Thursday, March 10, 2022

Review: This Might Hurt by Stephanie Wrobel (Blog Tour)

 


About the Book


Genre
Suspense

Format
E-ARC

Publisher
Berkley

Release Date
February 22, 2022

Synopsis from Goodreads:

From the USA Today bestselling and Edgar-nominated author of Darling Rose Gold comes a dark, thrilling novel about two sisters--one trapped in the clutches of a cult, the other in a web of her own lies.

Welcome to Wisewood. We'll keep your secrets if you keep ours.

Natalie Collins hasn't heard from her sister in more than half a year.

The last time they spoke, Kit was slogging from mundane workdays to obligatory happy hours to crying in the shower about their dead mother. She told Natalie she was sure there was something more out there.

And then she found Wisewood.

On a private island off the coast of Maine, Wisewood's guests commit to six-month stays. During this time, they're prohibited from contact with the rest of the world--no Internet, no phones, no exceptions. But the rules are for a good reason: to keep guests focused on achieving true fearlessness so they can become their Maximized Selves. Natalie thinks it's a bad idea, but Kit has had enough of her sister's cynicism and voluntarily disappears off the grid.

Six months later Natalie receives a menacing e-mail from a Wisewood account threatening to reveal the secret she's been keeping from Kit. Panicked, Natalie hurries north to come clean to her sister and bring her home. But she's about to learn that Wisewood won't let either of them go without a fight.


My Review


This is the story of two sisters going in very different directions.  The older sister, Natalie, has a demanding career while her younger sister, Kit, seems to be floundering.  Both sisters are dealing with the grief of their mother’s death, but are handling things very differently.

As Natalie throws herself into her work, Kit takes a complete break from life.  Kit heads to a private island in Maine called Wisewood.  The guests have no contact with the rest of the world and it gives Kit a chance to clear her head.  

After six months, Natalie receives an anonymous threatening email.  Whoever sent this email, threatens to reveal a secret Natalie has been keeping from Kit.  Natalie takes matters into her own hands and heads to Wisewood.  She plans on telling Kit everything, but when she gets there she hardly even recognizes her sister.  Her head is shaved and she is devoted to what Natalie believes to be a cult.  

Natalie is determined to save her sister, but it’s not as easy as she thought it would be.

The premise of this book is quite intriguing to me.  I never read this author before, but she did a great job of building tension and making you wonder what is going on.  I did find the book to be slow in some spots, but it did pick up and I was fascinated.

The story is told from three POVs.  Natalie and Kit each have their own POV, but the reader didn’t find out the third POV until later in the book.  I found this to be really confusing.  I don’t want to ruin the story for anyone with spoilers, so all I will say is that I found the unknown POV added to my confusion. 

By the end of the book, I was sitting on the edge of my seat wondering how the pieces were all going to fit together and how it would all end up.  The ending surprised me.  It’s a good suspense novel.



For reading challenges:

NetGalley and Edelweiss Reading Challenge 2022

FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review.  All opinions expressed are my own.




2 comments:

  1. That sounds different- in a good way.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This sounds good and really different! I love a book where I'm at the edge of my seat!

    ReplyDelete

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