4 stars. This thriller was intriguing And there were a few surprising plot twists. It was a bit slow and confusing at times but it is a solid debut novel! Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the ARC!

This book felt slow but it held my interest enough that I stuck with it. For probably the first half to 3/4 of the book I thought we were dealing with <spoiler>something supernatural</spoiler> but it turned out to be something totally different, but equally as interesting. I think part of my disconnect from the book is that I read it on kindle and spread out over time it lost a little bit of the suspense. Other people felt it was fast-paced so I am sure it would have felt differently had I read it faster.

All that said, the premise of the book was very intriguing, especially at the end when you discover what was really happening. I wish we had more of the background story of Frank and what he went through to become what he became.

If you love an unreliable narrator, you'll enjoy this novel. The book is well written and I sympathize with a character battling addiction and trauma, but I never fully connected with the characters. I had to fight the urge to skim through chapters to make it to the "twist."

Maya and Aubrey had been best friends for all of high school. And then the mysterious Frank comes between them. When Aubrey drops dead for no apparent reason while with him, Maya goes head first into a tailspin of depression and prescription drugs. Seven years after that summer, Maya is finally getting her life together: a boyfriend whom she lives with, she’s attempting to finally kick her Klonopin habit and thinking of writing again. But then she sees another woman, on the internet,, sitting across a table from Frank, drop dead with no explanation. This brings it all back and sets Maya on a mission to discover what really happened with Frank.

Interwoven between the summer of Aubrey’s death, present day and a book her deceased father had been writing, this novel is psychologically compelling and kept me on my toes. Would definitely recommend, and as this is Reyes debut novel, I will definitely be looking for the next!

Ah, a good ol’ unreliable narrator story… Some are done well, some are written where we can’t stand to read them. This one was written fairly well. I don’t particularly like the narrator, but I more so feel sorry for her. I think that’s where I was supposed to land? Anyway, it was a decent thriller and I’d read another by this author.

This was definitely an interesting read that kept me on my toes and constantly wondering what was real, what was made up and what was just the imaginings of a girl that might very well might be mentally ill.

This really was a good story even though at times it felt a bit too drawn out and a little bit too long. The mystery was interesting and entertaining and was definitely something different than the norm. Something to definitely take a chance on.

Great premise - I loved the idea of the unreliable narrator who believes that a man (Frank) literally killed two women by sitting across from them in a diner. Maya is suffering withdrawal symptoms and drinking to forget - anything to push aside the death of her childhood friend who sat across from Frank many years ago. When Maya sees another woman die similarly on youtube, she decides to return home to seek out the house in the pines and find what happened so long ago.

The premise is great, there is horror and supernatural elements. I think the ending could have been more satisfying. If you like thrillers with supernatarual components, a unique plot and unreliable narrator, The House in The Pines is for you!

First of all, I received a copy of the unproofed edition of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The House in the Pines is a debut novel by Ana Reyes and as such is hopefully prophetic of a great thriller author with future novels. The storyy follows Maya as she reacts to a video of a young woman dying suddenly while in conversation with Frank, with whom Maya had a relationship 7 years earlier, and who was present when Aubrey, Maya's best friend died.

The unveiling of the plot must have been a challenging task. The story unfolds by switching back and forth between Maya at 17 and Maya at 24. This helped create the mystery and tension in the story. My only criticism of her use of this device is that the switch from ""then" to "now" or vice versa was not always clear causing a little confusion.

Her main character, Maya, was fairly well developed, The secondary character, Frank, stayed necessarily vague until the end.

I enjoyed this book and hope to see more by Ms. Reyes.

This book is told in dual timelines, from a very unreliable narrator who has memory gaps from the event.

This is a great thriller and I really enjoyed reading it. I picked it up and put it down a few times but was invested in the story and the MC

Tragedy struck Maya multiple times throughout her life and death surrounded her. For years, she had been haunted by her past, by what she had experienced and what she had seen; most notably the death of her best friend Aubrey when they were high school seniors. Years later, a mysterious death occurs and Maya cannot fight the urge to get involved knowing that Frank Bellamy, a man she dated for a short 3 weeks, was a presence during both of these deaths where the cause was listed as “sudden unexplained death.” Maya takes it upon herself to link these cases and expose Frank’s evil ways. In her fight for justice, she is forced to disclose some hard truths about herself and in doing so she lifts the dark veil she’s been hiding behind and walks toward the light and healing.

I found some parts of this book very enjoyable, particularly the parts involving the trickery that our minds can play on us. The human brain is a powerful and complex organ and this book highlights that. I also enjoyed our MC, Maya, and thought the character development for her was well done throughout. My only criticism was that as the story moved along, it felt discombobulated at times. I wasn’t sure why certain parts were included when it felt like they weren’t tied up or were left hanging by story’s end. This is a debut novel for this author, and I thought overall it was well done and an enjoyable read!

What a debut this book was! I love a good thriller, especially a psychological one. I did find this particularly fast paced which was great and it certainly kept my interest.

I really like stories that show how one particular event can shape our lives to be so completely different from what they could have been. Memories are unintentionally changed in our minds and it can affect so much.

I hope to read more from this author in the future.

A twist I can get behind.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

The House in the Pines is an upcoming debut thriller from author Ana Reyes. We follow our protagonist Maya in dual timelines. Before, when Maya becomes infatuated with a man named Frank the summer before college, and after, 8 years later, when Maya returns to her hometown to investigate the death of a young woman; the circumstances of which are eerily similar to the death of her best friend during that summer with Frank.

This book is jam packed with traditional thriller tropes, but the story itself was so unique I really didn't mind. I loved the twist/reveal and I can already anticipate myself getting annoyed with low star reviews from people who think it's "unrealistic". Maybe this is how other people felt when reading The House Across the Lake (which I personally found frustrating because the twist came out of nowhere). That is not the case here. The clues to what's going on are all laid out. Is it improbable? Sure. But not impossible, and that's what I like from a plot twist.

There were some interesting plot structure decisions that I found to be a bit confusing. We jumped around timelines, but the chapters weren't labeled so I was sometimes unsure of whether we were in the past or present. I don't *think* that was intentional and I figured it out pretty quickly.

I liked it a lot and I think you will too.

The House in the Pines releases January 3, 2022. Thank you to #netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse for the advanced copy.

To be honest, I lost interest in this book about halfway through. The writing was fine, but the storyline moved slowly and was just generally odd.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61251242

If you are looking for a fun, new unreliable narrortor thriller - look no farther!

This thriller sets up learning about Maya today and then quickly switches back and forth between her persepective in the past and currently. I liked the way these two POVs intertwined.

I think this would be a great book to recommend to someone looking to get into reading thrillers. It is a little spooky at times but not to scary. I was able to predict the big twist pretty early on - but I dont think all readers will. I also still enjoyed watching it unravel and learning the HOW it happened.

All in all a great read! Thanks for the opportunity to read this one!

I have a thing for books written about in the woods or in the forest especially thrillers and this one hooked you speech less. I dont want yo give yo much away because its phenomenal and the twist this book had me on edge

When Maya was in high school, her best friend Aubrey suddenly died for an unknown reason when she was near Frank, the guy Maya was dating. Maya has trauma from this event and a prescription from a therapist has turn into a drug addiction. Just as she tried to break her addition, she sees a viral video of a woman eating in a diner across from Frank and she also dies suddenly for no reason. Maya is convinced Frank has something to do with these sudden deaths and she tried to uncover that reason. I found the premise interesting but I was confused about the addition of Maya's father's story he wrote. I feel that the book was missing something to pull it together.

What a great thriller!

This book keeps you on your toes and twist and turns through the years.

Maya was a young girl when she randomly met Frank. She had just lost a relative and she was desperate to feel a connect to the father she never go to know.

Frank became her obsession, this impacted her life, her friends and her relationship with her mother. She struggles to place some of her time, she feels like she’s missing pieces and then tragedy befalls her again.

Maya is now and adult and in a relationship with a man who she loves but she silently is self sabotaging everything she puts her hands on. What can she do to fix this??

You must read this book it is so good!

Loved the unique premise and fast pace of this book! I didn’t expect what happened and had to second guess myself throughout.

I received this book through NetGalley from the publisher, PENGUIN GROUP Dutton. Couldn’t finish it. The main character is awful. She’s self medicating with a prescription medicine for anxiety, and something from her past comes up, which she hasn’t shared with her boyfriend. She seems awful, and I didn’t want to read more than two chapters.

"The House in the Pines" is about a young woman who is trying to get her life back on track after a devastating incident seven years prior. The only way to possibly move on is to face the past and find out what really happened to her and to her best friend.

This was an interesting story to say the least. The author balanced the right level of creepiness into her weaving of Maya's tale that was really a compilation of many moving parts. I felt more and more intrigued as I continued to read and I appreciate that it wasn't the "same old story". Many psychological thrillers nowadays tend to feel formulaic, but this one broke the mold and took a turn that I' haven't come across before in a novel. While the book took a little time to get moving for me, the more I read, the more I enjoyed it.

Thank you to the publishers as well as NetGalley for the early read and allowing me the opportunity to give an honest review.

#thehouseinthepines #netgalley