I am not leaving a review due to the fact that this book did not interest me enough to finish the story.

I found this book difficult to finish. The characters were not particularly likeable, which makes it hard to care too much what happens. On top of that, agree with another review that the book's depiction of a plus size woman was very othering and stereotypical.

What She Gave Away didn't deliver the book I was hoping for. The writing was pretty good, it kept me intrigued enough to read to the end but the story fell a little flat. I love a detestable character but the ones in this book had few redeeming factors which affected my enjoyment. It was a quick read but I don't think it was the one for me.

I had a lot of issues with this book and how it portrayed a fat woman. Here's an example taken from my progress on Goodreads:

"Still super problematic in terms of how fat people are talked about. She has to go to the bathroom *really bad* and licks her lips and tastes the chorizo from her breakfast. She orders a salad while out to lunch and thinks I'm not fooling them. It seems as if the author is writing how she *thinks* a fat person would feel about themselves, but in a way that isn't remotely true to at least my life."

It was a decent thriller but I thought it was super fat-phobic and rude. Would not recommend, but thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read.

The plot was interesting but none of the characters were particularly likeable so I found it hard to care about any of them. And it wrapped up neater than it should have.

I liked how this story is told in alternating chapters, so you get the story from both girls sides. The main characters, Crystal and Kathi, are both unreliable narrators which slightly complicates matters. So who is at fault or is it just a series of unfortunate tragic events?

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!! Great read. Told from 2 points of views, I could not put this book down. The contrast of the chararcters is very good. I don't want to give the story away but if you are looking for a good read, this is the one. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book. Although I received the book in this manner, it did not affect my opinion of this book nor my review.

This is a delicious read, thrilling enough for you to know just how revenge is best served cold.
This has got to be the first book I read where I did not empathize or sympathize with the lead characters. Crystal is very aloof at first and as you read on, the layers to her icy nature unravel, but even then, I neither pitied her or rooted for her. Mimi, on the other hand, well, she’s quite the sidekick.

I love how we get both Crystal and Kathi’s perspectives.

I do wish however that for some reason Marco did not get shoved out of the action like he did. I have a feeling that he’d be the one card that Crystal could pull if she ever needed to get even with someone years down the line.

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC.

There are so many great debut novels this year, and I was glad this one was another one for me! Very nice and easy to read prose that I was thankful for. I think authors take a great risk with alternating chapters between characters. It is sometimes difficult to make sure you have created each character authentic and likable enough for the reader to simply care about each character and their thoughts, events, etc. I enjoyed getting a story from both sides with this book, in this instance it worked. I like how Crystal struggled with her body image and was expressive about that. A main character that reaches out and speaks to a different group than what is normally shown in a protagonist or represented in most novels is always nice. Although, I do think that is reader's preference. Some readers I think can read about the same protagonists again and again and be completely happy with their reading experience. I appreciated the difference and inclusion. The alternate voices really created a great thrilling read for me! This debut shows a lot of promise and I would definitely recommend to fellow thriller genre lovers. Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

An enjoyable read, written in an easy flowing prose but with some darkness. Very promising for a first novel.

Follow Crystal, a plus size woman, as she takes revenge on Kathi, the skinny wife of a bank’s president. This thriller is set in California and is about not only about Crystal’s revenge but size issues, lifestyle choices, workplace politics, corruption, misuse of power and banking.

I liked how this story is told in alternating chapters, so you get the story from both Crystal’s and Kathi’s sides. The main timeframe is just 2 years but frustratingly Kathi includes backstory from her old notebooks along the way.

I liked how Catharine created her character Crystal to be fat. So many novels dwell on thin women and fail to represent the demographics of contemporary society with its increased levels of obesity. Readers like to relate to the characters and having a fat lead character is a bonus.

The characterization of Crystal and Kathi was good but the timeframe switched about a little too much for my liking. Although Crystal was supposed to be the bad guy, I liked her more than Kathi, probably because of her attitude. For example, in Crystal’s chapter she writes…

He glances at my belly with a question in his eyes. I know what he’s thinking, I carry a lot of weight in my gut. But he’s taken his HR classes. He knows the rules. That’s a lawsuit waiting to happen. I do my best to sound earnest.

...Or it could just be me, as I find fat women more fun to be with?

I think this novel should appeal to both genders and I was not put off by it having two female lead characters.

I found the plot average and the pace plodding. By the end of the story, I got to know Crystal and Kathi really well. I liked how the book explored lifestyles and how people relate to one another.

What She Gave Away was an okay read, it was like meeting someone in passing and enjoying the conversation you shared. As a novel it was NOT outstanding but it was pleasant to read. This is Catharine’s debut novel and it shows that she has a talent that should grow. I found this book a WARM read, so it gets 3 stars from me.

Nope, not for me. I really wanted to like this book, but the back and forth between the alternating viewpoints was too much and I did not finish reading.

I was intrigued by the description of this book but once I started to read it, I couldn't wait for it to be done.

I liked the idea of What She Gave Away, but I didn't care for the two first person dialogue. With it told in Crystal’s and Kathi’s alternating voices, I had to revert to my notes and previous pages a lot.

I do think it was well written and has an interesting concept. I think this was just one story that wasn't for me unfortunately.

#WhatSheGaveAway #NetGalley

This book alternates between two women, Kathi and Crystal, in slightly different time periods. Kathi is the widow of a bank president under investigation for fraud. The stress of her finances and trying to keep up appearances in her social set takes its toll and Kathi starts to rely more on alcohol to cope.
Crystal is a financial analyst with a troubled past. She chooses victims that she feels have wronged her and plays a game she created "what is the worst thing?". She finds a way to ruin their lives and sits back to watch what happens.
I thought Crystal was an interesting character and I enjoyed her chapters and seeing how her story fit with the book. I thought Kathi was over the top ignorant and childish. The journal entries helped to show more of her character, but didn't do enough to justify her stupidity and innocence. I actually found myself hoping Crystal would have more of a revenge in the end.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm almost always up for a new thriller that centers around revenge. There's something about the calculating nature of a person trying to get even with someone from their past that makes for a spectacularly suspenseful read. So, when I read the synopsis for Catharine Riggs' What She Gave Away, I knew I had to read it.

Crystal Love likes nothing better than imagining how to destroy someone's life. Of course, this doesn't make her very popular, but that doesn't matter to Crystal, because nothing is more important than getting revenge against those who have wronged her. To that end, Crystal shows up in Santa Barbara and gets a job as a loan analyst. She's very good with numbers, and soon her superiors begin to take notice of her excellent work. Not long after this, many of the bank's employees are eating right of her hand, and Crystal can't imagine being happier.

Kathi Wright lives what seems to be a charmed life. Her husband is the president of a local bank, and they have more money than they know what to do with. Kathi's days are spent lunching with the ‘right’ kind of people, shopping, and participating in various charitable causes. But when Kathi's husband dies under suspicious circumstances, her world comes crashing down around her, and Kathi is left to pick up the pieces of a life that has been forever changed.

You're probably wondering how Kathi's and Crystal's stories intersect, but you'll have to actually read the book to find out. At first, I was quite confused by what seemed like two completely unrelated story lines, but I stuck with it, and all of my questions were eventually answered. Patience is the name of the game here.

This novel spans two years and is told in alternating chapters from both Kathi's and Crystal's points of view. Neither woman is particularly likable, but there was something so compelling about the story that I wasn't as bothered by this as I otherwise might have been.

Crystal is extremely cold and calculating. She never seems to lose sight of her goal, even when unforeseen circumstances get in her way. She's obviously very intelligent, something she uses to her advantage whenever possible. She has some very dark secrets, and one of my favorite parts of the book was learning exactly what had shaped her into the woman she is today.

Kathi initially comes off as incredibly vain and shallow. She shrugs off pretty much anything that's even the slightest bit unpleasant, refusing to deal with it until someone forces her hand. We're given the impression that she and her husband have convinced the world that their marriage is a happy one even though they're actually leading pretty separate lives when the story opens. Social status is extremely important to Kathi, and I was occasionally frustrated by her inability to deal with the important stuff in her life because of how it might look to those around her. Fortunately, she does grow and change quite a bit as the story goes on, and while I never fully embraced her as a character, I was pleased by some of the changes she was eventually able to make.

There are a couple of things about the story that were a little too predictable for my liking, but I was still able to enjoy the novel as a whole. Ms. Riggs created a few fantastic twists that took me completely by surprise, so it's pretty easy for me to forgive some of the smaller things that felt too convenient. If you're looking for a revenge-based thriller to lose yourself in this fall, you could do far worse than What She Gave Away. It's a book that works well in spite of its few flaws.

Buy it at: Amazon

Loved this page-turner. A wonderful addition to the domestic psychological suspense category. Hooked by the cover and then the first page. Read in two sittings, absorbing and with a refreshingly different protagonist. Will be looking forward to reading more by this author.

This was an interesting thriller. Told in alternating voices, and from differing timeframes (for the most part), it is clear from the beginning that one main character has nefarious motives, while the other remains in denial regarding just about everything that happens to her. Journal entries fill in some answers to the motivations of both characters. I found the set up to be a tad on the slow side (you really have to pay attention to the date stamps of the chapters), but just about halfway through the divergent approaches to the events ultimately converge and from there, the plot moves along swiftly. The climax and resolution are both satisfying. For the most part, I really enjoyed this book. However, there was one small section, barely a couple of paragraphs, where the author used a character to comment on the “state of the country” which alluded to the “climate” surrounding the election of 2016. This was totally uncalled for, it was jarring, and it completely took me out of the narrative the author had worked hard to create. I dislike when an author feels the need to throw in political commentary, especially when it has absolutely nothing to do with advancing the plot. I’d put this at a 4-star read, but that reference ticked me off so it’s more of a 3.5-3.75 star rating. Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Pretty nifty thriller. Kathi and Crystal are linked in ways you might or might not guess early on (no spoilers!) Neither are especially likable but Crystal, well, she's really rotten. The story is told in alternating chapters and timelines, which can be a little distracting but works here and makes this more of a page turner. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Try this for a fast entertaining read.

This wonderful debut novel by Catharine Riggs is about two women, Kathi and Crystal. The story goes back and forth in first person between the two women, and between past and present. Anything else I would say would be spoilers, so I will just say that if you like twisted characters and twisted storylines, read this book!

With a very intriguing synopsis this was one of those books where you start with page one, then chapter one...then just a little bit more...just one more page...oh, my really? Well, I gotta see what will happen when she...oh, no...it can't be, how did I not see it sooner...WTF...OK, one last page and then I'm going to sleep...OK, really? How can this be?...oh well, I guess with four more chapters left I better see this through to avoid any potential nightmares.

Yes, nightmares. This book gets really action-adventure with ---gone bad etc. No spoilers here. But it's also hysterical at times and has a way with cliffhangers that will storm you through in a few hours.

The best thing about this read, in my opinion, was the sense of place. I actually Googled Montecito to see real pictures in the end. And it's every bit as classy and under-the-surface mischievous celebrity as Ms Riggs describes.

Except, there was recently a mudslide that killed people and ruined most of the area.

So sadly, this book has almost a historic value now.

Women's fiction with high levels of suspense at its best.

Thank you, Tomas & Mercer, for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.