Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the eARC of The Hike by Lucy Clarke.

Lucy Clarke can paint the picture of an atmosphere - that's for sure. I really enjoyed her novel "One of the Girls" and this one painted a different atmosphere. This story played out really well, I did not anticipate the end twist. I will say, the worst part for me is that I basically found all of the friends in this novel insufferable. And I wish Liz grew a backbone.

3.5/4 Stars.

This was SO MUCH FUN! I loved the atmosphere and pretty much any books that pits character vs nature will hook me in immediately. Four friends reunite to do a hike in Norway, against the advice of even the locals. Sign me up! And then, something fishy is going on with said locals. Even better! I truly could not put this down and didn't want it to end. Thoroughly enjoyed. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Hike
🗓️ 8/23/2023

No help.
No cell coverage.
No one to hear them scream.

Burned-out by both her marriage and work, Liz is desperate for an escape. More than that, she craves an adventure, a total reset. So, when she plans a vacation with her three best friends, she persuades them to spend four nights camping in the stunning mountains of Norway. Following a trail that climbs through lush valleys, towering peaks, and past jewel-blue lakes, Liz is sure that the hike is just what they need.

But as they stride farther from civilization, it becomes clear that the women are not the only ones looking to lose themselves in the mountains. The wilderness hides secrets darker than they could ever have imagined, and if they’re not careful . . . not all of them will return.

This was my first Lucy Clarke read and I was hoping for more. I did enjoy that it was told from multiple POVs and the short chapters made it a quick read. I never had that “I can’t put this book down” feeling. Many of the characters were unlikable and the plot twist that turned in the last third of the book didn’t hold my attention. Clarke’s ability to set the scene allowed me to visualize the Norwegian mountainsides as if I were on the hike with a group of friends.

Thank you @netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

#thehike #netgalley #arcreview #netgalleyreview #newrelease #2023release #suspense #thrilled
#norway #friendship #betrayal #bookstagram #kindlereads

3.5 ⭐️

This books was an absolute page turner! It reassured me in the fact that I will never do an extended hike ever again. 😂 while this book is my first official Lucy Clarke book, it will most definitely not be my last.

Four friends get together every year to take a trip to a destination chosen by one of them. Most of the trips, if not all of the trips up to their current on have been spent sipping cocktails on the beach. However, this year they are hiking in the Norwegian mountains! Some friends are far more prepared than others but no one is ready for the trip they embark on. Secrets. Death, Horrible Weather.

It’s a relatively fast paced thriller that will keep you sucked in from start to finish,

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Lucy Clarke and the publishers at Harper Collins for the ARC of The Hike. All opinions of this novel are my own.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the e-arc!

Last year I read Clarke's new release, One of the Girls and I loved it so much that when I saw that there was another book to request, I quickly jumped at the opportunity. Personally I love Clarke's writing. I really liked the Norway setting and prose but I felt the story drag and there were too many characters.

This is a fast thriller that keeps you on your toes waiting for the next twist. It is a read in one sitting kind of book because you can't put it down, those are my favorite. The atmosphere is good and adds to the mood and overall vibe of the book. This is a great entertaining read!
Thank you to Lucy Clarke, G.P. Putnam's Sons, and NetGalley for a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

Friends Maggie, Liz, Helena, and Joni set off on their latest adventure – hiking Blafjell Mountain in Norway. Each carrying their own baggage, both of the literal and physical variety, they begin their four-day journey. Their biggest problems are their baggage and their blisters until the weather shifts, they make a discovery, and things get…complicated…

Ok, so this one is a survivalist thriller. I liked it. I was entertained. I just didn’t love it. Liked that the book was divided into four days with each of the characters having a sub-chapters within the days. The first 20-25% of the book, I had to force myself to read. A lot of time spent introducing the characters and their personalities, which was necessary, just not the action and thrill I was looking for. The rest of the book was non-stop thriller action (yes, please). And the ending, well, I found myself wanting to hit the “bs” button as in, that would never ever happen.

Many of their problems were due to being novice hikers who shouldn’t have been doing that hike without the proper training and equipment, so I found myself annoyed with them for that.

If you need a quick read that doesn’t require a lot of devotion from you, this could be your book.

3

Thank you to @harpercollins and @netgalley for my copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It was fast-paced and really kept me guessing until the end! I thought there was just enough character development to where I felt I really knew them by the end. I did not see any of the twists coming!

3.5⭐ rounded up. I finally read my first Lucy Clarke book and it was a fun popcorn thriller. Definitely liked it! It took a bit to get exciting, but at like 20% starts to get really good. Four women go hiking in the wilderness for 4 days in Norway. They each have their own issues they are dealing with and Liz asks them to go on this trip. I thought it was very atmospheric and Clarke did a great job of giving you a quite real picture of where they were. While on the trip they hear of a woman that has gone missing in the area. Then the action starts. Good twists too. This was a quick, entertaining read!

Out August 29.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own! My review will be posted on Instagram, Bookbub, Goodreads, and Amazon once it publishes.

This book centers around four friends who embark on a challenging hike as part of their annual girl's trip. All of the main characters seemed like people I have met in real life at one point or another. The women, their struggles, and the dynamics of their friend group all felt very real. It seemed like most of the book was focused on character background, relationships, and development, with most of the "thrill" not coming into play until the last quarter or so of the novel.

A lot of the suspense-building in the first half was driven from the group's complete lack of hiking knowledge and experience, which wasn't necessarily my favorite, but effective. Their irresponsibility just made me so irrationally angry. Was it one of their bodies at the bottom of the ravine? It could be as NO ONE KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING. I really couldn't believe these adult women were choosing to hike essentially no preparation. Like of course it's going to be suspenseful reading about someone hiking a mountain when they aren't prepared to hike a mountain.

Overall, this was an average read for me! The friendships and dynamics of the friend group were definitely my favorite. I wouldn't necessarily classify this as a thriller, especially if you're used to the genre, but dang, parts of that ending really took me by surprise. Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Liz is desperate for an escape from her rocky marriage and what better way to do that than hiking in the remote Norwegian mountains with her 3 best friends. Without cell service and only the packs on their backs the 4 friends embark on a life changing adventure that will not only test their friendships but test their will to survive.

Wow, what a thrilling wilderness book! This book is told from multiple POVs which makes each chapter a cliffhanger that you must keep reading. This book centers on female friendships and delves into each character’s backstory. Clarke was able to paint a beautiful picture with her descriptive writing that makes me want to visit Norway but maybe not hike.

I went into this thinking I was going to love it. I was expecting suspense and twists. But everything just felt flat. I didn’t feel any connection for the characters. It almost felt like the author didn’t care for her characters at all. They were all very annoying or just basic. I don’t think I liked a single character. When we first met them and learned what they were all struggling with I was excited, thinking this was going to be a very interesting story of them working through their issues. But, they basically just complained about their lives and then argues a ton with each other. The story felt very rushed and the ending was very anticlimatic. I wish there was more suspense around them being followed. It

This book was so good! I was hooked from the very first page. The book switches from each of the girls’ point of view and I loved each of their back stories. I simultaneously never want to hike again and also desperately need to book the next trip to Norway and wild camp for a week. Thank you to @penguin group, @putnambooks and @netgalley for my early copy.

3.5 stars. After reading and enjoying Lucy Clarke's One of the Girls earlier this year, I was excited for The Hike. I love a good destination/survival thriller, and this one definitely didn't disappoint.

The Hike centers on four friends who go on a trip together every year, with each friend taking a turn choosing where they go. This year it's Liz's turn, and she's chosen something different than the group's typical luxurious beach destinations: a four-day hike up and down a mountain deep in the Norwegian wilderness. As a doctor, Liz knows that walking does wonders for the body and mind, and she feels the need to clear her head in the midst of a crumbling marriage. But as soon as Liz, Helena, Maggie, and Joni arrive at the lodge, ready to start their journey, something feels indefinably off with the locals. And the friends are harboring secrets from each other, too, which will be exposed as they set off, isolated and vulnerable, into the Norwegian wilderness.

It's amazing how much Clarke was able to take on in The Hike. In short chapters from alternating viewpoints, she explores themes like marriage, motherhood, the complexities of female friendship, and drug addiction, while also telling a propulsive, suspenseful, atmospheric survival story. Each of the four friends at the center of this novel is thoughtfully crafted, with unique traits and viewpoints that made it easy to differentiate among them. Their internal conflicts and their conflicts with each other, even as they were dealing with the external challenge of being inexperienced hikers and potentially being stalked through the wilderness, made for a tense, engaging reading experience.

The ending was a bit over the top, and I found myself wishing Clarke would lean a bit more into some Norwegian myth/folk horror elements to add to the creep factor, but overall this is a solid thriller that makes me eager to read what she writes next. Thanks to G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for the early reading opportunity.

Every year, friends Liz, Helena, Maggie, and Joni take an annual trip together and, this year, with her marriage on the rocks, Liz chooses a difficult 4-day mountain hike for their excursion. On their strenuous journey, the women must face nature, each other, and someone else keeping close tabs on them?!

Having recently read THE CASTAWAYS, I should have been more prepared for the emotional turmoil this book would put me through, but, alas, I was not.

THE HIKE by Lucy Clarke is told through several POVS (including all of the friends) and an alternate Search chapter that had me flipping pages and guessing all the guesses!

As an avid hiker myself, I LOVED the descriptors used throughout this book - could smell the characters, feel the blisters, and taste those delectable camp noodles 😋

I loved the emotion and tension that Clarke managed to create within this story and am only docking this book a star for the direction the plot ended up taking!

Another great read from Lucy Clarke that has me itching to read more from her!

Huge thanks to NetGalley, Penguin, and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: August 29

I normally do not migrate towards thrillers (too much anxiety for me when I want to just relax reading a book!), but this story sounded intriguing. Given my own interest in the outdoors and going on hiking trips, I thought I would give it a try. And I have to say, I did enjoy it! The setting and the premise were great. And the thriller aspect worked on me...my hands were sweating as I got closer to the end of the story and things got exciting! There was enough of a backstory on the four main characters to 'buy in' on their friendship and history together. While I can't imagine that these ladies would go on a big hike like this, given their inexperience, it still worked for me as a reader. The plot did take a few turns at times that were unrealistic, but I could accept that as an invested reader. But I can say that I definitely would have made other decisions than these four ladies! :-)

There were many plot twists and surprises, which kept me very interested up til the very end! I read through the book pretty quickly! Great book! Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this e-ARC!

This book appealed to me when I first saw it. I usually read exclusively romance, and I was in the mood for something different. Thinking I needed to read a thriller and step away from my regular genre was not, perhaps, the best course of action for me. I thought The Hike had suspense and twists and turns, but ultimately, my anxiety couldn't handle it. This is a well-written book, however, and I would recommend it to fans of thrillers.

This book reminded me why I don’t like to hike - rough trails, unpredictable weather, and no cell service for emergencies! This story, about a group of friends, reunited each year for a trip of someone’s choosing, had me agreeing about the resentful decision to go hiking and camping. What’s wrong with another beach vacation?! I suppose this story would have been very different because the spooky and atmospheric setting was a character in itself. I loved the way it tied into the suspense of the plot, how it affected the characters and their journeys, and how it even played a villain of sorts. Hiking enthusiasts don’t be deterred! This story is a reminder of the dos and don’ts of hiking, sleeping and exploring the great unknown, hopefully read in the comfort of your home and not outside in a tent somewhere…

I'm not sure what to think of this story. The cliffhanger was good and there were times that I enjoyed reading the story. There were also times where it felt unbelievable, which shouldn't be an issue because it is a fictional story.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. This was a first for me by this author, and I was able to read along with a few friends who were also given an advanced copy.

This book showed a POV of 4 friends who got together on a yearly retreat, this year completing an extreme hike in Norway. They are all at very different points in their lives, but they still make it a point to make time for a trip once a year. There is drama, lies, deception, suspense, and mystery as you watch them embark on the struggles and dangers of the trip, trying to make it back safely.

The short chapters made it such an easy read, wanting to keep going to see what happened next. We had theories and guesses the entire time, and in the end, everything wrapped up nicely and not in quite such a typical HEA fashion. I am really excited to check out more by Lucy Clarke.