Review: Because You're Mine (by Rea Frey)

My Rating:  3 stars

After having read Rea Frey’s debut novel Not Her Daughter last year – a book that I had enjoyed for its good writing, fast-moving plot, and emotionally resonant story — I was excited to get my hands on her second novel, Because You’re Mine, which comes out this month. While I did enjoy this one well enough, I prefer her previous novel way more, as there was much more depth to the story and the characters in that one, which I didn’t find with this one.  With that said, one thing I thought worked well was having each chapter alternately narrated by the three main characters of Lee, Grace, and Noah, and weaving their backstories from the past into what was happening in the present.  Even so, I couldn’t really relate to any of the characters and found it difficult to feel anything for them despite some of the things that happen — it’s hard to pinpoint exactly but I felt like something was off with some of the character portrayals that made it difficult for me to connect with them emotionally.  In terms of the story, I think this one tried a bit harder to go the thriller / suspense route than her previous book did, which worked fine overall, but at times, I felt like it tried a little too hard in that the story didn’t really flow naturally in some places  -- it was as though some “obligatory” elements were added to make things come across more suspenseful or heighten the atmosphere when technically it wasn’t necessary to do so.  Towards the middle of the story, the plot did drag a little, with some overly descriptive sections that I felt weren’t necessary either, and at one point, the story seemed to veer off course a little, leaving me wondering where things were actually headed. The ending too I mostly figured out early on, so the “twist” wasn’t much of a shock to me, though the way it took place could have been handled a little better.

All in all, I would say that this was a decent second effort by Rea Frey – definitely pales in comparison to her debut, but still quite readable.  The concept of the story was a good one, but I think if the writing was cleaned up a bit, with focus on tightening the plot (especially leaving out some of the unnecessary descriptions) and developing the characters so that they were more relatable, this would have a lot of potential -- as it is written right now though, definitely leaves a lot to be desired.  With all that said, I still look forward to reading Frey’s next work, I just hope that the experience will be more in-line with her first book rather than this one.

Received ARC from St. Martin’s Griffin via NetGalley.