I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. This is my first psychological thriller by this author and it was absolutely fantastic. It had a huge twist at the end that I didn't see coming at all.
This book is two separate stories that get entwined as more pieces of the puzzle are revealed.
After nine years Nicolette still hasn't been able to get past her hysterectomy nightmare. She is ready for children in their home but things are becoming strained between her and her husband. She is uncovering things he's been hiding.
Wren and her sister have lived a reclusive life. It's all they have known. Not sure what is going to happen when their Momma doesn't return. Winter is here and they are depleting all their food. They might be forced to venture into the forbidden forest.
This book is a definite page turner and I can't wait to read more psychological thrillers from this author.

The Stillwater Girls is everything I want in a psychological thriller. The story was so engaging that I ended up staying up most of the night to finish it. What a fantastic story!

Moins sombre que je ce à quoi je m’attendais avec le résumé.
J’ai longtemps hésité quant à ma notation car le résumé et la couverture laisse supposer une histoire très sombre, mais finalement, malgré des épisodes dramatiques et des retournements dont certains complètements imprévisibles, le récit n’a rien d’horrifique et le suspense est limité.
Nicolette et son mari Brant ne peuvent avoir d’enfant et Nicolette veut adopter, mais elle sent son mari s’éloigner et découvre de plus en plus de faits qui la laissent douter de sa fidélité.
Wren et Sage attendent leur mère qui est partit depuis 63 jours avec leur sœur malade, Evie. Elles restent enfermées dans leur maison, sans jamais aller dans la forêt car elle serait très « dangereuse », cependant, elles commencent à ne plus avoir assez de tout, de plus un homme les rejoint et elles sont obligées de s’enfuir. La première maison qu’elles trouvent est celle de Nicolette.
Le passé de toutes les femmes présentes commence à les rattraper de manière plutôt inattendue, et c’est tout l’intérêt de la seconde partie car la première est plus dans la description des personnages. Bref, j’ai plutôt aimé l’ensemble, mais j’étais déçue de ne pas trouver le genre de récit auquel je m’attendais au départ.
Less dark than I expected with the blurb.
I have long hesitated about my rating because the blurb and cover suggests a very dark story, but finally, despite dramatic episodes and unpredictable twists sometimes, the story is not horrifying and the suspense is limit.
Nicolette and her husband Brant can not have children and Nicolette wants to adopt, but she feels her husband walk away and discovers more and more facts that leave her doubting his loyalty.
Wren and Sage are waiting for their mother who has been away for 63 days with their sick sister, Evie. They remain locked in their house, without ever going into the forest because it would be very "dangerous", however, they starting to not have enough food, and, moreover a man joins them and they are forced to escape. The first house they find is Nicolette's.
The past of all women present begins to catch them up rather unexpectedly, and this is the interest of the second part because the first is more in the description of the characters. In short, I rather liked the whole, but I was disappointed not to find the kind of story I was expecting at the beginning.

I really enjoyed this psychological thriller from Minka Kent. Wren & her sister are fending for themselves after their mother & younger sister don't return from a trip into town. They have been raised off the grid in isolation. Now they need to survive on their own. Nicolette lives in town with her husband. Things are not adding up with him either. I loved how these characters & their stories were weaved together. What a great story!

My first book by Minka Kent and I'm definitely running to check out her others! The Stillwater Girls was split into two narrators - Wren and Nicolette, one of whom seems to be living in an off-the-grid type life with her sister and looking for their mother and youngest sister - and wealthy Nicolette, living with her husband who she knows is hiding a big secret. The way the two stories converge is one I did not see coming and really enjoyed. The pacing was fast, the chapters were short and everything about this mystery was enjoyable.

Thank you to Amazon Publishing for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Minka Kent’s psychological thrillers are always some of my favorite books to read. Now this wasn’t my absolute favorites of Miss Kent’s stories but she still created an incredibly fascinating story that I was quickly pulled into. I found myself trying to figure out how the two separate storylines were connected. Kent developed a fantastic storyline and wove her way creating mystery and intrigue.

I’m not going to go into the storyline. Really, Kent created a deep mystery and I don’t want to accidentally spill the beans. Kent’s writing is descriptive and detailed. She is able to maintain two separate storylines while slowly starting to weave them together. Normally Minka Kent is a 5-Star for me and I really debated with this one. But there were some things that didn’t really work for me. I removed one-star just for this, the things that didn’t sit right or didn’t work. For the most part, this story is seriously a great book!

I received an ARC of this book with the hope that I would leave an Unbiased Opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that... my opinions.

Wow! I flew through this book and really enjoyed every aspect of it. It is written from the perspectives of Wren and Nicolette. Wren and her sister are living alone in a cabin in the woods hoping that one day their mom and younger sister will come back when one day a strange man appears. Nicolette is living with her husband and wants to have a family but is having some suspicions about her husband. In the beginning Wren and Nicolette's perspectives seems like two completely different stories and leave the reader wondering how these two are connected. I really enjoy Kent's writing style and how smoothly her stories flow and are filled with twists that I often times do not see coming. This is one I will recommend to others and as usual, I look forward to reading more of Kent's work in the future.

The Stillwater Girls got off to an incredible start. It begins with Wren and Sage; you can get all of their basics from the synopsis. Then, chapter two: Nicolette. Wait! What? Who? Nicolette is not in the synopsis. Where is this going?

I followed along, loving the two sides to the story, wondering how and where the two would come together. Kent’s writing style kept the suspense and mystery high.

Then the story all came together. And when it all came together, it really all came together. To say that Kent had her ducks in a row would be an understatement. I saw it all before the climax. A mystery/suspense is supposed to maintain the mystery until the bitter end. As a reader, I want to suspect everyone, not have each piece of the puzzle fall nicely into place as I pick it up.

Kent’s writing was excellent, her ideas were well-developed, but I just felt like there was a desire to just get it over with once the two storylines converged.

The Stillwater Girls left me wanting more. More mystery, more tension, more risk, more danger. Just more.

*3.5 Stars

This author keeps wowing me. I devoured this story.
These characters really spoke to me. I recommend this story

The book is written from two women's viewpoints. Wren, a worried young woman in a remote cabin, and Nicolette, a wealthy woman who feels like her marriage and life are coming apart. I haven't read a true mystery in a while. I was an avid reader of Mary Higgins Clark, Barbara Michaels, Phyllis Whitney, Anne Perry (who I still read on occasion, and lots of cozy mysteries). This book reminded me of when I first read Mary Higgins Clark many years ago. It gives me that same feeling (A Cry in the Night came to mind). I loved this book. I enjoyed the dual POV and the twists and turns. Why are Wren and her sister, Sage, out in the remote cabin? Where is their mother & sister? Why has Brant (Nicholette's husband) withdrawn from his wife? All those questions are answered by the time the book ends, which is one thing I look for in my mysteries....I want all the loose ends tied up at the end. This book delivers on that. I read this in almost one sitting. I received a review copy from NetGalley. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

"The world's an evil place, my darlings. . ."

Author Minka Kent has been on my radar for several years now. Many of my bookish buddies seem to enjoy her penchant for twisty, fast-paced thrillers, so I've been eager to read her works. Enter The Stillwater Girls, Kent's latest novel. The summary promised, "a chilling novel of psychological suspense," the exact kind of book that sends me into a fervor of reading through the night until I finish. And so when I got the opportunity to read an advance copy from the publisher, I settled into a comfy spot and started reading.

Wren and Sage are starting to get worried. The teenage sisters have lived a life of careful seclusion in their cabin in the woods along with their mother and youngest sister Evie. For their entire lives, their mother has warned them of the dangers of the outside world. "You're safe here. With me. I'll never let anything happen to you," their mother says. But then Evie gets gravely ill, and their mother has no choice but to take Evie from the security of their cabin. It has been several months since the pair left, leaving Wren and Sage to fend for themselves. Food is getting scarce and the chill of winter threatens to take over any day now. One night there is a knock on their cabin door, and everything changes.

Nicolette's dream life is starting to crumble. She's married to the man of her dreams and has a family fortune that ensures she'll never have to worry financially, but her life is far from perfect. Her infertility has left her desperate to have a child and put a strain on her marriage. Nicolette thinks becoming a foster parent might be the cure to her marital woes, but her husband Brant seems uninterested. When she finds the picture hidden amongst his personal belongings, she's almost certain he has given up on their relationship. What else could possibly go wrong?

For 80% of The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent, I was completely enthralled with the characters and mystery, breathlessly flipping through the pages to read what would happen next. Kent alternates the separate plots, ending each chapter with a small cliffhanger that keeps the reader wanting more. I kept telling myself, "just one more page!" Then the twist happened. Every review I've read of the book says the same thing, but it warrants a retread here. Up until the big reveal toward the end of the novel, The Stillwater Girls is nearly flawless. It's not that I wasn't expecting some grand unveiling of information that would somehow make sense of the two seemingly disparate narratives. It's just that the reveal wasn't believable. Worse, the twist seemed to sully all the great buildup that preceded it. All the careful plotting and character development were eschewed for a quick revelation that simply didn't work. And just like that, The Stillwater Girls went from being a superb novel of psychological suspense to an average thriller with an absurd ending.

This book surprised me! I wasn't sure about it going in but I love the author so I gave it a shot. It seems to go back and forth between two different stories that intersect. I don't give spoilers in my reviews and if I did so in this case it would ruin it for you! The characters are well written and you empathize with them. When it all wraps up in the end the author has crafted an incredible and engaging story!!!

Let me start out by saying that I really thought this would be a four, or possibly even five star book. I liked the cover and the blurb sounded incredible. The Stillwater Girls consists of two intertwining narratives which come together in the final part of the book. The most interesting plot thread for me was the story of Wren and her family. She lives in a remote woodlands cabin with her mother and sisters. Cut off from the world and living without electricity or any modern conveniences , they live an almost frontier lifestyle in virtual isolation. When the youngest sister, Evie, gets sick , their mother takes her to seek out medical attention, but they never come back, leaving Wren and her sister Sage worried, scared and alone. As their food supplies start to run out the cabin is found by a strange man who seems to be hunting their mother. Desperation forces the girls to flee one night and eventually they find themselves on the doorstep of a house belonging to our second narrator, Nicolette.
Nicolette is starting to wonder about her photographer husband, he seems to be hiding something from her- money is disappearing from their account and there are mysterious phone numbers on the bills. Since an emergency hysterectomy several years ago, she has worried that her inability to give him a child may destroy the marriage, and when she finds a picture of a little girl who looks like her husband, it seems like her worst fears have come to pass.
Feeling sympathy for the traumatized Wren and Sage she takes them in, and tries to help them navigate the world outside the woods, while the hunt for their mother and missing sister begins.
While I found Nicolette's story less interesting , I did enjoy it once the girls moved in with her, and seeing them adjust to life in the modern world was compelling.
So far, so good. Then the two story strands come together in the last quarter or so of the book, and this is where it lost me. The "twist" was so unbelievable that I found myself wishing that the author had gone with something more predictable, and I felt sad that a book that had so much potential up to that point lost its way so dramatically.
Despite a strong start, the ending really killed this book for me.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I would classify this more as a contemporary/literary mystery instead of a thriller. There was definitely the mystery element and I sailed through the story, but it wasn't a typical thriller as far as the actual story went. I hope that makes sense. I really liked the author's writing style and the characters and flow of the twists and turns and connections. I will definitely be reading more from Minka Kent.

This was such an intriguing story! Two stories that merge into one. Two stories that keep you guessing, that have your head spinning, and that have you swerving when you least expect it. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, trying to guess what would happen next, and gasping when I was way off base!! Truly loved this!! Such great story telling!!!

Nineteen year old Wren and her sisters Sage and Evie, have been raised by their mother in a cabin in the woods, never meeting another person, and being warned by their mother of the evils and devastation of the former civilization outside of their little world surrounding their cabin. They've been warned never to venture away from their plot of land and that saying at the cabin is the only way to stay safe. But then one day their mother must leave to take Evie for medical care, when she becomes gravely ill. Months later winter is coming and food is running out and Wren and Sage know they must soon leave the shelter of the only home they know, to try to save themselves from starvation. Their hand is forced when the first man they've ever seen shows up at their cabin.

At the same time, we meet wealthy Nicolette and her globe trotting photographer husband Brant. Nicolette yearns for a baby while Brant seems happy to continue their childless life. Not only that, Brant has become preoccupied and distant from Nicolette and she begins to think that their marriage is on the brink of collapse. At first it's hard to see how the worlds of isolated Wren and Sage and worldly Nicolette and Brant connect to each other but those two worlds do eventually meet. I was very invested in the story of Wren and Sage and how they were going to handle surviving when their entire life had been in the hands of their domineering mother. Nicolette and Brant were interesting and I wanted to know if Nicolette's fears had any merit since she seemed to display a paranoia that might not be founded in reality.

I couldn't put the book down but once we get to several reveals concerning Nicolette, I had a hard time dealing with the rest of the story. What we learn just seems so far fetched to me that the story lost it's steam. There were just too many things that had to happen for the story to work out the way it did, to be believable to me. The story does get 3 stars from me for the intriguing first part and because I really enjoyed the characters of Wren and Sage.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this ARC.

This one Is not one of my favorites for Minka and it Is so such a shame because she Is one of my favorites authores but this book was kind of soft and there was not so much going on. I was expecting a twist at the end but actually turned out to be just a cute ending for my taste. The characters were a little unrealistic for me and what happened to them after the trauma it didnt seem to be accurate with what these kind of victims experience in real life. So it was a no for me but I like Minka writing though just not this story in particular

The Stillwater Girls was just what I needed! I think I have been on such a fantasy high for so long that I forgot how much I loved thrillers. I couldn’t get enough of this book and I could probably read it again already.

Kent’s latest book is the perfect palette cleanser or a one-sitting read for a Sunday afternoon when you just want to avoid the world. With short chapters, dual POV’s and a compelling storyline, this reads so quick you won’t even realize that the time is flying by.

The slight downfall with this book is that it is predictable as hell. I mean, I had it figured out by the time I hit the 15% mark BUT I still really enjoyed it. I had to know if I was right. Also, it’s different. These days every book, no matter the genre, just seems to be different versions of the same story so to pick one up where the storyline isn’t something you’ve read a million times…it’s like a breath of fresh air.

This was my first book by Minka Kent but I will be making a point to keep an eye out for her from here on out!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with this book to read and give my own opinions.

This was my first book by Minka Kent but i'm pretty certain it won't be my last one.

Wren and Sage are sisters living the only way they know how, off-the-grid in the woods of upstate New York. Their mum left with their younger sister to get her medical help, but she should be back by now and the girls are beginning to run out of food. They're unsure of how much longer they'll be able to survive.

Nicolette is worried that her life is being to fall apart, she's desperate for a child but fears her husband doesn't share this desire and worse she's worried that she's not the only woman in his life.

Nicolette and Wren's stories are told in alternating chapters until finally their totally different lives suddenly come crashing together. I loved the way this was written. It's got such short, sharp chapters that I found myself really flying through it!

This is definitely a book full of mystery and I was never really quite sure where things were going which I liked. The final reveal was most certainly not what I was expecting, very different to anything i've read before, but it worked alright for me. Not my favourite reveal, but it didn't ruin anything for me. Overall, it was a solid read and i'm excited to see what else Minka Kent comes up with.

The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent

Mixed feelings on this one. I had trouble trying to figure out why there were two stories going on at the same time – alternating chapters with different points of views and neither seeming to coincide in any way. Who were these storytellers? Well, there was nineteen year old Wren and left alone with her eighteen year old sister expecting her mother to return though hope of the mother and little sister’s return was fading. AND there was Nicolette who is definitely in a funk over her husband and seems obsessed with the idea of him having taken a lover and spawned a child with that lover. I have to admit I ended up skimming a great portion of this part of the book.

As I read further the two different stories did eventually overlap with a few of the unexplained issues I had while reading actually being explained. In some ways Wren and Sage were a bit like time travelers when they finally left their cabin in the woods and found the world BUT they still seemed rather immature for their ages even after reading their backstories. Nicolette also had a backstory that eventually came out that explained quite a bit although why she didn’t just talk to her husband still eludes me.

There are a few twists and turns here and there toward the end with a happy ending for the sisters and for Nicolette and her husband but when I finished reading I wondered just how well adjusted everyone really was and what their futures might end up being like in the long run. I also had to shake my head as I tried to determine whether or not I found the story believable...perhaps parts of the story were but all together it seemed a bit cookie-cutter perfect and tied up with a bow. Sitting here now I can almost see this made into a movie...maybe.

Did I enjoy the book? Sort of
Would I read another book by this author? Maybe

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars