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3.2 out of 5 stars
3.2 out of 5
32 global ratings
5 star
16%
4 star
25%
3 star
33%
2 star
16%
1 star
10%
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An Avid Reader
3.0 out of 5 stars Fine writing but meandering and overwrought
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2023
Verified Purchase
This isn't really a "thriller" although you do end up wondering what really happened to the protagonist's husband on board a cruise ship caught in a storm. The narrative skips back and forth in time with many deep insights into marriage, resentment, dependency, male and female relationships, and other issues but there was virtually no narrative drive and by the time I reached two-thirds of the book, the reading became tedious.
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marilyn tate
1.0 out of 5 stars After reading and loving--Lessons in Chemistry-- I found this book a waste of time.
Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2023
Verified Purchase
After reading the first 80 pages it became a tedious read. Finally on page 285 we revisit the ship and storm... I was disappointed.....NOPE
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Louise Foerster
4.0 out of 5 stars Expect the Unexpected -- and Enjoy!
Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2023
In Stephanie Bishop's THE ANNIVERSARY, the ultimate anniversary dream voyage goes horribly wrong when renowned literary luminary husband Patrick goes overboard and his wife JB, a rising literary star is left alone with her memories, questions, and explanations of what went wrong and why, for her now solitary sail as well as for the entire life they made and shared with one another. Their complicated marriage is suddenly under intense scrutiny, from JB as well as all the others figuring out what really happened on that voyage. Once I got used to the unusual lack of punctuation to indicate speech, I was captivated by what a creative person can do with her real life and what she makes up for her fiction. I received a copy of this novel and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.
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Stephanie L. Jackson
3.0 out of 5 stars GAAAAHHHHH
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2023
This book was violently annoying. I never thought I would say this about any author, but she takes "show, don't tell' TOO FAR. She dribbles the plot of a mediocre thriller into an avalanche of stream-of-consciousness narration, arthouse pretension, and banal description at a ratio of narrative to meta-narrative which is frankly sadistic.

I finished it, but I'm mad about it. Please bring back the editorial profession.
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Anne R. Marshall
3.0 out of 5 stars Was any of it real? Or, did she imagine it all?
Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2023
The Anniversary by Stephanie Bishop was a very sad story mostly told in first person by the protagonist, who was his wife and had been accused of his murder. They were on a vacation, a cruise. They would end up in Japan and then fly to New York. They enjoyed much of it but they argued. He was drunk. It was on the deck. Did he fall or did she push him? I never really knew. She was pregnant after years of marriage, that was certain. Was she imagining it or was it real? What about their marriage. Was that real? I never knew. Very strange book.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of The Anniversary by Grove Atlantic, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #GroveAtlantic #StephanieBishop #TheAnniversary
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kathleen g
4.0 out of 5 stars a good read
Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2023
Patrick was the important one when JB married him but now she's been nominated for a literary prize. Their cruise turns disastrous when Patrick goes overboard, prompting JB to at long last reflect on their relationship. She, btw, continues along to the various events surrounding her achievement-would Patrick have done the same? This is an odd book in some ways because it blends genres and keeps you guessing if you have patience to read through all of JB's thoughts. Part of the plot- the younger wife who has been subjugated and then comes into her own- might seem familiar but Bishop puts a fresh spin on it. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Difficult to review without spoilers but a good read.
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Melissa Parcel
1.0 out of 5 stars Overwrought and Tedious
Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2023
This is a book I should have skipped. It's not a thriller. It's an overwrought, overly descriptive literary-style fiction novel.

No quotation marks. Excessive description of things that have no bearing on the thin plot.

At the beginning, I was really interested. A couple embarks on a cruise and he falls overboard--or was he pushed? But from there it just jumps around in time so we learn about how they got together and then jumps forward and backward and by the time I got to the end I felt like I, not Lucie, should have won a prize for getting through this exhausting book.

If you like introspection and meanderingly descriptive prose, you might like it. Not for me at all.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
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