Review: The Lucky Ones by Tiffany Reisz

About the Book

They called themselves “the lucky ones.” They were seven children either orphaned or abandoned by their parents and chosen by legendary philanthropist and brain surgeon Dr. Vincent Capello to live in The Dragon, his almost magical beach house on the Oregon Coast. Allison was the youngest of the lucky ones living an idyllic life with her newfound family…until the night she almost died, and was then whisked away from the house and her adopted family forever.

Now, thirteen years later, Allison receives a letter from Roland, Dr. Capello’s oldest son, warning her that their father is ill and in his final days. Allison determines she must go home again and confront the ghosts of her past. She's determined to find out what really happened that fateful night--was it an accident or, as she's always suspected, did one of her beloved family members try to kill her?

But digging into the past can reveal horrific truths, and when Allison pieces together the story of her life, she'll learns the terrible secret at the heart of the family she once loved but never really knew.

A vivid and suspenseful tale of family, grief, love—and the dark secrets that bind everything together—Tiffany Reisz’s latest is enthralling to the final page.

Review

I'm soooo glad that I read this book. I wasn't expecting the plot to unravel the way it did and it leaves me sitting here feeling sort of all over the place. That was an intense read for a variety of reasons because of all the drama sending you all over the place but what a rush of anticipation this book pushes you to have to know what happens. Let's chat about The Lucky Ones.

Allison was the youngest of a group of kids that were taken in by this beloved doctor. The kids were troubled and he seemed to have the cure to make them better. When her mother died and she was placed in a foster home, Dr. Capello came along and thought she would be the perfect addition to his new family. Everything seemed to be perfect until one day an accident happened and she never returned. One day out of the blue, thirteen years later, she received a letter from one of the kids about Dr. Capello's impending death. She was asked to come there and with the past colliding with the present, she needed to get closure and with that brought her past crashing down. As what happens in the dark comes to light, secrets are revealed that rewrite the past and changes the course of their lives forever.

Did I say how much I loved the book? I don't want to ruin it for you but I can't really explain it. The suspense build up in the book if you want to call it that was crippling because as you learn more about the characters and the way the plot unravels, you don't want to put the book down. Some things will hit you like whoa but then you will realize, it's not as bad as it sounds. For example, I was not feeling Allison in the beginning when I found out she was someone's kept woman. Then I started to warm up because I felt bad for her and she really was a victim of her circumstances. Just like the other characters, you learn their past and there's less judgment from getting to know them. Then when you read about her and Roland, at first I was like, is this wrong? But technically, it not considering. I'll leave that up to you to decide. The secrets, the lies, the love and family all bind this book up to be one heck of a ride. The overall book was paced just right. The characters were great. The plot worked itself out to be what it needed to be. Now, if all her books are as good as this one built up to be, I need to back read. So, here's one to add to the reading list.