The Elizas

The Elizas follows Eliza Fontaine, a first-time novelist who survives a near-drowning incident at a hotel pool. Her family dismisses it as another suicide attempt, but Eliza insists she was pushed. While promoting her upcoming debut novel, Eliza notices unsettling parallels between her real life and the plot of her book. She begins investigating both her accident and the blurred lines between her fiction and reality. The narrative alternates between Eliza's present-day story and chapters from her novel, creating questions about memory, truth, and identity. The structure puts readers in Eliza's position of trying to separate fact from fiction. This psychological suspense novel explores the relationship between authors and their work, and examines how trauma shapes the stories we tell ourselves and others.

Readers found the plot convoluted and difficult to follow, with many noting confusion between the real-life narrative and the novel-within-a-novel format. Several reviewers mentioned getting lost between what was real versus imagined. Positive reviews praised: - The unreliable narrator perspective - Complex psychological elements - Fast pacing in the latter half - Creative structure and concept Common criticisms: - Slow first half - Too many characters to track - Unsatisfying ending - Plot holes and unresolved threads A recurring complaint was that the book didn't deliver on its psychological thriller premise, with many readers expecting more suspense and reveals. Average Ratings: Goodreads: 3.4/5 (3,800+ ratings) Amazon: 3.7/5 (150+ ratings) Barnes & Noble: 3.5/5 (40+ ratings) "The story got too caught up in itself," noted one Goodreads reviewer, while another stated "the concept was better than the execution."

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🔖 Author Sara Shepard is best known for creating the wildly successful "Pretty Little Liars" series, which became a hit TV show running for seven seasons. 🔖 "The Elizas" marks Shepard's first adult psychological thriller after writing primarily for young adult audiences. 🔖 The novel plays with the unreliable narrator trope by featuring a protagonist who can't distinguish between her reality and the fictional book she's writing. 🔖 The book's structure alternates between the main narrative and chapters from the protagonist's novel-within-a-novel, creating parallel mysteries. 🔖 The title refers to both the main character, Eliza Fontaine, and the protagonist of her novel, making readers question which "Eliza" is telling the true story.