DNF @ 20%. Over-written in an attempt to be poetic. Slow. Illogical. A shallow, cheap take on a serious issue.

Ellie, an NYU grad student and Steven, a teacher at an elite school plan their first romantic get away but quickly get snowed in. Over the weekend Ellie an Steven uncover secrets about each other that turn their romantic trip into a deadly one.

this is a locked room thriller that started off and ended pretty strong from me. I was immediately hooked by the writing, the suspense and snowy creepy vibes of the secluded house. The middle went a bit slow and I became less engaged but the book required proper character and story development; once you dive deeper into the why behind this book you’ll understand the reasoning.

I really enjoyed how the author alternates between the couple and then an unreliable mystery character. It added that extra suspense and kept me guessing who the third character was. Also, this book is just eery AF!

I typically don’t read author’s notes at the end (sorry) but this one was pretty powerful and made me appreciate the book a lot more.

overall I recommend this one but be aware of the trigger warning, some parts are a bit much. If you can appreciate a slow burn suspense with a solid ending, add it to your list.

"A locked room, high concept thriller, a couple's romantic weekend-getaway that is not what it seems."

Thank you @grandcentralpub and @netgalley for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review."

Thoughts:

What starts as a slow burn thriller, this novel follows multiple perspectives as pieces of each character's history is revealed. The first few chapters provide character introduction and atmosphere description, ultimately transitioning from a romantic couple's getaway, to a locked room thriller.

What I can appreciate from this thriller was the writing style. Our author provided such descriptive detail and imagery, that I felt the atmosphere of this isolated destination was well depicted.

However, with that being said, this thriller overall missed the mark for me. I found the setting and synopsis of this novel to be so intriguing, that I was disappointed at the level of suspense in this thriller. Further, I was disappointed in the lack of trigger warnings for this novel. Although this may be my error, I was not aware of the major role sexual assault would play in this novel. As a reader, I personally tend to do fine with most trigger warnings, but as unexpected as this theme was, it completely altered the entire course of the novel, to the point where I'm not certain I would have read this thriller had I known ahead of time.

With any Unpopular opinion, I do encourage you to read other reviews! As is the beauty of reading, we can all have different opinions! 🤍

Happy Publication Day!

I recently requested Nobody But Us, so it was a race against time to make sure I got this one in by its big day!

I ended up having a cozy weekend in this past weekend and had nothing but time to indulge in this suspenseful thriller.

Cue the locked room mystery vibes, because this book is all about it!

After quickly falling in love Steven and Ellie decide to take a quick little vacation filled with rest, relaxation and of course sex but one of them has a hidden agenda and neither will ever be the same.

This is a book that will definitely be talked about. If you have not already ordered yourself a copy you need to do so ASAP.

I was hooked on Nobody But Us from the start.

I wasn’t expecting all the twists and reveals, so I kept turning the page for more. I loved that we got chapters from both Ellie and Steven (although Ellie was in first-person and Steven was in third-person which made it a little jarring) as it was soon clear that both of them had some secrets they were hiding.

Nobody But Us was a dark and thrilling read. It started to drag on a bit, but I never stopped wanting to know the ending. While I did have an issue with the alternating first- and third-person points-of-view, I thought the author did a fantastic job of descriptions and putting you into the scene so thoroughly.

An entertaining read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the review copy.

For this to be my first Laure Van Rensburg novel, she sure didn't disappoint.
Nobody But Us, is a gripping story.
I love Laure's writing, the way she brings each and every character to life through vivid descriptions.
The atmospheric prose puts you, the reader, inside this house, on the verge of the cliff with each of the characters themselves. It's marvelous.
But what I love most is her ability to keep you guessing and in the dark until the very end of the book.
Nobody But Us is a perfect summer read and a fabulous suspenseful book.
I highly recommend it!

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Grand Central Publishing,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my platforms, blog, B&N and Waterstone closer to pub date.

Filled with secrets, suspense and mystery too. This book is an easy to read psychological thriller with short chapters alternating from each of the main characters perspectives. A couple (Ellie and Steven) are headed to spend their first weekend together in an isolated cabin. They rent the upscale cabin for three days of interrupted alone time. It’s the perfect backdrop for romance. Snow, isolation, and a gorgeous cabin retreat sound like the perfect aesthetic for a romantic getaway- or is it? It could be the perfect place for a nightmare scenario. By the end of the three days only one of them is left alive. That is absolutely all I’m saying! I never felt bored and read this in one sitting. The end was a page turner, the plot was well thought out, and very suspenseful. There are trigger warnings for this one so please read those before starting. I though this book was a very solid thriller. 4/ 5 stars!

Thank you to @netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is the story of Ellis and Steven. They are going away to a remote house for the weekend. Seems perfect, but then things take an interesting turn.

Once I started this book, I could not put it down. I read it in one morning. I can’t tell too much without giving away the plot but the twist is completely unexpected! I loved the writing style. I can’t wait to read more books by this author!

I was captivated by this story from the very beginning! I loved the alternating chapters. I loved the first person perspective chapters. The mystery girl chapters were clear that they were happening over time. I loved the theme of the title throughout. The only thing I struggled with was that these are American characters in America but there are so many British terms: windscreen, boot of the car, jumper, drinks trolley, etc. I read a ton of books set in the UK so I’m familiar with the terms but they’re just not used in the US. Overall it was a very entertaining story!

Read this book if you like: Multiple POV thrillers, twists

Ellie is an NYU grad student, timid but fiercely intelligent, and eager for the perfect weekend away with her boyfriend. Steven is a wealthy and privileged teacher at an elite Manhattan school. They are celebrating their 6 month anniversary by taking their first trip together. They go to an isolated house away with no cell service. What starts as the perfect weekend soon takes a darker turn. A snowstorm strands them. It shortly becomes obvious that one of them won't be leaving alive.

I don't want to give away too much because it will reveal the twists. I read this in a single day. It definitely pulled me in and didn't let me go. Once I realized what it was about I wasn't sure I would like it but I really did. I wish the ending has a little more but I still lovedit. Highly recommend. It comes out on April 12th. Pre-order it now!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author Laure Van Rensburg, and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC!

Quite a ride! Don't read too much about it ahead of time and don't jump to assumptions at the start. You'll figure out pretty quickly what's coming, but it's quite the romp seeing how it all shakes out.

I read a digital ARC of this book via Net Galley.

🤯 Seriously, what the craziness did I just read?! This is one of the best psychological thrillers that I have read in a long time. I could not put it down! The synopsis of the book is “a couple’s romantic weekend getaway is not what it seems.” And it describes the book perfectly!

Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for allowing me to read this book ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

Steven Harding is a beloved literature teacher, Ellie, a bright grad student. They're off for a romantic weekend at a luxurious house secluded in the woods. It'll be the first vacation for them.

And it may be their last.

When a snowstorm strands them in the house, they discover that each is hiding a dark secret--and it soon becomes clear that only one of them can survive this trip.

I'm not really sure how to rate this book, to be honest. There's a trend lately for books to be a bit...let's say misleading in their genres. From the cover, the synopsis, the author blurbs on the cover, to the comps on NetGalley, I was eager for this book. It sounded like a perfect thriller.

But it's not. At least, it's not at all the book I was looking for.

This is a great revenge thriller, an homage to the #MeToo era, and this was my whole problem. Don't get me wrong--Laure Van Rensburg's elegant prose sizzles off the page. The atmosphere is perfect and the writing lovely. It is an unflinching look at predators and their victims. If this is the type of narrative you're seeking and want to read, I would absolutely recommend it.

But personally and subjectively, I avoid books of this nature. Had I known it was a MeToo narrative, I would not have requested or read it. And there are plenty of books tackling this subject that are up front and honest about it. But from the very beginning I felt a little duped--aside from the chilling prologue, the first 20% was nothing but repetitive sex--the characters having it or thinking about it (no, it's not romantic) and Steven's thoughts and actions were just plain uncomfortable to read every time it shifted to his POV (and this was not just the first 20%, it was the entire book). The remainder read quickly enough, but in a let's-get-on-with-it kind of way; rather than being a taut cat-and-mouse game, it just seemed overly repetitious.

In the end, I'd say the book is good--for the right audience. I just wish I had been better prepared for what it was. I skipped all reviews beforehand, instead wanting to go into reading it with a clean slate. I suppose that fault is on me.

Many thanks to Grand Central Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read an early copy of this book in exchange for a review.

⭐️⭐️💫
Nobody But Us by Laure Van Rensburg begins with a great and promising start to this story. It’s the Professor vs. the young “naïve” student trope. Ms. Rensburg sets the stage beautifully. The story seems scary and shocking initially, especially when the two protagonists, 40-ish Professor Steven and 23-ish student/lover Ellie, travel to a secluded mountain home for a romantic weekend in the middle of a blizzard. It starts well, slows to a slug in the middle, and then quickly wraps up in the end. The abbreviated end was the most disappointing part of the story. Neither character is likable, and both harbor secrets and bad behavior in their past, but we don’t learn much because character development is under-served. How can a couple dating for six months know so little about one another? In the end, I felt it was a book premise featuring a tired trope, a sadistic person who tortures the lover, a serial killer in training, a pedo, and yet another #metoo book. Points were are given for good writing and suspense. PUB Date: April 12th. #thriller #revenge #torture #rape #badpeople #atmospheric
🔪
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for this free ARC; my thoughts and review are my own and without bias.
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#bookaddict #booksofinstagram #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagramer #bookshelf #booksbooksbooks #readersofinstagram #reader #booklove #author #instabooks #literature

This book had me hooked from the beginning but lost it’s steam midway. I saw the plot twist coming although it didn’t take away from the enjoyment.

Steven Harding is a respected literature professor at a high school in NYC. Ellie Materson is a grad student. They decide to celebrate their six month anniversary at an isolated cabin miles away from the city. No neighbors. No cell service. Nobody but us. Sounds perfect right?

The trip quickly escalates into a horrific experience for the couple. Both are hiding something. Both are not who they say they are. What a way to celebrate your anniversary.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Not a thriller and not a mystery so this has been poorly marketed.

So many of these books are flooding bookshelves due to the #metoo movement and it's an important subject for sure. Sadly I have to hear about these stories everyday on the news and it's all so depressing. A New York doctor was in a Boston courthouse just yesterday accused of *upskirting* 36 unsuspecting women that were innocently shopping at Anthroplogie. A woman can barely leave her house anymore without being victimized and it's sickening, sad, and most of all INFURIATING so I'm done with reading about this in my spare time when what I'm looking to do is escape reality.

The first chapter is amazing in this book. I read it several times before diving into the eerily creepy, frozen, and isolated setting where this couple has chosen to spend a romantic weekend. But things aren't well with this couple and only time will tell who takes revenge on who. An enjoyable read.

A young couple stealing away to a remote location for a weekend of quiet and fun. What could possibly go wrong? Try everything. Both Ellie and Stephen have secrets that are plumbed and at the end one will never go home.
It’s a twisted, dark, sinister story that had me hooked from the beginning.
Read and see why people are enigmas wrapped up in riddles.

This novel is very engrossing and full of twists. Ellie and her boyfriend Steven go on their first vacation together to a remote house in the woods. They both feel like there’s something off with the house and the nature surrounding it but can’t put their finger on it. Readers of the genre will probably notice the clues, buried through the first chapters. I thought that I knew what was going on, but I didn’t quite figure it all out. The plot is well thought out and I liked the resolution. I was also invested in the characters. As dark as some of their secrets are, I liked them, even when I didn’t want to. It’s hard to discuss this book without spoiling the plot, so that’s all I’m going to say. One tiny detail, which is silly but drove me crazy, is how the author tends to use American and British terms indistinctively. Ellie has lived in London, so maybe she picked up “jumper” instead of “sweater,” but Steven is American and the action is set in the US so it was distracting. Some parts were also a little repetitive, the term “a constellation of freckles” keeps popping up and how someone bent, shaped, contorted and changed into something else was brought up quite a bit. I still enjoyed the read and the last part was nerve-wracking. This is an addictive read.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Grand Central Publishing!

Secrets, secrets, and more secrets drive this thriller! Ellie and her boyfriend are going away for the weekend. They have been dating for 6 months. Ellie is a grad student and Steven is a teacher. When they get to their getaway, they are snowed in! That is when the fun begins! Neither Ellie or Steven are who they seem. Both have huge secrets and the getaway doesn't go as planned! I enjoyed this thriller with all its twists and turns! I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.