Review: Little One by Olivia Muenter
Thank you Little, Brown and Hachette Audio for my copy! All thoughts are my own.
I am not a thriller reader because I am easily scared! But, there is something about the pace of a thriller that always intrigues me. I’ve been a fan of Olivia’s work in many forms for many years and I was thrilled to read her sophomore novel. While I really enjoyed her first book, her second blew me out of the water. I found her writing to have evolved in such a positive and intriguing way. I could not put this book down and read it in just two days. It’s the perfect read for someone who wants the pace of a thriller but there isn’t any gore or nightmare inducing scenes.
Synopsis:
“From the outside, Catharine West’s childhood sounds idyllic—balmy days spent running barefoot through the gardens, plucking ripe tomatoes straight from the vine as sunlight warmed her skin. Her parents built a life that was simple and community-focused, an ethos that soon attracted others in need of a change. For a time, Catharine’s magnetic father was enough to keep the farm thriving, and temptation outside its gates. But as she grew older, the farm and family she was raised to love faded into something darker, forcing Catharine to evolve with it.
It’s now been a decade since Catharine abandoned the farm and has done her best to reinvent her life, until an email from a charismatic journalist interrupts her peace. Her first instinct is to ignore the stranger’s prying questions—whether she knew about a mysterious “cult” in central Florida, whether she is the same “Catharine-with-an-A” who lived there for a time. But when she realizes the journalist knows far more than he’s letting on, she reconsiders. If Catharine can stay one step ahead of him, she may be able to find the one thing she never wanted to leave behind—her sister, Linna—and make sure her own secrets remain buried too.
Sharp-eyed and sweltering, Little One masterfully captures the dread of facing your deepest desires, when the hunger to become your best self threatens to drown out everything else. An achingly astute look at modern womanhood and wellness culture, it tackles the enduring question: How far would you go to be good?” —NetGalley
What I Liked:
The Now and Then Timelines—As an aspiring writer, I’m always impressed with how an author can write in this style. It really kept the pace moving.
The Pace—I keep mentioning it, but it’s such an important quality of a book and this one really captured the unputdownable quality I think a lot readers crave.
The Characters—I was intrigued by so many of the characters. I often say I am not an investigative journalist so that’s one of the reasons I don’t enjoy thrillers; I don’t want to know if I can’t trust a character. But I found myself wondering that with this book!
The Ending—AHHHHHHHHHHHH. It surprised me. Maybe I’m naive but I didn’t see it coming!
What Didn’t Work for Me:
Nothing—I really think this is a fantastic book and I don’t say that often. It feels well crafted, well paced, and well written, and original in a genre that is often criticized for all just being rip offs of the most popular books.
Character Authenticity: 5/5 Scaredy Cat Rating: 1/5 Overall Rating: 5/5
Content Warnings:
eating disorder, emotional abuse, death of a parent, body shaming, physical abuse