I wrote those two sentences about a quarter of the way through the novel and before I completely understood her character. Nothing special, just average girl, living her life, working and having fun with her friends, meating a guy.

She was like a normal person with friends… So what happened three years ago that made her to be like this and be at running all the time! Before she was the ruthless Queen of Hearts, Catherine was a sheltered, young noblewoman who dreamed of opening her own bakery with her best friend, a maid who has always been by her side. It’s convincing enough and it shows the reader a good contrast between how Cathy is ‘before’ and ‘after’. I couldn't quite figure it out if it was a cliffhanger and there will be a sequel coming up or if it was just authors last attempt to screw with my mind. The thing that really drove the story forward for me was my eagerness to see exactly what caused the destruction of Catherine, turning her into a shadow of herself.I was pleasantly surprised with this book though because I enjoyed it and once I was deep into the story I couldn’t put it down.

And when he drags her into the “Staff Only” area and then stares at her through the security camera afterwards, creepy as hell! Increasingly isolated and driven into the darkest corner of her world, a desperate Catherine plans a meticulous escape. There’s also Stuart, After Cathy’s love interest and while he’s nice-ish, his presence in this book is largely passive and can be summed up by me as ‘meh’.

Haynes hardly gives the reader time to draw breath before locking in her two parallel and equally nerve-racking narratives. It's refreshing - though I cringe that I can say that - to see a controlling relationship and stalkery portrayed as something negative, not as symbolic of the deep, never-ending love the stalker feels.