I REALLY wanted to like this book. Based solely on the synopsis from NetGalley, it looked super good and interesting. However, I had a hard time keeping my interest. But I did like some of the turns the story took. The main character was likable to me, in a way that an unlikable character shouldn't be. I sort of loved her. The story is decent, and the writing/descriptions were good. But overall, I felt okay about the story.

I am not usually a fan of the cheating husband trope so I wasn't sure how much this book was going to suit me! It lacked a little bit of clarity I would've appreciated but Hunter weaves together a story about revenge & obsession.

We first meet Lucy in the monotony of her life. She has taken over the role of all the domestic tasks while her husband has the ability to focus on his work. Lucy soon discovers that Jake, her husband, has been having an affair with one of his coworkers. As they grapple with how to move on Jake suggests that she hurt him three times and that they will be even.

As Lucy begins to hurt Jake she realizes how much joy it brings her to cause him this much pain. It brings up her memories of her childhood obsession with the harpy.

Overall, I did enjoy this story! I do have a soft spot for morally grey women and Lucy definitely fits right in.

Mannnnnnnn, I wanted this to match it's glorious cover. Instead, I have a rather boring story of infidelity with an extremely unlikeable lead. Lucy is boring and complains and complains and complains. Yes, the ideal of turning INTO a bird - the magical realism is juuuuuust starting but instead - it just tried WAY too hard to be 'literary'.

Eh...

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was very dark, and different. The story of a woman and her reaction to her husband's affair. The writing is excellent. The story was interesting but sort of off putting to me, which may well be intentional.

<i><b>"I asked my mother what a harpy was, and she told me: they punish men for the things they do."</b></i>

Lucy is a happily married woman raising two sons with her husband, Jake up until the day she receives a phone call from a man informing her that her husband has been having an affair with his wife, Vanessa. Her world shattered; she informs Jake that she knows. He says he is sorry; he says it was only sex, he claims it is over. But the couple agree that Lucy can hurt him three times to make up for the pain he has caused.

<i><b>"You can hurt me back. Three times - then we'll be even?"</b></i>

But will they be even? Will this make Lucy feel better? Will it make things, right? Will this push one of them over the edge?

Lucy has always been intrigued by Harpies. Now she has a chance to be like one. To make a man pay for what he has done. Everyone thinks they know what they would do in certain situations but when it actually happens....Lucy is fragile, and her mental state begins to be changing, she begins to become more like a harpy and less like herself.

Will you feel sorry for anyone in this book? Her husband annoyed me when he pointed out that a man at their holiday party would never cheat because he was so into the woman he was dating...was that his not so subtle way of telling Lucy that he was not into her. That he preferred a more mature and sophisticated woman???

This book has a familiar premise: a cheating spouse gets exposed. But the writing in this was absorbing and I found myself having a hard time putting this down. Some will be uncomfortable with the physically harming someone to make things right. I viewed this as her embodying the harpy and becoming a shadow of her former self.

I found this book to be beautifully written - not to mention the intriguing cover! The writing sucked me in, and I was captivated. I enjoyed the pacing and being able to get into Lucy's head as the story is told from her POV.

This book is intriguing, simmering, captivating and hard to put down.

<i>.<b>"But the picture I remembered best was the harpies, dark shadows, birds with women's faces, who came down to torture the unicorn, to make him suffer."</b></i>


Thank you to Grove Atlantic/Grove Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was awful. A spouse cheats and to make up for it gives his wife 3 opportunities to hurt him back. She does, and then from there the book gets odd. I didn't like it at all and regret that I wasted 2 hours of my life on it. Will not be reading more by this author.

The writing in this book was lyrical, which I enjoyed. Overall the story of the book and even the narration was quite dark. I was intrigued by the premise and I liked the way the myth of the harpy was woven it, but it wasn’t a book I really enjoyed reading that much. I can see that this will really resonate with a certain type of reader, but it wasn’t exactly to my taste.

The Harpy tells the story of Lucy, a woman punishing her husband after he has an affair. The description tells us it’s part fairy tale and I’ve also heard this described as magical realism, but I think that’s a stretch.

I wouldn’t say it was compelling, but I found this to be a quick, easy read; so I’m finding it difficult to rate. There’s not a lot to it. Perhaps there’s a little more under the surface: that in punishing her husband Lucy is punishing her father and all men, yet also becoming her father; that she’s punishing herself for being bored with her humdrum life. Or perhaps I’m trying to force more meaning.

Lucy has always been fascinated with the harpy and we learn snatches of information about the creature as the book progresses and it works to show the parallel of Lucy as the punishing harpy but I don’t think that any of the mythology really bleeds into the story.

What almost ruined the book for me was the ending. I’m not averse to an ambiguous ending, in fact, I feel fairly certain about what happened. However, what I didn’t like was how the book suddenly seems to take a departure, for the last 5% or so, from everything that’s gone before. Perhaps this is where the magical realism came in? I found it very confusing and disorienting.

Even though my first reaction on finishing was to take away a star for the ending, after a little reflection, it’s a low 3 stars from me.

Thank you #NetGalley and #GroveAtlantic for this ARC.

I really wanted to like this book. The premise sounded promising and it has a beautiful cover. However, that’s about all I enjoyed about this book. Maybe it was just the prose style, but at no point did I find this book interesting or wanted to know more. I can power through a not so great story, I could not power through this.

Adultery is not a particularly exciting topic for me to read about, but upon reading the synopsis I was very intrigued. I was expecting more of a thrill in The Harpy. Instead I received a surreal drama - enjoyable, but not what I signed up for.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing me with this unsettling ARC. In exchange I offer my unbiased review.

It only took a few pages of The Harpy before I easily recognized author Megan Hunter’s poetic and dreamy prose and tone. Like her previous novella, this story centers around motherhood and marriage and the traumas, disappointments and complications from those Institutions. Lucy discovers her husband’s infidelity, leading to her breaking point. The discovery sets off a course of revenge and the memory of her troubled childhood. This is a page turner but in an uncomfortable, unsettling way. It’s hard to sympathize with either Lucy or Jake but one can share the experiences of discontent and disappointment.
The ambiguous ending will probably divide readers, however in this instance, I thought it was suitable. The cover art is exceptional and the introduction of the mythical Harpy is an interesting diversion to Lucy’s transformation.
It’s a rather quick read and one that would make for a wonderful bookclub discussion.

Not exactly my type of book. Had a hard time finishing this. the writing was better than the story. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book. What an incredibly moving story. Tells the transformation a woman goes through as she deals with stresses in her marriage and life. Is it supernatural? In her mind? Metaphorical? It's all left up to the reader to decide. I loved this book.

3.5 stars.

The writing in this book is beautiful and wonderful and poetic. The premise is interesting and weird and I really like weird books. There is a merging of reality with a not quite fully explained magical realism element as the protagonist slowly becomes merged with the mythological harpy. It was an intriguing book and I did like the read, but the execution just left me a little lacking and I wasn't able to be gripped by the movement of the story. I didn't connect well enough with the characters to really care what happened in the end.

The Harpy is a short novel with a fairly well-moving plot. Written from Lucy's point of view, the narration is fairly unreliable...a tactic that can either work wonderfully or fail miserably for me depending on the way it is executed. For me, I thought this actually worked well. She's a strange bird (pun slightly intended) from the beginning and boy does it just go downhill from there. Once Jake's affair is revealed, there is a fairly rapid progression of Lucy's mental decline and the book quickly began to feel primarily like something highly psychopathic. Again, not necessarily a bad thing, but in Lucy's case...it just didn't sit right for me.

Lucy was, in fact, probably my primary obstacle to REALLY enjoying this book. Her unreliability and, really unlikability, played fine for me, but she also didn't feel fully cohesive. This was a disorienting issue that pulled me out of the book a bit. It was like having two completely separate protagonists merged into one being. And while merging the original Lucy with the character of the harpy IS done, that is not what I'm referring to here. I'm talking about two completely separate characters, as if the book was written using two different (and somewhat oppositional) identities and then, rather than selecting one, the author just combined them.

One of these personalities was a sympathetic character going through a difficult life situation, infidelity. I could identify with this part of Lucy, and these portions of the plot flew by and pulled me in. There was some promise that there could be a progression through the issues and character development (or at least an interesting journey) along the way. The other half of Lucy was just fantastically unhappy in all ways and didn't seem to have a smidge of hope. Lucy appears to be overly unfulfilled and resentful from the beginning, which made it a little harder for me to connect with her emotions and her attempt to grapple with her husband's infidelity. Basically, she just felt like an unsavable trainwreck from the start. I didn't care about this part of her character as I didn't see her going anywhere and it ultimately removed my ability to be fully immersed in the plot. Had this portion of her been removed as an additional conflict, I think she would have been much more believable and relatable.

All that being said, this STILL was a decent read with fantastic writing. I wouldn't mind checking out more of Hunter's work in the future.

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

Thank you to the author, Grove Atlantic and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this book intrigued me, and the amazing cover art did its part, I was hooked. The book is beautifully written, and rapidly takes a dark turn - but unfortunately it doesn't deliver. The couple at the center of the story is obviously unhappy, each individually and there doesn't seem to be much holding them together as a couple either. Most of the book is Lucy, the wife, rambling on - increasingly disjointedly - about her unhappiness and the stresses she feels motherhood has placed upon her. The ending was... what?! Annoying and as a whole unsatisfying, particularly because I had such high hopes.

Lucy's husband, Jake, is cheating on her. When she finds out, they decide to stay together but come to a special agreement.
Lucy is to hurt Jake three times to even the score.

It was a fairly enjoyable book, but it wasn't exactly what I expected.
What I mistakenly thought would be a thriller was more of a study of Lucy's emotions. However, the writing flowed smoothly, and I was pretty invested in the story.
The ending, unfortunately, was inconclusive and left me unsatisfied, thus 2 stars only.

Poor Lucy finds out, via a voice mail, that her husband, Jake has been having an affair with his colleague, Vanessa. It is Vanessa's husband who makes that call.

After accidentally scratching Jake they both declare that Lucky can hurt him three times to even the score. To make it even more satisfying Lucy decides Jake won't know when it's coming.

Lucy uses some pretty evil and violent methods to punish and hurt Jake. In my opinion I felt Lucy was disenchanted with marriage and motherhood long before she found out about the affair.

I really enjoyed this book. The writing was poetic and seemed to just flow through my mind. I felt for Lucy yet I also pitied Jake, which surprised me. I enjoyed learning about harpies and how the title and cover fit in with the book was marvelous.

This was a great psychological domestic drama that kept me on my toes and left me anxious to what Lucy would do next. The writing is worth five Stars but the unsatisfying ending left me giving it four.

Based on the synopsis and blurbs, this was not the book I expected to read. I’m much more satisfied with the book I got.

Plot: Husband cheats. Wife finds out. Husband apologizes, offering up himself to be hurt in return. Wife exacts revenge. However, this is not just another thriller where he does this bad thing, then she does that bad thing to get back at him, then more bad things happen; repeat. I suppose ostensibly that’s the plot--but this isn’t a book I would read for plot. It’s a book I would read to feel and to think.

The dreamlike, lyrical first person prose offers Lucy’s words, actions, and thoughts--but something is missing. What’s missing is emotion. Lucy’s affect is flat. At first, I was so lulled by the writing style that I didn’t realize that. I didn’t realize that I was doing the feeling for Lucy; the emotions were all mine. Lucy wasn’t angry or sad or whatever; I was feeling for her based on what the words, actions, and thoughts meant to me.

The plot describes how Lucy and her family fall apart. Did they ever really have it all together? Maybe on the surface they were a “normal,” loving, happy family. Lucy never was. Yes, she was a good mother. (She worried about her children, she fulfilled her roled, but I never got the feeling she felt joy or love in that role.) She was a good wife. She was a good community member. She did everything that she was supposed to do. But for Lucy, something was missing. Something was wrong.

More than anything else, this book is about past traumas and how if we bury them they continue to mold us, break us, hurt us--and those around us. Although Lucy’s traumas aren’t described in detail--they don’t have to be--they nonetheless are raw and painful and certainly will trigger some people.

I strongly recommend this book to almost anyone who enjoys thoughtful, emotional books. Although the last few pages seemed a little overdone and forced--granted, I finished at 2am, so I probably should reread them when I’m more alert--my rating is 5/5 stars.

I love the format of this book, at first I was confused if I had accidentally requested a poetry book but the style made it much more interesting to read. Following The main character, Lucy, who has to deal with her husband Jake's mistake feels like an ode to mothers everywhere, akin to a Big Little Lies feel. About how mothers are always trying to fix things that are never truly their fault

One thing I will say, the way this book is written?? Like the tone of this book?? Is EVERYTHING! It reads like a poem of some sort, am I even making sense?? Lol.

Lucy and Jake are married, with two kids, they are perfect! Until she discovers that Jake is cheating on her with one of his coworkers, she should’ve seen it coming since she has been suspicious for some time, but she lets it go. I feel so bad for her, mainly because she slowly starts to break down, and a lot of her memories about her childhood come back, and then there is this Harpy that she was obsessed with when she was younger that slowly, as she’s breaking down mentally, it starts to become her.

But Jake is starting to realize that maybe if she hurts him, 3 times that they will be even. I find this to be so damn stupid, but she thinks that maybe this will work. And those 3 things that she does to him are WILD! And soon it gets a little too sinister, at least towards the end. Book got straight to the point, and it left me wondering, I like that.

Thanks Netgalley, Grove Atlantic, and Megan Hunter for giving me the opportunity to read this book.