You Shouldn't Have Come Here

The twist wasn't twisting and I saw Colleen Hoover's name twice, once on the cover of the book where she praised Jeneva Rose and called her the Queen of twists (I beg to differ) and again in the book itself where the big country hunk who's is not just a dumb country pumpkin but also crys when reading bad romance novels.

The reason I say the twist is bad is that every woman I have ever heard of or know takes certain safety measures to protect herself but this smart city dwiller was obviously there for another reason and the heavy handed suggestion that the dude was lying is an obvious bambozal.

I really don't like it when it's obvious that the writer is omitting information or have their characters act odd because it drops the facade of the whole thriller bit.

Good witting, though.

DNF. Yep, I Shouldn't Have Gone There. The book's description says that it's a thriller in which the two main characters quickly fall for each other but then some weird stuff is going on or whatever and they started to have reason to suspect each other and maybe the guy becomes too obsessed with the girl. 

I understand that when people fall in love in a book, it has to be illustrated. But I've read plenty of books where people fall in love and this felt different, like I was reading a romance novel. And no shade to the romance genre, but I picked up a thriller. I decided to read a couple reviews to see if this over-the-top romancey bit ever slowed down and many reviews said it felt like a romance novel for 75-90% of the book. I don't like strictly romance so I noped out of there!

It was so hard to put this book down.

Grace books her vacation in a small, middle of nowhere town in Wyoming. She has a high stress job in New York City and decides booking an Airbnb in Wyoming is the perfect getaway. She arrives and finds the town and the people strange but quickly takes to the host, Calvin. Even though there's no WiFi or cell service and she feels a little uneasy she decides to make the most of being off the grid. Calvin, who has some tragedy he's trying to get over, quickly becomes smitten with Grace. As Grace's stay continues and Grace and Calvin become closer Grace starts experiencing things that make her more and more suspicious while Calvin is trying his hardest to get closer to Grace but feels she's hiding something from him.

This book starts out almost like a Romance. While there are some suspenseful moments, the main vibe I was getting was a cozy Romance. Though, I'm not mad about it - it really set up for the suspense to build. I'd have read this if it was just a Romance. And when everything comes to a head I was tearing through the (electronic) pages.

The book is told from dual POV's, Grace and Calvin, which made it both easier and harder to put together what is actually happening with each of the characters. I had my suspicions about how this would end and while it did end the way I expected, the motivation behind it had me very caught off guard. So, there's also a great twist!

Also, shout out to the author adding some bookish pop culture throughout the book. From popular BookTok authors to calling out bookish cliches, it was fun to see those things throughout.

Highly recommend!

I just finished reading You Shouldn't Have Come Here by Jeneva Rose and here is my review.

Booking an AirBNB is something Grace Evans does once a year to get away from her busy life. A ranch in Wyoming is where she is heading and she is excited to get some RnR.... It doesn't hurt that the owner is the handsome Calvin Wells....

Things aren't exactly what Grace was hoping for. The last person to rent the room supposedly never made it there and is now missing. Despite whatever doubts Grace has about coming she and Calvin start to grow close.

The problem is Calvin seems to be hiding something and his infatuation is getting to stalker level creeper. Calvin thinks there is a nefarious reason as to why Grace would pick his ranch to vacation from New York and it is setting his teeth on edge.

This fling could end in a lot more than just normal heartbreak.

I found this a pretty entertaining read. It wasn't the quickest pace thriller but it certainly didn't lull either. I didn't find the storyline to be earth shattering either. There was a twist right at the end that you could kind of see coming too. It was a solid read though and should keep any thriller lover reading until the very end.

I thought the character development could have been a bit better but honestly, it was worth the read. The author is pretty talented and I will be keeping an eye out for more from them.

3.5 stars thank you @netgalley and @blackstonepublishing for my gifted copy

Let's start at the end...
Overall, this book kept me engaged until the end. It was a red herring galore, a thriller bingo, and kind of twisted but also entertaining as hell. The main two characters were confusing but intriguing. There were tons of decoys, and the end was unexpectedly good and action-packed. Though some characters felt unfinished, leaving some loose ends, I still recommend it. Mystery books can be so predictable and boring nowadays that this was refreshing and fun.

Now, let's dive into the details... (Some spoilers ahead)
Many give this book low reviews because it was cringey and not much happened. But I actually enjoyed it so much, with the “who's the actual bad person” question constantly in mind.

I'm not going to lie. This had many clichés, like the girl entering the basement right when the guy comes home, the jealous ex-lover, the isolated house, and the broken car situation. It was thriller bingo.

But even then, I found it humorous and entertaining. It is not a comedy, but catching all these clichés and red herrings trying to throw the reader off was fun and, I guess, effective. I wasn't 100% sure my guess of the ending was correct.

Yes, the FMC has her damsel in distress moments. Still, the writer throws you a curveball by making her sound momentarily super cunning, leaving you confused, thinking, “Wait, is she planning something here?.”

Then the MMC is all broody and hot. I found his character a lot more intriguing and more challenging to figure out. I liked the whole love-bombing situation because most thriller villains tend to be cold-hearted, calculating psychopaths. But in this book, the guy sometimes genuinely feels attachment and infatuation. I found myself smiling at the end of every chapter from his POV because he would sound genuinely small-town, puppy-love naive. Then, in the very last sentence of the chapter, he would say something sinister. The change was so abrupt that it was actually funny. After a few of his chapters, this writing pattern was pretty obvious, like screaming at me, “Look at this guy, HE IS THE BAD GUY.” But my internal questioner was like, “Nah, you really want me to think this. This is obvious: he's not the actual bad guy.” But he would really do weird shit! LOL, this book legitimately made me laugh a lot in the best way.

I loved the end. It was a little predictable in pattern but not in execution. I had a feeling about who the real villain was, but how it played out was so over the top that I was shocked and chuckling at the same time.

One thing that left me thinking was the whole “scratching an itch.” At the end, when the character says it while hugging the kid, I'm like, “Wait, does this person want to kill a random person again... or do they want to kill the family?”

“You shouldn't have come here” 
“I shouldn't have read this” 

This book read extremely quickly and I was able to fly through it but it was not good. 
This shouldn't be marketed as a thriller. It's a dark “romance” at best. But not a good romance either, a cringey, insta-lovey, romance that I felt zero chemistry and zero excitement from. 

Not to mention the first like 90% of this book has nothing that makes it feel remotely like a thriller. Even with little seeds of mystery thrown about. Still boring. 
And the plot twist didn't feel like a plot twist it just felt straight up unrealistic.  

The majority of the time I was just bored hoping something was going to happen. But when something finally did it was quite frankly a disappointment.