Welcome to Litsy!

I have mixed feelings about this book. There were elements of the story I really wanted to like, but too many things just felt rushed and I felt like the author introduced too many elements and left them unsatisfactorily resolved. I also had a hard time connecting with many of the main characters and felt annoyed when their stories were centered over more interesting POVs, especially as the story drew to an end. 2.5⭐️/5 rounded up to 3 on GR.

Just starting this tonight and discovered this great catastrophe quotes at the beginning. #relatable #pandemicreading #stayathome

I had mixed feelings about this book. It started off strong - several families take a cruise with their children and the trip quickly takes a turn for the worse when the kids are separated from the adults on an excursion. Told from multiple characters‘ perspectives, it moves along quickly but many parts felt rushed to me.

I really liked the premise for this book about a cruise excursion gone wrong when a group of kids goes missing. There were parts of this where the suspense really kept me on the edge of my seat and other parts where I felt like the story was really slow and a bit boring. I also felt like there were a lot of characters to keep up with and I found myself getting confused.

Silly

Three families on a cruise over the Christmas holiday decide to take a day trip. Soon, the children have been separated from the adults. Told in alternating viewpoints, I‘m so excited to find out what happens. This is a can‘t put down for me. Back to my reading 🙂

Found this abit boring if I'm honest feel like this type of story has been over done. Couldn't warm to any of the main characters either.
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In celebration of all the amazing books I‘ve read this year.

Part 3 of I loved so much stuff.

And SO many books by women.

I‘m betting that this one isn‘t going to make me want to take a cruise.

Listened to this one during a road trip. It was pretty good, but not great.

I went out book browsing with @Kathleenkelly and stopped at new cafe for an early lunch. The book was a quick read with lots traumatic events for both parents and children. The ending (predictable), dragged a bit too long.

I‘m waiting on a tire repair and made sure to download an ebook before leaving the house. I‘m appreciate today‘s opportunity to squeeze in some unscheduled reading time before heading off to work.

I finished this so fast. It wasn‘t the most amazing story ever - slightly predictable in places - but the concept is absolutely terrifying. Your children going missing while in a foreign country?! Ugh, it just makes me anxious thinking about it! Again, not amazing, but a quick and easy read.

Started this last night and I‘m nearly halfway through already. A page turner for sure!

Side note: I have discovered the Reese Witherspoon book club and may or may not have checked out five of her picks from the library this week. This is one of them. They all sound so good!

Three sets of parents lose their children on an excursion during a cruise. They fall asleep on the beach a little drunk. Their kids float off down the river in inter-tubes.

There are crocodiles. Drug lords. Verrryyy awkward sex scenes. Overall - It. Was. Awesome.

#ReadingResolutions • May 6|Suspense Sunday • My two most recent suspense/thriller novels. I usually read this genre more often, but had to dig back to the winter months to find my last suspense read 😧

I think I forgot to put this one when I read it last semester.

When Liv and Nora decide to take their husbands and children on a holiday cruise, everyone is thrilled. The adults are lulled by the ship‘s comfort and ease. The four children love the nonstop buffet and newfound independence. But when they all go ashore for an adventure in Central America, a series of miscalculations leads the families farther from the safety of the ship. One minute the children are there, and the next they‘re gone.

Overall, it‘s a fun read. The story pulls you along. However, the end fizzles a bit.

The premise of this book sounded promising and I enjoyed it at first but for some reason, the longer I read it, the less I liked it. I didn't like the characters at all, I found the plot to be way too unbelievable, and the ending fell completely flat for me.

That was something she was trying to work on: not always second-guessing her decisions, wondering if she‘d made the wrong one. But how could you know if you‘d made the right decision, when you only saw one version play out? 🛳

At one of my favorite local bookshops — Rough Draft in Kingston, New York.

#bookshelves #bookstore #indie #bookbrowsing

Even though there was a diabetic character, which is cool, this thriller didn't hold together for me. I found the way that the kids go missing on the cruise pretty implausible (when I think there were lots of other plausible options) and the actions and motivations of the characters confusing. The book also reads very light like a beach read, but covers dark topics and events, which feels kind of disconcerting in this particular scenario.

While parts of this book made me want to keep reading, it was a struggle to believe the story line and I had to make myself keep reading at times. It was unrealistic and choppy. An easy enough read, but didn‘t have that “can‘t put the book down” characteristic.

During a cruise land excursion in Costa Rica, the kids of three families go missing and events occur from there. This is actually a very flawed book: implausible plotline, a plot hole or two, and a meandering ending. But I found it compulsively readable and gobbled it right up. It worked well for me as a palette cleanser.

I was 40% into this audiobook read by the author and it was fine but just not clicking for me. The writing works but the narration was a bit flat. Might return to it later, but bailed for now. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Reading while I wait to pick my kid up from school. Yay for flexible work schedules! I get to work from home tomorrow and then I‘m off til the 2nd so I‘m basically able to stay in my pjs for a week... ☺️

I really enjoyed this book!

In the middle of this one and very intrigued...

Vacation plans gang aft agley here as two families take a cruise only to get involved with drug runners, kidnapping, medical emergencies and possible adultery. Don‘t let the darkness fool you; the only thing alarming is coming to the end of the book and wishing it could last a little longer.

I checked this out from the library and then promptly forgot about it. Fingers crossed that I can squeeze it in before it‘s due. Do you try to knock library books out quickly before they‘re due or just accept that you‘ll have to get back on the holds list?

Disturbing story of children who are kidnapped while on a cruise. Things I liked: totally plausible characters for the parents, trying to have a good time but imperfect; story line is every parents' nightmare. Things I didn't like: stereotypes of Mexico, corrupt police, drug trade.

I started this one today, but it's just too stressful for me. #readathon

Day 29: Favorite September Read - Pulling out the handy dandy #bujo, & it looks like Do Not Become Alarmed was my top read this month. It was also the fastest! 👍#septinbooks17 #bookbujo #bookstagram #readingtracker #bookstats #booksread #bookworm #booknerd #booklover #bujolover #bulletjournal

What I'm readin' now!!! Very hard to put down. Will be finished today! Has anyone else read this? #whatchareadin📚📖📰📜

Feels like Christmas morning. The library had a dedicated shelf for all my holds today! Holy cow.

Disappointing. Only adequate. The narration of the audiobook, by the author, is quite good. I didn't find the adult characters to be well defined -- in particular, I couldn't tell the 2 women cousins apart -- and only a few of the children had distinguishing features, and for the most part those features didn't add up to personalities.

Do Not Become Alarmed by Maile Meloy is an exciting domestic page-turner. Meloy keeps things fresh with alternating viewpoints between the parents and the kids. The kids may be missing from their parents, but they are never missing from the reader, who follows them on a terrifying thrill ride into Central America's darkest corners. Once you start reading Do Not Become Alarmed, it's hard to stop, especially when the plot starts to thicken.

Here are a couple pretty examples of #cursive (and cursive-ish for Doctor Sleep) for #fallintobooks. I had a great time running around the store and snapping examples. 🙂🙃🙂

This is absolutely true, at least in my experience! #quotes

This was a fantastic and suspenseful novel that I devoured in one sitting. Two families head off on a holiday cruise for some fun, but when the children become separated from their parents the trip turns into a nightmare beyond anything they ever imagined. I couldn't help but race through this story to the very end.

Told from everyone‘s point of view in different chapters, you get to see how the parents jump into action when their children are swept away, how they either fall apart or lean on each other, how the children are faced with choices they are too young to deal with, and how the fallout effects everyone they encounter.

Starting this on my lunch/dinner break. I've been ambivalent about Meloy in the past, but this one is garnering such praise that I'm curious.

Happy National Dog Day! I just finished this one that even though it was outside of my regular genres with lots of triggers I could not put down. Winnie is in her happy place with Mr Wonderful 🐶 #dogsoflitsy

Late night reading 🤓

I finished this book around 4 o'clock Sunday morning and really wanted someone to talk about it with. Alas, I was the only one who had read it in the house as well as the only one up, so I went back over the plot in my head and drifted off to sleep.
This book certainly could be called worst vacation ever (two families go on a cruise 🚢 and while sightseeing at port all the kids go missing) but it is so much more. Have you read it?

I believe it is Richard Hughes' book that sparked the idea for this one.

Maybe it's me...but this is not what I expected from the description. The story became pretty intense; however, it didn't strike me as a "thriller". And I love thrillers. Maybe it was the narration? It was surprisingly read by the author and while she did a good job, I think someone else would have been better. I never felt on the edge of my seat. ?

I started out liking it, but I feel like the characters didn't really grow or change. I think it fizzled towards the end.

Ok- for some reason when I read this description I thought it was going to be a survival in nature ordeal. It was not. It was suspenseful and tense. I loved it.