Friday, January 18, 2019

Book Review: I Found You by Lisa Jewell

In the windswept British seaside town of Ridinghouse Bay, single mom Alice Lake finds a man sitting on a beach outside her house. He has no name, no jacket, and no idea how he got there. Against her better judgment, she invites him inside.

Meanwhile, in a suburb of London, newlywed Lily Monrose grows anxious when her husband fails to return home from work one night. Soon, she receives even worse news: according to the police, the man she married never even existed.

Twenty-three years earlier, Gray and Kirsty Ross are teenagers on a summer holiday with their parents. The annual trip to Ridinghouse Bay is uneventful, until an enigmatic young man starts paying extra attention to Kirsty. Something about him makes Gray uncomfortable—and it’s not just because he’s a protective older brother.

Who is the man on the beach? Where is Lily’s missing husband? And what ever happened to the man who made such a lasting and disturbing impression on Gray?

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My Review:
I found out about I Found You by Lisa Jewell in a magazine about upcoming books. When I read the synopsis, I knew I had to read it. It sounded really good! Luckily, it didn't disappoint.

The pacing was a little slow in places. However, it was still decently paced enough to hold my attention. The last quarter of the book was fast paced, but not in a bad way where I didn't know what was going on. For the last quarter of I Found You, I found myself fully immersed within the pages. I had to know what was going to happen next.

The world building is very believable. It's not something that happens every day, but I can still picture it happening. The plot of I Found You was very enjoyable. I don't think I've ever read anything like it. It was interesting to read about the past as well as the story from two different women's point of view. It was also very interesting to see how their worlds were about to collide. There are a couple of plot twists that I had been trying to figure out from the the beginning which I got wrong. All of my questions about the story were answered by the end of the book as well as any loose ends.

I thought the characters in I Found You were very well written and fleshed out perfectly. All of them felt very real. I would have liked to learn more about Alice's past, but she was still a well written character. I enjoyed reading about Frank as he tried to get his memory back, and it was very interesting going along for the ride with Lily as she tried to find her missing husband. I loved how protective Gray was of his sister Kirsty and how much he loved her. I hated Mark, but that was the point. Mark was written to be a horrible person.

Trigger warnings include drug use, underage and of age alcohol use, violence, swearing, sexual assault, death, and implied sex.

Overall, I Found You was an enjoyable read. The plot was very interesting, and the characters felt very real. The pacing was a bit slow sometimes, but it always held my attention. I would definitely recommend I Found You by Lisa Jewell to everyone aged 16+. It is a thrilling read for sure!

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