Sometimes my reading taste calls for a good book that messes with my mind. Magpie delivered. I felt like I was on the Tilt-A-Whirl ride as I read. Up, down, side to side, and around and around went the narrative. You’re meant to think the story is one way, but then it completely gets turned around and told from a different angle. It’ toys with your mind so that you’re unsure who is telling the truth and what is the perceived reality.
I loved it. There is a true witch in the story. The men are just weak, passive characters as the women battle things out.
Don’t be a birdbrain and not read this book or you’ll have egg on your face.

2.5 stars

I've never really understood the people who say that they can see where other readers could give a book either a 5 star or 1 star review. That is, until I read this book.

Reading this book felt like watching a car crash - you can't believe what's happening but you can't look away. Magpie takes all of the tropes that people tend to bemoan in thrillers - mental illness as a plot device, characters who are too stupid to live, and obvious twists - and takes them to a whole new level. Throughout the entire first half of this book, I was actually astounded by how obvious the twists were and I viscerally cringed at one particular sentence that will haunt me for the rest of my days.

Then, we hit the second part.

I have to say that Day does pull a great twist over on the reader, but a part of me just felt like it was a little too late. This is the part that also contained mental illness as a plot device, which felt even more manipulative in this novel due to the shift in perspective that we get. However, there was something about Magpie that had me unable to put it down. The ending feels far more literary fiction than thriller/mystery, but I could so clearly see how it fit into the arc of the story. While I can't say that I loved this book overall, this will definitely be a book that stands out to me when I look back on my reading at the end of the year.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

Magpie kept me interested and engaged until the end, although some pieces of the puzzle fit together a little too cleanly for my personal taste.

Marissa is a young pregnant woman in love with her boyfriend Jake. They’ve moved in together and the only dark spot on the horizon is Jake’s overbearing mother. Can she destroy their relationship? And is it all that it seems? This is a twisty book that will keep the reader off balance throughout.

This is a very addictive read. Very fast paced domestic suspense thriller. I was hooked from the very beginning. Marisa and Jake have started dating and are moving in together even after knowing each other for three months. He is a mommy‘s boy which further complicates things with his mother’s bad attitude. Due to financial troubles they bring in Kate to stay in their house as a lodger but she seems to know her way around all too well. Things are not always as they seem. I absolutely loved this book.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately it fell flat for me.

Kate and Jake have been trying to get pregnant for years, unsuccessfully. Finally, they decide to hire a surrogate, which is how they meet Marissa, a young woman who is excited to help the couple start their family. In the UK paying a surrogate is illegal, so Kate and Jake decide to let Marissa live with them for free during her pregnancy.

There is a good "twist" early on that I enjoyed, but after that there were no more thrills for me. There was no mystery. It just became a tale of pregnancy and surrogacy, and a bit of r/justnoMIL.

Thank you netgalley and Simon & Schuster for giving me an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was great until the very end which fell flat for me. I really loved the buildup and the storyline and the twist in the middle I didn’t see coming. I just didn’t love how it wrapped up. 3.5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a quick & fast paced read that really jumps right into the bulk of story right away. I also felt like the author did an amazing job with character development & everything regarding fertility treatments was well researched & extremely believable.

I almost DNF’d this by the 30% mark because I felt like I had the entire story pegged but it became a lot more interesting at 50% & by then I was pleasantly surprised & fully invested.

I do kind of wish it got me there faster though because at first this read like a very predictable storyline & had it not been for my NetGalley feedback rating I promise I would have stopped reading by that 30% mark. I also didn’t enjoy how the author repeats a couple of descriptive phrases multiple times.

All in all I did enjoy it & I’m glad I kept reading because I enjoyed how the story ended.

This was not for me. Marisa and Jake have only known each other for 3 months, but decide to move
in together and make babies, even though her friend counsels her to slow down.
They don't know each other well, but they are in love. His mom drops by one day, treats her rudely, but Marisa tries to earn her respect anyway. She doesn't tell Jake about it for days, embarrassed that she made a poor impression. Her own mother abandoned her and her day when she was a child.
Get the idea? Then they have to take in a boarder as his business isn't doing well, a strange boarder.
That's when I said enough for me. The page long paragraph s were putting me to sleep.
Thank you net galley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

Magpie
by Elizabeth Day
Pub Date: May 3, 2022
Fourth Estate
Thanks to the author, Fourth Estate, and, NetGalley for the ARC of this book. For some reason this one just didn't work for me. There is a twist that kept it readable. What the book does well is convey the misery of infertility for women who really, really want a child. There are also some mental health issues covered which I thought was done quite sensitively.

What I didn’t like was the evil mother-in-law trope being invoked again. I have read the trope recently and I am over it.
3 stars

Another eARC from NetGalley, and another fast-paced read!
It's hard to review this book without spoilers, but I will do my best.
Marisa and Jake are the perfect couple. They meet and move in with each other quickly, but when you know, you know, right? Then Marisa gets pregnant and the fairy tale just gets better.
Enter Kate, a renter they take on, who seems far too invested in Marisa's pregnancy... and Jake. Marisa can't stop thinking that there's something that she doesn't know, yet every time she tries to voice a concern to Jake he brushes it off.
What happens when you have everything you dreamed, but someone wants to take it all away? How do our perceptions of people affect the way that we act?
This book explores all the twists and turns of the mind of a mother to be.. and the mind of someone who wants that mother's life.

Ultimately, this one unfortunately just didn't work for me. I don't know if I'm reaching my limit with these sorts of domestic "thrillers" or what, but I found myself regarding the pages and story as more tedious than entertaining, which is never a good sign. The characters weren't especially flat, but I didn't particularly like any of them, either. Not to say I have to like every character in a book to want to read it, but sometimes the unlikable nature of a person you're reading about just annoys you & makes you not want to pick the story back up - and I found that happening quite a few times here.

I will definitely check out more from the author because the writing wasn't bad, it's just the plot & characters I wasn't vibing with.

La vida de Marissa y Jake cambia cuando deciden irse a vivir juntos tras solo unos meses de salir, y después alquilan una habitación a Kate. Pronto, Marissa comienza a sentirse amenazada por la presencia de Kate y por la familiaridad con la que ella trata a Jake. Así parece un típico triángulo amoroso, pero las cosas son mucho más complejas, y las relaciones entre estos personajes e incluso el papel que juegan los padres de Jake dentro de la misma hacen que trascienda y que se llene de giros que mantienen al lector pasando páginas.
Adicionalmente, el tema de la maternidad es abordado desde una perspectiva de la elección y las formas como una madre puede serlo, incluso hasta dónde podría llegar al intentar proteger ese rol dentro de la vida de los demás.
Si bien a veces se vuelve un poco lenta la trama, la escritora sabe cómo recuperar el ritmo y llevar al lector hasta el punto clave de la historia.


-------------------------

Marissa and Jake's life changes when they decide to live together after a few months and afterward when they rent a room for Kate. Soon, Marissa begins to feel threatened by Kate's presence and the familiarity she treats Jake with. In plain sight, this looks like a regular love triangle story, but things are much more complex, and the relationship between these characters and even the role Jake's parents play in it made is transcend and be filled with plot twists that keep the reader turning page after page.
In addition, motherhood is a subject managed through the choice perspective and the many ways a mother can become one, it even shows how far a mother could go when trying to protect this role in the life of others.
Even though sometimes the plot is a bit slow, the writer knows how to get the rhythm back and lead the reader to the main part of the story.

Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4574799805

To be honest, I did not finish this book. I made it past the major twist before realizing this book just isn't for me. I love a good psychological thriller, but the plotline and setting of this felt too narrow. Same 3 characters, same house, same thing over ane over. When you read the story from Kate's point of view during the 2nd half, it gets even harder to read because you're going back over the same story, just from a different POV. Did not love and couldn't finish. Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read it.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the ARC of this book. The story is about a couple that desperately want a baby. They try many IVF treatments that don’t work. They decide to have a surrogate and think they found just the right one, They even let her move in with them and that’s when everything changes. The story is told by both women so you don’t know what is really the truth. I really enjoyed this book but I do think they could have shortened the parts and not had every detail of each woman’s story. I would recommend this book .

This story has several twists that you think you see coming, but you have no idea. I thought the ending at first was a little disappointing, but then I reminded myself that not every ending of a book should be a bloodbath. This was satisfying.

Well this was a tricky one, pretty clever and definitely twisty. This is a true psychological thriller, the very definition of one actually and it definitely messed with my head. I think because I was expecting it to be twisty I was able to guess the main twist, but I didn’t even care because there was something so compelling here. There were also several other smaller twists too that I didn’t totally see coming so it still kept me on my toes. You do need to be able to suspend some disbelief here, a couple of moments, especially towards the end left me scratching my head but overall this one was enjoyable and if you like messy and addictive reads then try this one!

This was an addictive read. I love a good “motherhood thriller” with a twist. Marisa and Kate are memorable characters and I really like how they are strong and opinionated. Another character I loved to hate was Annabelle, the MIL from hell! Ooh, she made me angry with some of the things she would say!
I liked reading about surrogacy and mental health as a huge part of the storyline. It was refreshing to read a book based on this trope because I never have. Very interesting. I highly recommend this one!

A thrilling page turner, edge of your seat suspense from beginning to end. Well written and engaging. This novel was a fun time.

Magpie was a really fun domestic thriller that kept me guessing throughout. Elizabeth Day's novel served as a reminder that you never really know somebody, and that there are unlikely allies found everywhere. I will definitely pursue more novels by Ms. Day. I loved the building tension and "where is this going" moments found throughout this twisty novel!