Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris

⭐️⭐️ – 2-stars

Simply put, this book wasnt for me. I didn’t like it at all. It became a tedious cat and mouse chase and I lost interest early on. The characters, including the main ones, were all one dimensional, and there wasn’t much to imagine outside of them. No engaging secondary characters, no atmosphere, no interesting landmarks, no development. Nothing. There was just no substance. It’s like everyone and everything existed in hazy outline, and I didn’t really care about anyone or anything, except maybe the dog, Peggy. And those silly Russian Dolls. 🙄 I didn’t particularly care for how it was structured either. There was quite a bit of introspection and first person narrative. I felt like it kept going in circles. Very repititious. It picked up a bit towards the final 20% of the book, but only briefly. I was just too tired of the whole thing to care by that time anyway. I couldn’t wait for it to be over. I was hoping for a climactic ending, but alas I found it disappointing and implausible.

Here’s a brief synopsis of the plot…

Finn McQuaid’s girlfriend, Layla, goes missing during a rest room break while on their way back to Devon, England, from their trip to France. Finn is devastated, but eventually he begins to accept that Layla is gone forever and he grows attached to Layla’s sister, Ellen. In the twelfth year of Layla’s disappearance, Finn gets engaged to Ellen and when their engagement becomes public knowledge clues begin popping up to suggest that Layla might still be alive and close by.

Initially, Finn paints this blissful picture of his relationship with Layla, but then there’s this undertone of discontent and animosity that existed. What really happened the night Layla disappeared, and has she really come back?

I’m sorry. I didn’t like any of it. That is all.

I want to thank St. Martin’s Press for a complimentary copy of Bring Me Back in exchange for an honest review which I have given.

Have a wonderful week everyone.