**3.5-stars rounded up**Who needs friends, when you have frenemies?!I had a lot of fun reading In a Dark, Dark Wood. Personally, I don't think it gets the love it deserves. Sure, it has a standard format and slightly predictable plot, but it also has an intriguing, unreliable narrator, a creepy atmospheric setting and a delightful cast of unlikable characters.In addition to being highly enjoyable, learned some valuable lessons from this book. Most importantly, when invited to a 'hen do' for a gi...

I don't think I've disliked a protagonist as much as Nora, the main character in In a Dark, Dark Wood, in ages. Earlier this year, I found Rachel, the protagonist of The Girl on the Train, to be annoying and very unlikable, but I didn't hate her. To be fair, I didn't hate Nora so much as find myself repulsed by her. She is a 26-year-old woman who is still haunted by and distraught over a break-up that happened when she was 16. Yes, 16! What kind of loser is so affected by an adolescent relations...

Honestly one of the worst books I have read this year, and I definitely cannot recommend it as a tense crime novel!!!In a Dark, Dark Wood is the antithesis of what a thriller should be. It's hugely predictable, very slow paced, has big plot holes, and was downright boring.I found the writing style to be quite amateurish, and the characters very immature and one dimensional. These women are supposed to be adults, and in their mid to late twenties - yet they came across as judgemental, bitchy, und...

this is a truly beautiful ARC, one of the nicest i've seen: it's all textured and graphically pleasing and nice to touch and hold: but the story didn't really meet my expectations. i'm giving it a three, but it is a low three. it is an incredibly fast read, and if you are looking for something in that vein - a fast-paced page-turner mystery thing, this may well satisfy you. but be forewarned it is not a creepy book, or even remotely spooky, as the cover and epigraph seem to suggest:In ...

Leonora Shaw is a crime writer. Ten years ago, following the breakup of a young love affair, she left a school in which up to then she had been very happy, lost touch with all her school friends and now lives alone in a small flat in Hackney, in which she devotes her entire time to writing. Her only relaxation is her daily running, at which she excels. Then, out of the blue, she receives an e-mail inviting her to the hen party of Clare, who had been her best friend throughout her entire time at ...

Writer Leonora (Nora) Shaw gets invited to old friend Clare's hen night (aka bachelorette party) by a girl named Flo. (It is being held in Flo's aunt's house.) Nora lost touch with Clare years ago, hasn't spoken to her in ten years, and doesn't know if she wants to go to this party. But after talking to another friend who is also invited (Nina) Nora reluctantly decides to go.Nora and Nina arrive at the house where the party is being held, which is isolated in the woods in Northumberland. It's a ...

"It was growing dark, and somehow the shadows made it feel as if all the trees had taken a collective step towards the house, edging in to shut out the sky."Ten years ago, Leonora ("Lee" "Leo" "Nora") broke up with her boyfriend (James), ditched her best friends (Clare/Nina) and skipped town. She hasn't looked back since.Well, until now. She just got an invite to Clare's Hen Party (bacholorette weekend) and despite her misgivings, she decides to go.She's spent so much time running from her past ...

2.5 stars. This was a quick and easy read. I feel that my lack of enthusiasm for this book was largely affected by my expectations being set too high. I really wanted to like this book more than I did. I really enjoyed this author, Ruth Ware's, second novel "The Woman in Cabin 10". I was expecting more of that heart-pounding, suspenseful writing that kept me on the edge of my seat, however, I couldn't help but feel underwhelmed upon finishing this book. This story dragged on and was somewhat pre...

3/3.5?!?!!! This book left me in such anger. The beginning was so fast and I was so sucked in and then the middle left me feeling lethargic and as if I were reading as I was walking through mud. Then the end.... The end totally blew my mind. I couldn't believe it happened the way it did... Would I recommend? Yeah, probs. The assortment of characters are absolutely uncanny. Such a strange cast of characters but when written together it was absolutely perfect. Ugh. I liked it and then I hated it.....

This was a mediocre story that had all the makings of something better than it was. I would describe it as a light mystery. It wasn't a thriller. It wasn't dark or scary. The voice of the narrator was lovely, the music at the beginning and end creepy but the story itself was slow and a bit clunky at times...filled with constant chatting done by characters who were each a bit odd and behaved in a way that was both catty and juvenile. It reminded me first of an Agatha Christie mystery, then of a s...