Z’s Reviews > This Might Hurt > Status Update

+complicated family dynamics were well-written
-characters themselves felt flat
-pacing was all over the place
-drawn out

2.5* I didn’t enjoy or not enjoy this book, I can see the vision but the execution just wasn’t it for me. Thus, I’m rounding down to 2* due to dragging, lackluster secret reveal and bouncing around POV/timelines with too much time before revisiting them taking any investment I had away

Rebecca’s conclusion with Kit felt a little OOC which I think was addressed by the role-reversal once Kit showed her final hand of loyalty, Rebecca wearing the scarf this time, Kit reaching out to her knee etc but then the confrontation on the boat Rebecca still had some grit in her so it undercut the entire previous interaction and thus made her just willing to sit on an island waiting for Kit to be OOC again

When the sisters finally do meet, the constant attempts at tension by her not being able to find Kit, seeing her than deciding now’s not the time to tell the secret, another instance of the exact thing… it just felt forced and I didn’t feel any of the motivations Natalie had for coming in the first place.

There are some ideas about facing your fears/regrets/guilts, and commentary on finding a home

Looking at my notes, Kit/Natalie meet at 30% and that conversation isn’t revisited until 70%, so you can imagine that if this isn’t read in only a few sittings, the reader will be wholly lost on what is going on in that conversation. The story picked up at the end but it was just too late for that. Thus, tension, stakes etc are cut and the thriller aspect is non existent. It just feels drawn out instead of slow burn

Pacing slowed considerably once we got to the island, and with 3 POVs (one unknown for a long while doesn’t add to the mystery but to the confusion) to cover across multiple times, you just get thrown back and forth between things that its hard to find footing so I started to become less engaged or even care about why Natalie was there because I was so far removed from it

So stealing Natalie’s phone and leaving her in the woods was all Kit’s idea not Rebecca’s

Rebecca after a few days finally decides to swim in the freezing water

Kit removed the threat of Rebecca so Jeremiah won’t take WIsewood down to get to her and without her time-wasting test of loyalty the staff are no longer distracted

Kit goes to take Natalie on the boat to leave the island but it's open-ended on where

w her wearing the scarf it’s like their roles are reversed, Kit says they can take the boat and leave Wisewood until it’s safe for Jeremiah, she takes her to a small island and confronts her for not telling her about her mother and she realizes that its Wisewood she loves not Rebecca, says she’ll be back soon but never returns

Kit doesn’t like being told what’s good for her form Jeremiah or her own sister, she knows she’s being used but she wants to feel useful and loved and she feels that here; she does look into the files though and finds out how her mom died and so she sends the email to Natalie to confess, Rebecca walks in on her snooping, she tells R everything and she is shocked at the betrayal of Jeremiah

Kit learns from Jeremiah that he’s Gabe’s brother who blames Rebecca not only for his death but for leaving their family, the inheritance etc he pretended to be someone else to get into Wisewood and found out Gordon is gone all the time cuz he was a PI and Rebecca uses him to get info on the other staff

Kit brings Natalie back to her cabin after having been in freezing weather for 5 hours, she’s pissed and STILL thinks it’s a bad time to talk to Kit but since she insists she blurts that their mom planned her death and Natalie helped