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Lisa's Reviews > The Girl on the Train
The Girl on the Train
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** spoiler alert **
I am so disappointed in this one. It started out promising enough, but the writing and the drama got old fast. There was really only one person who could have done it, and because of that I kept thinking it must be someone else. But it wasn't someone else. It was THAT PERSON. By the time the big reveal happened, I was so ready for the whole thing to just be over already. I started out thinking I had a 4 star book in my hands. Halfway through I was looking for an excuse to give it 3 stars. Finally, with about 30 pages left, I knew that 2 stars was going to be a gift. Well I'm in a generous mood (or kind of disappointed in myself for buying into the hype) and 2 stars is what I'm giving it. My advice (which you probably shouldn't take because everyone else is loving it) is to skip this one entirely. A weak 2 stars.
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Reading Progress
December 23, 2014
– Shelved
December 23, 2014
– Shelved as:
to-read
February 2, 2015
–
Started Reading
February 5, 2015
– Shelved as:
taming-the-tbr-2015
February 8, 2015
–
Finished Reading
June 21, 2016
– Shelved as:
mysteries-and-thrillers
June 21, 2016
– Shelved as:
british
Comments Showing 1-50 of 81 (81 new)
message 1:
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Holly in Bookland
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rated it 4 stars
Feb 08, 2015 10:14PM
This seems to be rated all over the place. I have it in reserve at the library--hoping it's not too bad.
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I hope you have a better experience, Holly. Let me know. I was thoroughly disappointed :(
Ken and I are going to read this (audible) while we drive to a wedding in Indiana this weekend. I haven't read your review yet, but I see your stars. Now I'm totally bummed!! Lol I hope it's not too bad, but we usually agree on hyper books.
Your review sounds a lot like my review of Gone Girl, which seemed to put me in the minority! When I read that The Girl on the Train was just like it, I was a bit apprehensive but bought it anyway. Now I'm looking forward to seeing if I like it.
Why must you hate everything I love? WHY WHY WHY? lol....WHYYYYYYYYYYYY?
Hahaha!!!! She's hated a lot of my favorites, too. Let's hatch an evil plot. Muhahahaha...
We like a lot of the same books!
Eve wrote: "Your review sounds a lot like my review of Gone Girl, which seemed to put me in the minority! When I read that The Girl on the Train was just like it, I was a bit apprehensive but bought it anyway...."This is a much gentler book than Gone Girl. I'd be interested in your opinion! I wish it worked for me because I was really looking forward to it.
Kandice wrote: "Ken and I are going to read this (audible) while we drive to a wedding in Indiana this weekend. I haven't read your review yet, but I see your stars. Now I'm totally bummed!! Lol I hope it's not to..."Maybe it will be fun with a great narrator. Let me know what you guys thought when you get back!
I will say I am a but surprised that you didn't like it since I agree with most of your reviews! I really enjoyed it but I don't think it's for everyone because based on the reviews people either really love or really hate this book.
Karen wrote: "I will say I am a but surprised that you didn't like it since I agree with most of your reviews! I really enjoyed it but I don't think it's for everyone because based on the reviews people either ..."I loved it too!!! *fist bump*
Hi Karen :D I can't say I really hated it, I just didn't think it was very good. I think the fact that I felt so 'meh' about it was what was most disappointing. I really wanted to love it!
Blah blah blah....LOLloooooooooooove you. ;)
Nice review, Lisa. Oftentimes it's those super hyped books that are most disappointing. I've had some bad experiences with this myself, and so now I'm pretty reluctant to jump into them.
If you read this book only to find out who did the crime, I fear you'll miss the best features, the characters & their relationships. Rachel & Megan were people I cared a lot about.
Thank you, Dustin! You always brighten my day with your comments. I think I'm with you from now on when it comes to those super hyped books :)
Thanks for your comment, Bill. I'm sorry if my review made it seem like I only cared about the who-dun-it. I probably should edit it. I personally found the characters a bit flat. The fact that the mystery was an easy solve just made it lose momentum for me. I do realize I'm in the minority, but I'm always honest about my feelings on all books I read. This was just my personal experience.
It seems when something is hyped up, whether it's a book or movie, someone is always going to be disappointed. I've done it many times! A friend will recommend a movie telling me how funny it is, then I'll watch it & wonder if we even saw the same thing. There is such a thing of being too hyped. Example: The Book Thief, I personally didn't think it was that great.
Lisa wrote: "Thank you, Dustin! You always brighten my day with your comments. I think I'm with you from now on when it comes to those super hyped books :)"Awww, you are soo sweet, Lisa! You always brighten my day, as well! Yeah, you really have to be selective nowadays, especially with an increase in book reviews (in various forms,) because you never know just what you're getting into. And we all have different perceptions, expectations, etc.., which can vastly impact one's overall experience. A lot of the time, these books are SOOO hyped that our expectations are too high. As a result, we're often unsatisfied and feel cheated.
Kandice wrote: "Ken and I are going to read this (audible) while we drive to a wedding in Indiana this weekend. I haven't read your review yet, but I see your stars. Now I'm totally bummed!! Lol I hope it's not to..."I loved the audio, the narrators have beautiful voices :)
I bet! I think I would have preferred the audio in retrospect. I love listening to those British novels! Like butter!
I like a lot of the same books as both you and Delee, so I have no idea what end of the spectrum I will be on! It will be interesting to see.
Bev, the odds are in your favor that you'd like it. It's worth a try :)
Holly, that really is the truth! I should know better by now, LOL! I don't think I'd like TBT either, which is why I've never read it. Great minds ;)
Rhanks for your honest review, Lisa. I am conflicted about this one. So many of my friends have loved it, but a couple whose opinions I really respect weren't so keen on it. When there's a bit of controversy like that, I usually find I am with the minority. Blurb sounds really good. Will need to think aboit it. Need a good 5 star book in my life right now.
Thanks, Christine! You read a lot of mysteries and thrillers, so I'm betting that you'll be able to see through this one. I'm going to see if I have any 5 star books on my shelf I can recommend to you! When in doubt, Linwood Barclay is always a good one! :D
Lisa wrote: "Thanks, Christine! You read a lot of mysteries and thrillers, so I'm betting that you'll be able to see through this one. I'm going to see if I have any 5 star books on my shelf I can recommend to ..."Ah, thank you, Lisa. Would love a 5 star rec from you.
This was a 5 star from me..I loved it!Now I can hardly wait for the movie to come out..has anybody heard when?
For most people it is. I'm in the minority here. I haven't heard about a movie. Is it being made in the UK?
Actually Im not sure Lisa..I just read about it last night..I will try and find out thou:)
Great review Lisa. I started it and put it down. Glad I did now ;))
Lisa, Marian has talked me into it. Stay tuned...
Ha! You win this one, Marian ;) But she's probably right, Christine. You should give it a try or you'll be left to wonder if you missed out on something fantastic! Let me know what you think! This could go either way :D
Susan wrote: "Great review Lisa. I started it and put it down. Glad I did now ;))"If you decide to go for it again, I hear the audio is brilliantly done. I read the book, which may have swayed me in the wrong direction. It started pretty strong for me and lost more and more steam. But if you're not even finding it very good at the start, I'd think you'd do okay to cut your loses! :D
Lisa,I heard just today that the audio book is really good..I personally don't like them,but Susan may want to give this idea a chance:)At least give the book a try..Good luck Ladies and ENJOY:)))I did!
Susan and I are both big audio fans. In retrospect I should have gone that route.
Lisa wrote: "Susan and I are both big audio fans. In retrospect I should have gone that route."Well, based on the blurb, I pre-ordered the Audible version; therefore, I'll be reading the book regardless.
Audio may make all the difference. When I'm listening to mysteries, I'm more in the moment and less in clue-gathering mode. Jessi says the narrator is fab. And you get to listen to 10 hours of a buttery British accent. You'll probably love every minute!
wow..I will wait for the library to come through
With Gone Girl I waited until the hype was over to read it. I did not like the characters but the story was good. I think I liked it because I went in with no expectations. Maybe it is kind of like watching a hyped up movie after it comes out on DVD rather than spending the money at a theater. Less expectations....?
whew...so glad I wasn't the only one! I actually enjoyed reading most of this book, and was all prepared to give it at least 4 stars. It was that so-called "twist" at the end that was so hyped by everyone! What!? So disappointed in what I thought was a typical, predictable ending! Thanks for a review I could finally relate to:)
I had a similar experience, although I went 5-4-3 instead of 4-3-2 like you did. It got less compelling as it went on and I felt that the character development was sorely lacking and that many of the characters ended up doing things that no one would do. I could forgive the lack of a compelling mystery if I had been given really complex, intriguing, memorable characters, but they were really just blah -- not well fleshed out, and not very "real." I was disappointed.
leslye wrote: "whew...so glad I wasn't the only one! I actually enjoyed reading most of this book, and was all prepared to give it at least 4 stars. It was that so-called "twist" at the end that was so hyped by e..."Thanks for the comment, Leslye! I agree, predictable ending. I'm going to lay off thriller for a bit, I think! ;)
Chicagoliz wrote: "I had a similar experience, although I went 5-4-3 instead of 4-3-2 like you did. It got less compelling as it went on and I felt that the character development was sorely lacking and that many of ..."I agree, not very memorable characters. Even just a month after reading I can only remember the name of the main character. Just not a very strong read at all. Thanks for the comment, Chicagoliz!
Lisa wrote: "leslye wrote: "whew...so glad I wasn't the only one! I actually enjoyed reading most of this book, and was all prepared to give it at least 4 stars. It was that so-called "twist" at the end that wa..."Lisa, I find I like the straight up thrillers better than the psych thrillers. Try Silent Scream by Angela Marsons or Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger. If you don't mind goriness, Now You See Me by S.J. Bolton is fabulous (my fave read of 2014).
Thanks, Christine! I'll look those up! Have you read anything by Kevin O'Brien? I read one last year and it was a real page-turner. I also love Linwood Barclay. Maybe the straight-up thrillers are the way to go!
I haven't read Kevin O'Brien, Lisa, but he is on my list as an author to try. Do you recall the name of the book you read? I read Tap on the Window by Barclay. Best title ever!
I agree, that is a great title! The one I read was called Unspeakable. I really liked that one! But my trusted friend has read them all and says you can't really go wrong!
Ah, O'Brien has a ton of books, and I had marked three, including Unspeakable so that's good. I also have Only Son and Disturbed marked. Thanks, Lisa.
