A Simple Favor: A Novel

Ridiculous in every way. Plot, characters, ending. I wanted to scream with every new twist that was presented because they were really exceedingly bad. I don't know how this was made into a movie, but I will pass on that as well, unless they re-wrote an entire new story. It's just a poorly written book.

Three stars for the plot i suppose. But the characters...I mean the only likable ones were the kids. No protagonist you want to cheer on..Stephanie is an idiot, gullible, and is turned on by anything..like oxygen. Emily is 100% cray. Poor Sean, but he's not too bright either. I feel like we needed more character development (aside from the disturbing and "icky" secrets). Not sure if I want to see this played out on screen..

It’s a good book,untill the last chapters...then it seems like the author is throwing random elements in the novel hoping they work out in the end,which they don’t.I would still recommend to read it before watching the movie,

The book arrived quickly which was nice but the story itself is not impressive. I enjoyed the beginning but it quickly became too ridiculous to even enjoy. I expected twists but not the kind that made me want to bump my head against the wall

It was a page turner, mainly because I wanna know who’s really the bad girl. But the ending left me hanging. I didn’t like the thought of Stephanie getting implicated for Emily’s crime while she get to escape with her son.

From the beginning, even how the chapters were set up, this seemed like a Gone Girl type storyline. Though I had an idea how it would end, I still couldn’t put the book down. It kept your attention the whole way through while you’re trying to figure out what’s happening. Loved it!

Like a Gone Girl stripped of the delicious psychological detail and tension. Could predict where it was going, very few surprises. Unsympathetic characters and Stephanie the predominant narrator was so dumb as to be unbelievable.

I wanted to read this in anticipation of the movie. Trust me, save your time and money. Poorly written and underdeveloped characters.The plot was lacking and there was only one twist. Otherwise, this book is a snooze.

There are no redeeming characters in this book. Similar plotline to Gone Girl. So, if you are like me and didn't like that one either, do not waste your money on this one. I cannot believe they made it into a movie.

I really enjoyed this book. They was very little dialogue... so I was surprised it didn’t drag. It read like a memoir. I cannot wait to see the movie! If you enjoyed Gone Girl...this book will be right up your alley!

A real page turner. I devoured the whole thing in 2 days. Sometimes these mystery thrillers can be a bit predictable, but this one left you guessing at every turn. I hope that she writes another book soon!

I picked up this book because the movie trailer caught my eye. It looked stylish, sly, and intriguing. However, the book immediately threw me for a loop from the blog-based perspective, and as the perspective widened, I got less and less invested in figuring everything out. A few things that definitely didn’t help:

1) NONE of the characters are like-able. Right off the bat I noticed there was hardly any dialogue, and the book consists mostly of the narrators explaining what’s happening. This, first and foremost, leaves them with very little depth - and also means that when they do obnoxious or annoying things, that’s all the reader has to go off of. It also leads to the dreaded problem of “telling vs showing,” and this book definitely hinges on the former.
2) It felt like every conceivable twist was thrown at this story, and none of them really went anywhere. Especially with Stephanie, none of her deep dark secrets really went anywhere. And it was hard to feel like there were stakes when everything kept getting brushed aside.
3) Ending? What ending? The wrap up to the book felt very anticlimactic. No one really felt true consequences, and Stephanie’s actions toward the end were eye roll-inducing. As the reader, I couldn’t tell if she truly was just that naive or if she felt too cornered to do anything else.

At the end of the day, I need to at least be able to root for a character (even if I don’t like him or her) in order to feel invested in a story. And that really didn’t happen here. It’ll be interesting to see what the movie does with this.

The book was a page turner... but left me hanging, which I suppose was the intention? I’m just left wondering what happens??? To all three main characters!? Hope there are plans for resolution in the future!

I honestly felt the book was building up to something big the whole time...but when I got there it really just felt anticlimactic. The plot twists were expected and it ended abruptly...left me saying "oh that's it?.." Not to mention the whole incestuous thing was really offputting.

From the get go, Stephanie is awful. She drones on about 'mommy blogging' and thinks that there is nothing better in the world than being a mother and being 'supermom'. The plot is rather disturbing and not in an interesting way. It's highly predictable, drones on and on and on. I was really looking forward to seeing the movie and bought the book and i can say if the book is usually better than the book, this one is in trouble. Do not waste your time.

This book was well written, suspenseful and hard to put down. However, I am highly disappointed with how the author ended the book. It felt as though she was tired of writing. Had there been closure, I would have given it 5 stars.

From the beginning, even how the chapters were set up, this seemed like a Gone Girl type storyline. Though I had an idea how it would end, I still couldn’t put the book down. It kept your attention the whole way through while you’re trying to figure out what’s happening. Loved it!

Like a Gone Girl stripped of the delicious psychological detail and tension. Could predict where it was going, very few surprises. Unsympathetic characters and Stephanie the predominant narrator was so dumb as to be unbelievable.

This had an interesting premise and a lot of potential. I was also intrigued by the trailer for the film adaptation and am a fan of its stars. I The wafer-thin, ridiculous plot, and the banal, unlike-able characters just make this a hot, hot mess. I had a bad feeling this book would be terrible early on, but I clung to hope that it would improve. It didn't. Please learn from my mistake. Run, don't walk, away from this novel.