The cover is what drew me in and so glad I was able to read this book. It had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish and thought it was suspenseful overall. The characters were wonderfully done and the psychological thriller worked with what I was looking for. Markus Chambers has a great writing style and can’t wait for more.

Thank you Netgalley, Immersive Books Publishing and Markus Chambers for this eARC of Bruised.

Unfortunately this book wasn't for me, which is a shame as I usually like Mystery/Thrillers and true crime.. I felt that the premise was good, but the characters could have done with being a bit more fleshed out and the narrative felt a little jarred and didn't flow somehow. It's a shame as its based on true crime it had the potential to be more " meaty" . Hopefully, we shall see more of Markus's work in the future.

The storyline was something that could have bloomed into something better. I felt some of this was just all over the place.
Thanks to the publisher, author and NetGalley for the opportunity.
Publication date May 31, 2024
2.5 ⭐️

A disappointing book. Not sure if the author wanted it to be like this but it didn’t have any proper structure. I really couldn’t keep reading it.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

The cover caught my eye as i was scrolling, and the summary definitely made this book sound interesting.
But that's where my positive comments will end. I always feel bad leaving a less than stellar review, but that IS the point here right? Honest reviews are important.

The writing style just ... seemed a tad disjointed and all over the place. The storyline did not not make a whole lot of sense in some areas either.
We meet our FMC Allison S first. She's a nurse at the local hospital, seemingly addicted to her anxiety meds, and seemingly happy with her boyfriend MMC Brett E. The book had all the... plot points to potentially be great, but the writing really did fall short. The story was predictable early on, and it went exactly as you thought it would. The FMC wasn't interesting and lacked any real depth. The "supporting" characters did as well.

i wish I had better things to say, but it just didn't.... work.

Allison Sellers is trying to move on from her horrifying past of abuse, using every means necessary. She has a new boyfriend Brett Eldridge who cares for her deeply, the hospital where she works long hours as a nurse, and her anxiety meds she pops like candy. And when an opportunity to help her move on surfaces, she hesitates, not wanting to let anyone else in.

Disappointed to say that this book was not anywhere near as good I was hoping for, I usually vie away from anything with domestic abuse but the premise for the book was right on track for a great read, regrettably it fell severely short. A remote estate, potential in-laws/boyfriends parents and secrets hidden often lead to an exciting read but the plot turned out to be unsurprising and I knew where it was going from early on. I found Allison to be one dimentional as a character which did not allow the reader to become connected to her and the supporting cast also lacked depth. There were moments where I thought it may pick up but it didn't for me. This was a new author I had not read before but would still be open minded to try another in the future as the book had potential. Sorry to say 2 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy, all opinions expressed are my own.

I felt like this book could have been so good. But it fell flat. The dialogue was unbelievable. The whole thing was predictable. It was short and fast to read.

This book had sooooo much promise. The premise was so good that I had to start reading right away.

Pros: It is a short book and I went through it quickly. It was thrilling to a degree as there was always something going on.

Cons: the dialogue was horrible between the characters. It made the story way too unbelievable because people don’t talk like that. There were no twists and turns, it was all pretty predictable. The ending seemed rushed and was strange.

This book could have been so great!