Sara Shepard | THE ELIZAS

Plot (via Goodreads):

When debut novelist Eliza Fontaine is found at the bottom of a hotel pool, her family at first assumes that it’s just another failed suicide attempt. But Eliza swears she was pushed, and her rescuer is the only witness.

Desperate to find out who attacked her, Eliza takes it upon herself to investigate. But as the publication date for her novel draws closer, Eliza finds more questions than answers. Like why are her editor, agent, and family mixing up events from her novel with events from her life? Her novel is completely fictional, isn’t it?

The deeper Eliza goes into her investigation while struggling with memory loss, the closer her life starts to resemble her novel until the line between reality and fiction starts to blur and she can no longer tell where her protagonist’s life ends and hers begins.

Review:

Eliza Fontaine is a trainwreck. That's how the story begins. Found at the bottom of a pool in a drunken stupid with a belly full of vodka is how this twisted tale begins. I found the opening to be rather frantic and oozing of panic, which was a great way to lead the story of this heavily psychological melodrama featuring a novel within a novel. Eliza Fontaine is not a likable or reliable character and that really fit well within this story for me. That being said, some things with this novel really worked for me while others were things I wasn't able to grasp. 

This novel is good. More psychological and overwrought than her previous work, Shepard takes a giant leap into the adult world of psychological thrillers and the result is a novel that throws so many questions at you that it's painful to not continue to read. I really loved the alternating chapters of Elizas novel "The Dots" and could see the correlation within the two worlds as they continue to bump into each other before a disastrous collision. 

While this novel is a lighter read and fun, similar to that of a Lifetime movie, my only issue that I was having a hard time grasping was the chapters from Eliza's world as she tries to piece together what happened that night. It was almost like the character did have full on amnesia and the results were not only frantic chapters, but those that left me wondering at times if I had missed a chapter or a larger portion of the novel was trying to worm its way out of the center of truth. But as I read on, I found this to be effective in showing the desperation Eliza was going through by putting her life at risk in finding out the truth about that night, and possibly her whole life. 

Shepard again does a great job of wrapping everything up neatly with a bow and answering all questions the reader may have and the ending was not only shocking, but complex, and didn't let me down as a reader. I would mark this as a novel that is a great and light beach read, perfect for those who are young adult readers transitioning into the world of adult suspense or for those who want a psychological thriller that isn't too gritty or violent.

Special thanks to Atria Books for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 3/5