Another great one by Catriona Ward! Twisty, unsettling, and full of intricate, well-written characters, Looking Glass Sound is sure to have its readers staring at the pages and wondering what will happen next.

I think I need to disclose first that I love Catriona Ward. Her particular style of horror really resonates with me. Looking Glass Sound was no different, I thoroughly enjoyed it and was really never sure what was going to happen next. I'm usually quite good at guessing endings and I absolutely didn't see any of this coming.

Intricately woven, this novel feels like a puzzle box where the deeper I got the more moving parts there were, and I was no closer to an answer. Twisty, mindbending. This is definitely a 'psychological thriller' that will keep you on your toes.

I’ve been sitting on this review for a while because I honestly still don’t know what I read 😂

I’m usually a sucker for a good “book within a book” plot but this was too meta for even me. That said, I’m still thinking about it weeks after reading it so I guess it has that going for it?

I’m still a #rideordie Catriona Ward fan but this one made my brain hurt! 💀

Thank you to @netgalley for my review copy (ebook and audio)

This book is such a mindtrip. I was left a little confused, but I enjoyed the feeling. It’s hard to review the book without spoiling the book within a book within a magical book premise. Suffice it to say that if you enjoy meta fiction, this is a moody and enjoyable read.

I listened to the audiobook, which was helpful for comprehension of the complex narrative style. I really enjoyed this one! Summery and moody.

When I finished the last paragraph, my first thought was “oh thank God this is finally over.” That is the opposite of what I want to think at the end of a book.

The first half of the novel was an engrossing coming-of-age story about three teenagers spending the summer along the Maine coast. It’s written as a memoir by one of the teens, Wilder Harlow. There’s jealousy, rivalry, friendship, love, and danger. If the story had ended there I would have given it five stars.

At just past the halfway mark, the narrative shifts and we’re retold the story as it’s written by a new character, who wasn’t there but who has stolen Wilder’s unpublished memoir and rewritten it. Ok, that was an unnecessary twist, but still held my interest.

Unfortunately, the last third of the book takes about 6 more twists and becomes annoyingly repetitive. Two more retellings of the exact same story but with variations depending on which character was writing, was tedious to read. Trudging through the final scenes, I stopped caring about whose version was closest to the original events or what happened.

The whole thing left me with the impression that Catriona Ward had written five variations of a story she wanted to tell, and instead of being decisive and publishing one, she created characters who retold the same story five ways.

Looking Glass Sound seemed like a novel I would love. I requested it from NetGalley because I liked the author’s book Little Eve, and because this book is described as horror/thriller, which is is one of my favorite genres. Thank you NetGalley for giving my the free audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’m rating Looking Glass Sound 2.5 stars, and I always round up.

I’m honestly not sure how to review this one. It was well-written and a good book, but it was just not my cup of tea. The multi-layered plot was very distracting, and I just didn’t love it as much as I wanted to. I am chalking this up to just my opinion. If you have enjoyed others by this author, I think you will love this one. I am definitely an outlier as evidenced by the many, many glowing reviews.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Wilder has a traumatizing experience on a summer vacation during his teenage years that inspires a novel. This is a tale of betrayal, summer companions, nostalgia and writer problems.

The first half of this book was really interesting and well-paced but the last half felt like it just tried to do too much. Learning the characters and their odd rituals and experiences during childhood was the best part of the book. When he went to college there was still a lot of potential but after that, my interest started tapering off. The twists were there but there were just too many things happening for them to seem that shocking. I just wish the creepy, seaside tone and vibe captured in the first third of the book was prevalent throughout. It felt so choppy as Wilder was in different eras in his life that it could have been different books. Overall, a lot of potential here but wish it had been more cohesive. I will say that the narrator did a great job.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the audio ARC!

This is the second Catriona Ward novel that I've ever read, and I'm starting to realize that her books are just not for me. They are very well written, and I love the eerie atmospheres that she creates, but I seem to struggle getting into the actual story. I did enjoy this one a bit more than the previous novel I read, but about halfway through, I struggled to stay interested. I listened to the audiobook, and I did really enjoy both narrators . Honestly, I don't think I would've finished this book if it weren't for that.

I have to say I am not as thrilled with this story about a set of pre-teens messing with an old legend in a small coastal town could not hold my interest.

There were some very creepy moments, I will admit, but otherwise I was not as engrossed by this story as I had hoped I would be. Portions of the story seemed repetitive or overly drawn out. I was granted the audiobook of this novel. The narrator was very good, but I will admit to increasing the speed on the NetGalley ap so that the slower bits could be gotten over quickly.

Three and a half stars rounded down to a 3 because Goodreads does not allow for half stars. My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of the audiobook of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Wilder is a lonely teenager who finally makes friends when they go to stay in the cottage that was left to him and his parents boys uncle he meets Harper and Nathaniel Nathaniel it’s from the area and Harper is on holiday from England they have a great crazy summer filled with sunny days his first crush and talk about Daggermen the guy who breaks in peoples homes and takes pictures of the children and then send them to the local police and newspapers and the parents. Much later in the book he goes to college and meets Sky. Someone he considers a friend but years later when sky writes a book that is exactly like his childhood summer this is when the trouble begins. I get that everyone loves this book but I thought the beginning and most of the middle wouldn’t even be considered a horror story it was more a coming-of-age that is not my genre and although I was entertained by Wilder, Nathaniel and Harper‘s story and I even enjoyed the part with him and sky but as I said this wasn’t what I signed up for and was totally disappointed in it I listen to this book for different times only because I found myself daydreaming while the narration played on and I would stop and come back to it and although I finally finished it and I thought the two narrators did a great job I just don’t like books that take so long to get to the thrilling or horror portion of the book I have listen to Katrina awards books before and have enjoyed them I just didn’t like this one all that much. Although I did think she did a great job getting in to the different characters personalities and thought the character distinction was spot on it just wasn’t enough to keep me totally enthralled in the narrative. I received this book from NetGalley and McMillan audio but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

3.5 stars. Wilder is kind of a weird kid, a loner. He makes new friends during his summer at Whistler Bay in Maine, but they're also kind of strange, and maybe hiding dark secrets. Returning to the town some 30 years after that first summer, Wilder is attempting to pen his memoirs, but his memory is hazy and perhaps unreliable. What actually happened? Is he going insane? Why is he seeing phantoms, and can he figure out the puzzle before they hurt him?

Gathering my thoughts on this one is kind of tough. I want to read it again, now that I understand what's going on, because my first read was more than a little bit confusing. I'm not even sure my summary above actually aligns with the plot of the book because it's — complicated. No spoilers.

I love Catriona Ward's other books, and Looking Glass Sound is similar in vibes but lacking compelling characters and story for me. It's a very lush world she's created, with plenty of creep factor but also a good bit of "what the?" and not necessarily in a satisfactory way. Again, I want to read this a second time and see if my opinion changes, but for now I think the story was just a little *too* layered and confusing.

Thank you to Catriona Ward, Tor Nightfire, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for my advance audio copy.

“The human heart is deep and dark with many chambers. Things hide down there.”

This was a f’n trip. All kinds of crazy. There were so many perspectives and shifts, I got lost on more than one occasion. Normally that would derail the story for me, but Catriona skillfully manages to keep this one from becoming a complete trainwreck and elevates the story with the shifts instead. Don’t know how she did it, but Kudos to her. Well played, Catriona, well played.

This book was incredibly strange. And I’m still not sure if it’s in a good way or not. I found myself getting distracted.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (Rounded up to 5 Stars)
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There it is, that living rent free in my head after finishing it feeling! This was what I’ve been waiting for.
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This book is told in multiple points of view and in multiple timelines? I question that because at times it can be a bit confusing. Let me explain. This is told in the perspective of our main characters Wilder’s memoir, through Wilder in the present and through Pearl.
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The atmosphere of this one was on point - right from the start I felt so drawn to this one, I couldn’t put it down. I was transferred to Whistler Bay. This is a gothic thriller, a horror, a mystery, a romance, and even a coming of age story. There are so many layers to it. There are points where you will be so confused, parts where it is absolutely riveting and parts that are a bit on the slow side. Let me tell you though, when it all comes together, and it most certainly does, your mind will be absolutely blown. Without a doubt worth the read. I wasn’t a huge fan of when Wilder began to question his sanity but how everything ties together makes it all worth it. Now that I know all of the pieces to the great big mystery of this book, I would like to venture back to this one and see what else I could pick up on!
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The narration of Christopher Ragland and Katherine Fenton was absolute perfection. They complimented one another, making this a very enjoyable and easy read! I was happy to have both the ALC and eARC to be able to utilize together because there is a lot to this story.
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Catriona Ward has a way of writing that is just so captivating, so hauntingly beautiful that you can’t help but get sucked into the story. She is so descriptive that you are transported into it and next thing you know its 5am and you have stayed up wayyyy past your bedtime.
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Calling all Catriona Ward fans, to all my horror fans, to all my gothic thriller fans - this one is great and definitely one that I will be recommending for a while. Looking Glass Sound comes out on August 8th, be sure to grab a copy!
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Huge thank you to @negalley, @tornightfire, @macmillinaudio and @catrionaward for the ALC and eARC in exchange for my honest review.

TW: bullying, family death, underage drinking, language, fighting, alcoholism, teenage drama, death of sibling, stalking, toxic parent relationship, cheating, murder, smoking, divorce, anxiety, depression, self harm, suicide, abortion, adoption

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:In a lonely cottage overlooking the windswept Maine coast, Wilder Harlow begins the last book he will ever write. It is the story of his childhood summer companions and the killer that stalked the small New England town. Of the body they found, and the horror of that discovery echoing down the decades. And of Sky, Wilder’s one-time best friend, who stole his unfinished memoir and turned it into a lurid bestselling novel, Looking Glass Sound.But as Wilder writes, the lines between memory and fiction blur. He fears he’s losing his grip on reality when he finds notes hidden around the cottage written in Sky’s signature green ink.
Release Date: August 8th, 2023
Genre: Horror/thriller
Pages: 348
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.75)

What I Liked:
1. The writing style
2. How the chapters continue on
3. The characters are so beautiful

What I Didn't Like:
1. Too much happening at the end
2. Book slows down a lot once you get halfway through book
3. Didn’t like ending

Overall Thoughts:
I want to say that I write my reviews as I read along with the book. So yes, something might get explained as you read on but in the moment that’s what I was thinking about at the time.

Fucked up will save you. Fucked up will set you free.’

“I like talking about him,’ Harper says. ‘But it’s kind of a bummer to keep talking about your dead brother. It’s a way of talking about him and not talking about it, both at the same time.”
Harper talking about how she pretends that her brother's death was a dog is so sad but interesting. She is so emotional and cares enough about people's feelings to not want it bum them out when she talks about him. So sad.

Seriously can I just live inside the words that Catriona Ward makes? I took my time with this book. I feel like I need to when it comes to her writing. I never want it to end. I savor every word, sentence, and page. I embrace the characters. I live along with them. I suffer when they suffer and I cry when their tears appear. I hug the book when they are in need of love. I let them be real to me. I spent the summer with Nat, Wilder, and Harper. I watched them grow the summers they returned.

The story is told so well that you go along with the characters. The author does a wonderful job at building them up that you feel so much for them. You feel for each person and everything feels believable from the beginning. I wanted to hug Harper.

Omgosh finding out that Nat's dad is the one that was killing women and taking photos of the children made me gasp out loud. Poor Nat...and then losing his hand. Now he's dead and they think he was working with his dad only to find out that it wasn't really his dad.... What are you doing to us Catriona??? 🤯

A part I didn't really care for was when Wilder finally decides he is going to write the story down of what's happened. This takes place 30 years after Sky has written "his" book. Now Wilder is writing from the perspective of Skye - a girl version of Sky - and we pretty much just get a retelling of what we already read but with some fictional elements added it. That part felt very weighed down to me and like a filler to this book. I wanted something new - not something recycled. Honestly this book kind of confused me a bit. He plans on using the same story but this Sky is a female. People know that Sky was a male as he was pretty famous from the book so wouldn't they know he's writing about him? How is this protecting what he had with him?

I just felt like once we got to when Sky stole the story the book felt sluggish and weighed down. We were still reading to a countdown for Wilder to kill himself but we knew he was going to get stopped. Around that time the book just felt like it lost its focus. We are just rereading parts of the book that was already there....

Okay so Sky is really Skye and Skye is really Pearl. Wilder really lived and he died in 1993. He killed himself with hemlock. Pearl really met Wilder in college. Harper met Pearl when she went to a new school. Nat really died. Harper lied about having an abortion and really had the child; Gracie. Nat and Wilder are really brothers because of Wilder’s dad. Pearl had Harper kicked out of school when she hid a bottle of wine under her pillow. Nat was the one that took the photos of the children. Harper kills Nat. Harper killed Wilder when he accidentally got cut with her knife she was going to use to kill herself.

Honestly the ending not a big fan of. Yeah there were twists but were they good? They were okay. Witchcraft is real in this world. Harper was able to put Wilder into the book so he can live forever and now she’s damning Pearl to the same fate. I just didn’t understand how this is a bad thing when Harper wanted the same thing and that was okay.

Final Thoughts:
I wouldn’t say that I hated or loved this book because I definitely feel like I had a beautiful journey as I read it. My problem with this book is that it’s like one of those troupes where it was ”It was all just a dream”. You’re reading a book inside a book and then another book about that book. I can get on board with that Sky wrote a book based on the town and what happened to her mother. What I cannot love is that she is rewriting the book now from her pov. I felt like I was reading Twilight when you get Edwards pov. It felt like too much for this book. Too much packed into a book that already had so much going on.

I will say that Catriona can write the shit out of a book. She writes such beautiful sentence’s that at times it was like poetry. She made me relieve how hard it was being a teen and just trying to make friends. There were moments reading when I felt as though I was on the beach with friends.

Recommend For:
• Fantasy elements
• Summer vibes
• Friendships
• Stories about writers

Wilder Harlow and his family go spend the summer at his late uncle's cottage in Whistler Bay. The area is being stalked by a killer but Wilder and his friends Nat and Harper aren't worrying much about that. Wilder is trying to win Harper's affection but before the summer ends, everything falls apart. Years later, Wilder is in college and meets Sky, who becomes his best friend. But Sky writes a book about Wilder's summer in Whistler Bay and that's when things become complicated.

It's hard to explain much about this book because the more you read, the more complicated it gets. Wilder is our one constant, but everything and everyone else is up for debate. The writing is so good and complex but so worth it. You really have to pay attention to who is who and what's going on, but I really loved this.

Ward is quickly becoming a must read author for me. I look forward to what else she puts out!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Available August 8, 2023.

I have never read Ward's work before, despite hearing many great things. Needless to say, I was not disappointed in Looking Glass Sound - a text within a text. I think I may have done better with a printed copy of the text, as the format did not translate as well to audio, though I'm already looking forward to reading a printed copy and diving back in. Will definitely look forward to more work from this author.

Thanks for the opportunity to listen and review!

This book is ooky spooky. The body horror level is fever pitch in several key scenes that made me cringe. The horrors are numerous but very rarely something innately horrific, instead we get the ooky spooky stuff running alongside the horror of betrayal and the horror of not being the one telling your own story. I'm a fairly new Catriona Ward reader, I've only read one other book by her, but her work is intense, often a puzzle, and scary as hell.
This book is kind of a coming of age book, kind of a coming out book, kind of a murder mystery and also kind of a tale of madness. The madness we get driven to when we don't have control over how our story is told, and the madness that often happens when the universe surprises you with another curveball right when you think everything is going to be okay.
I ranked this 4.5 stars because I do think that about halfway through the book, the pacing fell off. I honestly had a hard time staying focused from about 55% to 75%, and the writing isn't bad there by any means, but Ward's other scenes in the book are so intense and hard hitting, you kind of feel like you need to skim through the introspection to get to the payoff.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for this opportunity to listen Tate and review this audiobook arc which will be available August 8,2023!

The narrators are Christopher Ragland and Katherine Fenton. I loved Katherine but had a lot of issues with Christopher that it took me out of the story.

The book is about one summer in the main character’s youth when a killer stalked a small New England town and how that summer trauma bonded Wilder with his friends Nat and Harper. Wilder returns to the same town to write about that fateful summer and how as he writes his memoir reality and the past merge eerily. And he is seeing a dark haired woman no one else can see.


I absolutely loved the book and my stars reflect the narration. The book is a perfect summer horror read in my opinion and I shall buy the book and bypass the audiobook.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Catriona Ward for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC audiobook for Looking Glass Sound coming out August 8, 2023. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

In a cottage overlooking the windswept Maine coast, Wilder Harlow has begun the last book he will ever write. 

It is the story about the sun-drenched summer days of his youth in Whistler Bay, and the blood-stained path of the killer that stalked his small vacation town. About the terrible secret he and his companions, Nat and Harper, discovered entombed in the coves off the bay. And how the pact they swore that day echoed down the decades, forever shaping their lives.

But the more Wilder writes, the less he trusts himself and his memory. He starts to see things that can’t be real – notes hidden in his cupboards, from an old friend now dead; a woman with dark hair drowning in the icy waters below, calling for help; entire chapters he doesn’t recall typing, appearing overnight. Who, or what, is haunting Wilder?

No longer able to trust his own eyes, Wilder begins to fear that this will not only be his last book, but the last thing he ever does.

I’ve read several books by this author and I always think I’ll love them. I really want to love her spooky stories. Maine is a place I would love to visit and I love books set there. But this story wasn’t for me. It was hard for me to get into the story. I think the time jumps around made it confusing. I couldn’t really root for any of the characters and it wasn’t the kind of spooky I thought it would be.