You Did Nothing Wrong by C. G. Drews

 

My thoughts

I listened to an audio while reading. The audio kept me reading. Without it I would have marked this one a dnf. The narrator did a great job. She kept this story flowing and gave it life. 

This book started out so good. Then it took a turn. It had so much gross going on. At least that is my opinion. Who says they want to open someone's chest and crawl inside? Who does that? It's said so many times by Elodie. I mean love can be so strong but that is unnecessary grossness. 

It was like a true love story between Elodie and Bren. They are young and so in love. Elodie is from Australia and has a small child. A little boy she named Jude. Elodie has some secrets that could be deadly. Or she could just be a mixed up young woman who needs to be loved and cherished. Her parents certainly did care for her. Her baby brother drowned in the tub and they laid all the blame on her when she was only eight years old. She was a child. 

Elodie gave birth to Jude when she was only sixteen years old. In the bathroom of her house. No one helped her. Not many sixteen year olds could handle such a horrific event. Elodie is not exactly your average kid though. She's had an unlovable life and decided that she should have a baby. That she named him Jude was kind of crazy. That was also her baby brother's name.  

When Elodie and Jude move into Bren's family home she seems to be very happy. All seems good. Then Jude starts saying that the house is trying to eat him. Bren says it's not. He tries so hard to help with Jude. It seems Jude loves him. Elodie just won't allow it. She's a bit possessive about Jude. He's hers and hers alone. 

Bren has secrets too. He was just a little kid when his parents died. His older sister Ava took care of him with the help of other relatives. Bren is set on fixing up his parent's house. He works hard and seems to get nowhere. But he loves Elodie and Jude so much. 

Elodie is expecting another baby. This one is Bren's and it's another boy. He's so excited about becoming a father. Jude is not happy about this at all. Everything seems so good. Then it's not.

This book was ok but so repetitive. It seemed like the ending was all excitement. All the things that would go wrong happened at the end. Maybe not go wrong but all the big twists and turns. All of them. Not thrown in throughout the story. Elodie stumbles on some things that make her question what is happening. She's also a complete nut. I'm not so sure that Jude is autistic. I think maybe all the things Elodie did might have messed him up. She's trying to make amends it seems. At times anyway. 

The ending of this book was ok but didn't wow me. I figured out some things and others were just grossly awful. I could picture all the blood and gore seeping from the "walls." I could picture Bren's sisters face when Elodie appeared. I could picture Jude's cries. I could also picture other things that I didn't want to picture. 

Parts of this book were great and others were just not good at all. I could only take so much of how many times Elodie talked about ripping someone open and crawling inside of them. Or how she was tethered to Jude by the umbilical cord. 

I had high hopes for this one but was let down.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for this ARC.

3.75 stars 

About

A relentless, horror-inducing psychological suspense for fans of The Push and Baby Teeth by New York Times bestselling author CG Drews.

Single mother Elodie’s life has become a fairy tale. She’s met Bren, equal parts golden-retriever devoted and sinfully handsome. He’s whisked her and her autistic son, Jude, to the crumbling family house he’s renovating. She has a new husband, a new house, and a new baby on the way. Everything is perfect.

Then Jude claims he can hear voices in the walls. He says their renovations are “hurting” the house. Even Elodie can’t ignore it–something strange is going on. The question is, is it with the house, or with her son?

Then the one secret Elodie has been hiding is revealed, and no one is safe anymore.

A pulse-pounding, clever take on the haunted house novel, You Did Nothing Wrong examines the complexities of motherhood and the twisted bonds of family as it races to its shocking ending.