I wish I could be giving a better review for this but honestly I was extremely bored 😬. The twist in the middle got me but it was extremely slow building. Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this.

Wow, just wow. I don't think I was mentally prepared for this as I just welcomed a baby in early April but I couldn't put it down. I needed to know what happened. Well done by the author.

Well I feel I missed a lot in the first half of the book. There was a twist mid point which had me scratching my head. Was I not really paying attention or was history being rewritten. Good book about infertility but off on the thriller.

Magpie was SUCH an exciting read! It took me about 50% to get really into it but BOY did it have me hooked, then. This one throws you for a loop. Every time I thought I had it figured out, I was dead wrong. Super fun read, especially if you like twists and turns!

I loved that I went into Magpie completely blind, but it definitely has some trigger warnings attached for pregnancy, fertility, etc.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Overall I gave this one 3.5 stars rounded down because the ending seemed a bit off to me. I enjoyed the story overall but felt like a couple of unnecessary twists were taken that didn’t add to the story to me. The story is hard to summarize without giving away spoilers but I’ll try. The book starts with Marisa who has recently moved in with her boyfriend Jake and Jake wants her to have his baby . Marisa is sure she will be a better mother than the mother who abandoned her was. When Jake’s financial situation changes they take on Kate, a lodger. Marisa starts to feel like Kate is trying to get between her and Jake while Marisa gets pregnant. The second half of the book changes perspectives and everything explodes with twists. The story was good but the ending just seemed a little bit off.

Magpie begins with Marisa and her loving boyfriend Jake who have moved in together and are trying to get pregnant. Enter new tenant sharing their house, Kate, and things get a bit (or a lot) wonky.⁣
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The writing is competent here and the whole book is unsettling and tense. There is a rather huge twist that comes early in the book, and while pretty obvious, was handled uniquely. The book had a definitive shift in tone, content, and pacing after this twist. That said, I found this one hard to put down but overall just made me feel uneasy.
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tw/cw: Though it was handled mostly sensitively, this book does focus parts on mental illness and infertility. ⁣
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Thank you to Simon & Schuster and @netgalley for the chance to read this one. It is out now! ⁣
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#bookreview⁣ #magpie #netgalley #bookreelsofinstagram #bookreviewer #bookreviewsneedlovetoo #booklovers #thrillerbooks #thrillingbooks #bookstagrammer #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookblog #kindle #netgalleyreview #instabook #earc #booksaremagic #littlebooknook📚

"Magpie" by Elizabeth DAay grabbed me from the first page and didn't let go. This one will stay with me!

Special thanks to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

I loved this book and feel lucky to have received it. I will really recommend this, most especially to book clubs. They say there are two sides to every story, well, I don't think anyone will argue with that and may not see the twist coming here. Well, that's not true. Some might, maybe a lot but it was just so good.

I really can't tell much without giving away the story. I'd say just read it, its a winner.

A twisty domestic thriller told from multiple perspectives so you never know just who to trust. I really enjoyed the suspense layered throughout the first half of the novel, the author sets up each dynamic relationship brilliantly, but was a bit disappointed with the ending. The neat and tidy ending ties together the plot all too well, I wish there was a bit more ambiguity. Infertility being a core conflict in this novel may turn some readers off to this one.

This is a bendy little tale where nothing is quite what it seems. Marisa and Jake appear to be the perfect couple, until difficulties in their financial situation force them to take in a roommate. Enter Kate, a young and fun loving woman, who appears to be absorbing Jake’s attention a little too easily. Soon Marisa begins to fear that Kate and Jake are having an affair right under her nose, a fear seemingly confirmed by text messages Marisa comes across. Determined to hold her life together, Marisa vows to confront Kate. But is this version of the story real? They say there are two sides to every story, and there is no case where that is truer than this one. Layered with multiple different narratives, this is a dynamic story built on manipulation and the complexities of mental health. This is a story that goes to prove just how dangerous lack of communication can be, and how desperately wanting something can drive you insane. Review posted to Goodreads, Amazon, Litsy, LibraryThing, Facebook, and Instagram.

A searing examination of how one attempts to fill the potentially devestating fissures in one’s life.
Many thanks to Simon & Schuster and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Full of twists and turns; you'll think you know where this story is going, but you are wrong! I really loved reading the story from two points of view because it added another layer of unreliability to the plot. It's hard to give any more information without spoilers, but it's a good read!

I wish that novels would not use conception and fertility struggles as a source of conflict in relationships. It is so common both in books as well as in real life, and I am just over that being used in literature.

Unfortunately, these feelings put a bit of a pallor over Magpie for me. It was written well, and did keep me engaged. However, my heart just breaks a little when it comes to tales of infertility.

Talk about twists and turns! The basic story is about a young couple who are not able to have a baby on their own and decide to use a surrogate. The action centers around the interplay between the couple, the surrogate, the man's parents and the surrogate's best friend. And the good guy/bad guy flips flops among them all so you're never sure until close the end who is going to end up being the bad guy. I loved this book and would highly recommend it.

Wow, now this was one book that really grabbed my attention.. Reminded me of Alfred Hitchcock and the way he wrote with such creepy suspense.. I held my breath through each chapter and twist and turn. A great read for all you thriller/suspense lovers

I really enjoyed this book! I liked the final twist in the story, one that I didn't see coming(but it was a good one)that gave me the satisfying ending that I was looking for. The story surrounds a couple that is trying to have a baby and they invite a complete stranger into their home to act as a surrogate. Everything seemed to be going well, but then again things don't always go how we would like. A power struggle ensues in the household of the two women with the husband, Jake, caught in the middle. The first half pulled me in, but the second and last half really had me thrown for a loop(twisty-turny in a good way). I would definitely read another book by this author and look forward to her next release!

*Thank you to Simon & Schuster, Elizabeth Day, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Previously published at https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/magpie/

Magpies are birds known for their bold personality and intelligence. They are also well-known for their calls and songs. Many birds have a song or a few calls, but magpies chatter, whistle, trill, and warble. These birds have even been known to mimic sounds around them such as wind chimes or a dog’s barking.

Marisa has always had trouble with relationships. Abandoned by her mother and sister when she was seven, she clings on and when the man pulls away, she displays more disturbing behavior. When she meets Jake on a dating app, she can’t believe her luck. He is tall, handsome, and interested in her. After three months, he wants to start a family with her! They rent a home together and she becomes pregnant after a few months. Because Marisa isn’t making money, Jake suggests they take in a lodger. When Kate moves in, they all seem to get along until it seems Kate knows everything about them. Marisa becomes suspicious and possessive, even following Kate to work. Three might be a crowd, but is there really a cause for alarm? Are Kate and Jake having an affair when they seem to be too close for comfort, in Marisa’s opinion?

I went into Magpie thinking I had the entire book figured out by the 20th page. It seemed like it would follow the basic formula of a girl getting pregnant, husband having an affair, Mother-in-law is evil precedent, but I will admit I was very wrong. In that sense, this book is clever. I believed it was leading me one way, but it actually wasn’t. It was something else entirely, which still seems implausible to me in the way it was delivered. It keeps the reader in a sense of unease and tension, not knowing what is going to happen, but knowing it is not what you expect. Each character is multi-layered except Jake, who honestly seems clueless most of the time. Marissa is a ticking time bomb with emotions ranging from anger to docile to insecurity. Kate comes across as a regimented, type A personality who excels at manipulation. Annabelle, Jake’s mother, is passive aggressive in the very worst way. The author writes sensitively about some triggering issues including mental health, infertility, and miscarriage.

Magpie was almost two novels in one, and that made it less enjoyable for me. There is a first part and a second part. To be clear, the first part is a thriller, but the second part is about a pregnancy with mental health issues, where there is no mystery or thrilling moments. There are definitely some predictable plot points and the ending was a little too clean cut. I wish the first part had been the entire book. I enjoyed Magpie, but it was not the five-star read I wanted it to be.

I thought I knew where this thriller was going, but it ended up taking me by surprise. There were some creative twists in the plot but there was one major conflict with an unconvincing resolution. And the ending was a bit of a let down. Infertility is a tough subject matter for a summer thriller. This one struggled to strike the right note—it was not quite fully dark and macabre, yet it was a little more than slightly creepy. It was just OK for me.

I really wanted to love this book. Maybe my hopes were too high going into it? I didn't know anything aside from the jacket blurb but I was expecting a twisty thrill ride of a story. Instead it was maybe 1 twist and unbelievably neat happy ending. A disappointing ride. The writing itself was well done. I didn't take issue with character development or any of the actual writing it was the storyline that just fell flat for me. It was a good idea that just didn't work in my opinion. I would definitely try another book by this author but this story just wasn't memorable and I can't give it more than 3 stars for the actual writing. I recieved my copy free for an honest review through NetGalley.

This is one that is hard to put down! Definitely a HUGE domestic thriller!
Despite Marisa and Jake not knowing each other for too long, they decided to move in together and take the next step and try for a baby. Like most people who start looking into having a baby, Jake starts seeing how tight their budget is. Jake suggests that they take in a lodger to help stretch their budget slightly more. Thus enters the scene, Kate. Now Kate has this type of personality that she just takes over the house and makes Marisa very uncomfortable. Then to make things worse, Kate is very overly interested in Marisa's pregnancy. Now, I can't give anything away but boy was this one good! The twist and turns of the story are absolutely insane! I love how the author writes! I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys an excellent domestic thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat! Thank you Netgalley and Simon Schuster for the extraordinary opportunity to read and review this book!