I really struggled to get through this one and almost DNFd. I went into it as it was described a thriller and I found it more literary fiction.

Thank you NetGalley, the author and Blackstone Publishing for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Just okay. I enjoyed the aspect of friendship and also finding yourself but this was marketed as a thriller/suspense which there was very little of. Okay, enjoyable, but not thrilling

Laura and her boyfriend Dave go on vacation. There she meets a woman, Diana, who is traveling alone. Laura becomes a bit infatuated due to Diana’s confidence and they spend a bit of time together. When Diana seems to go missing, Laura does the decent thing and reports it to the authorities. Through the ordeal, Laura learns more about herself, her boyfriend, her employer, and what she wants out of life. A great read!

Laura always wanted to travel but not by herself. So she finally gets a boyfriend whose name is Dave. They decide to go on vacation to a remote island. Laura becomes fascinated by a lady who is there alone. Then something happens to the lonely lady when they take a hike together. She ends up missing but Laura doesn’t know what happened to her.

This book is billed as a suspense/thriller, however I felt it wasn't overly heavy on suspense and was more like a women's fiction/drama. I enjoyed it nonetheless as an exploration of the main character Laura's journey of self-discovery as she comes to terms with who she is, her childhood and present relationships, career and who she wants to be in the future. I found myself a bit annoyed with her behaviors and reactions surrounding the disappearance of Diana, but felt she was redeemed later on as she found her confidence and asserted who she wanted to be.

Everything about this book seemed so promising...

The Ends of Things by Sandra Chwialkowska has the premise of a woman befriending another woman on a vacation in the Bahamas, but the latter seemingly vanishes without a trace.

My biggest gripe with this book is how it's marketed as a thriller suspense but, without revealing too much, it really isn't. Had I known this, I might've DNF'd it, but I kept reading because I kept expecting something that wouldn't happen.

It is also difficult to sympathize with the FMC. The conflict introduced between her and her boyfriend, as well as the high school "trauma" she repeatedly references, do not feel like enough to justify her erratic behavior. What's concerning is the fact that she is supposed to be a good lawyer, but her actions are so questionable that this detail is hard to believe.

With that being said, if you are in the mood for a more pensive read based on female friendships lost and gained, then this may be the book for you. But if you are expecting a thriller suspense, the anticlimactic plot may leave you frustrated in the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Ends of Things is available everywhere now.

Well on the positive side it was a super quick read……..not sure that balances out the negative for me.
I do understand Laura’s mindset about traveling/eating alone and the personal growth it takes to move past that. I was very much like her about that many years ago. But other than that and her obsession with Chloe and Diana, it’s hard to relate to her. Dave is an awful person which I’m pretty sure everybody but Laura knew from the beginning. There was really no mystery or thrill. Very much felt like women’s fiction.
I would say 2.5/5 stars for me which I absolutely hate to do.

This was a good read, but not really my typical style. I wouldn’t call this much of a thriller. Maybe more of a mystery.

Laura and her new boyfriend Dave take a spur of the moment to a tropical destination. While there, Laura notices a woman alone at the couples resort and finds it odd, but also intriguing, Diana. Laura and Diana start to get to know each other a bit more, but then Diana mysteriously vanishes.

Pros
Character driven
Atmosphere
Mystery
Thought provoking

Cons
Slower paced
Not enough thrill for me

The End of Things by Sandra Chwialkowska had a promising premise of a thrilling suspense taking place at a tropical resort. The publisher’s blurb sold me with their statement, “perfect for fans of…The White Lotus.” Unfortunately, I felt the need to DNF this book at nearly 30%.

Living inside the protagonist’s head page after page was not bringing me joy. The ongoing descriptions of Laura choosing certain material items, including, wine glasses, sunscreen (spray vs. lotion), menu items in a restaurant, and a romper from the hotel gift shop, quickly grew tiresome. The fact that this Yale-educated, successful attorney, completely lacked confidence, and even felt the need to justify what kind of sunscreen she was purchasing, seemed over-the-top and unbelievable. A reader, in a similar stage of life as Laura, might be able to relate to the protagonist’s inner dialogue with more understanding and empathy than I was able to.

That being said, not every book is for every reader, but every book has its reader. I was not the ideal reader for this book, but I do believe there will be those that find The End of Things to be an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing, Inc for the ARC of The End of Things by Chandra Chwialkowska in exchange for my honest review.

I liked the concept of what I think this novel was going for despite the fact that the synopsis makes it sound like it is going to be much more ominous. I just didn't love the flow of the writing and think the theme of personal reflection and growth fell flat because of it. I do love the title in relation to the theme & the cover is the best part. Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the ARC and happy publication day

I honestly believe I would have liked this better had it not been described as a thriller. This was more women's fiction with a hint of mystery. This is about friendship as well as self exploration, and the prose in that regard was as beautiful as the cover. The protagonist was an interesting, intriguing person that I couldn't help but root for. With that storyline alone, this was an excellent read. However, the mystery storyline left me scratching my head and still questioning how to rate this. Three and a half stars.

Thank you, Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing, for this ARC.

The Ends of Things by Sandra Chwialkowska is a thrilling suspense debut novel.
This has been intriguing and moves at the perfect pace.
I have devoured page after page, completely hooked and unable to predict where this one was going.

I couldn’t even get into it really. It was so bad. I wasn’t sure if it was just me so I checked other reviews and I wasn’t the only one who felt this way. This was a DNF for me. My friend who finished the book told me not to waste my time.

This book was really quite interesting and unique given it starts out as one genre, and ends up in a completely different place. It's hard not to spoil anything, but I went into it thinking it was going to be something much scarier than it was, so it fell a bit flat in that regard, but I really liked the writing. For someone looking for a vacation suspense book, not so much a thriller, I think it is perfect! I liked the characterization and the mystery, and overall enjoyed it!

It's a slow burn that fizzles away into nothing. This isn't a thriller. There's no suspense, just the story of a woman on a hastily planned vacation with a guy she's only been dating for a couple of months. She can't decide what to order at the resort's restaurant without looking at the tables around her to see what the other women are eating. I found her impossible to identify with and in the end, although I guess she learns a valuable lesson, nothing actually happens.

On a romantic trip to the Bahamas, Laura befriends a mysterious woman, Diana, who suddenly vanishes. Drawn into the investigation, Laura discovers secrets and deception in paradise, turning her dream vacation into a dangerous nightmare.

Umm did I read the same book as everyone else? This book was so bad. I was interested until I wasn’t. The mysterious woman turned out to be no one at all’s there was no twist and it was just wrapped up and closed. I would not consider this a thriller or mystery at all. Sorry but this wasn’t it for me.

I actually thought this book was a good debut. Quirky characters. Obsessions. Social awkwardness. Beautiful island. Mysterious circumstances. What's not to like! I enjoyed it because I just got home from the Bahamas, and I'm around high school girls who act like this. This made it all the more interesting. The author is descriptive enough that I can picture the scenes in my head! She created relatable situations like being envious of the confident woman vacationing alone. Thank you, NetGalley & Blackstone Publishing, for the ARC & opportunity to provide a review.

I found this story to be pretty anticlimactic. The mystery ended up being a bit of a let down, with no shocking twists along the way. Laura definitely got in her own way too much, which got tiresome as the story progressed.

Overall, the plot was interesting enough for me to keep reading, but didn’t hook or enthrall me. Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

"She thought she had the perfect life … until she met a stranger in paradise."
The End of Things had me captivated from the beginning and the author did a good job writing this one. Sadly, the ending in this book left me confused and I never got the plot twist like I thought was going to happen. This has interesting characters and I loved the setting in this book a lot. Overall, this was a decent read that I enjoyed and would recommend to any reader who likes mystery books. Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for this read in exchange of my honest review of The End of Things by Sandra Chwialkowska.

Laura is a lawyer, who along with her fellow lawyer boyfriend, Dave, decide to take an impulsive romantic vacation to a Bahamian island after having dated less than two months. Once there, Laura notices a woman staying at the same resort who appears to be traveling alone. This brings to mind all of Laura’s own dreams of travelling with her childhood best friend, her own insecurities of going anywhere alone, and how she measures up to other women. Upon striking up a conversation with this woman, they decide to go on a hike together, where the woman disappears, thus creating the mystery part of the narrative.

This book started out strong but stalled out by the end. I think the issue is this book is being promoted in the thriller genre, rather than the women’s fiction genre where it belongs. While there is certainly a mystery involved, it turns out to be anticlimactic and not really the focus of the book. Instead, it’s a study of the various relationships women have with one another, their social expectations and the judgements they pass among themselves.

I enjoyed the mystery part of the narrative, but found the obsession Laura still had with her childhood friend rather tiresome. It did serve to lay the groundwork for her internal struggles, her preoccupation with the solo woman traveler, and further thoughts of her relationships with other women, but if the lure of a suspenseful story in an exotic locale is what drew you to the book to begin with, you may end up disappointed.

Blackstone Publishing via NetGalley kindly provided me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.