relationship with their child when their child is not what they expected. The difficulties of marriage, feeling

I started another from the Canada Reads Longlist while I waited for the final announcement today. So far, THE WHISPERS has the potential to say important things about the expectations people hold for white suburban moms versus the reality they live, but I‘m not sure if it‘ll do enough deconstruction for my tastes.

It didn‘t make the shortlist anyways, and I won BIG with the books that did! I‘ve either read them or I have them in my library stack.

I really enjoyed Audrain‘s debut novel, so I had some high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, despite the fast pacing, the unlikable characters & unsatisfying ending left me wanting. I‘m sure this could lead to lively discussion but the four different women‘s perspectives here certainly don‘t make neighborhood life appealing! Whitney‘s rage, Blair‘s creepy nosiness, Rebecca‘s extreme secrecy & Mara‘s pent-up emotion all were hard to connect with!

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I read 'The Push' by the author long back and I loved it! I have been excited for this one. It's a shame that this was not up to my expectations.
The story revolves around 4 women and something tragic that happened in their neighborhood. I can't believe the book was this bland. On to a better one!
#hailthebail

I didn‘t like this one as much as her first one. I feel like I got lost in the varying view points. I had a hard time keeping track of everything and even caring about all of the characters. The twist at the end saved it a little bit for me, though and I would definitely read her next book when she writes something else!

The Whispers is about 4 complicated women who live on the same street.

A tragic accident (??) occurs, and we see things begin to unravel.

This book kept me invested, surprised me, and made me say, "Wait! What?" more than once.

"There is something animalistic about the way the middle-aged adults size each other up while feigning friendliness in the backyard of the most expensive house on the street."

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

I can not get behind this one. This book gave me terrible ick.
The child: *breathes*
The mother: Oh my God, you are sucking the life out of me!
Seriously. I would never think these things that these mothers think about their kids. Taking care of kids is hard, of course, but fantasies about killing them is just a step too far for me. If you don't want your husband or child so bad you want to kill them... JUST LEAVE. Jesus 🤦🏻‍♀️ 1/5

Still have another book on the go but this one jumped out at me so reading while my kids are at their extra curricular activities…does your public library have a fireplace??

Once again, Ashley Audrain manages to capture the darkest and most disturbing thoughts on motherhood and express them so blatantly on page. This wasn‘t as bone chilling as The Push for me- it‘s really just shitty people doing shitty things to one another behind their backs, but I was still invested in the story and the characters (love a good goss 🍿) The ending fell flat for me, while not being entirely disappointing(that last line tho 😏) 3.75/5

So good. I really liked The Push and this is on a similar level of psychological twistiness. It takes a while for all of the aspects of the plot to sort themselves into coherence, but totally worth it. My book club bestie found this author so of course we had to read the new one.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

This book is actually called The Whispers by Ashley Audrain. I loved The Push, so I have high expectations for this one. Great dedication 🥺

Read and loved The Push, Audrain‘s debut, so I knew I‘d be reading this despite the less favorable reviews I‘ve seen for it. They were right, this wasn‘t as good. This one‘s super dark (like her debut) but from a mother‘s perspective who basically doesn‘t like her child. I just found it uncomfortably unpleasant throughout. A neighborhood of bad people doing bad things and children around witnessing. Plus too long.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ A glimpse into the raw, disturbing thoughts folks have but (maybe) don‘t act on. Normal folks. It‘s human. Some of these get pretty dark, but humans are terribly flawed. I do wonder about this author‘s brain, though. Both in this, and in her debut, there are bizarre references to possible child murder by family members. WTF. I don‘t know why I read books like this.

Content warning: detailed descriptions of miscarriage

I read The Push By this author and didn‘t love it as much as most, but decided I would give this one a whirl.

3.5/5 ⭐

I liked it. I liked how each characters had a chapter. I liked discovering all the lies and drama for each neighbors. Life might seem perfect from outside but inside their home is a different story.

Another engaging contemporary thriller about twisted neighbors, plenty of secrets, and hold your breath moments. I enjoyed the pacing and revealing! Excellent audio narration 😁🎧

In Dallas this week for a work meeting, so this will be my hotel reading ❤️

I won‘t rate this in goodreads; this is so *NOT* my cup of tea. Just whiny rich women, shudder/shake ew. I read the first 20 pages to get the setup and meet the characters, then put it aside (avoided?!) til the library told me it was about to be due “Do I want to renew?”
Um, NOPE. I skipped to the end and read the creepy bit between Mother & Son and . . . The angst and drama was just drippy over-the-top nonsense. An author to avoid, imo.

“She‘d once heard them described as the whispers—the moments that are trying to tell you something isn‘t right here. The problem is that some women aren‘t listening to what their lives are trying to tell them. They don‘t hear the whispers until they‘re looking back with hindsight. Feeling blindsided. Desperate to see the truth for what it is.”

This will be an auto buy author for me! The only pretty thing about this one is the cover!

4⭐️/5⭐️

If you‘re ever feeling like you should make more of an effort to befriend your neighbors, just read this book, and you‘ll be just fine making your own midnight runs to an all-night Walmart for that cup of sugar your recipe requires.

#Bookandsnack

I am hooked on the horrible characters and awful dysfunction happening in this book!! 😵😵‍💫🖤

#LitsyLoveReads

Tux is feeling much better!! Thanks for all of the well wishes 😽

#Adayinthelifeoftux
#Catsoflitsy

This book… 😮 *** warning ⚠️ very graphic miscarriage scenes/descriptions 💔

Started this one yesterday! So far none of the characters are likable… it‘s a dark domestic drama with trigger warnings for miscarriage and injury to a child. This one is definitely fitting for the #MotherSon prompt for #SummerSpecial 🖤

I have a feeling that I will throw this book at the end just like I did when I finished The Push by this author 😮

#CoverLove
#LitsyLoveReads

Book 138🎧 2.5⭐️

Honestly I didn‘t really care you till like 85% in. And yes that last line is chilling but also.. WHAT HAPPENED?! I feel like the beginning could have been condensed and the end expanded. 🤷🏻‍♀️

#unpopularopinion

Just finished Biased by Jennifer Eberhardt just in time to pick this up at the library. Now getting a mani/pedi.

Oh, and think happy powerful positive thoughts for me tomorrow!!! I have a job interview 🤩

(Choosing a toe color 💛 to match branding of place I hope 🤞to work next)

This is a pick because I sped through it and wanted to know the ending - but the “twist” was pretty obvious from the jump. It does not compare to Audrain‘s first novel in terms of suspense and papable horror but she is very talented in writing unlikeable but human characters.

TW: pretty graphic depictions of miscarriage and child injury

Really gorgeous cover and I‘m drawn to ‘the dark side of suburbia‘ drama. This one was predictable and the characters weren‘t ones you‘d root for. I‘d have liked more insight into what made the husbands tick - even though that wasn‘t the point. They seemed there purely in service of the plot.

"What will happen?.....To you, when I tell them everything?" Eery but perfect.

6/2023

The theme of motherhood, who is a good one, what it means to be good or bad, and who decides, feelings of personal unfulfillment in motherhood, was really well done. The book wasn't consistent in pacing, so it took longer than anticipated (based on her first novel). Worth the read for sure!

It took me until probably the second half, but I understand the hype! The last few chapters.. 🤯!

This is the earliest I‘ve read a #botm in a long time! This one really drew me in with well defined characters and elements of neighborhood and domestic drama. I will say, though, that I was left with some questions when it ended. There were things I didn‘t quite “get.” In some ways it resembled a Liane Moriarty book, but I don‘t think Audrain was as adept at the genre. I still liked it though!

This thriller is a study of motherhood and is somewhat on the dark side...and yet I really liked it. We meet four women neighbours, whose secret filled lives are revealed when a tragedy injures one of the children. Each woman has different struggles but they all involve their role (or hoped for role) as mothers. Not all the women or their husbands are likeable, but that did not impact my enjoyment of this thought provoking novel. 4/5 stars.

It‘s #botm time 🤗🤗🤗!!! I‘m so excited for The Whispers!!! The Wishing Game isn‘t my typical read but I picked it so I could add The Whispers to my box…hopefully it‘s good!