Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins. Up until I read this book The Villa was my favorite book by this author. I love this book. It has so many twists. I never saw some of them coming. The characters are perfect. The good guys are just bad enough. The bad guys are deliciously evil and unlikeable. I eagerly look forward to her next book. I will be recommending this book to all my friends.

Thanks @netgalley for read number 79 of 2023 (& read number 2 of summer break). I always enjoy @ladyhawkins’s books, and this one was no exception. I did not anticipate the twists in this book, and as always, she included some right until the last page. There are many points of view in this book, and while that never bothers me, a couple of characters almost seemed to have the same “voice.” I found myself flipping back to double check which character was narrating the chapter. Still a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read. It was a hard book to put down.

This is my 3rd Rachel Hawkins book and although not my favorite, it definitely kept me guessing. A third of the way into the book I realized what Ruby's 'big secret' was and waited to find out the reveal. It's a very unique plot and would make an excellent movie with some editing and perhaps more likeable characters. It's the story of famous North Carolina heiress, Ruby McTavish and her questionable ancestors. Ruby is a self made woman with some assistance from her father. Her 4 husbands all die mysterious deaths, and after her death, her son Camden inherits it all, the bulk of which is the town of Tavistock and the ancestral home of Ashby House, which is in serious disrepair. This novel has serious Rebecca vibes, as Ashby house reminded me quite a bit of Manderley, especially toward the end. Cam has disowned his family and lives in CO, vowing never to return. However, his wife Jules, wants to see where he grew up when he receives a letter from his brother informing him of his uncle's' death.
Once they get to Ashby house, old memories surface, secret letters are found, and everyone is not who they seem. Who will survive the family reunion? Ruby was the most interesting character to me. What made her do what she did? Why was her relationship with Cam strained? Did she have anything to do with her husbands' mysterious deaths? All this will be revealed in time dear reader, and you have to just go along for the ride.

Wow! This was fantastic! I love the story that Rachel Hawkins weaves with this one. I was intrigued from the first page. I liked that everyone had a secret to hide.

Reviewed for NetGalley:

Ruby McTavish, the most wealthy woman in North Carolina, and infamous for being a former kidnapped child, passes away and leaves her fortune to her adopted son, Cam. However, Cam wants nothing to do with the fortune or the rest of the McTavish family.

However, Cam's wife, Jules has other plans and persuades Cam to return to his family home.

Told through multiple perspectives, with lots of twists and turns, Hawkins does not disappoint.

Somewhat reminiscent of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, with a thriller twist. An enjoyable read.

4.5/5

I love the two perspectives of Jules and Camden, the letters from Ruby, and the different newspaper articles. The twists never stopped coming. I didn’t want to put it down!!!!

Highly recommend!!!!!

Absolute win by Rachel Hawkins! I look forward to every one of her books! She weaves these tales that make me not want to put them down at night. I have to wait until the weekend to read because I know they're hard to put down. This one takes place in North Carolina and reminded me of old Southern family drama intrigue (I'm from Mississippi originally so well aware of this!). Loved it!

The Heiress is a different structure of novel from what one is used to reading from Rachel Hawkins. The chapters are told from the perspectives of Camden and Jules McTavish and at times they are speaking to the reader and at times they are simply living through the story. Between these chapters, the reader experiences letters, newspaper articles, and other forms of correspondence that provide insight into the heiress herself, Ruby McTavish.

There are a number of mysteries woven into this book starting from the disappearance & reappearance of Baby Ruby, continuing with the abhorrence that Cam has for his home, and continuing with the reader wondering who Ruby was writing those letters to.

I was a bit turned off by the structure and pace of the novel at first and struggled to get hooked. However, once Ruby's backstory started to get a bit more interesting, things seemed to tie together a bit more. I would recommend this book if you're looking for a light mystery!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy.

I have never read a Rachel Hawkins book that I didn't love and "The Heiress" was no exception. I was immersed right at the beginning with the current story line with Cam and his wife, as well as the letters from the past from his mother retelling the story. I really enjoyed how the story was easy to follow even with multiple points of view and multiple time jumps. It really kept me guessing and I was not expecting the ending. Overall, a great book!

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC, all opinions are my own.

Once again Rachel Hawkins knocks it out of the park. This is a story full of twists and a fun play on the typical inheritance story.
Definitely read this in one setting 👌🏻

Camden McTavish had finally gotten free. He had found a wonderful wife and a comfortable life far away from North Carolina and the horrors that hid in his family estate there. When a family death brings him and his wife, Jules, back to the doorstep of McTavish house, they quickly find that memories are not the only things lurking in the shadows.

This book was incredible! I read this as an eARC from Netgalley and could not stop reading! There are plot twists upon twists all throughout this read that keep you on your toes until the very end. This story is told in flashbacks through letters and current time drama. Hawkins makes you question what you would do if you were in certain situations that the characters face. You would like to think you’d take the high road.. but could you really make the harder choice when it comes down to it? Absolutely loved this book! Definitely recommending it to friends!

4.5⭐️

This is my first book I've ever read by the author, Rachel Hawkins. I have a t least a couple other books by her on my TBR list but this is the first I'd ever got around to actually reading. I honestly don't know how to explain my feelings towards this book. On one hand the writing style itself was extremely engaging. I slipped into this book very easily. As an adult with ADHD I find it more and more difficult to read books unless the are extremely stimulating to me. This is why I end up listening to books more than reading these days, but I digress. My point is, I fully read this book which in and of itself shows that there are plenty of positive aspects about this book. On the other hand the plot was a bit of a let down. Even that probably wouldn't have been an issue if it had been marketed differently.

On Netgalley it's listed as a Mystery/Thriller and it definitely has both sprinkled in among the pages but to me it seemed more like a duo timeline family history. There were some twists and turns along the way or more accurately some winding curves. Overall I found the book to be and entertaining and easy read and I fully intend to read more books from this author's backlog.

I was so excited to see a new book by Rachel Hawkins and downloaded it right away. I loved her books The Wife Upstairs, Reckless Girls, and The Villa and her new one did not disappoint.

Jules and her fiance Camden live the simple life in a small house in Colorado. You would never know that Camden is the heir to a fortune left by his adopted mother Ruby, who passed away a decade earlier. He has turned his back on his fortune, and the family that came along with it. His family has always felt bitter towards Camden and Ruby and they never had a healthy relationship. When Camden's uncle dies he and Jules decide to return to the estate to tie up some loose ends. Camden wants this to be a quick visit, but Jules has other ideas. As she starts to familiarize herself with the property she begins to want this to be her future home. She starts to snoop in each room and uncovers some decades old secrets of Ruby's that could change everything Camden thought about his life.

I really enjoyed this book! Plenty of family secrets and twists that will keep the reader guessing. I loved the way letters, newspaper articles, and different POV's were woven together to create the story. Thank you for the ARC!

Eerie and tense, The Heiress does not disappoint! There were so many twists and turns throughout. Reveal after reveal. It was smartly written. So clever. I loved it! Hard to put down. Highly recommend. Look for it in January!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance reader copy!

Lots of twists and turns and fast paced. Perfect beach read because the chapters are short and you don't have to give 100% attention to the story to get what is happening. I particularly like stories told from different characters' viewpoints like The Heiress. Ruby McTavish was quite the woman and not in a good way! Sadly, the ending fell a bit flat for me. It just seemed like it was all tied up very nicely despite the drama that was happening throughout the book. A big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the Advanced Reader's copy.

Rachel has done it again! Another book I couldn’t put down. The chapters are small and told mainly in Camden and Jules pov. Filled with family secrets, you’ll have no idea what’s going on until the end.

Rachel Hawkins is easily becoming one of my favorite authors! This book had so many twists & turns that I could just not put it down! I will be thinking about this one for awhile!

The Heiress is the fourth book I’ve read from Rachel Hawkins and probably my favorite yet! It’s a very fast paced read and I had trouble putting it down.

It’s about a guy named Camden and his wife, Jules, who live a seemingly simple life in Colorado. He’s the heir to the McTavish fortune and Ashby House, an impressive estate in the Blue Ridge mountains, but doesn’t want to take a penny from his complicated family. After his uncle dies, he finally returns to Ashby House to set things straight, but his tumultuous childhood haunts him. Jules wants Cam to take his inheritance and start a new life there, but the remaining McTavish family members will have something to say about that! It also jumps back in time to reveal letter written by Cam’s adoptive mother and newspaper clippings about Ruby McTavish, the heiress of the complicated family, which I found just as exciting as the current day chapters, as it played highly into the story.

I received an advanced copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for a review, and opinions are my own.

This book was AMAZING! It was such a twisted story. The ending was something I never saw coming! I loved it!!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Review: ⭐⭐⭐

If The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo met The Château, you'd have The Heiress.

The book is okay, I like Rachel Hawkins but it didn't quite come together for me... As if the book is giving you one too many winks.

I couldn't even tell you what the actual premise is, it was well written and interesting but didn't really execute on anything.

There are a lot of twists or attempted gotchas but it really feels like the book just isn't quite sure what it wants to be.

Not a bad read by any means but not as tight or substantial as it could have been.

An abundance of thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.