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It’s Not Her by Mary Kubica – Review | Overhyped or Worth the Read?

If you’ve seen It’s Not Her by Mary Kubica all over Bookstagram and are wondering if it’s worth the hype, here’s my honest, spoiler-free review. I went into this one with really high expectations. When a thriller is everywhere, I expect something that completely pulls me in and keeps me hooked. Unfortunately, that wasn’t quite my experience. This It’s Not Her book review is a bit of a mixed one for me. There were definitely elements I enjoyed, especially the multiple POV structure. I usually love when thrillers are told from different perspectives, and here it was done well. It added depth to the story and kept things moving. However, I really struggled with the teenage perspective. It just didn’t fully work for me and made it harder to stay engaged with the story overall. As a psychological thriller, It’s Not Her had all the right ingredients, but the twists didn’t land the way I expected. There were enough hints throughout that I could see parts of the reveal coming, so it didn’t fe...
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Review: My Dear Illusion by Sarah Ready — A Fantasy Debut That Broke Me

 

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.


Summary:

My Dear Illusion follows Mari Locke, who grew up in Hell Gate - the darkest corner of New York City. She has a rare gift: she can unravel illusions, which makes her both dangerous and hunted in a world ruled by conjurers who bend reality itself. When Mari is forced into the brutal Hundred Year Games, she must ally with Finn Alterra, a half-conjurer who’s considered the weakest contender of them all. Her mission is simple on paper: help him win, then destroy him. But in a world built on lies and illusions, Mari quickly realizes nothing is what it seems - not her enemies, not her allies, not even her own heart.


My review:

If you know me, you know I love Sarah Ready. I fell in love with Josh and Gemma and then devoured her other romances. So when I saw she was releasing a fantasy novel (and almost 900 pages at that), I was intrigued but nervous.


And I’ll be real: after about 20%, I wasn’t sure I’d continue. There’s a lot of worldbuilding front-loaded, it felt more told than shown at first, and I usually prefer it to unravel more organically. But because it was Sarah, I peeked at a few other reviews, decided to push on… and I’m so glad I did.


Once I got deeper, I realized every detail mattered. By the end, I wouldn’t have cut a single page. The world is layered and intricate, illusions within illusions, betrayals stacked on betrayals. I found myself second-guessing everything, who to trust, what was real, and even what I wanted to be true.


Mari is a heroine I rooted for from the beginning, and Finn… oh, Finn. Complicated, broken, flawed. Their slow-burn connection is everything I love: subtle, tense, tender, and yes - so much better for not being overrun with spice. The romance works because it feels both impossible and inevitable.


And then there’s the Wind. I never thought I’d fall in love with the Wind as a character, but I did. It gives the book a unique voice that’s poetic and haunting.


The ending left me with tears in my eyes and a desperate need for the next book. This is Sarah Ready’s fantasy debut, and she absolutely pulled it off.


⭐ 5 stars. New favorite. Please, Sarah, tell us when the sequel is coming.


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