Book Review: Devotion by Madeline Stevens

Happy Monday, everyone!

Today's book review is Devotion by Madeline Stevens, which releases on August 13th, 2019. I got the chance to read an advance copy awhile ago--thanks NetGalley and HarperCollins!

Synopsis:

If you're looking for a slow, creepy thriller/character study to read, you might like this book. Devotion follows Ella, a young woman struggling to make ends meet in New York. Her luck changes when she becomes a nanny for a rich, seemingly perfect Upper East Side couple. Ella’s initial resentment of the young mother, Lonnie, eventually morphs into a dangerous obsession.

My thoughts:

Devotion drew me in right away and kept me reading. The sensory details are wonderfully vivid in this book; I could often envision myself walking around Lonnie's house or roaming around New York. I also have a thing for stories about female friendship, whether they're beautiful yet flawed in literary fiction or scary and unhealthy in thrillers and horror books. Ella’s growing obsession with Lonnie and her lifestyle reminded me of Single White Female or You (both the Netflix show and the book, which I recommend watching or reading.)

However, I will say the story didn’t seem to go anywhere near the end. Devotion reads like Ella’s diary, which format-wise would be fine, but unfortunately there was no character arc or transformation for Ella or Lonnie. It seems to just end, which was disappointing because I think this had the potential to be a suspenseful thriller as advertised. But with no story, there’s no tension or payoff at the end.

Rating:

I still enjoyed the characters and read for the most part, so I'd give this 3.5 stars.

Thank you again to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.