And just like that, another 5⭐️ @faith.gardner book! Possibly my favorite one?! Culty✅ Interview style excerpts✅ A HOUSE MADE A MIRRORS✅✅ Truly the book of my dreams (or maybe actually nightmares)

5.0⭐️

⭐️THE MIRROR HOUSE GIRLS, out JAN 23⭐️

Thank you to Mirror House Press for the review arc of this book!

Unfortunately I was unable to download this book before the archive date, but I look forward to reading and reviewing other books by this author in the future.

Holy moly this was fantastic! It's so atmospheric and draws you in! The twists are draw dropping! I would highly recommend this! Special Thank You to Faith Gardner, Mirror House Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a sucker for a book about cults and I liked this one. Faith Gardner is a new author for me and I’m now going to read her back list. I’ve read lost of books about cults fiction and non fiction but this one I really felt the slow, methodical push from the leader . I could feel how these girls all fell under his spell. It was creepy.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for a honest opinion. 4⭐️

I really enjoyed this cult thrill ride. It was a bit slow burn at first but as it got going I could not put it down. Loved the ending, I thought it was tied up well. It would be a good for women in their 20's that enjoy thrillers.
Thank you NetGalley & Mirror House Press for an advanced copy to read in exchange for my review.
4 star

This is a slow burner that does take a long time to warm up but trust me when it does its like a sucker punch to the face. The pacing increases as the tension and suspense does and it is definitely a wild ride

An absolute page-turner. Not the deepest read, but fans of YA Thrillers will definitely enjoy this read.

Winona was grieving the loss of her grandmother and moved to Santa Cruz to start a new life. When offered a room for rent in Mirror House, she immediately accepted it in the hope of finding new friends, but in spite, she found a family of loving people who gave her unconditional love and care. Soon, however, she found out that psychologist Simon Spellmayer led this family. But if she wants to stay, she must follow Simon’s strange protocol of self-improvement.

Can Winona wake up to the actual cost of Simons’s vision in time to get out alive?

This is my first cult thriller. Gardner’s writing hypnotized me so much that I finished the book in two days. I was intrigued by the storyline and wondered what would happen next and what fate this mirror house people had ahead.

Gardner has described so well how individuals are drawn into the trap of cults. These seem to be very researched storylines, as we can see how easily Simon brainwashed them to start believing in his beliefs.

I was on the edge of my seat, biting my nails for several scenes and a few characters. I felt sorry for Winona. She felt the red herring at some points but couldn’t decide between right and wrong.

The narrative structure is interesting, with short chapters, fast-paced, and told from one person point of view, along with an expert from a documentary on mirror house made it more gripping. On top of that, the bonus chapter “Home” gives a well-deserved ending.

I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did. I was sitting at a solid 3 stars for the majority of the story; till I got to that ending. It's been a while since I read an ending that was that satisfying. I definitely recommend this to fans of true crime, or the movie Midsommer. It's the kind of story that's slow to start but once it gets going, it doesn't let go.

The Mirror House Girls is a fast paced character driven thriller about Winona. When Winona is down on her luck and hating her retail job, she makes some new friends who offer her a room for rent at a rate she can't turn down.

Slowly but surely, Winona's living situation devolves. Mirror House starts out as a place that gives her belonging and its leader Simon is charismatic and makes Winona feel so much. However, things turn dark and Winona is asked to sacrifice so much for her place in the house.

This book covers disturbing topics and while I felt the end brought things full circle in a respectful and cathartic way, I suggest looking at content warnings before putting this on your TBR.

Readers that like stories about cults will absolutely devour and love this one. While there are many similarities to other cult type reads, this one stands out. It delves more into the slow manipulation of a cult's leader and how skilled they are at choosing their essential victims. I found myself wanting to shake the protagonist so many times but couldn't help but feel for her and give her a little understanding of her choices. This was captivating, dark, tragic, and written by a master of her craft. This was a brilliant read, and I rate it four solid stars.

Thank you, Netgalley and Mirror House Press, for this ARC.

Mirror House Girls was such a captivating read! The story follows Winona, as she becomes entangled with a mysterious group led by psychologist Simon. The book is gripping and keeps you hooked as it explores themes of control, manipulation, and the vulnerability of human connection. The characters are well-developed and relatable, making their journeys both engaging and impactful. It’s a compelling read and I definitely recommend it to anyone who loves a good psychological thriller!

WHOA!

This book was so good and a huge page turner. It bounces back and forth from Scarlet's POV - who's giving her experience via an interview about her experience at the infamous "Mirror House" and Winona who was one of the last members to join "Mirror House". Winona and Dakota meet at a grief counseling session where they connect over losing their grandmothers. Winona is, in my opinion, just kind of floating through life. She doesn't really have a lot of ties and is looking for some sort of belonging. She clicks with Dakota, and Dakota ends up inviting her to Mirror House, a strange house covered in mirrors that she had seen before and thought weird.

Upon entering, she meets Kristin, Maude, Scarlet, and Simon - whom Dakota calls her housemates. She feels a sense of peace and belonging and ends up moving in with them pretty quickly. From there, we get an inside look into how a person can so easily be sucked into a cult. Simon meets with all the women during his "sessions" in which he helps them transcend their fears using very untraditional and often abusive tactics. Winona finds this all a little strange, but she also has grown to love each person, and sees personal growth in herself, so she rolls with it.

The story ends up taking a dark turn at the climax that I wasn't really expecting that kind of left me feeling sick to my stomach. However, I read this book in about 6 hours and was fascinated and captivated by it all the same. And the ending was satisfying.

This is one of those books that sticks with you. And for that reason alone, it gets 5 stars from me.

CHECK TRIGGER WARNINGS!

The Mirror House Girls by Faith Gardner  is a thriller about girls who end up in a cult.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Mirror House Press, and the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

  

My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Winona rents a room in Mirror House, an old building with mirrors hung around the exteriror, much to the dismay of their neighbours.  But here she will find a family.

Winona's housemates are all welcoming.  The women all seem to dote on the one male, Simon, who lives there.  Simon Spellmeyer is a psychologist who is no longer practicing.  He, does, however, help each of the women who live there to overcome their deepest fear.  His sessions are somewhat controversial, but he does seem to get results.  Soon Winona falls under his charismatic spell, and does whatever he tells her to.  She fears that if she doesn't he will kick her out of the only family she has ever known.

When the group moves to another location, Winona follows.  But soon Simon's ideas change, and she starts to be more anxious...but not enough to leave her family.    Now the only question is, will she make it out alive.




My Opinions:
First, I admit I am a bit of a sucker for books about cults...probably because I can't fathom myself in one.  So, the topic grabbed me from the start.  Yes, the story was about a cult, but it was also about the need to belong, the need to be touched, to love, to be surrounded by family.  It was about trust, and fears, and growing as a person.

The story is told from Winona's perspective, with excerpts from an interview with Scarlet that was a year after the disastrous events unfolded.  In this way, we knew early on what would happen to the members of the group.  This method of story-telling worked really well.

I often wanted to slap Winona, Scarlet, and the others, figuring they needed a wake-up call.  The characters all had depth, and while I didn't like them all, they all had a place in this story.

 At the end of the book, there was a link to a short story that would provide a sort of "epilogue" to the tale.  I downloaded it, but don't really think it was needed.

Overall, I loved this book, and will be looking for more by this author!

It took me a little bit to get into in the beginning but as it went on I was fully locked in for the rest of the ride.

I thought it was well written and would recommend it to others interested in cults or thrillers.

Wow… this book was mind blowing!🤯
After reading Like It Never Was, I started this book immediately. Let me tell you, I have a new auto-buy author.

The writing style is superb, this psychological thriller about cult is amazing! I couldn’t put it down, it was like the pages were turning themselfs😂

The plot was very clever, jaw dropping twists, very addictive, mesmerizing and believable plot, that keeps you glued to the pages.

At the end of the book, there is a link included to another ending chapter, and let me just say, it is a must read!

I loved every single bit of this book, and I can’t wait to read more from her.
Highly recommended.

Thank you so much Mirror House Press, NetGalley and Faith Gardner for the eARC, opinions are my own.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

"Indoctrination comes in so many colors that sometimes you end up blind to it."

What do you do when you have no place else to go? No one and no place you belong to, who understands fully what you need or didn't even know what you needed? When Winona shows up at Mirror House for a grief group, she doesn't expect to be pulled into the life that will change her forever. On the outside looking in, you can't understand the purpose and connections between the people in Mirror House. Their leader Simon embodies every characteristics you would think a cult leader would have: charisma, knowledge, narcissism, manipulation, and gaslighting. He gives Winona and the women of Mirror House a place of belonging, companionship, family, joy, only to rip it away piece by piece, chipping at each person's character until they become nothing and feels like they have to rely on him to survive.

This book grips you from the first chapter and does not let go until the last page. So many emotions went through me while reading this book: horror, shock, anger, disgust, frustration, and sadness.

Faith Gardner's writing pulls you in, and her description and building of the cultist relationships and its world made this a brilliant read. This is my first 5⭐️ book rating of the year, and I'll be adding more of the author's work into my reads this year.

The extra epilogue ties it all up, and the ending was satisfying.

Wow , I really enjoyed this book, and to see how a friendship which blossomed turning into a full on cult I was never expecting!

Gave me the chills! 4*

The Mirror House Girls by Faith Gardner is a fascinating and unsettling dive into the world of cults. As someone who’s watched the NXIVM documentaries way too many times, I found some parts a little predictable, but that didn’t stop me from getting completely sucked in. The story is well-paced, and the characters are compelling enough to keep you hooked, even if you think you know where it’s going. For anyone who isn’t already deep into cult documentaries, I imagine this would be an even wilder, edge-of-your-seat experience. Overall, it’s a captivating read that’s hard to put down.

My Rating: 2⭐️⭐️ this dragged… I wanted excitement and I got repetition!!!

I am not going to rehash the synopsis, GR has a decent one and its pretty short. This is a pretty stock standard cult “thriller” I use inverted commas because the thrills are limited. I love me a cult story… and I lap them up so when I realised this was not in the Jolvix series and it was a cult thriller I was in.

My experiences with this author have unfortunately been more miss than hit. I loved Amen Maxine (or whatever its called now) but I haven’t really liked much else by her. I gave up a bit but then decided to give this a go. Honestly it started out really good… I was enjoying it and I was hoping for something a little different since its set in the modern day and they seemed to be allowed modern day technologies and things like that.

But Winona irked me from the start, I get that shes sad and lonely and all the things that make her a decent cult victim but… she was as dumb as a box of hammers… she just pissed me off. Not all the girls were like that… yes they were all brainwashed and so was Winona but something about her just seemed so disconnected and stupid.

Simon was your typical weasel cult leader… nothing new from him. He went from being some kind of weirdo councillor to a healer to his own version of God.. no surprises.

The girls were engaging in weird behaviour, also no surprises. I dunno, it was just a bit bland and boring and so much repeating and repeating and just repeating. We have all read this story before in some form or another and when a cult book is done well you cannot put it down… I only wanted to finish this because I needed to get this off my NG shelf. I do feel bad for saying that but … its true.

I think lots and lots of people will love this, already lots and lots do… so thats great I am glad its kicking arse for everyone else. I am in the minority here but I have read ALOT of cult thrillers and this one just didn’t do it for me.

The ending kicked into gear a little bit but it felt rushed and weird. I did like the interspersed mixed media interview that was kind of cool. But it wasn’t enough to save it. I have given it 2 stars cause there were bits that were good.. it just wasn’t good enough.

Overall, there are far better fiction cult novels out there to read.. I have a couple of 5 star recs (for me) that I could give you and if you disagree with them you can throw tomatoes at me. But yeah I wouldn’t be recommending this to anyone just because I found it lacklustre and a bit boring.

Thank you to Mirror House Press, NetGalley and Faith Gardner for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.