My gosh I loved this!! You follow Emma and her mom Sam as they navigate life as a new family with Sam’s husband. Strange things start to occur, shadow people, crazy warnings from others, creepy feelings, all the things that keep you guessing, WHAT THE HECK IS HAPPENING?! I loved this read! It was an easy, quick, fun, terrifying read all wrapped into one! Definitely perfect for spooky season coming!

This novel has an intriguing premise that immerses you in an island setting filled with mystery, intrigue, and a touch of the paranormal. As a reader, you don't realize what’s truly terrifying until it strikes the characters, reminiscent of the chilling undertones found in *The Stepford Wives* and a plot that may fit within "American Horror Story."

While I enjoyed the dual perspectives of the mother and daughter, I found the ages of the children and their backstories somewhat unclear. The relationships, particularly between the cousins who seemed not to have grown up together, were confusing and could have been better developed to enhance the story's depth.

All the ingredients for a horror/thriller book. Creepy old people, weird smoothies, the infamous pie, rituals, and a pregnant woman.

This was a great debut novel by Monique Asher.

Thank you NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing for my E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Don’t Eat The Pie was definitely an experience to read. It felt like it was trying to be too many things at once, and the laundry list of characters was way too much at the beginning, but eventually ironed itself out as the story unfolded.
Was this book a bit all over the place? Yes, definitely.
Was I entertained at throughout? Yes, definitely.
I appreciated the unique descriptions of the gore and horror aspects of this book, and I was definitely entertained.

Gothic horror cultish vibes solid 4 stars!
Gripping page turning forllowing the newlyweds on an insland when Ben the grooms family lives !
Sam is the bride with her daughter Emma their arrive and some dark fever like dream events unfold . Erie dark reeling while reading until the end ! Intense page turning read !

Newlywed Sam has always wanted to be a part of a normal happy family.
When her mother-in-law falls ill, Sam dutifully moves her family to Edenic Camillia Island to care for her. The island residents, namely the older women, welcome Sam and her daughter Emma with open arms, endless cocktails, and plenty of superstition.
It seems perfect until it’s not. The house next to her mother-in-law’s is creepy—not only that, it’s where Ben’s first wife died.
Sam’s teen daughter Emma isn’t interested in spending the summer in Camilia. It gets even worse when Emma starts to see things—knowing that there are ghosts trying to warn her of something, but what?
Despite Emma’s pleas, Sam doesn’t want to rock the boat with her new family. Emma won’t pretend nothing is happening, especially as the messages become more grim and frequent. What secrets are buried on Camilia Island? And why are all the residents keen on keeping them quiet?

I LOVED this book!!!!! It was so well written, I could see this entire book in my head and it was so beautifully creepy. I was screaming at the characters to get off the island and I couldn't wait to see what was really going on. And as the title indicates you most definitely not eat the pie!

Thank you NetGalley, Monique Asher and Rising Action Publishing for this ARC.

I was really looking forward to reading "Don’t Eat The Cake" after getting approved for it. The cover is amazing, and I had high hopes for it. However, it didn't quite meet my expectations. While I can see how it might appeal to fans of "Rosemary’s Baby" with its slow burn and cult vibes, I personally found it to be dragging and the characters annoying. If you enjoy slow burn horror with pregnancy and cult themes, this might be worth checking out.

Excellent cover. Great premise. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into the story and could not get used to the writing style.

Summary: Emma's mom just married a fantastic guy. They visit his family home, and weird things begin to happen, and maybe he's not so fantastic after all.....

I really enjoyed this book! It has fantastic "Get Out" vibes! The creepy progression of knowing things are not ok, and there's nothing you can do to stop it will keep you reading this one!

It has a lot of classic Gothic feelings to it. It slowly builds from one crazy event, to the next. There's a lot that happens, and it's written much like a movie. I could really see this being made into a film. There definitely needs to be a sequel!!

If you want some spoilers, I'll list the movies below that remind me of this book.

Thank you Rising Action Publishing, Netgalley, and Monique Asher for giving me the opportunity to read this book!


Spoilers below!

Get Out, The Witches, Hereditary, The Wicker Man

Obsessed with this book!! I could not put it down.

Sam and her daughter Emma move to Camilla island after Ben's, Sam's new husband, mother has an accident. While on the island, there are some weird things going on that almost give off a "Stepford" community and once the adults attend the "pie party" things go crazy real quick.

I really enjoyed the dual POV from mom and daughter, it helped build the story up seeing it from two perspectives. The major twist of the book was not super predictable at first and Monique Asher did a great job of using that bit of history to great this gothic horror novel.

This was hard to read due to the writing. I can't put my finger on it, but it felt like the writing tried to hard.

Totally freaking creepy. I’m glad I was chosen for an ARC of this book. Reminded me of Rosemary’s baby. Sam and Emma were such well-written characters. Sam’s mother in law has had an accident and they have to stay on this beautiful island, but something is off. Back to the characters…it was some pretty good character development. It had some slow parts, but I felt a lot of books do, but I was never truly bored and felt I had to keep pushing. The book naturally kept me going. It is not a book for the light of heart, so read the triggers. This book does fall in a horror/ thriller category.

Thank you so much to Rising Action Publishing Co./NetGalley/Monique Asher for this ARC of Don't Eat the Pie in exchange for my honest review. Expected Publication Date: October 29th, 2024

Fun, intriguing, heart wrenching and spooky - all wrapped up in one 'can't put downable' debut novel from Monique Asher! The writing style was character POV chapters, versus traditional chapter layout - the writing and the story kept me interested the whole book. I read this novel in 24 hours! Although some of the main protagonists are kids/teens, I didn't feel like this was a coming of age novel(which I sometimes have a hard time connecting to). I loved the historic occult themes the author built on - and there was a twist at the end that I just had NO idea was coming. This novel isn't really outwardly gory - but more insinuated gore, so I think it's a great novel for new horror readers. I definitely recommend giving this a read, I enjoyed it a lot!

4.5/5 stars 📖

After Samantha marries Ben, they get a call that Ben's mother isn't feeling well, so Sam and her teenage daughter Emma head to the in-laws place on a small island for the summer - where people are just a liiiiiitle odd. 🤔

The highlight of the summer is an annual Pie Party, but (*shocker*) Sam eats the pie. Things don't go well after that.

Think Rosemary's Baby.

Personally, I really enjoyed the *second* half of the book. I was confused with who-was-who character wise (Sam's sister and nephew come along for the ride, and it took me more than a couple chapters to figure out who the heck they were).

But once I was IN it, I loved it! "Rosemary's Baby" is one of my favorite horror books, and one that got me hooked into the genre. So a retelling/rehashing of this classic was 100% a must read for me! It has all the necessary components: weird old people, stinky herbs, a crazy (pie induced) party - such a perfect combo. 🥧

I honestly want to buy myself a physical copy to reread, now that I know who-is-who. Currently I'm rating this as 4 stars, but could totally see this bumped up to a 5 with a reread.

I'd recommend this for fans of Ira Levin (Rosemary's Baby/Stepford Wives). Also, honestly it kinda has the same energy as some of Rachel Harrison's books, so for my Harrison fans, this should go in your reading list.

Oh, and be prepared to crave pie. and possibly want to plan a vacation to the Outer Banks in North Carolina.😂🥧

This is being released in October of 2024 and I will definitely want to get my hands on a copy for myself!

Thank you to Netgalley and @moasherwrites for the ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All views expressed are my own.

Don’t Eat the Pie had several things I really like. It’s got a gothic, cultish vibe with some eerie things you just can’t quite put your finger on. If you like Rosemary’s Baby or Nestlings, this is right up there. I really enjoyed the read. Thank you Monique Asher, Rising Action Publishing and Netgalley for the opportunity to read the arc. I will be recommending this book to others.

An interesting book to say the least! Definitely kept me guessing about what would happen next. I think 3 stars is fitting for the book. I didn’t quite enjoy the writing style. Parts of the book I did not enjoy and felt like there were things left unanswered. However, overall it’s definitely an interesting read and I think many people would enjoy it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.

I saw this book compared to Rosemary’s Baby and since that is my favorite book/movie I had to read Don’t Eat The Pie.

So how does it hold up to RB? Pretty well. You’ve got your pregnant woman, creepy old people, a locket of smelly herbs, weird smoothies, oh and a bunch of satanic rituals.

This is the authors debut book and I would definitely read more! Thanks to Monique Asher, NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing. I have written this review voluntarily.

After Sam marries Ben whilst on honeymoon they get the call Ben's mother has been injured on Camilla Island. Emma (Sam's daughter) arrives with her aunt and cousin who spend the summer on the island but things take a turn for the worse after a pie party which Sam is warned not to eat the pies. In what seems a very Rosemary's baby roundabout way Sam ends up pregnant and it progresses fast. Stuck on the island Emma explores the house where Ben's first wife died and spooky things start to happen with ghosts and seeing things which is brushed off whilst i got the feeling something very cult like was happening i loved every second of this book and writing. If you loved books like Rosemary's baby or hauntings i would highly recommend.

Oooh! This was a ride! Sam and her new husband and daughter Emma move to an island after Sam's husband's mother gets ill. Weird things start happening right away and I was here for it! Emma is not going along with her mother's explanations at all. The ghosts are trying to warn them about something, but they aren't sure what. I absolutely devoured this book and would absolutely recommend it to anyone who loves the paranormal.

This gothic horror novel taps into the vien if Suspiria and like Rose Red movies. It is a fresh take on a haunted house and a toxic relationship between family members. It had a great POVs describing what was happening from personal mindsets. What seems like a beauitful and just fantastic area slowly turns to rott and isolation.