I Choose You by Gayle Curtis is about Elise and Nathaniel whose mothers were manipulated into committing suicide by an evil murderer who had been dubbed “The Watcher” thirty years prior. They are now married with children and have been doing fairly well. However, when their daughter is murdered, they wonder if The Watcher is back and if it’s the same person who was responsible for their mother’s deaths. As expected, the murder of their daughter has had a major influence on Elise and Nathaniel’s relationship.

While the novel is well-written, and includes interesting (albeit a few non-plausible) scenarios, as well as building suspense, it may not be enough to keep every reader’s interest. The characters aren’t particularly likeable, and their relationships tend to be forced and phony. Elise and Nathaniel don’t have a very good marriage, and the supporting characters aren’t very exciting. Many readers will find that because they can’t relate to the characters, the novel will drag, and the readers won’t really care what happens to them. Even though the novel contains all the elements of a good thriller: building suspense, a murder or two, and unique characters, there is something about it that doesn’t capture interest.

This novel really wasn’t personally enjoyable, and even though the murderer wasn’t revealed until the dénouement, it wasn’t exciting. Some readers will love the novel, but there are dozens, maybe hundreds, of better ones out there. Unless readers are bored and have no choice but to read this novel, they may want to choose something else.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Elise and Nathanial are shattered over their daughter, Ida’s, murder and want to know why she was killed. Their are a bunch of suicides happening but the police looking into them think they could be murder. Is Ida a victim of this Suicide Watcher who is committing all of the suicide/murders?  Weird, disjointed, hard to follow.  But if you stick with it there are some different  twists, and some plot points that are a bit over the top.   After reading the premise for this book it was not what I had expected, or hoped for. 

Thank you NetGalley, Gayle Curtis and Thomas & Mercer for this edition and hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partner

This was such a great read, enjoyed it thoroughly, i was hooked from the first page, great storyline and loads of twists and turns , highly recommend this book x

A very interesting start to the book, but the story became quite lame as it went on. The story didn't follow through properly and jumps from one thing to another. Although I got into the book right at the beginning, but I was getting quite bored towards the middle.

The characters were not described enough for me to like them or bond with them and as the story went on I became more confused about them and their personalities. I found Ida's mum and dad's relationship quite strange and not very close as the author had wanted them to be. 

There were a few turns and twists but not much excitement or thrill. I felt that a lot was thrown into the story to keep it going, which made it very confusing and quite boring. I love books of this genre but unfortunately, this wasn't for me.

Great premise but too much to absorb. Too many characters and different points of view. Too many subplots. I really wanted to love this book as I've enjoyed similar books but this one just exhausted me and I didn't look forward to picking up where I left off! Some good twists and I didn't guess the ending but I'm not sure who I would recommend it to, I'm hoping this is a debut novel and the writer will hone her skills as the idea was great, the blurb had me!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

This is more of a 3.5 stars for me.   There was a lot going on in the book and many narratives.  When I had to put it down and come back, I’d be a little lost and would have to look back because of how much it jumped around.  I kind of lost the whole suicide watcher in parts and when it loop back I’d have to remember the opening.  I did however like that loose ends were wrapped up in the end of the book.  That is why I gave 3.5 stars, I was satisfied with the ending.

Unfortunately this book was one that I struggled with.  I found it quite confusing at times with too many characters and hard to keep track of what was going on.

This is my first book by this author and it left me with mixed feelings. I actually liked the 'who done it'; had me hooked but also left me feeling confused. Maybe how the plot progressed that left me feeling lost. Flashbacks did helped me to make sense of the plot, which is used interestingly in this book.

Overall, a good book that would definitely satisfy a mystery/thriller reader.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for approving my request to review this book.

Too many twists and turns. Too many characters to keep up with. It was hard for me to read. The psychological aspect of the story would have been fine if I didn't have to keep up with everything and everyone in the story.

This was an easy to read thriller thaylt kept my attention all the way through! Lots of twists and surprises I didn't see coming. Very good, would recommend! A brilliant book!

I love psychological thrillers and looked forward to reading this. Sadly, I found this book to be too complicated, multiple time lines, many subplots, different POV's, characters that were not compelling or likable. Can you guess I didn't get to the end?

Thanks to Gayle Curtis and Amazon Publishing UK for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When a killer chooses you, what choice do you have?

Thirty years ago, Elise and Nathaniel shared a horrific trauma that united them in grief. Now, grown up and married with a young family, they feel their worst nightmares are behind them. Until the day their daughter is abducted and murdered.

Both Elise and Nathaniel lost their mothers to a notorious killer who manipulated innocent victims into taking their own lives. Could it be that ‘the Watcher’ has returned for another round of the same sadistic game? Why now? And why are Elise and Nathaniel being targeted again?

When Elise’s family falls under suspicion, her world crashes down around her. Is there anyone she can trust, or is her whole life built on lies?

Only one thing is clear: someone left their cruel game unfinished all those years ago. This time the Watcher intends to win – once and for all.

This one was certainly interesting and full, but perhaps a little too full. I struggled to keep up with everything happening, but nonetheless enjoyed it.

This was a good story. However I felt like every time the suspension would get nice and high it would rip me away and put me somewhere else which I didn’t care too much for. I understand the need for wanting to build suspense but it didn’t really work for me. I did want to continue reading to find out the resolution and was surprised when all was revealed.

A book wherein the killer 'chooses' their victims and has you make a life-changing choice at gunpoint should have been interesting. In all ways, the killer in this book is a very twisted individual, but I found it very difficult to get into the story. The book had too much going on all at once. While some parts had good twists, most of it was just felt as if it were dragging on. 

Thirty years ago, Elise and Nathaniel shared a horrific trauma that united them in grief. Now, grown-up and married with a young family, they feel their worst nightmares are behind them. Until the day their daughter is abducted and murdered.
Both Elise and Nathaniel lost their mothers to a notorious killer who manipulated innocent victims into taking their own lives. Could it be that the Watcher has returned for another round of the same sadistic game? Why now? And why are Elise and Nathaniel being targeted again?
When Elise’s family falls under suspicion, her world crashes down around her. Is there anyone she can trust or is her whole life built on lies? Only one thing is clear. Someone left their cruel game unfinished all those years ago. This time the Watcher intends to win – once and for all.

I did not enjoy reading the chapters on the POV of the Watcher. I liked some characters, but they were not developed. None of them had any depth. The relationships between each of the characters are messed up and dysfunctional, but not in a way that could evoke any interest from me. I really wanted to like this book, but I just could not 'get it'. for a major part of the book. It got a bit interesting towards the end - with its twists, which were good, it just wasn't enough for me to change my opinion about the book. 

Thank you, NetGalley, Amazon Publishing & Gayle Curtis for an arc!

This was confusing.. to many things going on.. to many characters.. to many different story's and time lines.. absolutely a mess.
It was a difficult but i finish it.
I will give this author another try, because I liked the general idea of the book.

There are a lot of different characters, timelines and viewpoints to get your head around in this book. If that is not your thing than this book is not for you. BUT if it is your thing then you're in for a rollercoaster of a ride. Lots of different characters does mean that some are only known to the reader on a superficial level but there are so many different threads that this doesn't present a problem. While it has been argued that the book glorifies suicide, a read of the blurb tells the prospective reader that this book does contain scenes involving suicide, mental health issues and is probably not for the faint-hearted in that respect. The book did keep me engrossed from start to finish and it didn't take long before the characters were sorted out in my head. Twisty and turny with lots of threads to unravel and then knit back together. Recommended.

What a mess!  What was that?  It's as if someone wrote a series of books, outrageous and unbelievable books, and then just randomly took out a bunch of chapters in order to whittle it down to one book.  Such is what I read. It seemed to be a good story for the first 1/4 or so.  And then it just became a word jumble.

Review for 'I choose you' by Gayle Curtis

Read and reviewed via NetGalley

Trigger warning ⚠ :

Firstly, I think it is important to note before starting this book that suicide features heavily in this story. It is talked about, it is acted out and it is a game purported by an unknown subject manipulating their victims - or participants, as they are referred to - into playing. As a difficult issue for some I felt it important to make it known that it is a common thread throughout the entire story.

Potential spoiler alert ⚠ 

If you get easily confused then this book is not for you as there was about 3 different time lines going on with the present, the past and then even further at times. Also, it was rammed pack with different storylines:

1. Who killed Ida?
2. Who's baby is Elise's?
3. Is Sonny actually her brother?
4. Elise's mother
5. Who is the suicide watcher? 
6. Who committed suicide and who was murdered? 

Personally, I did get confused at one or two points whilst reading this but not enough for me to be unable to work out what was happening and when. Apart from these times I actually enjoyed all the action so if you like a busy book then you will enjoy this. 

It is a deeply disturbing psychological thriller filled with suspense from beginning to end. Filled with crime, murder, suicide, twists and turns and suspense. It had lots of red herrings to keep you guessing and several completely unexpected twists at the end. This book definitely got bonus points as I didn't guess who did it. 

I did find it quite hard to connect with the characters as there was so much going on and flipping from past to present and from character to character, hence 4 stars instead of 5. 

THE descriptions through the book were good but could have been better. It was very well wrapped up at the end leaving no loose ends

I do believe the author should have researched mental health more than she possibly did as there are some issues in the certain diagnosis of characters which several readers seemed to have also picked up on.

I wouldn't recommend to anyone who is suffering with mental health issues or anyone who is struggling with the subject of suicide. I would also say that this book is better suited for 18 plus due to the issues tackled in the book.. I would highly recommend it to fans of psychological thrillers, suspense, crime, murder and anyone who enjoys 'Dark reads'.

I gave this book 4/5 stars (I enjoyed it) on Goodreads and Amazon 

Feel free to follow me on Goodreads for more review.

Free on kindle unlimited or £3.98 to purchase on Kindle

#IChooseYou #GayleCurtis #NetGalley

Firstly, I think it is important to note before starting this book that suicide features heavily in this story. It is talked about, it is acted out and it is a game purported by an unknown subject manipulating their victims - or participants, as they are referred to - into playing. As a difficult issue for some I felt it important to make it known that it is a common thread throughout the entire story.

So, ready?

Thirty years ago, Elise and Nathaniel shared a horrific trauma in which their mothers both committed suicide...the possible victims of the Suicide Watcher. This united them in grief when they meet up again in a support group run by Magda King, whose brother succumbed to suicide. A recipe for disaster, right? Well, these two were obviously blind to that fact and ended up married with three children of their own - Ida, Miles and Buddy. (honestly where does the author come up with these names? Ida for a 15 year old girl??) Elise has recently had baby Buddy (whose name sounds more like a dog than a child), and had some kind of post natal psychosis going on where she didn't feel that Buddy was hers. Aside from that, they finally belive that their nightmares are over...until Ida is murdered. (don't believe the premise in the abduction theory...never happened)

Fast forward a couple of years later...and baby Buddy is now 20 months old. But Elise is a raving lunatic. She is now in full-on psycho mode accusing a doctor she worked with and his wife of swapping their babies when they were both born at the same time in the same hospital. She has gone so far that they have taken out a restraining order against her and threatening legal action. But Elise is adamant. Their baby - Louis - is really her child, and Buddy is their's. What makes her think that? Her baby had an unusual birth mark on his right leg which she saw immediately after he was born...but later when they brought him to her in the hospital it was gone. The doctor's wife's face said it all...Louis has that very birthmark.

So amidst accusations, threats, police involvement and whatnot, Nathaniel assures Elise that Buddy IS their's as the DNA results proved it. But Elise would not be swayed.

And that seems a plausible enough storyline, right? Wrong!

Then there are the intermittent philosophical ramblings of a headcase peppered throughout the entire story, picking off their victims like going through a shopping list. Only with a far more metaphysical take in the theoretical sense of the entire nonsensical waffle! Did that make any sense? No? Well, neither do these chapters.

The story goes back and forth between the past and the present - titled THEN and NOW. That should be easy enough to follow in theory...I repeat IN THEORY. But the problem was there was one story in the THEN, another in the NOW and then the philosophical theoretical nonsense thrown in between! I have to admit I found it terribly difficult to remember in which timeline which story went where and what related to who when. It didn't make it any easier that Elise and Nathaniel featured in both, which simply added to the confusion.

Then we get confession after confession regarding Ida's death...which incidentally took place in the THEN chapters. And after all that, it was then theorised that Ida took her own life as the latest victim (participant) of the Suicide Watcher...or maybe it was the mother's brother's uncle twice removed? Then when the identity of Ida's killer is revealed it would have been a clever touch, if not for the whole convoluted mess in between, but it really just fell as flat as the rest of the story.

And by the end, I'm thinking...WTF? This person kills that person after they had killed another person and then kills themselves?

Honestly...I CHOOSE YOU could be broken down into three categories:
The GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY.

The only good thing this book had going for it was the whole Suicide Watcher theme. It was original and intriguing. "You have sixty seconds to choose - to shoot yourself or to be shot?"

Then we have the characters, none of which were likable in any way, shape or form. I wanted to shoot all of them, they irritated me that much. And there was so much happening in this book I simply could not keep up. Nor could I distinguish between the past and present as it all just jumbled together with a load of random people that had no development or substance.

Which then brings us to the worst part of this book - the UGLY. O.M.G!! The horribly choppy writing that was just such a convoluted mess. That by the end I was just so confused by all the unanswered questions and plot holes that were left unresolved. I just didn't get the whole point of whose baby was really Elise's and the random nutter that was a friend but also a patient but also a client...where did that one come from and what the hell did it mean? It was never followed up and just left blowing in the breeze like most of the storyline.

When I started this book, I went in with my eyes open to enjoy it...and I tried. I really did. And when it started it did show promise. I thought for sure I would give it at least 3 stars. But what the hell happened after that? In all honesty, I kept reading hoping all loose ends would be tied up by the end and I'd find out who the Suicide Watcher was and who killed Ida. I guessed who the Watcher was but not Ida's killer...but then I think they were running out of suspects after all the confessions.

There was way too much happening in this book and way too many random people that just didn't need to be there. I'm sorry, but I just couldn't like this book...and despite the almost clever way it ended, I just didn't much care anymore by then.

I would give it 2 stars just because I finished it, but even then 2 stars is leaning towards the notion that I thought it was "OK". Which I didn't. So it's a sorry 1 from me.

I have her next book already. I just hope it is vast improvement on this one.

I would like to thank #GayleCurtis, #NetGalley and #AmazonPublishingUK for an ARC of #IChooseYou in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for sending me this arc. I will be reviewing this book.properly in the near future with an honest teview.