This is a great psychological thriller.
Polly goes to the Lake District for an art retreat to get away from it all. She also wants to look into her past while she is there.
There's quite a lot of characters to get your head around but it soon falls into place.
Whilst there, people start to go missing and Polly wants to find out what's happening in this quiet retreat.
Most of the characters are hiding something so it's hard to work out who is behind this.
There's also a few twists and turns to keep you guessing as well.
Thanks to Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read this book.

I'm reviewing this via NetGalley, as part of a tour with Rachel's Random Resources.

This psychological thriller follows Polly, who was adopted as a child, and goes to Lakeside House, hoping to find out more about her birth mother. Initially, I imagined Lakeside House as a calm, peaceful place, with something more sinister under the surface. I enjoyed how the author set the scene, and found that I could picture the characters and surroundings as they were described.

I think the characters that intrigued me the most, at least in the beginning, were Tara and Xander, I felt like they were the ones to watch. As the story progressed, I felt the suspense, and there were some nail-biting moments. Towards the end, I felt as though I couldn't turn the pages quickly enough.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rachel's Random Resources, Boldwood Books, and to the author, for the opportunity to read and review this.

I received an E-ARC with a request for my honest review.

This chilling psychological thriller follows Polly who books herself into an Art retreat at Lakeside House. She is not there for the art but to try and discover more about her family history.

Recently Polly had been a victim of her roommate’s stalker, so she decides now is the perfect time to start delving into the place she believes her mother had spent her time.

Soon strange occurrences lead Polly to believe the stalker may have followed her, however with others being targeted too, she starts to wonder if the other guests are what they seem.

Are any of the other guests hiding secrets? Who is behind the strange occurrences?

This psychological thriller is chilling as Polly struggles to work out who she can trust, and who could be behind the strange occurrences around the retreat.

It is a read that keeps you guessing throughout, with plenty of secrets to discover.

You do get to hear from another character in the past too, which helps unravel the mystery behind Polly’s family and the tragic history of the house.

Overall, a chilling psychological thriller where Polly tries to discover answers about her past, but this could turn deadly.

Title: Now You Are Mine
Author: Amanda Brittany
Publisher: Boldwood Books
Genre: Thriller
Page count: 299
Release date: September 9th, 2024

Story summary:

Our protagonist, Polly, has questions. She’s hoping to unravel the mystery of her biological mother’s history; to do so, she attends an art retreat — the same place Polly’s mother was raised and resided prior to her birth. Side note: Polly is adopted, her birth mother is deceased, and not all is well in Polly’s life. After several incidents, Polly begins to question the truth and who to trust. What happened those years ago, and did her problems back at home follow her to Lakeside?

Overall Impression:

With a compelling prologue, “Now You Are Mine” has heart and grit; the story’s summary captured my attention from the start. The execution took off at a snail’s pace, though. Luckily, it began to pick up momentum once I was forty percent of the way through. Polly made an exceptional protagonist — in the best way possible, of course. She was authentic and human. She didn’t seem fake. A real character searching for her identity in a brutally tragic — yet hopeful — world. Many other characters like Tara and Esme, and later Marsha, were fascinating as well. As a reader, it took me a bit to warm up to certain characters, mainly in the book’s introduction. Originally, there were other subplots that confused me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this early release copy.

4.1 out of 5✨

This was such a thrilling read that had me hooked right away and the location is one I know which made it more creepy..

Now You Are Mine
By: Amanda Brittany

5 Stars

Polly wants to know who she is. This leads her to an art retreat at Lakeside House. A double suicide with no bodies found and mystery surrounds this house. Polly, along with an eclectic group of artists from the retreat, is dragged into a mystery that spans years.

Wow. This was such a well written story. It was almost like getting two for one. When the past and present collide, the characters are swept up in a mystery of epic proportions. Murder, treasure, secrets, and lies can be found here. This story was emotional and fast-paced and kept me guessing. It was enthralling and chilling. It was one of the better books I've read this year.

*I want to thank Netgalley and the author for this book in return for my honest review*

Stormi Ellis
Boundless Book Review

i struggled with this book the mulitple characters/points of view and the timeline jumps from past too present comfuse me but thats my issue

the premise of the story is good and the end was ok.

Polly is eager to know where she comes from as an adult adoptee and the fact that she has escaped the city following a stalker scare makes her even more eager. In comes Lakeside Art Retreat which hold so many secrets.

This is a twisty, whodunnit, thriller that will keep you on your feet. I enjoyed it quite a bit. There are a few formatting issues that put me off but not a dealbreaker at all.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Lots of twists and turns that had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end!

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

This is my first book by this author and it was a fantastic, gripping page turner. Polly goes to a retreat in the Peak District after a traumatic incident but it turns out not to be the relaxing break she expected! The book starts with a bang and held my attention throughout. There is quite a big cast of characters and it took me a while to get them sorted out in my head! Things soon start to get very strange and creepy, giving me goosebumps. The book kept me guessing all the way through with several twists, and a brilliant ending. I'll definitely be reading more by Amanda Brittany!

I am not sure about this one. I like the setting but I didn't connect with our protagonists. I did like the twists and how it wrapped up. I just can't understand how Polly even got accepted to the retreat. It is all weird.

A Rollercoaster of Twists and Turns!

"Now You Are Mine" is one of those thrillers that grabs you and doesn’t let go! Polly’s journey is a total rollercoaster—just when you think you’ve got it figured out, another twist sends you flying in a new direction!

Polly is such a strong character and you really feel her anxiety and determination as she gets caught up in this crazy, suspenseful situation.

The plot is packed with tension, and there’s never a dull moment. The author keeps you on your toes with each chapter and I found myself saying, “Just one more chapter!” until I realised it was 3 a.m. 😅

Sure, some parts are a bit far-fetched, but that’s what makes it so much fun! It’s the kind of book where you just buckle up and enjoy the ride.

If you love thrillers that keep you guessing and deliver plenty of surprises, "Now You Are Mine" is a must-read. A solid 4 stars from me—can’t wait to see what Amanda Brittany comes up with next! 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Six strangers, an art retreat by a lake, a dark history/mystery, and mounting danger! Now You Are Mine is an atmospheric psychological thriller/mystery that kept me on my toes. This book is told through past and present storylines. It is evident that all the characters have secrets but one of the secrets is more dangerous than the others.

Polly has signed up for an art retreat in the Lake District. It will give her the break she needs, and it doesn't hurt that she will also be able to look into her mother's family history/past. At the art retreat things begin to get creepy. Someone has painted something sinister onto her painting, the owners are receiving threatening messages, and the guests are on edge. Then one of them goes missing.

Polly is scared that a stalker who terrorized her and her roommate may be back. But maybe there is someone who does not want her to learn about the family she never knew, or are the strange happenings due to another threat???

This was an interesting and intriguing story. I was fully invested in the beginning and for most of the book. There are quite a few characters in both timelines and readers are given multiple character's POV. There are quite a few creepy moments, lots of tension, suspense, and mounting danger. The setting in the Lake District provided a nice amount of atmosphere which I enjoyed.

This book kept my interest throughout, and I had a good time trying to develop my suspect list.

Atmospheric, mysterious, and suspenseful.

Lakeside House is a beautiful house located on Lake Kendalmere in the Lake District. It is now a retreat for budding artists but has a dark history as 36 years ago the then owners disappeared. All the signs were that they had committed suicide and were probably in the lake. Written in multiple timelines and with a fairly large cast of characters so you need to keep your wits about you in the early chapters but it all soon fell smoothly into place.

Briefly, Polly has signed up for the art course but with an ulterior motive as she believes she has a connection to the house through her mother, who died giving birth to her. She is joined on the course by a strange mix of characters. As people start to disappear and others end up dead can Polly herself survive and discover the truth behind the historic mystery.

This is a deep and dark psychological thriller, atmospheric and virtually nobody is who they say they are from the owner Xavier down to the handyman. There were so many potential suspects I didn’t know who to trust! There are plenty of good twists and turns and the suspense is maintained right to the end in this very cleverly plotted, gripping tale. Very enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood books for the opportunity to read an ARC of Now You Are Mine by Amanda Brittany. All opinions are my own.
Polly is looking for some peace, mainly from her stalker that has been ruining her life so she signs up for an art retreat in the Lake District. Lakeside House, the retreat’s setting, serves up a whole lot of secrets along with its stunning views. The previous owners met a very gruesome fate and now the new, posh owners are receiving threats as well. Soon Polly’s artwork is being tampered with, she knows her fellow guests are hiding more than their bad art skills, and then one just has to mysteriously disappear.
The book does have an intriguing premise, but I struggled to keep all of the characters straight; I also felt like I couldn’t connect with them so there was no reaction when bad things happened to one character after another. Then the killer was lackluster in, they were dramatic but not in a thriller suspense type of way. I never felt that ‘aha!’ Moment where I thought I knew the ending only to be pleasantly surprised. I do appreciate that everything feels well rounded and tied up at the end.
I appreciated the quicker paced ending compared to where it started. So I give this a 3.5/⭐️

📚 PRE-PUBLICATION BOOK REVIEW 📚

Now You Are Mine By Amanda Brittany
Publication Date: September 9, 2024
Publisher: Boldwood Books

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
(Rounded Up to 5⭐)

📚MY REVIEW:

What a fantastic read! This thriller really brought a sense of creepy suspense to its pages, so much so that I found myself turning on more lights in the house as it got darker outside. It wasn't scary, but there was a creepiness to the whole story that made me overthink and question every noise I heard in the house as I read.

This book featured multiple POVs and multiple timelines across fairly short chapters, so it was a quick read. There were several whodunnit mysteries going on in this plotline, which is probably what made the book so creepy. There was a lot of questionable stuff happening in the multiple timelines and a lot of shady characters at every turn. I was never one hundred percent that anybody was really who they said they were -- I trusted nobody. And despite trusting nobody, I literally yelled out "NO WAY" with the revelation of a massive twist I did NOT see coming. And when the second major twist was revealed, my jaw dropped and I yelled out "WHHAAATT?!" But Brittany wasn't done yet with all the twists and turns in this wild ride of whodunnit thrills and chills! Nope, the last third of the book was FULL of unexpected surprises and I LOVED every minute of it!

This was my first read from this author, and I promise it will not be my last. Now You Are Mine is a triumph of twists and turns that will keep any thriller fan guessing till the end! A massive thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

#NowYouAreMine #AmandaBrittany #boldwoodbookclub #boldwoodbookVIP #NetGalley #NetGalleyReviews #ARC #greatreads #thrilleraddict #thrillerlover #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookrecommendations

In true Amanda Brittany style, she smashes another amazing book out of the park. I'm a huge fan of Amanda's and her books just seem to get better.

This book was a slow burn at the beginning, building up the momentum that draws you in and doesn't let go.

An absolute must read from a brilliant author
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Not my favorite. I found this book really slow and hard to get attached to any of the characters. I'll definitely try more by this author.
Thanks to netgalley, the publisher and author for the chance to read to this ARC.

Positively adored Now You Are Mine! Could not put this one down, even to sleep! It was a thrilling rollercoaster from beginning to end! Will be purchasing for my libraries!

This book is an absolute page-turner, a masterpiece filled with suspense and thrilling psychological twists. It has richly developed characters, that add intrigue and depth to the plot. Polly is likeable and relatable. The alternating chapters set in the past with Ezma and the chilling Stephen provide a haunting backstory that elevates the suspense to another level. The book is filled with clever plot twists, leaving the reader surprised and winded. The setting is eerie and gloomy. The characters further add to the complex narrative.
If you're a fan of psychological thrillers that keep you guessing until the very end, this is a must-read. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a story that grips you from the first page and doesn't let go.