Pt2: Now: Wednesday 28th December (morning) - Then: Thursday 22nd December (morning)

[Taake]

This is the place to discuss this part of the book. Feel free to post your thoughts!

 

[Taake]

Ok, so about Amber’s family drama. Is she the problem? Her mom seems very happy she finally has a friend. Amber seems narcisstic and obsessively jealous of her sister. “Claire takes everything away from me”... her family do seem to care about her, even if they’re not perfect. Is it all in her head? She says that there is no affection in her parents voices, but it doesn’t seem like it?

I’m terrible by the way, hear fear of never waking up, trapped in her mind forever, should’ve horrified me. My one thought was, “don’t worry luv, eventually they’ll turn off the machines.” I'm dead inside, what can I say.

I’m really sorry if anyone does this , but... Amber picking flakes of skin from her lips and creating a little pile of them literally turned my stomach. Wouldn’t your lips start to bleed?

I continue to loathe Amber, Miss. “I don’t need this right now” when her boss calls her in. Well, NOT EVERYTHING IS ABOUT YOU, Amber. Or your bad night. Besides, she’s already planning a date with her ex because he husband has been away for one evening. But it’s ok because Paul hasn’t touched her in six months? Whatever.


Question: Is Paul gaslighting her? Was the note there all along, did she not see it while she was cooking, or did he add it later to obscure that he was away/cheating? Is she just a loopy self-centered drunk? Is he playing her?

Question: What do you think of Amber as a child and her interactions with Taylor?
I’m literally afraid that she’s going to kill Taylor. I was relieved when the “bad thing” she did was to steal a bracelet. I’m also wondering if this is set up for a coming twist, the comparisons between their families... the same birthdays... were they switched at birth? Or is this just an insight to Amber as a person?

Question: Who do you think the man in her hospital room was? Edward?
Question: Who do you think the girl in her dream is? Taylor? I’m genuinely worried that it’s Taylor and that it is Taylor because Amber killed her...

 

[Skanky Vamp]

I’m really sorry if anyone does this , but... Amber picking flakes of skin from her lips and creating a little pile of them literally turned my stomach. Wouldn’t your lips start to bleed?

They do, sometimes. I got a good pull yesterday and got a good bleeder. I don't pile them on the floor though. But yeah, I do that. Usually I pull from the same spot so it's like picking a scab. But it's not really a scab; it's flatter and more round, as it follows the contour of the lip. You can start pulling but then get to a fresh spot and either have to choose to walk around with a bit of scaly white skin dangling from your lip, or finish pulling it off, including the fresh skin, and getting a bleeder. But that's rare. I'm a professional and can tell when and how much I can pull off.

 

[Mr Trick]

My copy just arrived so I will be catching up a bit later🙂

 

[Foxy]

About to finish the 2nd part of the story, but I have this general thing I notice. Amber hyper focuses on weight. Like it makes sense as a character, but I wonder if this is the author projecting her issues with weight?

 

[Foxy]

Okay, I have finished the 2nd part. I am still enjoying the story and I don't hate Amber that much. I think she is stuck in cycle. A few years ago I got stuck in a downward spiral and I lost perspective of...well everything. I blamed everyone for my own unhappiness, except for myself. I couldn't get out of this cycle until I was basically told that I wouldn't graduate and was fired from my placement at a school. So while I don't relate to Amber and her life, she feels sort of realistic, because I feel she is stuck in a downward spiral and that she feels she has lost her own agency. I don't know if that makes sense, but that's how I see it.

Question: Is Paul gaslighting her? Was the note there all along, did she not see it while she was cooking, or did he add it later to obscure that he was away/cheating? Is she just a loopy self-centered drunk? Is he playing her?

Yes, I think he is playing her. Like I don't think he is the only one ruining the relationship, but I think he is cheating on her and added the note later.

Question: What do you think of Amber as a child and her interactions with Taylor?
I’m literally afraid that she’s going to kill Taylor. I was relieved when the “bad thing” she did was to steal a bracelet. I’m also wondering if this is set up for a coming twist, the comparisons between their families... the same birthdays... were they switched at birth? Or is this just an insight to Amber as a person?

Do you think they could be twins?

Question: Who do you think the man in her hospital room was? Edward?
Question: Who do you think the girl in her dream is? Taylor? I’m genuinely worried that it’s Taylor and that it is Taylor because Amber killed her...

I think it was Edward. I mean there aren't that many other characters in there.

I think he deleted the voicemail, because he was sleeping with Amber again.

I have a theory that the girl who keeps showing up is Taylor. Especially, because of the mention of the gold bracelet the girl was wearing.

Overall, I am enjoying the story. I mean it isn't deep literature, but it is fun read 🙂 off to part three!

 

[Grace]

OK, I thought this section was really effective at building a sense of dread. Some terrible things are coming....

Question: Is Paul gaslighting her?

I can't make up my mind about this. It seems like yes, but on the other hand, it seems like Amber might be disconnected from reality enough that it's not gaslighting, it's just the truth. Like, I could even see her "forgetting" she'd bought lingerie and put it in the closet.

I’m literally afraid that she’s going to kill Taylor.

SO AM I! I'm so scared for poor Taylor and I want to somehow warn her that she has terrible taste in friends. LOL.

Question: Who do you think the girl in her dream is?

I think it's Amber herself, though I'm not sure.

 

[Puppet]

I have to admit that I enjoyed the first part more, the author seemed, at times, to be in a hurry to get to the next part and I felt it in her words. But it was still enjoyable. And I'm still enjoying the character of Amber, I think it's because the last few books I read had irritating Mary Sue's so it's nice to have a main character with a slew of actual flaws 🙂

Ok, so about Amber’s family drama. Is she the problem? Her mom seems very happy she finally has a friend. Amber seems narcisstic and obsessively jealous of her sister. “Claire takes everything away from me”... her family do seem to care about her, even if they’re not perfect. Is it all in her head? She says that there is no affection in her parents voices, but it doesn’t seem like it?

I mean, at first I thought maybe Amber was just self-involved and feeling sorry for herself. But then you have that flashback and we hear the words her mother says to her and...it's pretty horrible. And while I don't think her childhood was abusive, it seems (at least from her POV which we don't know yet if we can fully believe) that her parents had a pretty bad marriage and her mother drank a lot.

I have this weird feeling that Claire is the product of an affair her mother had, and maybe that helps explain why her mother likes her better, something to do with the father? Idk...

I’m really sorry if anyone does this , but... Amber picking flakes of skin from her lips and creating a little pile of them literally turned my stomach. Wouldn’t your lips start to bleed?

I totally do this, too, it's why I use way too much lip balm, to keep my lips from cracking so I don't pick at the skin.

Question: Is Paul gaslighting her? Was the note there all along, did she not see it while she was cooking, or did he add it later to obscure that he was away/cheating? Is she just a loopy self-centered drunk? Is he playing her?

Yeah I totally think he's gaslighting her, all the clues are there, right? I would love to find out differently, though. There's nothing I want more than for this book to end with us discovering just how unreliable of a narrator Amber has been. That would be a fun twist that would make the book memorable to me.

Question: What do you think of Amber as a child and her interactions with Taylor?
I’m literally afraid that she’s going to kill Taylor. I was relieved when the “bad thing” she did was to steal a bracelet. I’m also wondering if this is set up for a coming twist, the comparisons between their families... the same birthdays... were they switched at birth? Or is this just an insight to Amber as a person?

At one point she mentions that she might be getting punished for 'the bad thing' she did. That, coupled with the girl in the pink gown (I feel that's clearly Taylor after the pink carpet revelation), and I think that whatever bad thing, it's connected to her. Whether it's really as bad as murder, I don't know 🙂

Question: Who do you think the man in her hospital room was? Edward?
Question: Who do you think the girl in her dream is? Taylor? I’m genuinely worried that it’s Taylor and that it is Taylor because Amber killed her...

Wouldn't she recognize Edward's voice, though? I feel like she would, she seems to easily recognize her family, and can tell all the staff apart. I don't think it's Edward. And, yes, I definitely think the girl is Taylor.

Continuing on to the next part tomorrow. I read a part every morning 🙂

 

[Taake]

And I'm still enjoying the character of Amber, I think it's because the last few books I read had irritating Mary Sue's so it's nice to have a main character with a slew of actual flaws 🙂

Haha, fair enough. I think that's what makes bookclubs great though, it's so interesting to see someone who kind of has the opposite reaction to you about a character! That's why you should never write to please people, because you can never please everyone 🙂

At one point she mentions that she might be getting punished for 'the bad thing' she did. That, coupled with the girl in the pink gown (I feel that's clearly Taylor after the pink carpet revelation), and I think that whatever bad thing, it's connected to her. Whether it's really as bad as murder, I don't know 🙂

Cannot stress how disturbed I am by those flashbacks. Lol. Just picturing a little girl talking about "the bad thing" gives me shivers... I might've watched too much Criminal Minds...

Continuing on to the next part tomorrow. I read a part every morning 🙂

Keep up the commentary, it's fun to read your thoughts!

 

[brinkster130]

I softened up to Amber a little when talking about hating her body because it didn't do what she wanted, implying she couldn't have kids. That is a devastating thing to go through. But man, she sure has a hangup on being "loved unconditionally".

Ok, so about Amber’s family drama. Is she the problem? Her mom seems very happy she finally has a friend. Amber seems narcisstic and obsessively jealous of her sister. “Claire takes everything away from me”... her family do seem to care about her, even if they’re not perfect. Is it all in her head? She says that there is no affection in her parents voices, but it doesn’t seem like it?

Maybe. That would sorta explain why her parents were still together when visiting her at the hospital. If they really hated each other as much as she describes in her diary one would think they would have long since separated. One thing that makes me wonder though, is what her mother said to her about children and not wanting her specifically. It's incredibly callous to make comments about knowing/assuming someone to not want children or to be cut out for it.

I’m really sorry if anyone does this , but... Amber picking flakes of skin from her lips and creating a little pile of them literally turned my stomach.

GROSS GROSS GROSS

Question: Is Paul gaslighting her? Was the note there all along, did she not see it while she was cooking, or did he add it later to obscure that he was away/cheating? Is she just a loopy self-centered drunk? Is he playing her?

I think so. I mean cooking an entire meal, setting a nice table and not noticing a note even after she looked around the house for him, seems far fetched.....especially when mentioning the half a bottle of wine she drank. So far it seems like Amber drinks frequently, so half a bottle shouldn't impair her that much.

Grace makes a good point about it being possible that Amber is disconnected from reality just enough that she misses the note and forgets things like the lingerie.

I'm sorta getting a vibe that everyone is going to end up being a little crazy, so maybe Paul is gaslighting her and Amber is just crazy enough that it pushes her even more off the deep end.

Question: Who do you think the man in her hospital room was? Edward?

That who we are suppose to think it is, right? But my question is why doesn't she recognize his voice?

Question: Who do you think the girl in her dream is? Taylor? I’m genuinely worried that it’s Taylor and that it is Taylor because Amber killed her...

Probably is Taylor! At first I thought it was going to be a child she lost (stillborn or secretly aborted) and she was feeling guilt over that, but the more I think about it the more likely it seems it is Taylor.

 

[nightshade]

I'm liking Amber less and less as I read more.

The diary entries have to mean something right, and there's been a lot of comparisons with her life and Taylors. Why did Taylor say not to go in the jewellery box, was it because of the bracelet?

The flashback to the spa trip was very interesting, surely even heavily pregnant Claire would have joined them for meals, or interacted with them at some point?

I'm wondering if the man wasn't Claire's husband?

 

[Taake]

I'm liking Amber less and less as I read more.

Yes, yeees, step into the darkness with me. 😛

And yes, I think it was because of the bracelet she said not to go into the jewellery box