"PEOPLE HATE TO SEE OTHER PEOPLE HAPPY. REMEMBER THAT." -JAKE
pages: 364
read/heard: 4/13-14/2020
book: 31 in 2020
SYNOPSIS
Harry Ackerson has always considered his step-mother Alice to be sexy and beautiful, in an “other worldly” way. She has always been kind and attentive, if a little aloof in the last few years.
Days before his college graduation, Alice calls with shocking news. His father is dead and the police think it’s suicide. Devastated, he returns to his father’s home in Maine. There, he and Alice will help one another pick up of the pieces of their lives and uncover what happened to his father.
Shortly after he arrives, Harry meets a mysterious young woman named Grace McGowan. Though she claims to be new to the area, Harry begins to suspect that Grace may not be a complete stranger to his family. But she isn’t the only attractive woman taking an interest in Harry. The sensual Alice is also growing closer, coming on to him in an enticing, clearly sexual way.
Mesmerized by these two women, Harry finds himself falling deeper under their spell. Yet the closer he gets to them, the more isolated he feels, disoriented by a growing fear that both women are hiding dangerous—even deadly—secrets . . . and that neither one is telling the truth.
THOUGHTS
Peter Motherfucking Swanson.
(Lol because I think his middle initial is M. And tbh, it should stand for nothing but that.)
This.
Man.
automatic purchase/read/whatever else I can add to this list.
what a story.
I think this is the last book of his I needed to catch up on before I start his new book so I got it when I ordered his new one.
I finally picked it up and I could not put it down.
So much so that i read the first 200 something pages and then finished it via audio because I couldn't get enough of it when I was stuck at work and I couldn't wait to get home to continue.
Ooohhh... this story.
It's obvious right.
Its obvious who done did it right?
W E L L !
oooh I did not see that shit coming at all!!!!!
(And if you did; if you knew all along and you're all "les, ya dumb." Please remember that I never fucking see it)
It's always the young gold digging wife innit?
but was it?
(Lol I'm not making any sense or attempt to write a real blog post at this point. mah bad.)
Okay being serious now.
I didnt look up any spoilers and though I did read the last page I really had no idea what this book was about and I didn't really read any reviews so I had no idea what to expect going in. and if anything, reading the last page did nothing for me because i had no idea how the story could have even made it there so that just added to the "i need to know!" suspense.
Honestly besides me not knowing how this one was going to turn out and me really liking it, idk what to say. I really liked the story (even if it did remind me a bit of the girl with a clock for a heart) but it should be noted that this story *and maybe this is a bit of a spoiler* ends up playing a huge part on the type of relationship where an older person ends up grooming a younger person (is that the right way to phrase that?) yes, its spoilery BUT I think it's important to know that going in because I know a lot of people don't like reading about that. And this book is really good but that's a part of it. I don't want anyone going into it expecting one thing and then being turned off by the subject and they end up hating the book because of the subject when once its all over, its all so good!
yes, its weird.
but its good.
i'm glad i got this one out of the way so now i can jump onto his new book.
if ya read it, whatcha think?
Harry goes home right before his graduation because his father passes away.
At first it seems like an accident but then its discovered it was more so planned.
This one includes a bit of a before and after between characters so I'm going to do it that way instead of trying to tell the story because tbh, idk if I even could.
A L I C E
Alice grew up poor til her mom won a lawsuit and they move two towns over and got their own place near the beach.
every day, her mother would drink and she'd be at the beach.
One day on a beach trip with her mother, this dude, Jake comes up to them and starts talking to her mother. In the end, her mom, Edith, ends up marrying him and they move into his condo.
Alice also had this one friend Gina who she kept sorta in touch with after graduation.
But as a graduation gift, Alice's mother has a dinner for her and asks her to invite Gina.
G goes and she gets to see Alice's mom be a drunk mess.
Dinner ends, Alice walks Gina to her car or home or idk and when she comes back home she sees her mom passed out on the sofa face up starting to puke. She couldve saved her but she just let's her die.
From another angle, Jake watched her watch her mom die.
J A K E
This foo is a pedophile.
When he was a teen, he'd go over and do yardwork for this older lady who eventually ended up sleeping with him and showing him "the way". So now he felt it was his turn as an older man to show young girls what he learned when he was young (and young ladies because all the women his age were already sexually advanced and maybe even more forward so he felt he could teach them nothing)
So he used to work at this bank and that's where he got his first "taste". there was a daughter of a banker that would always stop by and ask her mom for a ride but the mom was lazy. So casually Jake offered and little by little he started sleeping with her
He gets caught by his boss and the boss tells him to move before the cops get him.
He moves over and that's when he sees Alice.
So his plan is to marry Alice's mother to have access to Alice.
They're married, the mom is a drunk and he starts courting Alice by taking her to dinner under the notion that they must go out to eat since mom is passed out and there's no dinner.
before we learn of Jake and his nature, you see from Alice's POW that shes starting to feel for him and is picturing a relationship with him without her mother in the picture.
In the end, since Alice was always Jake's goal, he cant take it anymore. He crushes i forgot what kinda pills into Edith's drink and the just watches her over dose. He gets the cup, cleans it and leaves her there.
Then Alice arrives home and he watches her watch her mom die.
That's when he knows.
They develop a relationship.
And it would've kept going had he kept his mouth shut.
Alice was okay being with him forever.
But Gina and her mother confront Alice about her relationship with Jake.
Alice denies it, freaks out, runs away and long story short, ends up killing Gina by taking her into the ocean after she comes to her apt to say shes sorry while shes drunk or drugged up af.
They go to the beach because Alice doesn't want to risk Jake walking in on them.
The police question it and Alice mentions that Gina stopped by but that she then left.
Cops question Jake but he admits to knowing nothing.
Later on they're in bed and Jake let's her know that he knows she killed Gina.
That he saw her walking on the lot, clearly wet and heard the shower the night gina went missing.
He thought that would solidify their relationship.
It just made Alice realize she needs to leave him.
She gets a new job, moves out, moves on with her life.
That's when she meets Bill. And they end up getting married.
thanks for reading!
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PS: did ya notice the new blog update?!
i love you EVE!!!!!!
i love you EVE!!!!!!
S P O I L E R S
Harry goes home right before his graduation because his father passes away.
At first it seems like an accident but then its discovered it was more so planned.
This one includes a bit of a before and after between characters so I'm going to do it that way instead of trying to tell the story because tbh, idk if I even could.
A L I C E
Alice grew up poor til her mom won a lawsuit and they move two towns over and got their own place near the beach.
every day, her mother would drink and she'd be at the beach.
One day on a beach trip with her mother, this dude, Jake comes up to them and starts talking to her mother. In the end, her mom, Edith, ends up marrying him and they move into his condo.
Alice also had this one friend Gina who she kept sorta in touch with after graduation.
But as a graduation gift, Alice's mother has a dinner for her and asks her to invite Gina.
G goes and she gets to see Alice's mom be a drunk mess.
Dinner ends, Alice walks Gina to her car or home or idk and when she comes back home she sees her mom passed out on the sofa face up starting to puke. She couldve saved her but she just let's her die.
From another angle, Jake watched her watch her mom die.
J A K E
This foo is a pedophile.
When he was a teen, he'd go over and do yardwork for this older lady who eventually ended up sleeping with him and showing him "the way". So now he felt it was his turn as an older man to show young girls what he learned when he was young (and young ladies because all the women his age were already sexually advanced and maybe even more forward so he felt he could teach them nothing)
So he used to work at this bank and that's where he got his first "taste". there was a daughter of a banker that would always stop by and ask her mom for a ride but the mom was lazy. So casually Jake offered and little by little he started sleeping with her
He gets caught by his boss and the boss tells him to move before the cops get him.
He moves over and that's when he sees Alice.
So his plan is to marry Alice's mother to have access to Alice.
They're married, the mom is a drunk and he starts courting Alice by taking her to dinner under the notion that they must go out to eat since mom is passed out and there's no dinner.
before we learn of Jake and his nature, you see from Alice's POW that shes starting to feel for him and is picturing a relationship with him without her mother in the picture.
In the end, since Alice was always Jake's goal, he cant take it anymore. He crushes i forgot what kinda pills into Edith's drink and the just watches her over dose. He gets the cup, cleans it and leaves her there.
Then Alice arrives home and he watches her watch her mom die.
That's when he knows.
They develop a relationship.
And it would've kept going had he kept his mouth shut.
Alice was okay being with him forever.
But Gina and her mother confront Alice about her relationship with Jake.
Alice denies it, freaks out, runs away and long story short, ends up killing Gina by taking her into the ocean after she comes to her apt to say shes sorry while shes drunk or drugged up af.
They go to the beach because Alice doesn't want to risk Jake walking in on them.
The police question it and Alice mentions that Gina stopped by but that she then left.
Cops question Jake but he admits to knowing nothing.
Later on they're in bed and Jake let's her know that he knows she killed Gina.
That he saw her walking on the lot, clearly wet and heard the shower the night gina went missing.
He thought that would solidify their relationship.
It just made Alice realize she needs to leave him.
She gets a new job, moves out, moves on with her life.
That's when she meets Bill. And they end up getting married.
.
.
.
.
and its been so long that i will just say this:
the old man that Bill hired to work with him at his book shop, John something, ends up being Jake.
by this point, Jake is still in love with Alice. she was basically "the one that got away."
it turns out that Bill was having an affair with a woman named Gwen. Alice found out and i think asked Jake to help her get rid of Bill. well, actually it was Jake that found out about the affair and told Alice. i dont remember if Bill was killed because Alice asked or because Jake wanted revenge for her.
...either way, Jake killed both Bill and Gwen.
Alice has sex with Harry and he breaks it down to her just being emotional.
it turns out that Gwen has a twin who comes down to identify her and Harry ends up getting attached to her. Jakes tries to kill Harry but doesn't get away with it and ends up kidnapping Gwen's twin.
Jake freaks out and calls Alice and they come up with the plan that she needs to make it look like self defense....and she ends up killing him.
the cops arrive, harry arrives and he rescues the twin.
so Jake takes all the blame buuuuuuuuuuutttttt he's dead so yea.
(and this all happened in the condo where he first started conditioning Alice. woah)
in the end, Alice think she gets away but in reality, Gina's parents show up and abduct her. (she was in Jake's apt)
they knock her out, put her on a boat, and in the middle of the ocean the mom tells her that she knows that it was her that killed her daughter so she should just come clean.
Alice continues to deny any of it and in the end, the boat sinks and they die together by drowning. (the mom has cancer and only had a short amount of time so she chooses to go in the water where her daughter died and decides to take Alice with her) ....and in that sense, that's why it reminded me of the girl with a clock for a heart or whatever.
and so yea.
a lot is left out and i probably butchered it but its soooo goood!
give it a go!
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