Feminine horror set in modern day Iceland.

Suffering from fatigue, muscle pain, and unexplained bruises our narrator visits the doctor in fear of the worst. After routine tests and blood work, all comes back normal suggesting that it might just all be in her head or what the doctors professionally call “psychosomatic”. Her friends are eager to offer their advice: have you tried yoga, you need to eat more red meat, what about less caffeine, Zumba saved my life! Hoping to aid in her new fitness routine, she buys a shiny new watch and becomes a little obsessed with tracking her steps. When the watch shows an abnormally large number of steps walked overnight, our narrator grows annoyed. The watch is surely broken, right?

This heart-pounding novella can be read in a single afternoon. In fact, I finished the audiobook before my daily commute was over. The chapters are short and suspenseful which, along with the stress ramping up with each chapter, propel this story forward.

All was going well until the ending which came so quickly and abruptly. I do wish there would have been more substance there. When it ended, I said “wait.. that’s it? where’s the rest of it?” I’m ok with ambiguity—I love Shirley Jackson after all—but this went past ambiguity in to feeling unfinished.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review. Available 09/03/2024!

Well, this was, in my opinion, a quite unconventional horror story about a middle-aged woman who wakes up every day feeling more exhausted and in more physical pain than the previous day. She sees many different doctors in order to find out what's wrong with her, but all her exams fail to provide her with any diagnosis. She then starts to realise that her smart watch is counting more steps than the ones she actually takes, overnight. She suspects she is sleepwalking but soon she discovers the real reason behind all her blackouts and eerie overnight activities.

This story is told by this woman's perspective in very small (and many) chapters, so the narrative is really fast-paced. We, the readers, follow her own thoughts and conversations inside her head and we keep wondering "is this psychological or supernatural?"
I thought it was a very interesting short horror novella, easy to read and to empathise with the main character, and the tension builds up more and more by each chapter. I was loving it, really. Until the ending. Uff This is one of those "abrupt ending" cases. I got to the last chapter and then I was like "Wait, what? Was that the last chapter? Will there be a sequel or something?"
So, be aware that this is the kind of book with no clear conclusion. Also, there is a lot of animal cruelty here. I personally don't mind because, after all, this is a FICTIONAL story. Not supposed to be taken seriously.

I do recommend this novella to any horror fans who enjoy unique, unconventional and weird fast-paced stories.
I listened to the audiobook format, in one sitting, and the narrator (Mary Robinette Kowal - who is also the translator of this book) does a great job vocing this fascinating character.

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for allowing me to listen to a free advanced audiobook copy of this novella in exchange for my honest opinion.

This one was a surprise. I didn't know what to expect, but I loved it. It was almost like what I was expecting from Nightbitch, but didn't get. Loved the short chapters, loved how quick it was- straight to the point without extra stuff allowing you to get bored. It was just great.

I read the book then listened to the audio version. I adored the first 75% of this book. After that, it fell flat for me and got totally confusing. I'm still unsure what happened at the end but perhaps it was lost in translation? The narrator was fantastic. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillian Audio for the advanced copy.