Exquisite

By: Sarah Stovell

Narrated by: Katie Scarfe

Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's Summary

Bo Luxton has it all - a loving family, a beautiful home in the Lake District and a clutch of best-selling books to her name.

Enter Alice Dark, an aspiring writer who is drifting through life, with a series of dead-end jobs and a freeloading boyfriend. When they meet at a writers' retreat, the chemistry is instant, and a sinister relationship develops.... Or does it?

©2017 Sarah Stovell (P)2017 W.F. Howes Ltd

This novel is exactly what its title proclaims...

I'm not even sure how I should even start this review. My head is still spinning from just having finished reading. There's always two sides to every story: yours, theirs and the truth. While reading the perspectives from both Alice and Bo you start to realize something is off and maybe, one ain't wrapped too tight. You may not notice at first, the subtle lies but the bigger ones pop right off the page.

Alice Dark is a young, 25 year old aspiring writer, who is chosen to attend a week-long writers retreat to be tutored in writing by a renown author, Bo Luxton, who is 40 with a husband and two little girls. They are each taken with one another and after the retreat, they maintain contact by communicating via email and chat. However, as they continue talking they start to realize their feelings for each other. As they set about pursuing theirs feelings for one another, things start to take a turn and we are left wondering, who's being truthful and who's not?

This is defiantly a page turner. I chose to immerse myself by listening and following along. I couldn't get enough. Late in the wee hours of the early morning, I had to finally give in and put it away to get some rest, but upon waking and getting my day started, I was right back in the mix to see how it all would end. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for an engaging thriller that makes you say 'just one more page'.

Worth a Credit!

This is a slow burn of the emotional variety. It was a well-written book and a well-executed audio. If I were rating to my personal taste I’d give it a 3 but for the general audience I’d give it a 4. It wasn’t dark or steamy enough for me. The love affair felt rushed and under developed. The “sinister” psychological thriller plot felt extremely mild to me, I’ve dated worse people than this, lol.

Twisted

At one point I wasn't sure I could go on, because I could see remience of one of my exes. Katy Perry's, Hot and Cold should be a theme song if a movie is ever made, and should be, Charlize Theron would be great as Bo. Jacqueline Rose Driscoll Tobi would be good as Alice.

Wow

I can honestly say I didn’t know what was happening until the end and I still wasn’t sure. An excellent book that keeps you guessing.

Truly exquisite!

Orenda Books did it again and published yet another fantastic novel.
This book came highly recommended and it definitely lived up to my expectations. A chilling read about obsessive love, control and manipulation.
The two main characters. Bo and Alice feel an overwhelming attraction towards each other as soon as they meet. Although they try to deny it at first, they are soon unable to restrain themselves from taking their relationship to the next level.

The story is told from both Bo's and Alice's points of view and we are aware from early on that there is no happy ending for the two of them. It is, however a guessing game to see which one of them is responsible for that. I kept changing my mind about whose obsessive personality will rule/ruin their lives.
The characters are really well developed with a complex personality, present and past life stories. The writing is superb; it is a captivating, gripping psychological thriller that is one of my top reads so far this year.

Katie Scarfe is a great narrator choice for this audiobook.

Best Audible this year

If you could sum up Exquisite in three words, what would they be?

Totally absorbing. Never a dull moment. Totalling convincing and unpredictable. Wish all thrillers were this good. Didn't guess the ending. I love psychological thrillers and this one beats all the others.

What did you like best about this story?

The whole plot. The narrator was outstanding and the characters were so real. A warning to all about manipulative people. I have know a few in my life.

What does Katie Scarfe bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

The reader can make or break the listening experience. This reader is gentle on the ear and has a lovely voice. I am going to check out other books she has read.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but was only able to manage to listen to the whole thing in 3 or 4 days. Nevertheless, I managed to find and excuse to listen every possible moment.

Any additional comments?

Not really, except that, to anyone only thinking about buying this Audible, you will NOT be disappointed.

An unreliable narrator... Again!

I blame Paula Hawkins for this seemingly unending rash of pseudo literary thrillers featuring disturbed and disturbing female leads whose narration of the story cannot be trusted. This started as a vaguely enjoyable take on the sub-genre but halfway through it turned into a deadly dull email exchange - most of which we'd already read at the start of the novel.

The lead character's backstory was utterly absurd and I looked forward to it being unpicked and shown to be a lie - but it was true. The author then failed entirely to explore why such a terrible upbringing caused the lead character to behave the way she did. It was alluded to yes, but never made sense of. As for the ending it's pure Danielle Steel - nonsensical and woefully unrealistic.

Brilliant

Brilliantly narrated by Katie Scarfe, this book i would recommend as a must read and listen loved the story line 10/10 😊 x

Not bad!

Chose this as a random second choice in a sale and wasnt disappointed. A thriller along the lines of single white female. Menacing and a brilliant sit up and take note ending!

Loved it

I heard this recommended on a podcast, ‘What Page Are You On?’. It was a tantalising listen, the narration was fitting with the characters and I thoroughly enjoyed the story. A real treat in the hit and miss world of thrillers!

Okay

This book had promise and I quite enjoyed it but something missed the spot somehow for me.
I listened intently but without too much enthusiasm. The narrator was okay and I would try further from her and the author.

The darkest side of human behaviour

This psychological thriller is surprisingly gut wrenching, and because of the lack of blurb, it leaves you wondering what to expect. This however, is the best part, as it leaves you squeaming through half of the book.

A famous novelist Bo Luxton takes an aspiring writer, Alice, under her wing, creating a relationship that spirals into a dangerous love affair. The author Sarah Stovell has masterfully constructed the book so that we get both points of view, and it leaves you guessing who is in the right and who is in the wrong. In between, is a narrative of someone who has ended up in prison - but who is it?

Well-written, extremely grim, an all round good psychological thriller.

loved it

great story from start to finish. had me totally hooked. highly recomend to any lovers of thrillers. x