ARC Review: Too Good to be True

~ J (Midnight Book Blog)

Well, that was definitely a wild ride.

Skye and Burke are set to be happily married after only six months of knowing each other. Finally happy that she has found someone to accept her—-OCD and all—Skye couldn’t be more overjoyed. But what seems too good to be true, almost always is. Told in three alternating perspectives, Too Good to be True follows a twisted story of loss, love, deception, and revenge.

To the people who have compared this to Gone Girl, you are absolutely spot on. They both have the same thrilling, page-turning appeal while also being unbelievable. But if you can overlook that fact, it’s super easy to get caught up in the intricate scheming and plot twists. I managed to figure out the first one and was pretty disappointed, until I learned that wasn’t even half of what the author had in store.

I really can’t say too much about the characters, because revealing who I liked/disliked would be little bit of a spoiler in itself. I will say that all of them did have a ton of depth, and I definitely hated/pitied/loved the ones that I was supposed to. As for their endings, I get why some people hated it. I was personally a pretty annoyed. It seemed like a pretty awful message for those of us who are mentally ill.

Now, of course, I have to talk about the OCD representation. I liked that the disorder was shown in a non-stereotypical way, and even acknowledged how much people misperceive it. However, it also absolutely broke my heart. It was like someone took everything I fear about having OCD, and then wrote about it. The people who pretend to be ok with it, who actively think you’re a freak, that you belong in an institution. The fact that it is constantly referenced that Skye is “beautiful and still single at 29” but ohhhh NOW it makes sense because she has OCD! Ouch.

On the one hand, wow did the author get that fear spot-on. On the other, it kind of put me off. And maybe I can’t complain because hey, it is accurate representation (although Skye suffered way more outright abuse for her OCD than I have). But that part was really, really painful to read. I think it was the fact that almost EVERY other character saw Skye’s OCD as some horrible, awful, unloveable thing. Knowing if the author had OCD would definitely influence my opinion of the rep.

While I was definitely hooked, I still don’t really know how I feel about this book. I can definitely say it will stick with me for a while, though.

Happy reading (:

Rating: 3/5
Pacing: Fast first half, medium second half
Intended audience: Adult
Content warnings: Drowning, death of a family member, cancer, on page sexual assault

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Published by J (Midnight Book Blog)

15 thoughts on “ARC Review: Too Good to be True”

  3. This was a wonderfully personal review, J. I can understand how this would affect you so, given the accuracy of how it was written and the viewpoint it gives you into the possible thoughts of others.

    Please try to remeber that there are many of us who love our family and friends with this affliction dearly, and we understand that it is only a portion of a person and isn’t the entirety of someone’s identity.

    As someone with CPTSD, I have had the same reaction with books that seem to hit a little too close to home, so I understand your discomfort.

    Be well. 🧡

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  4. I’ve never heard of this one before and I’m intrigued especially by the rep you mentioned… Although it sounds like quite a painful read because of it, too. I wasn’t a huge fan of Gone Girl (unpopular opinion, I know lol) but your review has me curious about this. Great review!

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    1. It’s so funny because I gave gone girl a really good rating, but I do not remember liking it at all??? I feel like if I read it now I’d probably be less of a fan haha. I think I remember that one being slower, but this one was pretty fast in the first half

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  5. Great review! I should confess that I almost never read thrillers, but you’re really good at pinning down what makes them work for you! And I definitely agree that rep in a work like this is a line that’s a little hard to tow? Like, yes, cutting to the heart of the experience can be powerful, but is it really right to make it so bleak? Obviously I don’t have the answers to that, but thanks for making room for the complexity. You’re a really refreshing critic.

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    1. Yes that’s a really good question I think! Which is why my knowing if the author has OCD would play into my thoughts. If it is someone who is writing about their own reality/fears/insecurity I get where it is coming from. But if it is an outsider writing about those fears, I don’t think they really have the background to be able to do it in a sensitive way if that makes sense. And thank you so much, that is a huge compliment!!

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  6. This sounds interesting! I loved Gone Girl so I’m going to have to add this to my never ending tbr haha. I’m glad you shared your thoughts about the ocd rep and I’ll keep them in mind if I read this. Great review!

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    1. If OCD rep is your only draw for this one, I would actually say pass as I wasn’t in love with the depiction! Instead I’d say try something like Turtles all the way down by John Green (who has OCD). It was so accurate I actually had to stop reading. There’s also Foretold if you don’t mind a younger sounding story, which I have a review posted for a little bit back. Also an own voices rep (:

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