Who doesn't love a thriller involving stalkers, secluded areas and so many secrets?

Now You Are Mine takes place at an art retreat with six guests and the crew of the resort. Polly has come to get away from a stalker and to learn, hopefully, about her birth family, She takes us on a twisted ride as she stays in an eery resort looking for answers and solving a mystery for the ages.

Great, quick-to-read thriller that leaves you wanting to read more from Amanda Brittany.

Now You Are Mine by Amanda Brittany

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

A remote lakeside house. Six strangers with something to hide.
Who's out for revenge? Who will survive? When Polly signs up to an art retreat in the Lake District, it's an escape from the stress of recent months, when a stalker preyed on her and her friend.

It's also an opportunity to find out more about her family Polly believes her biological mother once lived here, at Lakeside House.

But things quickly turn sinister. The previous owners supposedly took their own lives here, years before – and the glamorous new owners are now receiving disturbing threats. Someone is sabotaging Polly's artwork. The five other guests on the retreat all seem to be hiding something.

Then one of them goes missing.

My Opinion

A quick psychological thriller. For me this was an entertaining premise. Whilst I didn't like most of the characters I enjoyed the overall book and I really enjoyed the twists.

This was the first book I have read by Amanda Brittany but I am sure that I will read more in the future. Amanda uses different perspectives to tell the story as well as different timelines but it was all easy to follow.

Rating 4/5

A chilling psychological thriller.

I was reeled in immediately by that ominous prologue. Eager to find out everything!

This is a twisty, tension filled whodunnit, that will keep you guessing.

This book is told through past and present storylines and multiple character POVs. There are so many suspects with all kinds of secrets, some darker than others. It was hard to know who to trust! I thoroughly enjoyed the suspense that was maintained throughout and all of the twists and turns. A very enjoyable read.

An absolute must read if you love a good thriller. I highly recommend it.

Thank you Boldwood Books and Netgalley for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, Netgalley, Amanda Brittany, and Boldwood Books for the ebook. This was a great thriller with an idyllic setting. I love a good retreat getaway location with a historic background. I enjoyed the way the story unfolded and how everything and everyone was somehow connected. Made me really question, is it really worth knowing?!

The sinister beginning makes the reader aware that something terrible has happened, but the people involved and what happened is a mystery. Nothing in the story that follows is as it seems. The six people at the retreat all have secrets. The owners are not as happy as they outwardly appear, and the house is full of echoes of its traumatic past. The confusion of the protagonists and the web of lies surrounding them is emphasised by gentle pacing. The suspense increases with each character's reveal, and the mystery deepens as unscheduled disappearances and events occur. I like the unreliability of the narrators, the gradual connections with past events and the intense conclusion.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Thank you Boldwood Books for a copy on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Now You Are Mine is marketed as a “pulse pounding dark psychological thriller”.
Unfortunately for me, I didn’t get that.
Welcome to the art retreat at Lakeside House.
Polly arrives for some peace and quiet after dealing with a stalker that caused distress for her and best friend and roommate Nicky.
Followed by a bunch of strangers with something to hide.
As well as hosts, Xander and Tara, all the guests are a bit suspicious.
The grand recently renovated manor has a disturbing past and when strange happenings occur…… things get interesting!
A mediocre read.
This started off good but became like a chore to read in the middle and finished ok, also I found there was a plot disconnect at times.
There’s no big surprises for me and found I didn’t connect to the characters.
A tame plot and an average ending.

A Lakeside Artist retreat at a sprawling isolated property with a tragic and questionable past. Threats that are becoming more dangerous. A stalker. A search for one’s past. All these elements combine for an enthralling psychological thriller.

Read this if you like:
-English countryside setting in the Lake District, with creepy undertones
-somewhat locked room vibe due to isolated setting and poor weather conditions
-multiple POVs
-a glimpse into the world of art retreats
-dual timelines
-stalker trope
-historic missing persons
-people who are not who they say they are, so many secrets and lies
-many twists and turns with a satisfying ending

My rating: 4 out of 5

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this eARC that will be published September 9 2024.

Not so much a locked room but a large house and estate where people go missing or are killed, and you know that one of them is the killer. There is also a subplot as Polly has decided to come to the art course due to a stalker but also to try and track her biological relatives whom she has just found out about. Plenty going on in the book to keep the reader guessing with some great descriptive writing too.

Thanks to Netgalley / Boldwood books for the ARC to review

3⭐
Genre ~ psychological thriller
Setting ~ England
Publication date ~ September 9, 2024
Publisher ~ Boldwood Books
Est Page Count ~ 299 (p+ 53 chapters +e)
Audio length ~ 7 hours 48 minutes
Narrator ~ Julie Maisey
POV ~ multiple 1st & 3rd
Featuring ~ multiple timelines, domestic abuse, child abuse, locked room vibe, a lot of rain

The prologue is rather intriguing with someone dumping two bodies. As the story unfolds we slowly learn who the bodies are and who put them in their final resting place.

Soon after a stalking incident at home Polly heads to Lakeside House for an art retreat hoping to find out more about her birth mother. She doesn’t know much, only has a picture with her of her mother standing in front of this house. The house has secrets though and the rumor around town is that the original owners, Esme and Stephen, died by suicide, but their bodies were never found. Will Polly get the answers she desires from any of the other attendees or staff? Or will she get more than she bargained for in her 5 day stay?

Tara, the new homeowner, chimes in with her POV a few times. Her marriage to Xavier isn't as it seems to outsiders.

We meet Esme 42 years ago when she lived in Lakeside House. She’s in an abusive marriage when she learns she’s pregnant. Her chapters were heartbreaking to read and told in the 1st person.

Overall, I loved the description of the house and the secret tunnels and bunkers. I wish my house had a secret tunnel, how fun would that be! I did feel like it was one thing happening after another after another after another, almost too much going on. And it rained constantly. I found it odd that picnics and outings were scheduled when they were in a flash flood warning. Maybe that’s just me because I hate when I have to go out in the rain. There were a few twists I hadn’t seen coming, so that was nice. If you liked locked room vibes due to storms with some tense moments then I think you'll like this one.

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.

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! 🌟🌟🌟🌟