Laura, workaholic with no life, finally meets a guy (same office) who whisks her away for a few romantic days to an exotic island. It sounds like an amorous tale at the outset but then she meets a single woman at this couples resort and becomes obsessed with her; envious of her freedom and the aura she seems to exude. Why is she here alone? She is convinced the woman has a sad backstory and tries to befriend her.
    That's when the book turned more into a self reflection for Laura. She feels she has missed out on so many things in life because of her drive to succeed. Her best friend from high school's betrayal, which she hasn't resolved, follows her everywhere: she misses her and the tight friendship they once had.
    So this mysterious woman has Laura sharing her deepest feelings, much like a therapist in one simple conversation then disappears and Laura is convinced she has met with a terrible fate and obsessed with finding her. 
    Is Laura consumed with her disappearance because she needs this woman, who's astute observations she's made about her life are so accurate, or is she just being a concerned citizen about a missing person.
    There are other issues: boyfriend, work, police  woven throughout to give the story its mystery label but it seemed like Laura finally found out what she wanted to do with her life and it came at a high price

Laura finally feels normal—because she’s in a couple. She’s dazzled when, on a short vacation with her boyfriend of six weeks, she finds a woman all by herself at a couple’s resort. I guess at a couple’s resort being alone might stand out, but it’s clear that Laura would never eat alone back home, either. I genuinely can’t imagine anyone giving a hoot about a person eating alone—people are generally much too wrapped up in themselves to even notice strangers.

Laura is fascinated by the woman who is OK by herself and doesn’t seem to care about what others think. She makes a sort of friendship with the woman, who then disappears, and things get awkward. The main gist I got from this is: don’t trust boyfriends, new friends, or anyone.

NetGalley provided an advance copy of this novel, which RELEASE JANUARY 14, 2024.

This was very disappointing. I get what the author was trying to do but I found myself so bored halfway through that it was quite a struggle pushing through to the end.

The End of Things is about Laura a lawyer in her first job, post graduation. We follow Laura and Phillip as they attend their first vacation, after 6 weeks of dating.

This book was very thrilling and what the heck is going on. Not sure as to what was come of this story. Plot was intriguing enough with the unknowns. Wasn't very invested in this story and characters however I was intrigued with this writing. This story felt very slice of life (while on vacation) and had a remote setting which are things that usually bore me. This story was good and I found it thought provoking.

Thank you to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for the ARC copy for my honest review.

This was such a fun book. I wanted a summer themed thriller to finish out the season. This did not disappoint. I loved the character development and the scenery was amazing. I thought the MC was smart and witty and it was a refreshing book to read. I thought anxiety and the mental health representation was done very well.

The book left me with a whirlwind of emotions. None of the characters were particularly likable, yet I found myself empathizing with the female lead's perspective on certain issues, despite her seemingly limited emotional depth. The boyfriend's reaction to the climactic revelation felt disproportionately extreme. And the enigmatic woman? More irksome than intriguing. Anticipating a mystery thriller, I was met with a narrative that veered sharply from expectations. No regrets in reading it, but it's not a story that will linger in my thoughts.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an E-ARC of The End of things. This book just didn't hit the mark for me. I found it boring and confusing. Didn't finish.

I really wanted to love this book. The cover was stunning, and combined with the description was giving me White Lotus vibes. However, it seemed that none of the description really matched what the story unfolded to be. None of the characters were likable, and I found myself waiting to find out what the big twist is, only to realize there really wasn't one. Unfortunately, this book left a lot to be desired, and had the potential to be a great thriller, but ultimately didn't deliver. I did enjoy the descriptions of the vacation spot that the story takes place at; a picture of the Pink Sands Resort became clear in my mind while reading. Overall I'd rate this a 2.5/5. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this before it hits shelves.

Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for an incredible read The Ends of Things. Loved the cover, confused about the title, cried my eyes out on the last page. I was wishy washy about Dave and now I know why. I could totally visualize being at the resort!!! What a great, meaningful book. Everyone needs a Diana in their life, WOW that’s All I can say! Soooo happy Laura found her true self. Such a good book, thank you again,

I have mixed feelings on this book. I didn’t like any of the characters but I could understand why the FMC felt the way she did about some things but she seemed to have the emotional intelligence of a rock. The boyfriend really overreacted at the “big reveal”. The mystery lady was annoying. I thought it was going to be a mystery thriller? But it turned out to be completely different.

Worth reading but nothing special. I felt this book started quite strong but then really dragged in the middle only to end rather abruptly. I was curious enough to keep reading to get answers, but it wasn't a true atmospheric and page turning thriller. Its fine! I don't regret reading it, but I likely wont think about it again now that I'm done

I enjoyed this book by Sandra Chwialkowska. Initially it was the cover that drew me in, yet the actual book was very good. The beginning was definitely hard to pull away from. I enjoyed the middle and the end as well, It’s a bit of a slow burn yet the writing and execution of the story worked for me. I thought the ending was also really good- I didn’t know what to expect, which I always appreciate.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the electronic copy of this book.

3.5. This cover is so good - it drew me right in. Thank you to NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing and Sandra Chwialkowska for allowing me this ARC in exchange for my honest review of this debut novel.

The story begins with Laura and Dave, two lawyers who have recently begun dating, traveling to the Bahamas for a 3 day vacation. The first half of the book is a lot of foreshadowing that something was going to happen but you’re never really sure what or when. Labeled as a “thrilling suspense” I kept waiting for it. Laura is a bit insecure in relationships and wonders how she and Dave ended up together really.

Laura’s childhood ex best friend plays a huge role in this book. After a while I was thinking does a women in her 30’s really still obsess that much about a lost friendship from over a decade ago?

An encounter on the island spurs Laura to act in a way which causes a dominos effect. This is the lackluster thrilling suspense.

I plowed thru this book waiting and wondering … and then it just kind of ended with a hmmm ending. This novel has the great bones to be a suspenseful thriller but took way too long to get there and then just kind of dies at the end.
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A propulsive literary debut, The Ends of Things is a thrilling suspense perfect for fans of The White Lotus and You Shouldn’t Have Come Here by Jeneva Rose.

I wanted to love this book but I can only say I liked it. The ending was too quick and I found it to be repetitive. Bit flat for me.

2.75 I liked it. I didn’t love it but I did want to finish it. It started really strong and slowed down in the middle then I’m 80% done and it starts to pick up again…

I loved the characters they were relatable and I liked the development of them, the scene setting was really good I could definitely imagine I was in Eleuthera.

But I would call this a mystery not a thriller there was one moment when Laura was on the beach that gave me chills for all of 5 lines and that was it, this could have continued and made this book excellent!

All in all it’s worth a read but don’t expect it to knock your socks off.

Thank you to the author, publisher and #netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this as an ARC for an honest review

This book had me in the first half, I’m not going to lie. It was addictive and mysterious, a real page turner. Once the 50% mark came it got a little stagnant but I was willing to wait it out. The last 10% was completely not what I was expecting but it somehow redeemed the book for me? I stopped thinking of it as a mysterious thriller and more of a dive into Laura’s intense need for validation and friendship. Chloe kinda sucks though I am over her.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This missing persons mystery is a great read about the power of female friendship and about the importance of being true to oneself. I love the ending.

Oh my goodness, this book was so good! I couldn't get over the ending. It was wonderfully written. Highly recommend. Loved the characters.

This started out strong and seemed like a promising thriller that I couldn’t put down. But then the plot stagnated and unfortunately shifted into a cheesy resolution.