Book Review: Almost Gone by Blake Pierce

Hello you all lovely people! Writing here after almost an year is making me feel like a stranger on my own blog. But coming to the point, today I am reviewing Almost Gone by Blake Pierce, which is Book #1 in the series ‘The Au Pair’. I enjoyed the first book I read by Ms. Pierce, which I have reviewed here, which makes this my second one from the author.

“Get away…or become trapped in a cycle of violence that she thought she’d escaped forever by leaving home.”

Blake pierce, almost gone

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Released: September 2019

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

BLURB: This story revolves around 23-year old Cassandra Vale who is offered a job as an Au Pair by an agency. In case you don’t know what an Au Pair is, it is ‘a young foreign person, who helps with housework or childcare in exchange for food’. Finding the role suitable for herself, she accepts the job and is looking forward to it. The Dubois are a wealthy household residing in a countryside chateau outside Paris and this seems like the perfect escape to Cassie. Little does she know about the malice and lies that hide under the guise of a prosperous family. This new beginning might just be a revisit to her tortured past which she desperately wants to run away from.

REVIEW: This one’s a bit of a long read unless 300 pages aren’t a lot for you, but it really didn’t get boring at any point and I’d say it was still worth the eight hours it took me. It is written in the third POV and with all kinds of dangers lurking around the protagonist, the author’s writing creates a sense of tension in the air that keeps us, readers, looking out for Cassie. It all begins with her interview with the au pair agency and proceeds with her departure to Paris. Nothing significant happens before her arrival to the castle, outside of the little background provided time and again. As the story progresses, we learn that growing up in a physically and emotionally abusive house took a toll on her and as a result, she now suffers from anxiety and depression. And she has started seeing nightmares and having hallucinations as a side effect of the antidepressants. One night, a member of her employer’s family who she dislikes dies mysteriously, and the worst possibility dawns on her. What if she’s the murderer herself?

To start with, I don’t understand how Cassie held back the urge of smacking those kids’ faces; they are so annoying haha. There wasn’t much development to any of the characters’ personalities, including Cassie, but I don’t mind dumb characters. If you do, you’ll probably not enjoy the novel as much. There is also usage of explicit language, which is why I won’t recommend it to younger audience. I’m not a fan of this kind of an ending, but the rest of the elements made up for it, so I am not complaining. All said and done, I could relate to Cassie in most situations and so, I intend to read the second book in the series as well!

I hope I didn’t reveal much of the suspense in my review haha, but tell me what you think about it? Have you read the book? If yes, did you like it? Are you going to read it? Comment and let’s talk!

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