I actually loved last year's novel, The Chateau by Jaclyn Goldis, so I was thrilled to be given an advanced e-copy of her latest novel, The Main Character. I am having a hard time thinking how to review it, though. I did enjoy aspects of it, particularly the train setting. The plot was decent, if a bit convoluted. The book was barely a mystery and not at all a thriller. It was more a dysfunctional melodrama where characters behaved very oddly at times. I do believe if the book were about 25% shorter, I would have enjoyed it more. I just kept losing focus as I just wasn't interested in all the extraneous detail that was included in the story that really added little to the main plot. All said, though I was pretty meh about The Main Character, I am definitely looking forward to future titles by the author as I still see the promise I felt with The Chateau.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an eARC of The Main Character in exchange for my honest review!

I'd had a good time with Jaclyn Goldis's previous novel The Chateau, but I'm sad to report that The Main Character wasn't as enjoyable. Sure, I'm always up for a whodunnit that draws inspiration from Agatha Christie's thrilling style. I'm always up for stories revolving around an ensemble that comprises a majority of people who really aren't all that easily likable, who display some major flaws that get me arching an eyebrow at them. But The Main Character, even with its intriguing premise, leaves me feeling restless for big stretches of the plot, particularly during the first and second acts. I feel like we could have compressed a lot of that material in order to move along more quickly and focus purely on the important meat. Instead, I'm just being forced to slog through plenty of fluff amongst the plot. It doesn't help that the voices for the characters aren't very distinct, meaning I would get confused sometimes as to which perspective I'm reading.

The third act, though, is where it does create a fairly satisfying payoff to the characters and their story arcs (particularly that of Ginevra Ex's), where it amps up my emotional investment in the overarching narrative. But then too quickly after a major twist occurs, the plot just ends. It simply cuts itself off, causing me to lean back and go "Wait, that's it?" at this abrupt conclusion that has sucked some of my enjoyment out of the ending.

Overall, I wish I could have had a better time with The Main Character, but oh well, I'll have to rate it 2.25 out of 5 stars, which I'm rounding down to 2 stars.

Thank you to Atria Books for letting me read an early copy of THE MAIN CHARACTER. This one is out now.

I really enjoyed this soap opera thriller. I loved the characters and the setting really sucked me in. If you're looking for an entertaining escape read with some mystery on a train, this one is for you!

Rory is working on a memoir of her life with an author while she works on discovering herself and her next steps in life. The author bamboozles Rory into a train ride with her friends and family who also are in the novel, not all roses though. Rory discovers secrets, on secrets, on secrets and must suss out truth from fiction.

I read this book while on vacation, the perfect vacation read. Rory was on a little vacation herself in Italy until it all came crashing down. Thankfully, my vacation didn’t end like hers 😆. The novel starts slow, a lot of scene setting but once we get to thwart meet I couldn’t put it down. I was engrossed! Rory’s story and history were so interesting and the characters were developed well with moments of good and evil in all. I found I enjoyed this more than Chateau.

My favorite parts were of the setting though! I have always wanted to go to Italy! Taking a train through Italy would be magical.

I loved The Chateau & dare I say I love The Main Character even more!?!

Ginevra Ex is an author with an out-of-the-box method for writing her stories. She chooses a real-life person, investigates into their background, interviews friends, family, employers, etc. – learns all she can & then writes a fictional story based on that information, but is it really all fiction?

Rory is her latest character who Ginevra has surprised with a trip along Italy’s Mediterranean coast on the famed Orient Express (yep, THAT Orient Express). However, Rory is surprised when her BFF, brother & ex are also on the trip after being invited by Ginevra. Just what exactly is Ginevra up to? Her book is already written after all. There are lots of secrets amongst the guests as well as Ginevra herself. Will Rory figure it all out before they come to the same demise as one of Ginevra’s novels?

It took me just a little bit to get into this story. It had a bit of a slow start for me, but once it got going, I was wholly invested & couldn’t put it down. Obviously, I loved the premise of the mystery & shadiness going on aboard the Orient Express, but this book was more than that. I loved the chapters that flashed back to Ginevra’s history, which 100% ties into the story, you just have to wait to find out how. Of course, there are lies & deception & such unbearable heartache. I did not expect to feel such a deep sadness for certain characters.

I thought this book was very well done & cannot wait to see what Goldis comes out with next!

This one just wasn’t quite as good as her last one. I love the orient express setting but this one left me with way more questions than answers at the end of the book!

Rory is sent on a fabulous trip on the Orient Express, as a courtesy of being the mysterious author Ginerva Ex's main character in her latest novel. This book is full of secrets, lies and twists, but unfortunately it fell flat and kept falling. There were so many side stories that proved to not be super relevant, and created a lot of confusion for me. Too many backstories, too many characters.

Thank you to NetGalley for ARC access.

Title: The Main Character by Jaclyn Goldis
Publication Date- 05/21/24
Publisher- Atria
Overall Rating- 3 out of 5 stars

Review: Review copy given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The Main Character starts off with a very interesting premise. You are introduced to a lot of characters who all have ties to each other, some of which overlap in interesting ways. The story starts off in a really exciting manner, I flew through the first 21 percent. Unfortunately, it went downhill from there. I personally just did not like where the story was going. Without spoiling anything, if you like stories that have family history and strong family ties which adds to the drama and anticipation then this may be for you. I am slowly learning that isn’t for me.

The writing is okay, it’s not great but it’s not bad. There were a lot of interesting elements to this story. For example, we have an author who writes stories based off real people she meets. I really enjoyed that aspect and found it fascinating.

It has a vacation and adventure atmosphere at the start but strayed from that after the first 20 percent. In summary, I did enjoy this but I ended up DNFing it at 80 percent because I just didn’t care about where it was going. Again, with the family stuff, if that’s a direction you enjoy you don’t want to miss this one.

3.5 stars

I really wanted to like this book. The Chateau was such a favorite of mine last year, however this story read more like a family drama than a mystery. I found almost all of the characters unlikable lol. I did like all the Agatha Christie nods and the twists but I feel like I still have unanswered questions at the end.

This eARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This is a slow-burn kind of psych thriller you can curl up with, trying to unravel things before the characters do. I really enjoyed the way the threads were woven together. A thoroughly engrossing, though slower-paced, psychological thriller. .

The premise of the book sounded fascinating but the book was entirely too long. Nothing really happens for the first half of the book and the characters are very unlikeable and cringey. The second half really picks up but I wish we’d spent more time on the ending and less on the beginning fluff. The ending felt so rushed and abrupt. I’m normally a big fan of endings that leave stuff up to interpretation, but this felt a little incomplete.
I’ve never been able to get into Agatha Christie so maybe the slow burn thrillers just aren’t for me.
I did enjoy the small bits of history we get to learn through the flashbacks and the writing was good. I’d be intrigued to read more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this ARC and provide my honest review.

If you're looking for something original, then <i>The Main Character</i> is for you. I picked this book because the premise was intriguing and I hadn't read anything like this before, I wanted an original story that could give me something different.

Rory is hired by an author to be a main character. This means she's the new muse of Ginevra Ex and Ginevra will spend time learning about Rory's life in order to turn her into a character in Ex's next novel. When the interviewing is complete, Ginevra books Rory aboard the Orient Express (yes, THAT Orient Express). While Rory thinks this will be a trip for just her, she is shocked to find that her brother, her best friend, and her ex are all aboard the train as well.

This twisty murder mystery slowly builds up the suspense while this group travels to places that I've only dreamed of, and everyone has secrets. I loved being able to explore these places with the group while also trying to figure out exactly what everyone is hiding. I didn't guess the end until right before it happened, which I loved, and the explanations for what went down definitely locked this novel in as a great read.

I highly recommend this novel, especially if you're traveling.

What an interesting concept! The book is about a reclusive author who uses real people as inspiration for the main characters in her novels. She spends months interviewing these people and their loved ones. Then takes their personalities and weaves mysteries out of them. At the end of this character’s time with the author, the author decides to send her, her brother, and two close friends on a train ride through Italy with prepaid adventures at each stop.

Can I be a main character?

While they are traveling, secrets are revealed and old hurts are confronted. The book was really good after the first chapter. Be prepared for multiple points of view and time jumping. However, I enjoyed it so much that I am already planning to read it again!

A famous, reclusive mystery writer invites a small group on the vacation of a lifetime aboard the Orient Express. She has interviewed one of the travelers and is basing her new novel on her ( the main character) and the interactive lives of this  foursome. They will get to read the preview of the book in transit. The revelations in the book lead to discoveries and dissent among the quartet.
    As we read, we learn that this wasn't a random selection of an interesting group of friends to write about, but a well planned disclosure of the relationship of the author to the group.  The association is doled out in small increments which allows the reader to speculate along the way.  
    The four characters consists of long time friends, siblings and past lovers. But by the end of the book we realize that they were none of these to each other.......deceit, fear and scandal all rock their relationships.
    The author has given us a fascinating observation into the relationship of siblings, adoption, Alzheimers and mental health.........a bevy topics that add to the development of the book's characters and storyline.
    A thriller to the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Main Character is a fun Agatha Christie-esque thriller to read at the beach or beside the pool. I enjoyed being carried along by this story but felt that it ran out of steam toward the middle of the narrative. At the beginning of the book I felt that there was a lot of potential for the story but it never really reached the twists I hoped it would. That being said, this was an enjoyable and entertaining read.

Long winded, but I enjoyed it for the most part. Liked that it was told from 4 different POv’s. I enjoyed The Château better.

Firstly, thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for a free ARC of The Main Character in exchange for my honest review. This one was fun!

The Main Character tells the tale of a world renowned author (Ginverva Ex) and the lavish train trip through Italy for her novel's newest main character (Rory). Everything is planned down to a T, but not everything goes according to Ms. Ex's itinerary.

I seem to be in the minority on this one compared to other reviews, but I quite enjoyed this one. I found Rory to be very likable and found myself rooting for her to uncover all of the mysteries surrounding her life. I enjoyed the idyllic Italian setting, as well. This book gave serious Agatha Christie Murder on the Orient Express vibes, too, which I really enjoyed (even though I'm not the biggest Christie fan 🙈). That being said I usually always enjoy when an author pays homage to a work of classic literature.

If you enjoy an atmospheric "who done it" then I don't think you'll be sorry for picking this one up. Although it was a slow burn at times (and I did find the ending to be a bit unsatisfying), overall I give this one 3.75. Rounded up to 4⭐️ (I'm feeling generous today 🙃).

DNF at 15%. I thought this was an interesting premise and love the setting of the Orient Express but this one wasn’t working for me. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook to review.

I made it 77% through this and still did not really care what happened. I was not invested in the story, nor any of the characters. This one qualifies as a ‘not for me’ book.

I don't need my books to be rooted in truth all of the time, but I do need them to well written to compensate for the utter inanity that some of these plots involve. This one was not it.