Matcha & Motifs Book Review 4.5/5  

Not only did Millie Calloway just get fired from her job, but she’s also fresh out of prison on parole. Desperate, she begins working for the Winchesters as their in-house housemaid and it’s nothing like she expected. Nina Winchester makes it her mission to make Millie’s life a living hell. While deciphering Nina’s hot and cold attitude, she tries to steer clear of Andrew Winchester who is kind and unhelpfully handsome. Between cleaning, cooking, and picking up their daughter, Cecelia, she can’t shake this ominous feeling as she sleeps in a dingy attic that locks from the outside. One by one, she slowly uncovers the secrets of the Winchesters and the danger she may be in. 

Plot/Pacing

I haven’t read that many thriller mysteries. However, I am starting to get to that point where I know how general plot arcs go. 

This book does a wonderful job of setting up the scene and then jumping right into the action. It doesn’t feel drawn out or slow at all. Each chapter we uncover something new and the plot is moving forward. I loved the pace of this read and every detail included builds the characters, moves the story forward, or trips up the reader.

We have to talk about the predictability of it. Again, I feel that once you’ve read a good amount of thrillers and mysteries they tend to become predictable. Should we be measuring how good a book is based on if we can predict the ending? I don’t think so. It’s like a good rom-com movie, you know they’re going to get together despite which trope it is, forced proximity, fake dating, enemies to lovers? THEY’RE GONNA END UP TOGETHER and because of that, I rate it on their story together. How good is their chemistry? Is their love believable? Do I think they’re an actual couple in real life? Are they compatible? Does it seem like both characters care about the other? You know, stuff like that. 

Okay, back to thrillers/mysteries. No, the story being predictable does not ruin it. But at the same time, I cannot deny that an insane unforeseen reveal does make the book automatically 10x better. I think a good thriller/mystery book allows you to consider the plot twist as a possibility, and just when you’re super confident you know it all, they throw in a fact, distracting image, or scene that makes you go back on your thoughts. So by the point of the plot twist, you’ve completely negated that possibility because of x,y, and z. And that is how it keeps its element of surprise while also making sense. 

Long ramble to say that this book did that. 

Millie 

Millie’s character is relatable. She speaks like a young adult, has thoughts that are of this time combined with a very modern writing style and it feels like you are the main character. I also think this is why you become so immersed in her thoughts and her struggles. Every day, I felt myself thinking “Oh no, I hope Nina doesn’t do any more horrible things to her”. She feels real, and her kindness, work ethic, and morals make you like her. The things that frustrate her, definitely frustrate me too, and I think that’s a detail of great storytelling. She is definitely an underdog worth rooting for. You see, I think it’s cool too because they added another twist that makes me like the main character even more! 

!!!Contains Spoilers!!!

Characters 

Overall, I feel that each character was decently developed. I like that McFadden added the ending explanation through Nina’s perspective, in such a fun satirical way too. This method of writing adds a lot to her character, like yes her life sucks but she’s willing to find the “light” in the situation. I think that’s how she was able to keep her head up this whole time and plot her leave.

I’ve read this whole book, convinced that Nina was the bad guy, and that’s crazy because that’s exactly what Andrew was doing to everyone else: convincing the world that Nina was the bad guy. Which is sad, but cool that the author was able to do that. You sometimes wonder how people can be trapped in these situations, but then you see how and it all makes sense. And that’s what I’m saying when I say the plot is seamless.

I think the contrast between Nina and Millie adds variety to the book because typically, we only see one victim’s perspective. By seeing how different people would react to the same situation adds a whole new layer. One is willing to use their cleverness to escape the situation, whereas the other has the stomach to kill. It makes me wonder, what would I have done? Moreover, why did I like Andrew? Most likely because the book was from Millie’s perspective and she found him handsome. But also, Nina was so mean so when Andrew came running in to defend Millie, I was happy for her and I felt her relief. Yet, my enjoying his niceness also prompted the idea “What if he’s actually the evil mastermind this whole time?”. But then Nina would do something horrible again and I would fall back on the whole hating Nina train. This book feels carefully crafted and dare I say, an emotional manipulation? Overall, I’d immediately recommend this book to lovers of mysteries and thrillers! It was a solid read and I plan on reading the next book, The Housemaid’s Secret, so please stay tuned for that.