Book Review: The Main Character by Jaclyn Goldis

he Main Character is a book with such a unique concept, that I was immediately captivated. Our Main Character of Main Character is an author named Ginevra Ex is unconventional, she uses the stories of real people to craft her stories. She hires main characters and interviews them about every aspect of their lives, giving her the details she needs to craft unforgettable stories. When Genevra hires ex journalist Rory, her generosity expands to taking her newest “main character” a trip on the Orient Express with her brother, best friend, and ex fiance. This cast of characters find themselves in tense situation after tense situation, leaving Genevra with a completely different story than expected. 

It is interesting to read a book where the main character doesn’t actually feel like the main character. Rory was clearly meant to be the main character, but despite having much fewer POV chapters, Genevra is clearly the driving force behind the flow of the story. She is the only character that felt fully fleshed out and three dimensional. Despite the wide cast of characters, Max, the brother, Nate, the ex fiance, and Caroline, the best friend, none of them were able to grab attention in the same way. 

The secrets and betrayals that flowed between the group should have provided the book with delicious tension and a sense of urgency. Instead, the secrets fell flat after being hinted at for far too long without any answers. This also created a disjointed feeling between the plot itself and the characters. There were too many secrets and it was hard to judge what was actually important, and what was just filler. 

The highlight of The Main Character was the fluidity between memories and the present. While the first memory was a bit jarring, once the flow was established, the memories provided huge amounts of context and helped to create a sense of tension that the secrets failed to provide.

Overall, Main Character and its Main Characters was a suitable read for anyone looking for an interesting mystery, but the chemistry and flow could leave some disappointed.

⅗ stars 

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria books for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest opinions.