Well that was a little too weird albeit not very suspenseful book. Too slow and not very engaging which is sad as I had high hopes for it,

If you enjoy big plot twists, Magpie by Elizabeth Day has got it covered in the most jaw-dropping way! Magpie is a twisty novel available on May 3rd.

Synopsis:
Marisa is pregnant with Jake's baby. They live with their roommate Kate. All three are excited about the pregnancy until Marisa notices that Kate is too "familiar" with Jake. At first, Marisa pretends not to notice but soon suspects Jake and Kate are having an affair. Marisa is consumed with jealousy and is determined not to let Kate take Jake away from her.

Magpie deals with infertility and mental illness. It may not be suitable for everyone. Elizabeth Day's plot twists are outstanding! That alone makes Magpie a worthy and satisfying read.
(Overall: 3.75 ⭐⭐⭐ rating)

Thank you, NetGalley and Simon & Schuster, for allowing me to review this curvy tale. Your kindness is appreciated.

Ooh, this is a hard one to review without spoilers so I won’t make this review super long.

The story starts with Marisa and Jake and a third party enters the picture when they invite a lodger to live with them to make ends meet. Marisa is pregnant and it becomes clear that there is an unsettling vibe happening in her relationship with the others.

Many thrillers kind of run together in my mind, and I spend most of the book actively looking for the twist which leads to a serious lack of suspense. I thought I knew where this was going but it managed to surprise me a few times. The writing is good and the characters are mostly likeable and sympathetic, which, in my opinion, are also rarities for thrillers. My main quibble is that the ending is fairly unrealistic but it didn’t bother me enough to downgrade my rating. I read this in a day and had a hard time putting it down.

I’ve never read Elizabeth Day before this, but I think I may need to check out more of her work now! I didn’t have high expectations for this book, but I was pleasantly surprised. It definitely makes you question what’s going on and who to believe, which is a style element I love in books. I thought the characters had a depth to them that you don’t see often in this genre, which I really appreciated. Overall, I’d definitely recommend this and think it was excellent

Magpie by Elizabeth Day
Marisa and Jake have it all… except for a baby. They decide to let lodger Kate move into their home to help with rent so they can have more money to pay for their fertility treatments. Quickly Kate seems overbearing and obsessed specifically with Jake. Marisa will do whatever it takes to create and protect her perfect family.

Truly did not know how this book would end. From synopsis I thought it would be a straightforward read but it was the complete opposite! I believe the author did a phenomenal job storytelling & was perfectly paced. The huge twist when the POV changes from Marisa to Kate is what sucked me in. However a main plot line ends up taking a backseat and then got a messy & quick resolution where the last 50 pages could’ve been wrapped up much sooner. Lastly adding a evil mother in law trope never disappoints! I still really enjoyed this complex story that showcased the effect of infertility, motherhood and insecurities. Thank You to the author, Netgalley and Simon &Schuster for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

3.5 stars. I had a difficult time getting into this book in the first half. I kept on reading and at about the 55% mark it grabbed me and I couldn't put it down. I didn't particularly care for the characters, I guess I didn't find them to be very relatable. It was suspenseful at the end and I did enjoy the second half. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a twisty thriller! Marisa and Jake are the perfect couple. The only thing missing is a baby. They need money so they take in a roommate, Kate. Kate seems overly involved in Jake and Marisa's lives. There is so many twists and turns that I don't want to spoil anything! Read this book if you like twisty turny thrillers that keep you reading until you finish the book! I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

2.5 rounded to 3
Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the free book.
Whew, this was a compulsive read, and I thought I was in for something new and different. But I guessed the twist early on and wasn't shocked by the ending revelations. Day's writing pulled me in and made me want to not put the book down, but after reading the comparison to Gone Girl, I was expecting something so much more shocking. (BTW, this comparison is way overdone. Nothing is going to ever quite shock like that, so can we stop getting reader's hopes up with it?) I don't think any of the characters here are likable, so if that's your thing, you may enjoy this one.

Magpie by Elizabeth Day is a very enjoyable book. The book is well written. The story line is unique and interesting.

Thanks NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the opportunity to read!

Two women, one man, two different reality: who is the couple, who is the third party here? Is Kate the partner taking over whole house? Or is Marisa the partner carrying Jake’s baby? Which woman’s story makes more sense? Who should we take seriously? Also why is mother-in-law this horrible?

Marisa finally found the guy she always dreamt of and Jake was ready to start a family immediately. More kids the merrier. Interestingly Jake was keeping his distance though; there were no emojis in his messages, no public display of affection. But Marisa was fine with this: he was older than her after all, more mature. She would have her perfect house and perfect little family. Then Kate came along. This lodger knew little bit too much about them, she was always in her way. More Marisa thought about her, things started to make less sense. Kate was going to take Jake away from her and she had to stop Kate.

It’s a good take on how mental illness that goes untreated would affect not only the I’ll but everyone around that person. Unchecked childhood traumas along with unexpected life events could trigger people at unexpected times to make them give unexpected reactions. Things work out relatively well in this story, but it makes you wonder what if it didn’t

An interesting book. An interesting concept of a thriller. Still processing full thoughts, but ultimately I enjoyed it

Mapgie was an experience. The story starts out with someone who you think may be an unreliable narrator, then a twist happens, which is somewhat shocking. Then as the story progresses, you wonder who to trust and what is really going on. The very end is where it started to fall apart for me unfortunately, but it was not the worst ending I’ve read. There are some trigger warnings for infertility and mental illness. I was definitely hooked throughout and the writing itself was done very well. I would recommend this to people looking for a quick thriller to read!

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was an interesting psychological suspense read with a great plot twist. The character you think you’re going to hate grows on you and I didn’t see everything that was coming, which is always a good thing. I would recommend to my friends that enjoy this kind of read for sure!

A twisted domestic thriller about mental health, surrogacy and family. Who is right, who is wrong and who is gaslighting who???
Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for thE ARC. #NetGalley #Magpie

This story was one twisty ride! With an unreliable narrator and a naive narrator, I was constantly wondering what was going on. Unreliable narrators are actually not my favorite thing, and then when the narrator was naive, I found myself so annoyed! A lot of the twists were so easy to guess with so many clues laid out and yet the narrator would still walk right into the danger. The story itself was good and I felt like the book wrapped up nicely.

This book starts out with a twist. When I first was reading this I was super excited that the victim stood up for themselves. Usually in books their is the one person everything is happening to and they just don't really do anything about it. It can get frustrating when characters don't stand up for themselves. Like I said I was super excited that the victim stood up for themselves and then...BAM...another twist. This book had me all over rooting for different characters at different times. I really enjoyed it and highly recommend.

I didn't know what to expect from this book, and was first drawn in by its cover and comparisons to Gone Girl and The Perfect Nanny. This is a psychological suspense novel that will absolutely have your jaw dropped by part 2. I thought I knew the twist, but I was wrong! I found the first half of this book fast paced, but the last half was slower for me and not as exciting. That being said, I really enjoyed reading it and look forward to seeing what Elizabeth Day comes up with next!

Trigger warnings: sexual assault, infertility, miscarriage

This review will be posted on April 29, 2022 to: https://instagram.com/amandas.bookshelf

When you like the book for what it is (a psychological thriller) but you dont love the way the subject matter was handled. (See below, but spoilers within!) I thought there were a few twists, but they felt more outlandish and less believable as the novel progressed. Also, I thought the novel meandered unnecessarily near the end and I found myself just skimming. #Magpie Rating: ☹️ / didn't like it
•
This book is scheduled for publication on May 3, 2022. Thank you @simonandschuster for providing me this digital ARC via @NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
•
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
Marisa had a psychotic break and was bundled away to the country without proper mental health care. She was packed away to the country and forced to live in Jake's parent's guest house to preserve the surrogacy contract (basically so Kate and Jake could get their baby). This felt like forced confinement to me. It was very very problematic and irresponsible to see mental health issues and surrogacy treated this way. Yes, this is fiction, but some issues require sensitive and authentic treatment, not drama for drama's sake.

Unfortunately, this was a miss for me. This was a very well-written novel, but ultimately the plot just didn't satisfy.

Marisa and Jake have a great life together. While they haven't been together very long, they're eager to move in together and start a family of their own. To save on rent, they find a roommate, Kate. Kate seems perfect at first, but the longer she lives with them, the stranger things become. Kate seems overly interested in the couple's life and future child, and Marisa begins to think that Kate might be trying to upend her seemingly perfect life.

The twist in this book simply wasn't satisfying. It was easy to predict and didn't capture my attention in any significant way. The pacing was also a bit off, especially in the second half. Ultimately, there have been several great thrillers about motherhood recently, and this one just wasn't up to snuff.

The writing was engaging and the plot twists were great. It was a quick and enjoyable experience reading this book.
The chapters written in Marisa’s POV were so believable and her perspective made Jake and Kate seem despicable!
The ending wrapped everything up nicely. I would recommend this book to readers who have enjoyed soap operas and dramatic media. The message about doing anything for your child was clear and helped me sympathize with the women in the story.