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Blog Tour: The Vanishing Year by Kate Moretti (Heather’s review, giveaway)
The Vanishing Year
written by Kate Moretti
published by Atria Books, 2016
find it here: (affiliate links) Barnes & Noble, Amazon, iBooks, Book Depository, Goodreads
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Did I enjoy this book: This is harder to answer than I expected. I enjoyed the book in that it kept my attention and I finished it, but I felt let down by most of it. I was expecting great things as the buzz on this book is incredible. I felt the book was lacking in several areas–areas that would make this book deserve the buzz it’s getting.
First, I felt as if the characters weren’t as well-developed as they should have been. This book requires in-depth characters: many facets and differing personalities. I felt the author skimmed over the important parts of their personalities and left the nuances out. The secondary characters were just that, secondary. You got to know them as much as you needed to for their place in the story.
Second, I saw what was coming and how it was going to come together about a third of the way through the book. For a suspense book, that bothered me. After that point, it was just a waiting game to see how the author put it all together.
Third, I think the plot was a bit underdeveloped as well. This story could have been so much more if the author had spent more time developing the plot as well as the characters. The premise is amazing, but it needed to be fleshed out more. The search for Zoe’s mother could have taken a little longer (personally, I think it came together waaay too quickly). The speed with which Zoe shifts her trust from her husband to the reporter is mind-boggling, the initial visit with her mother is odd, and I had a hard time with the relationship between Zoe and the housekeeper. Zoe lived there for a year and barely said two words to the housekeeper. I feel as if that relationship, especially, should have been more.
This book could have been so much more.
Would I recommend it: Probably not. There are a million books out there and I wouldn’t want someone to be as disappointed as I was when there’s definitely something better out there to read.
About the book – from Goodreads: Zoe Whittaker is living a charmed life. She is the beautiful young wife to handsome, charming Wall Street tycoon Henry Whittaker. She is a member of Manhattan’s social elite. She is on the board of one of the city’s most prestigious philanthropic organizations. She has a perfect Tribeca penthouse in the city and a gorgeous lake house in the country. The finest wine, the most up-to-date fashion, and the most luxurious vacations are all at her fingertips.
What no one knows is that five years ago, Zoe’s life was in danger. Back then, Zoe wasn’t Zoe at all. Now her secrets are coming back to haunt her. As the past and present collide, Zoe must decide who she can trust before she—whoever she is—vanishes completely.
The Vanishing Year combines the classic sophistication of Ruth Rendell and A.S.A. Harrison with the thoroughly modern flair of Jessica Knoll. Told from the point-of-view of a heroine who is as relatable as she is enigmatic, The Vanishing Year is an unforgettable new novel by a rising star of the genre.
About the author: Kate Moretti lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, two kids, and a dog. She’s worked in the pharmaceutical industry for ten years as a scientist, and has been an avid fiction reader her entire life.
She enjoys traveling and cooking, although with two kids, a day job, and writing, she doesn’t get to do those things as much as she’d like.
Her lifelong dream is to buy an old house with a secret passageway.
