This was a hard book to read. Not because it wasn't good but because it was that good. It's a tough subject matter and this author did a great job with it. A sexual assault on a young college woman by two young men. All three privilege, white and wealthy. But that didn't matter. What happened was horrible. What these young men did was unforgivable.

Claudia is a young, somewhat silly, young woman who loves to party. She also seems to love attention. But not in a really bad way. She's just a party girl and makes mistakes. What happened to her though was the most horrible thing imaginable. Then to have to worry that she would be blamed which of course she would. This society always blames the woman. Even though she was drunk beyond conscientiousness, or maybe because of that, what happened to her was even worse. Two young men, Chad and his new friend, took advantage of her. They raped her and videoed it. Then preceded to send it to at least three people.

Chad is a lawyer's son. His dad, Ridley, is like the worse person you could imagine. He thinks money can make anything disappear and he tries using it to make what his son did disappear. He's one of those who thinks, "boys will be boys" and "why ruin a young man's life." His son did a horrible thing. His son will have to live with what he did forever. He deserves to live a life of shame and humiliation for what he did. All because Claudia wasn't into him. Because she rejected him. And I'm sure power played a part, even though it takes no power to do what they did.

This story is told from several points of view. What happens in this family and other families throughout this story are laid out there. The victim and the accused both have a story. But the end means is someone should have to pay for what they did. Claudia executes a plan for revenge and personally I think the boys got off light. If they truly do get away with it. I think she honestly had a right to seek revenge but did it make her feel any better? Who knows. Most victims never get this chance. Money does help in this case I suppose. But it also hurt. Claudia made a lot of mistakes in her young life but she did not deserve what happened to her.

This book has a lot of nice characters. One I liked and disliked at the same time was Trevor. He was a good young man but he was also delusional in many ways. He helped Claudia in a lot of ways but that didn't really benefit him. He should have kept on studying and kept his life on track in my opinion. But they again he was a plus to this story. He was needed. Claudia's family is messed up too so no wonder she was. But they do love each other. They do try. I liked them for the most part. I liked most of the characters with the exception of Ridley and his awful son.

I would actually have liked a little more closure for Claudia. But it still ended pretty good and I believe she finally got justice. I hope it helped her.

Thank you #NetGalley, #JuliaDahl, #StMartinsPress for this ARC. This is my own true feelings about this book.

5/5 stars. I recommend this book but be warned it does contain rape, not explicit, but still.. It's there.

Julia Dahl writes a no-holds-barred, graphic and gritty novel about sexual assault. Do not read this book if the topic is a trigger for you!

NYU student Claudia Castro wakes up in her dorm room after a night out, battered and bruised with little memory of what happened to her. It doesn't take her body long to let her know she's been sexually assaulted. From a wealthy and well-known family, Claudia has previously been a bit wild and undependable, but she's been working hard to change that. She takes her studies seriously and wants to put her old reputation to rest. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen. Someone filmed her assault, and it's gone viral over social media. Unable to take the hazing, the slurs, the looks (you know what I mean), Claudia disappears, not even telling her family where she is.

She may have been a victim, but she certainly doesn't intend to stay one. She's carefully planning how to get back at those responsible for her assault. Claudia's won't be the only life traumatized by that night.

With richly developed, complex, and believable characters, and a twisted story line told from several points of view, Dahl gives readers plenty to hold their interest as well as plenty to think about.

My thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur for allowing me to read an ecopy of the novel. All opinions (and any errors) are my own.

The missing hours pulls you right in. Claudia is in college and possibly has been raped. The story told from different point of voices makes this a quick read. How technology and social media have changed maybe not for the better. Rape is such a sensitive topic, while this is a work of fiction I’m sure it’s quite possible for people being bought for their silence. Definitely something that will stay with me

"The Missing Hours" by Julia Dahl is one of those books that you can't put down after you start it! The characters are well developed and the story is absolutely believable. I liked how Claudia refused to be a victim, even though she was brutally victimized and humiliated. Her methods of revenge are pretty extreme, but as someone who can identify with a college student who is raped, I can certainly understand why she did what she did. I really enjoyed the fast pace of the story and was thoroughly entertained throughout the entire book.

Even though this book is a quick read and meant to entertain, it also brings up some important and timely subjects. It's a story of a man just taking what he wants from a woman and how the justice system can'[t always be trusted to punish the perpetrator, especially if that perpetrator is wealthy and connected. Claudia is in no way perfect, but no one deserves to be violated in such a way.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy of this fabulous book in exchange for my honest review.

What happens when the worst thing that can happen to you does? When Cora Castro wakes up in her dorm room, she is confused, hungover, severely beaten and probably raped. She has no memory of the night before. However, she doesn’t need to remember because her attackers have filmed the rape and circulated it by emails and messages. She wants to disappear.

Cora has both an advantage and a disadvantage here. She is wealthy, the child of music royalty, has access to a trust fund and is an internet influencer with many fans. Her disadvantage is also her family. She and her sister have been raised by household help and have never had a close relationship with their parents. Cora goes on the run, helped by her friend Trevor, trying to remember all the events of that horrible night. As the plot unravels, Cora and Trevor must confront the choices they have made. Julia Dahl skillfully shows the reader that the shocking violence Cora experiences will reverberate in more violence and that the experiences of the rich will always be different from that of others. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Julia Dahl for this ARC.

Well written, twisty, sad, scary book. It’s so hard to write this review without giving anything away. I want to tell you everything because this book was so good I need to talk about it.

My favorite thing about this book was how every chapter was from the pov of a different character. There are so many terrific characters that you will love and some you will hate.

Some parts are very hard (especially as a woman) to read. Trigger warnings of rape.

I can’t wait to read more by this author.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

Reading the description of this book, I expected something different - it seemed that it could be an interesting novel about sexual assault and its consequences. Unfortunately, it turned out to be more about the abilities of the very rich and powerful to get away with anything - and that includes the "victim" in this case, as well as the main perpetrator of the assault.

I found myself disliking almost all of the main characters, including Claudia and her family. Just throw money around and you can get anything you want. Claudia was hardly the sweet, innocent victim here - while I am absolutely not saying that her behavior justified the way she was treated by Chad and Jeremy (hmm, am I the only one reading this who is old enough to remember this musical duo?), it is difficult to work up a lot of sympathy for her. At least she does realize this, since she repeatedly says that if she went public, most people would react this way!

Perhaps this isn't even meant to be about sexual assault and its repercussions - maybe it's really about wealth and class and the privileges enjoyed by the rich and powerful. Thinking about it, I realize that the only people who appear to be suffering any real consequences are the characters who are not from rich and powerful families - Trevor and Jeremy come to mind. That's something to think about.

The book is very fast moving, and the action never stops. So, if you're looking for plot and action, and have no need to empathize with any of the characters, it's a quick read.

A heartbreaking act of violence, the sexual assault of a young college student, is filmed and shared with others. The student, Claudia, doesn’t remember who, what, or where only that she has been beaten and raped. Her questions are answered when she sees the 58-second clip, and her struggles with respect for herself, facing the public, facing her family, all force her into a corner, hiding and angry.
What comes out of that corner is bent on revenge, and doesn’t resemble the fun-loving and popular college girl everyone knew.
The story has some loose ends, a bit of taking for granted, and too much of the spoiled rich girl persona. The plot was not well-woven. The story is a sad reminder of humans and the mean things we do to one another, though. This is quickly readable and better suited for the under 25 age group.
Sincere thanks to St. Martin’s / Minotaur Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date was August 14, 2021.

On the surface, NYU freshman Claudia Castro appears to have it all: a prominent family name, a trust fund, a large social media following and a closet full of couture. But when she wakes up in her dorm room after a drunken night out, beaten and sore, she has trouble piecing together what exactly happened to her. When she realizes she has been sexually assaulted and that the perpetrators have video evidence, Claudia knows that going to the police could only harm her, and her famous family's, reputation. So she decides to take matters into her own hands.

Told from multiple perspectives over the course of several days, The Missing Hours feels like two books in one. At the beginning of the novel, when readers wake up with Claudia in her dorm room, we are devastated and confused along with her. Julia Dahl takes us meticulously and unflinchingly through the aftermath of Claudia's sexual assault, touching on themes of consent and trauma. It's riveting and powerful, and based on the first few chapters, I expected a novel built around these themes, as well as wealth and status, male privilege, and rape culture.

And all of those themes are present throughout the book, to be sure -- but the second half of the novel goes in a different direction, as we watch Claudia go to ground to take revenge on her attackers. In the first half, Dahl shows us that rape is a class equalizer -- that it can happen to anyone, regardless of wealth or social status. But in the second half, she shows us how wealth and privilege can completely shape what the aftermath of a sexual assault looks like for a victim. Claudia's wealth becomes something she can both weaponize and shelter behind. We see her use her money to take revenge, and as a reader it is satisfying to see her seeking her own brand of justice. What we don't see, though, is Claudia paying it forward in some way: using her money and her platform to do something to help other sexual assault victims. As a result, the novel as a whole emphasizes the differences in the experiences of sexual assault victims and their handling of trauma based on privilege, rather than focusing on what unifies all victims.

Ultimately, after a strong and heartwrenching opening, the book becomes muddled in the intricacies of Claudia's revenge plot, switching into other points-of-view that don't always add a lot to the story. I was missing character development and a grittiness that a story of this type warrants. Ultimately, a book that started off so strongly lost its way a bit and missed an opportunity to hammer home some really important themes. However, I would still recommend it based on the strength of those first chapters alone. Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for my electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a Young Adult/New Adult Thriller/Mystery. I have to say I normally do not like Young Adult/New Adult Thrillers, but I really enjoyed this thriller more of a mystery. I will say there was not a big twist in this book, and I would not say it was super thrilling. I did enjoy the story line, and I loved seeing how each character was feeling. I have to say this book has some hard to read topics in it. This book pulled me in, and it kept me wanting to keep reading. The ending was not the best, and I wanted more for the ending. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Minotaur Books) or author (Julia Dahl) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

The missing hours by Julia Dahl
⭐⭐⭐/5

This book opens with a very graphic sexual assault scene. Followed by gut wrenching protocol of how they handle these cases . Thoughtfully written out reactions and feelings .
The start of this book gets you ! I loved it . I devoured 50% of the book before I started to feel like the back and forth was confusing . And that the story seemed to lack the emotional connection from the beginning. The ending seemed anticlimactic.
A "spoiled rich kid" ends up the butt of a joke when her sexual assault video ends up being passed around . Then she dissapeared. She gets wrapped up and involved in the likes of the son of a top attorney . Who will stop at nothing to protect his own flesh and blood . How far would he go ? The ending will shock you !
But its definitely not what I envisioned. Whatever that was .

This book started with a bang on page one and did not let up until the end, a feverish and racing few hundred pages later. Essentially a rape revenge tale, this disturbing and emotional story takes place over just a few weeks and is told through multiple different character's points of view. I enjoyed every minute of it. The misogyny and hatred were strong in this book; I was physically disgusted by many of the characters and their behavior, but I have always felt that actual hatred of a character is the sign of superb writing. This book was tough but incredibly poignant and cathartic.

Thank you to St. Martins Press and Minotaur Books for a complimentary digital review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Claudia Castro is a wealthy first tear student ay NYU, with a famous family and thousands of followers on social media. She wakes up in her dorm room at the beginning of spring break bruised and knowing something bad happened last night. After looking in the mirror and doing a check of her body, she knows that she doesn't know what happened last night.

She has a week to figure out what happened to her before classes start again and her university campus fills back up with students.

She shies away from her family, doesn't reach out to her friends, and spends the majority of the week with a guy named Trevor she meets in the hallway of her dorm. The two of them work together to piece together Claudia's night and work through his Claudia will deal with knowing what happened.

It was a quick, addictive read. I needed to know what was happening to Claudia and what she would do next, but there were no big twists which is what I really look for in a thriller. The changing point of kept the story flowing nicely.

This book deals very openly with sexual assault, and how it can affect someone's life in both the long and short term.

This was my first book by this author, and I'll be adding her backlist to my TBR.

Consequences happen when you live a life full of questionable behavior, and so they happened to Claudia. Just as she was trying to put her life on track she wakes with no memory of the night before. All signs, black eye, split lip, aches and pains all point to a violent encounter but she has no memory.....until it starts coming back. Her history leaves her with few options, no one will believe she was attacked, so she disappears to regroup and plan her revenge. Did I forget to say she's rich and so are her attackers? The rest of the book is full of drama and action but you will have to read it yourself.....Im not telling. Loved the book as I'm sure my reading circle will.

Julia Dahl tackles some relevant issues in The Missing Hours. At times the subject matter was difficult to read but I am sure experiencing this type of event in real life would be far far worse. This touches on privleage, wealth, obsession, social injustice and other solid topics. Some of the characters are truly unlikeable but it is a great reflection of life. I highly recommend giving this a read. Beware if you are trigged by any of the mentioned subjects.

Thoughts

Claudia Castro appears to have it all from the outside, but if you look closer everything is falling apart from her home life and her love life.  Thankfully she has her friends and college life at NYU to distract her.  Everything is going great until she wakes up in her dorm one morning during spring break, and certain parts of her body hurt that don't normally hurt after a night of drinking along with a fresh black eye and a cut lip.  

With no recollection of what happened the night before, Claudia feels like she has nobody to talk to until she runs into Trevor, her roommates weekly hook-up.  They lean on each other until a video is sent to their phones with more answers than questions of what happened to Claudia that awful night.  Now that she knows what happened and who was involved she wants revenge, and revenge is a dish best served cold.

Wow! I have never wanted to strangle a character so bad as I wanted to do to some of the characters!  Reading about what Claudia saw on the video may be a trigger warning for some because it is sick and disturbing. You really can't blame Claudia or Trevor for their elevated emotions throughout the story or their desire for revenge.

Told from multiple points of view from Claudia, to her family and the people in the video we see what money can and can't buy when it comes to cover ups and revenge.

This one is available today!

Thank you Minotaur Books and Author Julia Dahl for my #copy!

Book Rating: 3/5

Wine Pairing: 19 Crimes Cabernet Sauvignon

The Missing Hours grabs you from the start and doesn’t let go. For a relatively small book, it does some serious heavy lifting.

Claudia is a promising student at NYU. She’s wealthy, beautiful and connected. And her life shatters in one night.

The book is fast-paced and engrossing as it tackles the dark sides of privilege & powerful.

Sexual assault in the digital age brings unique traumas as the events literally live on through recordings and photos that can be shared with anyone. And this is real life stuff which makes it even more terrifying.

Part social commentary, part revenge story, and part family drama, Dahl has created a book that packs a punch and won’t be quickly forgotten.

Thank you to @minotaur_books and @netgalley for the gifted copies to read and review.

“The Missing Hours” is about r an irresponsible group of rich college kids drinking, passing out, having both consensual and non-consensual sex, and generally abusing each other physically and mentally. It is worse than watching reality TV. I am sure there is an audience for this book, but it is not for me. I will not be writing a review.

I am a fan of Julia Dahl’s other books and was so excited to see that she was releasing something new. I jumped at the opportunity to read an early copy of The Missing Hours. I am sorry to say that I was disappointed. Although the writing style did not disappoint, the storyline did.

The main premise of the story is a tough subject to tackle. Claudia as a main character wasn’t a likable one for me. Although I read this quickly, it felt a bit disjointed to me.

For some reason I went into this thinking it was a thriller so it wasn't quite what I expected. If anything it's more of a mystery with a twist of revenge and overall it was a very quick read.

The Missing Hours begins with our main character, Claudia, a privileged college student, waking up after a night of drinking. While she's not sure exactly what happened, she suspects it wasn't good. After missing the birth of her sister's child, her family becomes concerned and attempts to locate her, along with others who may not have such good intentions, but Claudia has gone incognito. After a video surfaces confirming her assault and enlisting the help of an unlikely friend, Claudia attempts to piece together the events of that night.

The story contained themes of privilege and obsession, and it did touch on the systemic issues involving our justice system which I thought was important. I did wish there would have been a bit more resolution at the end, especially given the nature of the offense but felt that Claudia's way of handling the situation was very clever.

Overall I enjoyed this (I do love a good revenge story) however I think it’s one people will have a tough time with. It's a great story and a quick read, but the subject matter may be triggering for some and again, I would have liked to see a bit more resolution. I strongly advise reading the content warnings prior to reading (StoryGraph is a great resource) and proceed with caution.

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur books for the advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.