I really wanted to give this book 5 stars, but I couldn’t get past how frustratingly naive Sydney was made to be. Throughout the story, there were so many red flags and questionable moments that she just ignored, and it was infuriating. I kept wanting her to dig deeper, to ask the obvious questions, but instead, she let things slide in a way that felt completely unrealistic. It was hard to stay fully immersed in the story because I kept getting frustrated with her choices—or lack of them.
That being said, the twist completely blew me away. I never saw it coming. I had so many theories while reading, and every time I thought I’d cracked the mystery, the story took another unexpected turn. None of my guesses came close to the truth, which is a rare and exciting experience as a reader. The unpredictability and tension had me hooked, and I found myself racing to finish just to see how it would all play out.
Overall, while Sydney’s characterization made it hard to fully enjoy the book, the clever plotting and shocking twists more than made up for it. If you love stories that keep you guessing and constantly surprise you, this one is absolutely worth picking up. I just wish the main character’s actions had been more believable, as that would’ve pushed this to a solid 5-star read for me.