StarAngel's Reviews

Book – The Good Girl

Author – Dawn Robertson and Lily White

Publication Date – May 23, 2014

Type – Stand Alone

Genre – Dark

Rating – Teetering between 3 and 4 out of 5 Stars

Complimentary Copy provided by Author in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis

School from nine to four. 
Bartending from nine to two.
Wake up and do it all over again.
All while depending on no one but myself… 
because everyone in my life has repeatedly let me down.

I cling to the one thing that will always remain a constant in my life: Art.
Body art, photography, painting… you name it and my interest is piqued.
Almost as strong as his interest in me.

I wanted nothing to do with him
But he was the type who took what he wanted.
His hate became his obsession
And his obsession became so much more.

I am his good girl
And I wonder if he'll ever let me go.

Review

I am still not 100% sure about my rating for this book.  In some ways – I enjoyed the shock factor which went on with this book but I also had problems with it. 

First of all, its labeled DARK…so that was what I was expecting to read – and it WAS but in my own opinion it went over the line from dark to HORROR.  This isn’t an ordinary book about captivity, forced sex, abuse which turns around to love or death.  This book delves into the psyche of both parties involved.  The authors bring us into the mind of a psychopathic schizophrenic and the voices he hears.

That is what I found so enticing about this read because not only do the authors give us a look into the mind of a psychotic sociopath but they add another one in.  Both parties in this story are suffering from different forms of personality disorders – Gabriel wants to hurt others and Eleni wants to hurt herself.  She is on a path of self-destruction.

Another plus to the story is that we as readers are constantly kept on our toes between the minds of Eleni and Gabriel.  They ping pong back and forth to a point where as the reader you start to get confused with what is real and what is an act with these two.  In one chapter, it seems that Eleni is falling for Gabriel but then we are let into her thinking patterns which show it is just an act she is playing along with.

I loved Gabriel and the journey through his mind – I enjoyed how he continually would fight with himself to try and stay sane in order to help Eleni battle her demons and show her the light he saw in her.  I have to say that his character hit the spot…his character developed PERFECTLY (until the end).  It was a roller coaster going through the steps of his breakdown and then finally the ultimate meltdown.

So, I recapped what I found endearing about the book….now I will explain why I’m still teetering between a 3 and a 4.

I didn’t like Eleni’s character – I felt like I couldn’t connect with her and at some points found her to be too vulgar, self-centered and over the top – it was too much.  Maybe if she was toned down a bit it would have worked better and maybe I could have actually felt sorry for her. 

I did pick up on a few instances in the book that were never dealt with but I know others who have read the book also picked up on the same ones so I won’t go into detail with what they are.  If I had to pick one in particular that really upset me, it would have to be the sex scene in the bathroom with the silver haired guy….that completely turned my stomach with how uncaring Eleni was about her own health.  That is the point where the disconnect happened for me and I just couldn’t get it back.

Which brings to another reason…I didn’t like the ending…now normally I am known for wanting the rapists, murders and psychopaths to find love and happiness at the end but I found the plot twist a bit dramatic and couldn’t sympathize with Eleni to wish her happiness.

All in all I was shocked with the antics of Gabriel and focused on his side of the story until about 75% in and I was hoping for a different development.