aureate & aromatic

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

So I finally finished my first read of September this past weekend, and it was The Only One Left by Riley Sager. 

The novel took me a bit longer to finish than I expected, perhaps it was because I was coming out of a book slump, or perhaps it was because I had some issues with the pacing – maybe a combination of both. 

I felt like even though the story itself was quick to start, and I never found myself bored per se, it really took a while before we got any answers of significance. I’d say I had to reach nearly the tail end of the book to get to that point, and then it was a quick progression of revelations and twists and turns. 

Overall I’d give the story a 4.0 out of 5. 

This was one of those novels that I was drawn to by the cover – and I’m glad I picked it up! Went in somewhat blind as I don’t like reading much of the synopsis as you never know how much is going to be too much. So all I had going in was: “At seventeen, Lenora Hope Hung her sister with a rope.” 

It’s my first Riley Sager novel so I went in not knowing if he’s an author known for sticking to realism or delving into the supernatural and that made guessing the events of the story fun. 

The Review

Plot: 4.25 – Needing to know the answers to the many questions raised in the story made the overall plot an engaging read. The way the story jumped from present to past events was well done and easy to follow.  

Characters: 3.75 – Kit is a likeable protagonist, most of the time. It’s understandable why she reacts the way she does to certain things and the course of action she takes throughout the story. Perhaps it’s because of the plot and setting – a lot of isolation – but the other characters aside from Lenora Hope aren’t as engaging or pivotal to the story. They are nice when they’re around, but it’s very much a Kit and Lenora story. Which isn’t a bad thing, but it doesn’t leave much room for mystery and theorizing when the limited cast isn’t even around for much. 

Pacing: 3.0 – The story was setup fairly quick and introduced a lot mysteries that needed answering, and as I progressed through it I found I was nearly at the last quarter with almost every question still unanswered. The story then blitzed through answer after answer, with twist after twist. And even though I enjoyed the quick succession of events, the drastic change in the pace was a bit jarring. 

If you happen to use Goodreads I reiterated most of this review on there, but with a spoiler tag to discuss the ending and some things that could have improved the story a tad in my humble opinion. 

If you’re interested that review can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7918861247

Hope everyone’s enjoying their current reads!

~ C.C.