Lazy Saturday Review : The Fear by C.L. Taylor (unpopular opinion inside)

From Lipsyy : I started doing ‘lazy Saturday reviews’ as a way of getting reviews done in just 30 mins, and they proved to be quite popular. They are quick and snappy, and concentrate less on the plot (or content) and writing and more on my overall feelings about said book. They generally end up being a bit of a rant. My fave!

Title: The Fear
Author: C.L. Taylor
Publisher: Avon
Date of publication: Thursday 22nd March 2018
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 346
Rating: ⭐⭐ and a half

Sometimes your first love won’t let you go…

Lou Wandsworth is used to being headline news as, aged fourteen, she ran away to France with her 31-year-old teacher, Mike Hughes.

Now 32, Lou’s life is in tatters – and she resolves to return home to confront Mike for the damage he has caused. But she soon finds that Mike is unchanged, and is focussing his attention on 13-year-old Chloe Meadows.

Determined to make sure that history doesn’t repeat itself, Lou decides to take matters into her own hands. But Mike is a predator of the worst kind, and as she tries to bring him to justice, it’s clear that Lou could once again become his prey…

This review was supposed to be a long and detailed one, but I cannot muster the courage nor the will to do so. Let’s go for a lazy review!

After hearing so much about C.L. Taylor, the expectations were high. Maybe too high! I was truly happy to receive a copy of The Fear and I love the cover, so our love story began the best way possible.

Then I cleared my schedule and opened the book. Things quickly got out of hand.

First of all, I could not connect to any of the characters. I was curious about what had happened to Lou, yes, but not enough to read the book in one sitting. The other female narrative was intriguing, but once again, it did not hold my interest long enough for me not to take breaks without thinking twice. Motives felt far-fetched, characters sounded almost unreal, and even the threat of a young life being scarred by the wrong kind of man couldn’t satisfy my need for a strong and plausible story.

The writing itself was okay without actually standing out. It was smooth but lacked this little X factor that makes words dance in front of your eyes.

The pace would go up then down, just like my interest. I did finish the story out of curiosity but I was expecting a lot more after the hype surrounding the author. I will definitely pick out another story from C.L. Taylor and hope for the best. A bump in the road doesn’t mean you need to stop!

Any recs about which of her books I should pick next?

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