sweethearts

by Elizabeth Elle Mitchell

Twenty-nine years after finding Laura Hurst in a frozen lake, Ada Bailey decides it's time to revisit Lynn Pond and confront the past. But Silynn holds more than memories.

Decades-old secrets tumble out as Ada explores the town she was sent away from. Her return dredges up more than sordid pieces of the townsfolk’s lives, though. Sam Pruette, a collector of innocents, worries Ada may remember details from that frigid day in November of 1988.

Laura was only the first sweetheart.

Paperback

Published October 1, 2020

About the author

Elizabeth Mitchell is a disabled author, multidisciplinary artist, and publisher who's lived many lives. Her work challenges, blends genres, explores haunted bodies, and delves into the human psyche. She's a social activist, a gamer with potato aim, and an avid reader. As a woman with several invisible illnesses, she enjoys living a semi-horizontal life with her husband and spoiled furbutts in the PNW. Her writing is also under Elle. Find her at https://www.justanotherelizabeth.com/.

Reviews

[Ivy Ngeow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweethearts is a tense slow-burning multiple viewpoint serial killer literary novel with a YA slant. I was given this review or book blogger's copy of Sweethearts. Neurotic protagonist Ada Bailey goes back to her hometown of Silynn in November 2017. Nervous tics like hair-pulling, dependence on her therapist Rachel, an estranged relationship with her mother and a date which goes wrong plague her anxiety. She agreed to go on a date with Luke, someone she didn't know very well from the past, someone possibly violent. When her lookalike is killed and found in Lynn Pond, it triggers off the memory of people she knew and things that happened in November 1988 when she was a child, including the body of Laura Hurst being found in the same lake. What was the connection between the sweethearts?
Sweethearts are the victims of Sam Pruette and Ada's journey uncovers the town's buried secrets, layer by layer.
I recommend this eye-opening read about small town America and its colourful unique characters.

[Thriller BingerGirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic writing and suspense! kept me guessing until there were no more plot twists 🔥

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! The main character is really interesting and unusual. I thought the twists and turns were excellent!

[Valerie Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slow-burn thriller with lyrical prose, complicated characters, and chilling twists.

[Ivy Elland · Rating 2 out of 5]

This isn’t a widely available, popular book. I haven’t seen many reviews at all so I was initially a bit worried to as why this was. I found out…

When I initially had this on my wish list I must have found something about it interesting but as soon as I started I had those gut feelings that this wouldn’t be a book I enjoyed.

The storyline had such good opportunity’s to be interesting and lend into a good crime thriller. It wasn’t necessarily a unique storyline although it did have a good twist with one of the MCs. It COULD have been more but it wasn’t.

Ada’s chapters droned on, not a lot happened and I got confused with the writing style on these chapters. It was bland.

Sam’s chapters I enjoyed much more! I wanted more of this.

Overall, I didn’t enjoy this book massively and so much more could have been pushed. Plus the ending was terrible.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was wickedly disjointed and a bit slow for me, sorry Elle.