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Hello readers, I’m back and I’ve got another book review for you!

 

I recently finished The Book Of You by Claire Kendal and I’m excited to say (for the first time in a long time) that I thoroughly did enjoy this book.

 

As you know from this blog post’s title, The Book Of You is another psychological thriller (my favorite!), but unlike the last book I reviewed, this one had me “anxiously” waiting in suspense throughout the entire story, waiting to see what would happen next.

 

Seriously, this book has it all: crime, lust, suspense, and England!  That’s everything you need for a good thriller these days!

 

The Book Of You by Claire Kendal: Let’s Talk About The Plot!

 

Alright, here it is in a nutshell:

 

Clarissa is a “newly single” woman in her late ‘30s living in the UK.  I say “newly single” because she recently split from her long-term boyfriend, whose name is Henry.

 

(Sidenote: do other American readers sometimes struggle trying to figure out whether or not a book takes place in the UK?  This one makes it pretty obvious that Clarissa’s in England, but I’ve definitely read other books in the past where I couldn’t quite tell if the characters were American, so I just thought I’d mention here that yes, Clarissa is a Brit!)

 

So here’s where things get interesting….

 

Clarissa works at a local university, and this is where she and Henry met.  Clarissa has some type of secretarial job, and Henry, of course, is a distinguished academic (AKA he’s a PhD).  Rafe, a not-so-distinguished academic at the same university kinda has a thing for Clarissa; he’s a stalker.  And, as you could guess, he’s quite aware of Clarissa and Henry’s recent breakup.

 

You probably see where this is going.

 

Rafe becomes a full-on nightmare.  No matter where she goes or how carefully she plans out her activities, Clarissa can’t seem to escape his presence.

 

And while Rafe may try act as though his behavior is perfectly normal, Clarissa can’t help but feel anxious and jumpy, knowing she’s being stalked by a man who clearly has an unhealthy obsession.

 

The plot summary on GoodReads compared The Book Of You to Gone Girl and Before I Go To Sleep.  I didn’t read either of those books, but I saw both film adaptations, and could maybe agree with the Gone Girl comparison, in that this story captured my attention and made me excited to find out what happened next.  I wasn’t particularly impressed with the film adaptation of Before I Go To Sleep, but luckily, I don’t think this story was similar anyway.

 

So Here’s What I Thought About This Book

 

It’s pretty simple this time: I loved it!

 

I couldn’t give a perfect 5-star rating on GoodReads, because the ending was pretty similar to what I expected.

 

But having said that, I appreciated the story, and wouldn’t have changed a single thing.  I think the ending to The Book Of You was the only ending that made sense, and I’m glad Claire Kendal wrote this story the way she did.

 

I guess my criteria for a 5-star rating just includes an unexpected ending, but at this point, I’ve read SO MANY suspense/ psychological-thriller-type books, that it’s gonna take some serious plot twists to give me the surprise ending I crave.

 

…All that aside, this was a fantastic book, and I would absolutely read more from Claire Kendal.  I was so hooked on this story that I’ll even admit there were a few times I should have been doing some chores or going to bed at a decent hour, but instead I was curled up with my Kindle.

 

I hope I enjoy my next read this much!

 

Before You Go!

 

Thinking of giving this book a try?  Pick up your copy here, and let me know how you like it!

Comment below if you’ve already read it, or tell me what books I should review next!