The Disappearances by Emily Bain Murphy|ARC Review

Title: The Disappearances

Author: Emily Bain Murphy

Series: N/A

Pages: 386

Publication Date: July 4th, 2017

My ranting: 🌟🌟🌟.7

What if the ordinary things in life suddenly…disappeared?

Aila Quinn’s mother, Juliet, has always been a mystery: vibrant yet guarded, she keeps her secrets beyond Aila’s reach. When Juliet dies, Aila and her younger brother Miles are sent to live in Sterling, a rural town far from home–and the place where Juliet grew up.

Sterling is a place with mysteries of its own. A place where the experiences that weave life together–scents of flowers and food, reflections from mirrors and lakes, even the ability to dream–vanish every seven years.

No one knows what caused these “Disappearances,” or what will slip away next. But Sterling always suspected that Juliet Quinn was somehow responsible–and Aila must bear the brunt of their blame while she follows the chain of literary clues her mother left behind.

As the next Disappearance nears, Aila begins to unravel the dual mystery of why the Disappearances happen and who her mother truly was. One thing is clear: Sterling isn’t going to hold on to anyone’s secrets for long before it starts giving them up.

“What needs darkness to grow instead of light?” she asked me one night when we were younger.
“I give up,” I finally said.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Her eyes flashed more silver than gray. “Secrets.”

Okay.. I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t pick up this book because of the cover. Oh, well, I CAN’T TURN DOWN A BEAUTIFUL COVER GUYS. And this one intrigued me quite much.

But then when I read the synopsis I was like WOW this seems so interesting and misterious. And I have to say there are some things I really enjoyed and others not so much.

Even though it’s says is a fantast book, I feel like it’s more magical realism. I found more similarities with that genre. It gave me the same feeling I had while reading The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, and I adored that book. It felt as if everything really made sense at the end and at the beginning you’re introduced to a whole cast of characters that are somehow related to each other in one way or another. And I love those kind of stories. *coughs* The Night Circus *coughs*

“Something disappears for me every seven years. I don’t know why, or how to get it to stop. But don’t worry. I’ve learned how to live with it.”

I loved the whole concept surrounding The Disappearances, and the way it kept me guessing until the end. That was definitely what I think I loved the most about this story. It’s quite original and I haven’t read anything like this before so extra kudos to that.

However I felt like sometimes in the first half of the book nothing really was happening, and the pacing was quite slow that sometimes it made me lose interest (maybe that had also sonething to do with the reading slump I’m currently into but oh well).

“And I think that for the rest of my life I will never forget this night…when under an empty ink sky, a boy who shone brighter than the stars stopped long enough to smile at me.”

Even though in some moments I hated the main character because she was really plain and annoying and she did nothing, I have to say I really enjoyed the romance. I cherish the friends-to-lovers trope so freaking much when it’s done well because the relationships are so cute and adorable and despite the romance not being a main focus on this book, I enjoyed the part it played in it.

AND LET ME ADD THAT THE AUTHOR IS A REALLY FAN OF SHAKESPEARE. I was really surprised because, let’s be honest, I have only read two plays so.. yup. But oh, boy, they quoted Shakespeare like no other.

*I’ve recieved an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This however doesn’t affect my opinion or thoughts.*

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