Review: Parallel Lies

Parallel Lies by Georgia Rose
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Madeline has fled her past. Changing her name she moves to somewhere that she feels at home for the first time in her life. She has the perfect job and some amazing friends. She even has a few men around to satisfy her urges without having to worry about strings. Everything is going wonderfully. Until a blast from the past shows up out of nowhere.

I want to start by saying there is a trigger warning in this book. I can't say what or where. It's there though. People who are uneasy around violence should avoid reading this book. I really enjoyed this book, but I feel like it could have been glossed a bit more. There are many parts that just fall flat in my opinion. To be fair, I'm not really sure if this is the book itself or the narration. I'm also willing to admit that I'm being overly judgmental. I never thought a story being told in second person would be interesting. I'm wrong. This book isn't entirely told in second person. Just from Dan's point of view. It was fascinating.

Madeline was a bit of a puzzle for me. I can understand why she does the things she does. She had a very horrible past. I won't go into too much because I would love for others to read this book as well. What I don't really fully understand is how quickly she changes her resolve about something. I really liked her neighbor. She had some wit about her. I'd of loved to see some of this book from her point of view. I really would have liked to have gotten to know Dan a bit more. It seems he's kind of rushed.

This book was narrated by Henri Merriam. He did a pretty decent job. He didn't stumble on any of the words or skip things. I just felt like parts of his narration felt a bit flat. I'm not really sure how to explain it better than that. I also am fully aware that there's a chance that my opinion may be due to personal preferences. I'm in no way trying to attack or undermine the narrator. He did a decent enough job for me to practically listen to the entire book in one sitting.

This book will never be considered a favorite of mine. I will probably never reread it. I did enjoy it though. I do want to stress again that there are a few triggering parts in the story. It shouldn't be read for those who are easily triggered by violent acts. That being said, I fully intend to read or listen to the second book in the duology. Another forewarning I should mention is that it ends on a cliffhanger.

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