Title: Rock Paper Scissors
Author: Alice Feeney
Rating: 5 stars
Pages: 291
Published: September 7, 2021
I rarely find a book that I immediately give 5 stars right after reading it. But this novel takes the cake.
Adam and Amelia Wright are a married couple going on a weekend trip to try and save their marriage. Amelia randomly wins a week's stay at a converted church in the Scottish countryside. When they arrive during a snowstorm, nothing is as they seem. Being stranded in this converted church, the Wright's have to face their demons and secrets that will inevitably come to light.
There are two things I loved about this book: Adam's prosopagnosia (face blindness) and the Word of the Year sections.
Before reading the book I had never heard of prosopagnosia. I did some research and, according to the NHS, someone affected by this condition cannot recognize family members nor themselves. Prosopagnosia also affects the person's ability to make connections and relationships due to not recognizing their faces. "Just because I can't recognize my wife's face, it doesn't mean I don't know who she is" (Feeney, pg 10). Reading the chapters through Adam's perspective was fascinating now that I knew what the condition was.
"Word of the year:
limerence noun. An involuntary state of mind caused by a romantic attraction to another person combined with an overwhelming, obsessive need to have one's feelings reciprocated." (Feeney, pg 17).
The Word of the Year chapters of the novel was one of my favorite sections because I would learn a new word with each section. The word would correlate with what was happening during the chapter.
"Word of the year:
growlery noun: A place of refuge or sanctuary for use while one is feeling out of sorts. A private room, or den, to growl in." (Feeney, pg 48).
"Word of the year:
atelophobia noun: The fear of not doing something right or the fear of not being good enough. An extreme anxiety of failure to achieve perfection." (Feeney, pg 211).
If you're looking for a thriller with a rare condition and one of the best twists I've read in a while, Rock Paper Scissors is the book for you.
Favorite Quotes:
"That's the problem with following in someone else's footsteps; if you leave a bigger mark than they did they tend to get upset" (Feeney, pg 188).
"Maybe all marriages have secrets, and maybe the only way to stay married is to keep them" (Feeney, pg 226).
"The errors of judgment lined up like dominoes after that, each knocking the next one down" (Feeney, pg 273).
"People have forgotten how to see the beauty in imperfection" (Feeney pg 279).
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