Title: The Hike
Author: Lucy Clarke
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

✨Synopsis:
Liz, Joni, Helena, and Maggie have been friends since their early teens. The four women are now busy adults juggling families, careers, and the natural changes that come with adulthood. They carve time out from their schedules to go on a yearly girls trip, rotating through who gets to plan the trip. This year it is Liz’s turn and she books a hiking trip in the mountains of Norway, a dream she’s always shared with childhood friend Joni. Helena and Maggie are less than thrilled but can’t ignore how excited they are to see one another.
✨As the women reunite, all four women are struggling in their own way and hope the solitude of the mountains will allow them to find the answers they seek. Little do they know life is about to become a lot more complicated as they walk into the lodge and head out to the mountains that aren’t what they seem. There is something sinister and lethal out there and the childhood friends are about to walk right into the path of it.

📚Thoughts/Recommendations:
The Hike snagged my attention from page one and didn’t let up until the last word. I felt as though I were also isolated on a mountain in Norway, intimidated at how vast the wilderness and sky can be. I felt the tension and frustration that mounted when the women would pair off and air their grievances with one another. I fully understood how homesick one would be laying in a tent at night under the stars, in the cold, with no phone signal. These are things that make me want to read every word of every book Lucy Clarke writes! She quickly rose to the top of my list of favorite authors due to her ability to create relatable characters and situations.
I honestly think this book belongs on the big screen and would love to see it adapted.
For anyone who loves Lucy Clarke, loves girl trips gone wrong, loves thrillers that are engaging until the last page, this is the book for you! I will anxiously await Lucy Clarke’s next release!

✨Thank you NetGalley, Lucy Clarke, and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this ahead of its release in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, it's a solid 4.5 stars. I enjoyed learning the personalities of each of the friends in the first part of the book. Couldn't help but see myself and my girlfriends in each of the main characters. About 40% in the ride starts to get wild with lots of twists and turns. Loved the short chapters too! This is my first Lucy Clarke book and want to read more of her work! Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

I’m so thankful to have gotten the ARC to this one!

Four childhood friends take a hike. Norwegian mountains sounds like a beautiful place right?! Well four friends take off on the hike, how many will return? Is there someone else out in the forest with them or with secrets and lies unfold upon their adventure?

Starts as a slow page turner but once their travels starts to unfold, I easily finished in two days!

The cover of this one grabbed my attention, and I was so excited when I was granted an ARC copy. This one was well-paced and had a slower burn, but it didn’t take away from the reading experience. I thought it enhanced it, and I liked it.

I love hiking/backpacking so I was so excited when I got approved for this book on NetGalley. This book is told in multiple POV with four main characters, plus a few supporting characters, so it’s not too difficult to keep track of everyone which was nice. Each character had a distinct personality and were well developed. Unfortunately it does takes a while to build the story and introduce all of the characters, their personalities, and the problems each of them are having in their personal lives. I did enjoy the dynamic of their friendship, and their different reasons for choosing to embark on this journey.

The author did a great job at creating an atmosphere that felt claustrophobic with an isolated trail, no cell service, poor weather conditions, and no one to hear you scream. I wanted to love this one, but overall this survivalist thriller was good, but not great. It just kind of fell flat for me as I felt like not much really happened until the end. The book kept my interest, but I felt like I kept waiting for something to actually happen. The story wasn’t as gripping and suspenseful as I hoped it would be. I’d recommend this book to those who enjoy character driven survivalist books.

The Hike is a beautiful story of friendship set amidst a survival thriller. I loved the depth of the characters and enjoyed each of their POVs. My favorite part was how each of them had a reason to attempt climbing the mountain, beyond gathering for their annual holiday. An inner demon to conquer on the mountain. The added thrill of a hiker’s disappearance gave the story a sense of eeriness and immediacy. I loved how immersive the story and setting were - very atmospheric. I got lost in the pages and highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam/G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Hike is a wilderness survivalist thriller, aka yet another reminder for me that I never want to go camping ever. Four friends decide to go on a camping trip in the Norwegian wilderness because they thought it would be fun I guess (to me, that’s not a vacation that’s a punishment but to each their own!) and lo and behold, they are I n the middle of nowhere with no way to call for help.

Right off the bat, I instantly loved the dynamic of the friend group. You can tell that these women have been friends for years and there’s just so much girl power in their connection. This made me want a friend group like theirs! Despite the fact that some of these women are pretty troubled and problematic (notably Joni and Liz got on my nerves so bad) I still felt an attachment to their friend group. Before they had even gotten to Norway, I was already sad at the possibility that at least one of them might die, seeing as this is going to be a survivalist murder mystery and all.

This book is a bit slow to get started, but this is one of the cases where I think it’s necessary. I usually want a book to jump right into the action, but I like how this book took some time to set up the story, let us get to know the personalities of these women, and form a real attachment to them before jumping into all the horror and danger. It makes the stakes feel even higher. Even so, I couldn’t wait until some of the action and terror actually started to happen. Unfortunately, I was disappointed on that front,

Though I liked the dynamic of the four friends but I also didn’t think this book was gripping enough. I was 60% in and realized this wasn’t even an ounce scary or gripping at all. This book kind of made it seem like the women were being chased by a killer the whole time but that’s not the case. If anything, it’s more of a bunch of friendship drama but under a survivalist in the wilderness circumstance. I don’t know if I’d even label this as a thriller because it’s really not high stakes, gripping, or scary at all. That is why even though I enjoyed reading about these 4 women, I’m giving it 3 stars. I think if thriller fans pick this up looking for a gripping read, they would be disappointed because that isn’t what this book is. Not until the last 10% or so.

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

A thrilling hiking trip in the Norwegian wilderness? Yes, please! This was an adrenaline fueled adventure in a beautiful nature with harsh conditions that made the terror and panic even more realistic. ⁣
The tension was as thick as a mountain fog and the suspense was as sharp as jagged cliffs over the violent sea. ⁣At first I was worried that the multiple POVs would be confusing or overwhelming but it was perfect. It made it easy to familiarize myself with what was happening in the characters’ minds and hearts and that made the story even more interesting. ⁣
Every time I thought I figured out the direction of the story, something unexpected happened and I could not wait to see what happened next. I absolutely loved this book! ⁣
⁣
Thank you Netgalley for this ARC that was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a cliff-hanger in the truest sense of the word, taking place on one of the highest mountain peaks in Norway. When four lifelong friends decide to hike in Norway on one of their annual retreats together, they discover shady characters on the trail, harrowingly narrow ledges on the sides of the mountain, a landslide, illicit goods in a cavern, and a murderer on the loose. This is a must-read for all readers of thrillers.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this advance copy of The Hike

Took me a little to get into but only because I am a mood reader but once I got into it , I really enjoyed it! Good mystery thriller

This was my first Lucy Clarke book and I devoured it. The details and descriptions made it seem like I was experiencing this hike with them. All the characters were relatable and it was an easy but thrilling read. The first few chapters were the development of the characters and the slowest. Once you get through that, it was smooth sailing. Thank you Net Gallery and Harper Collins for this ARC!

A group of 4 women have a “girls’ trip” every year. The woman have known each other from early childhood school days. This year it is Liz’s turn to plan the trip and she chooses a hiking trip in Norway, to a mountain they had talked about in their teenage years. Usually their trips are more of the relaxing, kick back on the beach variety - so this one is bound to be different. Of course this brings about a lot of the expected problems - being out of shape for some, camping outdoors, heavy backpacks,etc. - plus more emotional elements that each of the women are dealing with. They also hear stories about a woman who went missing on the same trail they are about to embark on. The story is told from different points of view, so we get to see inside of the different characters minds. I thought the characters were well written, even though they weren’t always likable. There is a good amount of mystery and danger woven into the story. This book definitely held my attention. I would recommend this book and give it 4 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this book completely blind. I knew the name "Lucy Clarke" without having read any of her books, I just understood that this is an author who should be read. This book validated that and sold me entirely. I will admit I have been in a bit of a reading rut lately, but this book just brought me out of it.

This is an adventure thriller about 4 college friends who meet up annually for a girl's trip. Each of them has different stories and backgrounds that the book opens up to explain. It takes a minute to get going because there is a lot of character information in the early pages, but I assure you it is worth it to get to know the characters. Once you get through the first 20-25% the story really gets rolling. This year, their trip brought them to the mountains of Norway, despite none of them ever having hiked a mountain before.

The book is told from each of the four women's points of view, as well as a 5th point of view in a different time frame. Don't worry, it'll make sense when you read it. It was incredibly easy to keep track of the different characters and different things going on in the book. This book was non-stop and pulled me so much I forgot all about my reading slump and devoured it in just a couple days! I haven't read a book similar to this in awhile. I feel like a lot of thrillers I normally pick up are domestic thrillers, suburbia crime, wondering which wife did what, and who's husband was the secret killer. It was refreshing to read something different. I only guessed one of the twists, the rest was just turn after turn of suspense.

The best part about this story was that it was actually pretty realistic. I feel like that could have been a group of my friends and I setting out for a dangerous adventure, none of us in hiking shape, complete novice backpackers. The ending was decent, a little shocking, a little sad, a little pull on the heartstrings. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and look forward to picking up something else by Mrs. Clarke.

Thank you to #Netgalley & the publishers for an early free e-copy for my honest review.

I LOVED this! Lucy Clarke’s ‘The Hike’ details a tumultuous journey between four life-long friends that have to confront their own conflicts while relying upon each other to make it out alive in the harrowing Norwegian mountains.

From the very moment I started reading, it really hooked me. The pace was perfect. I’m a real sucker for shorter chapters. It didn’t feel rushed or like it was lagging in any sense. The reveals were done so well, without anything too premature. And, I love when chapters alternate point of views; I think it makes the novel so much more engaging to the reader. This had a good balance between each of the women’s POV alongside the POV of the lodge owner. This definitely gives off a Yellowjackets mixed with Pretty Little Liars vibe, which is so enthralling.

This had me go through all the range of emotions—from joy to anger to sadness and so forth. It’s a story of friendship, betrayal, forgiveness, and selflessness. About overcoming your own faults to see the bigger picture and living life fearlessly. Overall, I think this is such a strong novel with a great plot and characters that we get to see evolve and develop. I’ll surely be buying a physical copy of this once it’s out. I’m now definitely going to check out more from Lucy!

The most perfect book if you are looking for short chapters, character development, and a twisted ending. I rate this book 4 stars!

Thank you for NetGalley for the advance copy.

Fun and suspenseful page turner. The setting, a fogged-in mountain in Norway, provided a great (and eerie) backdrop for this book focused on 4 long-term friends and their intricate relationships. Nothing out of left field — some fairly predictable outcomes — but enjoyed it overall!

Thanks for NetGalley and HarperCollins for the advance copy!

The Hike follows a group of 4 friends who take a girls trip together to hike up a mountain in Norway. The book was pretty good. Told in alternating POV of the 4 friends, the author does a great job showing their individual sides.

I did felt as though there was a lot of build up to the story only to have a very minimal climax. I just felt like something was missing. The story was good and the plot and character development were there, but I needed something more from the ending.

Thank you to Penguin Publishing, the author, and NetGalley for the advance reader copy. This is my honest review. 3.5⭐️ rounded up.

4.5 stars rounded up. This was my first Lucy Clarke book and I’m baffled as to why I have not read her previous novels. This novel is completely in my wheelhouse, I love thrillers set in the wilderness. This worked for me on multiple levels. The friendship between the ladies felt realistic with petty disagreements and some major betrayals thrown in. I genuinely liked all of the main characters. Liz is going through a rough patch in her marriage and this is her year to plan the annual girls trip. Liz wants something more adventurous than their standard beach trips. She plans a somewhat challenging backpacking trip in the Norwegian mountains. Her friends Helena, Maggie and Joni go along with it somewhat reluctantly. We get chapters from each woman’s perspective. The chapters are pretty short and I was pulled into the story right away. I’m looking forward to checking out her back list books. Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I was really excited to read this book based on the description and reviews I read. This book did not disappoint!
The book centers around 4 friends who get together every summer for a trip. This year it is Liz's choice and she picks going backpacking in Norway for 4 days. Nothing to worry about, right? Probably would be correct, if there hadn't been an unexplained death of a hiker a year ago and there is also a nefarious smuggling operation that is going on and it seems like these women are literally walk into it.
There are a lot of twists and turns as the book goes into the relationships among the women. There is also what is going on during the hike. The imagery within makes it easy to imagine what this place looks like. Lots of suspense too.
I would highly recommend.

Fantastic suspense building and great character development make this a winning story. Enjoyed it immensely.