This book was creepy and suspensful and kept me on my toes the entire time. I honestly didn't like any of the characters yet I still found it to be a 5 star read!!

The first 25% of this book is very slow. It picks up speed near the middle. If you hang in long enough there is an unexpected twist that made the story a little more exciting.

Captivating story that unraveled slowly and deliciously! I guessed the ending fairly early on but it actually made the story more interesting to me than if it was a WTF moment. I think I just know to expect the unexpected. I really enjoyed the writing! I listened to this one as an audiobook and I loved the male narrator. I loved the female except when she was speaking for the husband. The voice just rubbed me wrong. Still, it’s a 5 star book for sure!

I love a good creepy thriller about toxic best friends and this is a beauty, Abi and Grace went to uni together and when Grace contacts her Abi isn’t sure she wants to be involved again as she is now in a storybook marriage and lifestyle. Of course she does and off we go on a chilling journey with a great unexpected twist. Another winner from Anna Kent.

I had a hard time getting into this one. It had a great plot/storyline but it was such a slow burn for me that I was just not into it so much. The characters were very unlikable and I just found myself pretty bored for the majority of the book.

Many thanks to NetGalley, HQ & Anna Kent for the arc of this book in exchange for my honest review

I received an arc copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. I could not get past the beginning. It was so boring and slow and repetitive. I read some reviews that it did get better but I just couldn't stick around to see.

Meet Abi Allerton and her husband Rohan. happily married in their renovated house. Abi has put her past behind her... until her old university friend, Grace, gets back in touch. An old college roommate, who knows Abi's secret, takes Abi's ordered life and throws it into chaos.

Although I loved the writing and flow of the book, I wasn't a huge fan of the actual story. Toxic friendships, husband gone (working over seas), and a mysterious reason why Abi let's Grace back in her life is a great recipe for a book. But the mysterious reason felt a litttle flat to me, and Abi is letting her friend fall right back in her life. The end did pull it all back together and tie the book up for me.

I rate this book as 3.5 🌟!

I'd like to say a huge thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

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If you are looking for a great psychological thriller, this should be your next go-to! It's wonderfully written, kept me hooked the entire time, and I really enjoyed the ending! I will say that it has some very dark and twisted parts, an another thriller with an alcoholic female protagonist (VERY over this trope, thriller authors!) but if you can get past that then I think you will really enjoy it :)

Abi has an amazing life. She is married and loving the life she has built in her life. She is thrown when her college friend Grace re enters her life and throws her into a tail spin. Grace had a bad negative effect on Abi all through college and she was so happy to remove herself from her life all those years ago. Now having her return Abi's husband is concerned as her entire attitude and life changes. Can she eliminate Grace from her life and rebuild her happiness.

I’m conflicted about this one…on one hand I loved it and on the other, I REALLY loved it! Talk about a wild and crazy ride. A new favorite.

Good grief! Abi is the worst. I nearly put this book down half a dozen tines from my annoyance with her. Aside from that, the story seemed repetitive, predictable, overdone, and unoriginal. And talk about slow burn . . . I was nearly bored to tears in some places.

This book follows a pretty standard mystery / thriller formula, right down to the "never saw it coming" twist in the final chapters. Unfortunately, this one just wasn't for me. I found it virtually impossible to get into, and found myself skipping ahead just to get through it. Even the blink and you'll miss it twist ending wasn't enough to salvage the vast amount of time I spent trying to get through this one.

Maybe I've just read too many books in this genre, and I've said it before about the protagonists of thrillers like this one, but they're all just so... spineless. They're afraid of their own shadows and make the worst possible decisions. Sometimes those characteristics add to the story and build to a conclusion that makes it all worth it, but in my opinion, that's not the case this time.

I've seen others describe this as a "slow burn" and that's right, it just burned so slowly it never really caught fire for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper 360 for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

this is a very good psychological slow-burn thriller that examines a toxic relationship which Abi demonstrates in a sequence of horrifyingly violent portraits of an aging Grace. The atmosphere of fear is added to by the house which emits a creepy and ghostly vibe. The characters are really good, Rohan and his family are portrayed vividly and are extremely likable! They make a really good contrast to Abi who is perplexing and enigmatic, unfortunately, I find it slightly annoying. The anticipation of the arrival of Grace is very good and you feel how it weighs on Abi. When she does appear she is everything you had expected, a manipulative and controlling emotional bully. It’s like watching a slow-motion crash and awaiting the impact. It is haunting and unexpected, whilst also messing with your head. In other words, it’s perfect for these dark days of approaching winter.

Reading Between the Wines book review #132/115 for 2021:
Rating: 2.5 🍷 🍷 1/2
Book 🎧: The House of Whispers
Author: Anna Kent
Genre: General Fiction (Adult) | Mystery & Thrillers
RELEASED on December 14, 2021!!! Available now!

Sipping thoughts: Abi rekindles a friendship with Grace, what I would call her frenemy. It is very clear why this friendship sizzled out years ago and unfortunately Abi doesn’t heed her own intuition. Is Grace back to start trouble or was trouble there all along?

This book took a long time for me to get into it. It seemed really repetitive. And I figured out a part of the twist early on and was waiting on it to drop. I loved once the twist was revealed what else it happened to reveal that I did not consider-this saved the story for me even though it happened in the last 10% of the story.

Cheers and thank you to @NetGalley and @Harper360 for an advanced copy of @TheHouseOfWhispers.

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This story is a bit of a slow burn, but it is full of sinister secrets and atmospheric spookiness. There’s a lot to unpack with this one, with the unreliable narrator, the toxic friendship, the in laws, the house that may or may not be haunted. But even though there are times this story drags a bit, the ending is a doozy!

Thank you Netgalley, Harper 360, and Anna Kent for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Abi and her husband Rohan purchase the house that no one wants because of a terrible tragedy that happened to the family that lived there before. Abi and Rohan fix it up and update it and are quite happy living there. Until her husband takes a position across the Atlantic and Abi’s old college roommate comes to stay with her and then the house starts revealing its secrets. Abi is a woman battling her own demons and Rohan can no longer recognize his wife when he comes back to visit her from abroad.

The creepy and eerie factor is off the charts in this one. You think you are reading one story and then the author does a 360 on you and throws a different story at you. I was hooked from the first page with this face paced psychological thriller.

Thank you to Harper360, Anna Kent and Netgalley for gifting me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

A tenuous story that made for any easy read. While I enjoyed the premise and wanted to know what was going to happen, the storyline was a little slow for my liking. I wouldn’t say it was slow-paced, but it wasn’t as fast as I normally read, so it took me a little longer to finish. About half way through, I started to think there wouldn’t really be any twists, but I was pleasantly surprised when two major twists showed up at the end! While they were major, I felt one in particular was lacking in explanation and it left me wanting more.

First of all, thank you to Harpers Collins Publishers and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily. Wow! Just wow! I do not know if I even have words for what I have just finished reading! The story is told in first person by the main character, Abi. Abi is contacted by her college friend, Grace. Apparently their relationship was a toxic one and for whatever reason, Grace has this stifling hold on Abi. She brings out the worse in Abi. Abi's psyche is fractured and hurting, and Grace knows how to push her buttons. You can literally feel Abi slipping away and then coming back. This one will haunt me for days to come. This is a story of toxic friendship and fragile egos. Put your seatbelt on because you are going on a ride you will not soon forget! When you close this book, you will be saying what I said, "Wow!"

Highly recommend this book! This was my first book to read by this author and I can't wait to read more! The characters and the story stay with you long after you finish the book. One of the best books I have read in a long time.

Thank you to the publishers at Harper 360 and Netgalley for this e-ARC of The House of Whispers.

Abi and her husband Rohan live together in a small town outside of London. They bought an old home that had been abandoned 9 years prior that needed a lot of love and updating, but Abi was more than willing to make it work. Rohan works while Abi paints pet portraits and volunteers part time at a local hospice.

As the story progresses, we learn about Abi’s old Uni friend, Grace, who has been away in Australia the whole of Abi’s marriage, but she’s finally coming home, and asks if she can stay with her for a while. Abi says yes, but she and Grace have a very rocky friendship. Grace is a freeloader, who never helps with the cooking or cleaning or paying rent.

Once Grace moves in, we see that nothing has changed. As Abi works on a new set of paintings for her upcoming exhibition, Grace can’t help but insert herself into Abi’s life in overbearing ways, just like before. Will Abi finally be able to stand up herself, or is Grace here to stay?

This one was a slow burn for me, and I honestly caught onto the twist fairly early on. Unfortunately, what was going on was really obvious for me. While one twist did leave me a little surprised, I wasn’t really impressed with this one. All of the characters are highly unlikeable. Abi is constantly complaining, rude, and doesn’t stick up for herself, while Grace doesn’t hold back whatsoever. She’s a moocher to the nth degree. 3.5 stars for me.

The House of Whispers releases December 14th.