Brief synopsis: This novel follows two characters - Esther, a twenty-something artist, and Lady, a 40-something writer. Esther is the new live-in nanny for Lady's toddler, while Lady - recently separated from her husband - attempts to work on her memoir about her 18-year old son who happens to be a mute. As the story unfolds, it's found out that both women are hiding more than meets the eye, but are also both trying to work on some personal issues. Come to find out, both Esther and Lady are more alike than meets the eye.

Woman No. 17 was pretty dreadful. First off, one of the main character's name's is Lady. It's so aggravating, because a lot of the dialogue sounds like a joke. "Hey, Lady." "Whoa there, Lady." "Blah, blah, Lady." (Not actual quotes, obviously.) It drove me insane.

Secondly, everyone is this novel is terrible, except some of the side characters - Esther's dad, for example, seriously seems like such a terrific and kind-hearted dad. While I can usually still enjoy a novel where I hate the characters, they were all so insufferable in this novel that there was no recovering from that. Everyone was selfish and there was an awful possessiveness that several of the characters seem to hold over one another.

The most interesting part of the novel for me was the relationship between Esther (S) and Lady's older son, Seth. I was so intrigued by the connection the two shared, which seemed so deep due to the fact that Seth couldn't speak to her, but she could very much understand him. I believe their relationship is the one thing that carried me through the book.

I would classify this book as dark, but not quite a thriller. I've seen it labeled thriller a lot, but I strongly feel that it doesn't fall into that genre.

Overall, I didn't enjoy this novel - but I think others may. I would recommend not going into this novel with any kind of expectations, and just reading it as it is.


Have you ever read a book that you had high hopes for, but didn't exactly enjoy?