Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review!*
Liked the authors writing and the plot was interesting. The characters. The main character seemed a bit weak and kind of flaky to me at first, until the end of the story, but the the author turned it around on me, which made the story become even more interesting!! I giving When The Lights Go Out 4 stars and recommend you pick it up!

This book was slow and just wasn’t for me. The twist at the end did take me by surprise though. Just wish it had of slowed a little quicker....too slow for most of the book for me.

This was a pointless, boring story though written well. I did not feel any sympathy for the mother, I thought it was a pointless story. So what if she had a kid in a tryst and never told her ex-husband about it?

However, thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

This book was confusing to me. Sometimes I would have to reread sections because I wasn't sure I understood how it fit into the storyline. I didn't care for Eden and I found it hard to like or relate to Jessie. I felt like the ending was disappointing. Not my favorite book by this author.

Fascinating read. Some parts I saw coming and others I definitely did not. The pacing was brilliant. This novel has some of the most accurate representation of insomnia I have ever read. I would recommend.

Title: When the Lights Go Out
Author: Mary Kubica
Genre: YA, mystery/suspense
Rating: 4.0 out of 5

The last time Jessie Sloan slept was while her mother was dying. Now, in the wake of years spent caring for her mom, she tries to get her life back together. When the college admissions office tells her her social security number belongs to a dead girl, she’s sure it’s a mix up, but a bit of research finds her name belongs to the girl as well.

As her insomnia stretches into days, she’s desperate to find out the truth hidden in what her mom left behind, but the lack of sleep is causing confusion and hallucinations. At least, she thinks they’re hallucinations.
And twenty years earlier, Jessie’s mom’s obsession with having a baby causes her to make a decision she never imagined she’d make.

There’s a lot of talk online about that ending, and, I have to admit, I didn’t see it coming. However, it made perfect sense for the story—and I actually liked it. Sort of. I loved Jessie, and I cannot imagine what she was going through, but I found Eden a bit obsessive and unlikable. An interesting read, for sure.
Mary Kubica is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. When the Lights Go Out is her newest novel.

(Galley provided by Harlequin/Park Row in exchange for an honest review.)

Firstly, I do really enjoy Mary Kubica's writing but, now that that is out of the way, let me just say I did not really enjoy this book. I found the Eden timeline to be confusing - jumping between Egg Harbour and Chicago; and I REALLY did not enjoy the ending of the Jessie storyline. I felt as if I had wasted my time on this part of the story. I get that it seems all authors of suspense / thrillers / psychological thrillers these days need to have a "twist" but I really felt that this one fell short. More a 2.5 stars for me, but I like to bump up instead of down.

Kubica's books are always a mix of me fiercely hating them and incredibly loving them. This book was not exception to that. I enjoy her writing and sometimes I'm bored, her twists always surprise me and baffle me and excite me. I should have seen this middle of the row (based purely on how conflicted I feel) reaction due to previous experiences, but I didn't.

I will admit this book had me intrigued to get to the bottom of the story, but as usual, I am sooooo annoyed by thrillers with confused women in the lead. At least Kubica has taken a new spin on it, with her protagonist suffering from a serious case of insomnia, but I became seriously concerned for the character's welfare throughout the book. All I could think was that she so desperately needed an intervention! I was even leaning toward a 4-star rating until that twist at the end. *Insert eye roll here.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hanover Square Press, an imprint of Harlequin, for the ARC. It was fun!

Well, I now know why the reviews are so split.
The book alternates between characters and time frames. We know the characters must be connected in some way, but don't find out how until the second half of the book. I found the story compelling and hard to put down. I needed to know what was going on. I enjoyed Eden's storyline more than Jessie and could feel her desperation. Jessie's trip down the rabbit hole was harder for me to relate to.
The "big twist" was the deal breaker. I had wondered exactly "that", but thought there was no way in hell an author would actually make that a twist. It was a complete let down.
The actual ending, however was touching and sad to me. I guess life is always filled with regrets and what ifs and the knowledge that all choices have consequences.
It will be hard to know who to recommend this book to because some people will hate it and be mad they read it, but I thought it was very good and one of her better books!

Jessie Sloan is exhausted. She was by the side of her dying mother's side day and night until the end. Trying to move her life forward after losing her mother is a task that seems impossible to complete. She tries registering for college but was told that her social security number was tied to a dead girl. She tries tracking down her birth certificate but is told that it doesn't exist. She moves into her own place but keeps hearing voices that lead her to believe that her landlord may be spying on her. But most of all, she just can't sleep. Jessie struggles with trying to figure out the secrets that her mother left behind while trying to figure out a way to keep moving forward. No matter what she does, no matter how hard she tries, her body will not give her the rest that she desperately needs. Jessie knows that time is running out. She has done her research and she knows that eleven days is as long as a human body can go without sleep. Will she be able to find the answers she needs in order to put her mind at ease and let her body sleep?

I was really surprised by the twists and turns that Mary Kubica throws at her readers. I really felt compassionate towards Jessie. She seemed so lost after her mother's death and her bone-weary exhaustion was something that I could relate to. The book flashes back between Jessie and her mother in 1996. There are really two stories about grief here, Jessie in her grief, and Eden with her own kind of grief - her inability to conceive a child, and what damage that does to her marriage. But the reader knows that she has a daughter, but how? If she is unable to conceive a child. I was truly surprised by the end of this book. I thought that I had it all figured out and I thought that I was *so* smart for figuring it out rather early. I could not have been more wrong and I LOVE it when that happens. -- CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS

Bottom Line - I love, love, love an author who can blindside me with the big reveal. Mary Kubica did just that with When the Lights Go Out. Be sure to check it out and let me know what your thoughts are about the big reveal. Were you as shocked as I was?

Details:
When the Lights Go Out by Mary Kubica
On Instagram
Pages: 384
Publisher: ParkRow Books
Publication Date: 9/4/18
Buy it Here!

This is the first book that I have read by this author and it wasn't bad. I enjoy her style of writing and her twists and turns.
This book had a lot of hype so I was anxious to read it. I will happily read Ms. Kubica's next novel.
I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

It took me a minute to get into this book, but when I did I couldn’t put it down. This book was a compelling and heartbreaking read.
No one ever wants to lose a loved one, and try to rebuild themselves.
The ending was perfect, it put a lot of pieces together throughout the book. If you haven’t read this book, you need too. Great author, she wrote an amazing book.

I gave four stars to The Good Girl and Pretty Baby by this author but I feel like I'm on a slow decline with her subsequent releases after those ones :( I made the mistake of waiting a while to review this book after I read it, and I honestly couldn't remember anything about it after reading the blurb to refresh my memory. I had to read through other users' reviews before I realized I definitely had read it, it just left zero long term impression on me. Kubica's writing is excellent but I really think her plots and characters have been suffering in terms of strong development. I liked her first two books so much that I will probably still give her next novel a shot, but that may be the last try. If Kubica and I were in a Facebook relationship, it would be "it's complicated."

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC!

Thank you to netgalley I received this as an ARC. I enjoyed it very much was good solid read. Solid 4 Stars for me!

When the Lights Go Out, by Mary Kubica


Is Anything Real?

First person narration immediately grabs your attention in Mary Kubica’s new release. As if talking to you personally, the narration demands your focus.

We begin with Jessie in present day.

Jessie

Jessie Sloane struggles after her long ill mother dies, her last words, “…find yourself…” echoing in Jessie’s mind. After caring for her for the last two years, Jesse knows she needs a new start.

Grieving for her mother, suffering from severe insomnia, Jessie is already strung tightly, questioning her own judgment. So it is no wonder she is more than upset when she learns her social security card number belongs to someone long deceased. Puzzling since it is the one her mother gave her, the stress seems to overtake her. The more she tries to discover, the more the questions increase. Is it a mistake or something worse? Who is she?

Eden

Intermittently we flashback to 1996, First, a happy young couple move to a sweet cottage on a picturesque lake. Then we watch as Eden and her husband settle in, and begin to plan for a family. Life in the country is not what she expected. With her husband working so much, and away from their home, Eden is restless. The break in her day comes from Eden’s pregnant neighbor who visits with her two boys. Is that a good thing or a bad?

The connection between the past and present is part of the mystery at the start. Until a dream becomes an obsession. An obsession can remove all joy from a life. It can become only about the goal.

It’s an intense plot, well written and complex. You’ll find definitely stay glued to the book to see what the next page will bring. Somewhat dark, driven by one woman’s desperation to have a child and another with desperate insomnia.

Then comes a twist that will set you back startled.

Perhaps, as with many instances, facing what might happen, what might be the worst, makes acceptance easier. Maybe the minds way of coping?

Suspense, mystery, and fear bring it together. You won’t want to miss this one.

This was not my favorite Mary Kubica book.
The story is told from two points of view. Jessie Sloan, a young girl from present day who loses her mom to cancer right at the beginning of the story, and Eden a young, happily married woman from 1996. Jessie is slow to begin a new life without her mom since she's the only parent she's ever known. But, her mother would have wanted her to go to college. Jessie tries to register only to find out that she does not exist. Her social security number belongs to a girl who died as a three year old when Jessie was born.Should Jessie try to figure out who she is? She
Eden marries Aaron at a young age. They are in so in love and begin to try for a child. Time passes and they are unsuccessful. They spend money, time, and watch their marriage fall apart as they have a miscarriage and cannot conceive again. Then, one day, Aaron walks out. Eden spirals out of control.
Did Eden kidnap Jessie when she was a child? Will Jessie find out who she really is and who her father is?

The story starts with Jessie's mom, Eden, in her hospital bed dying from cancer. I lost my mom to cancer several years ago and it's still heart-breaking to me. The scenes in the hospital brought up way too familiar memories that are burned into me that I'd rather forget, but know I never will.

Yet the way Jessie seemed so vulnerable kept me going in the story. How she couldn't sleep again reminded me of my sleeping troubles that started when my own Mom was very sick. I tried to deal with it and get sleep, but not Jessie. She seemed determined to not ever sleep again.

So that's how we get this unreliable narrator, sleep deprivation. It makes for reality become fluid, see and hear things that aren't right, aren't there, make you question what is going on, question your mind. Yes, his happens to Jessie. And she tries to decipher one of the last things her mom says to her - find yourself. So she enrolls in college, but then there is another problem, her identity, who is Jesse Sloan?

As far as the writing, it felt labored at times, or maybe overly wrought. Too may percise details that didn't matter and the story was barely going anywhere. A few conclusions jumped to without any reason or logic, and they definitely needed explanations. The reader seems to know more than the main character as we get Eden's side along with Jessie's. And Eden's tends to jump around in the timeline that makes for slight confusion. Considering how the book ended it outright does not make sense for the timeline jumping.

It's an okay book. Should be a quick read. If you are someone who likes a little mystery, doesn't mind the unreliable narrator making poor decisions, go ahead and read this book. It's a quick read for a weekend, beach read, or airplane ride.

Hmmm, I love Ms. Kubica’s books but this one left me wondering what was the point. There was a twist but one that left me wondering why she chose the direction to end it.

I’m all about twists and turns, even topsy turvy but for this one it was a let down.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review!*

First things first, I must say that I do love Mary Kubica's writing. This novel was not my favorite and that was due to the twist. The twist made me feel as though I had wasted all this time reading and getting hyped for the end to have it be not worth it.

That being said, the author's talent shines through this story and I can't be completely disappointed that I read it. I can't wait for her next book!