Book Review:
Hanover House (Evelyn Talbot #0.5) by Brenda Novak
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis:
Psychiatrist Evelyn Talbot has dedicated her life to solving the mysteries of the antisocial mind.
After having been kidnapped, tortured and left for dead when she was just a teenager—by her high school boyfriend—she’s determined to understand how someone she trusted so much could turn on her. She’s established a revolutionary new medical health center in the remote town of Hilltop, Alaska, where she studies the worst of the worst.

But not everyone in Hilltop is excited to have Hanover House and its many serial killers in the area. Alaskan State Trooper, Sergeant Amarok, is one of them. And yet he can’t help feeling bad about what Evelyn has been through. He’s even attracted to her. Which is partly why he worries. He knows what could happen if one little thing goes wrong.

Review:
As a short (242 page) prequel to the Evelyn Talbot series, Hanover House introduces Evelyn, her back story and why Hanover House exists. Novak also introduces Sergeant Amarok, and she tentatively explores the tendrils of their relationship.
This will tick all the boxes for readers of romance as well as crime and psychological thriller, and leave you wanting to discover more books in the series.

*I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley. This is my unbiased review.

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I received a free copy from NetGalley. It is a prequal to a series and it does a great job of setting up the first book. How does it do this? By not trying up anything in this book! Seriously, it ends like she reached the desired number of pages and just stops. More of a romance than a thriller.

This intense romantic suspense thriller is the kick-off to Novak’s Evelyn Talbot series. After surviving a horrific event in her past Evelyn Talbot, a psychiatrist is determined to study and unlock the mysteries of the psychopathic mind. She secures funding for a private facility to continue her studies called Hanover House in the remote small town of Hilltop Alaska. The townspeople are not happy with this new development but lack the political strength to prevent the medical center from opening. Among the unhappy members of the community is Alaskan State Trooper, Sergeant Amarok. However, he finds himself conflicted because as strong as he feels about not having these offenders in his town, he is equally intrigued by and attracted to Evelyn.

I will admit that I went into this with quite a bit of apprehension. I don’t typically enjoy romantic suspense because I find that the story either lacks in the suspense or in the romance/chemistry. I am so happy that I picked up this book though because Novak nailed the sweet spot in balancing the two. I was on the edge of my seat one moment and then swooning over the slow burn romance between Amarok and Evelyn in the next moment.

Evelyn is such a wonderful character to follow. She is a true survivor that carries both physical, and emotional scars from her past. She has grit and tenacity. A bit of a risk-taker but I think that is because she refuses to let her past hold her back from living her life. I look forward to seeing how her character grows as the series continues.

This is told in multiple perspectives, including the point of view of a killer, along with letters that add to the build-up of the suspense. Although Novak does not go into graphic details, I am still giving trigger warnings for rape, torture, and mental abuse.

Overall, I really enjoyed this fast-paced read. I could not put it down. If you like intense psychological thrillers you’ll want to try this one. If you like slow-burn romance then you’ll like this book as well. I need to pick up the rest of the series so I can see where the relationship between Amarok and Evelyn goes.

Evelyn Talbot has a past that has driven her to her career as a psychiatrist studying serial killers and violent offenders. She is building a research facility/prison in Alaska where she will house and study some of the most dangerous serial killers in the country. The people in the area where the prison is being built are not very supportive of this project. She gets a call from an Alaska State Trooper that the site has been vandalized. She heads up to Alaska and meets with Ben (aka Amarok) Murphy. There is an attraction there and he becomes her support and saviour. The was an exciting and thrilling prequel. I am late to the party with this series, but after reading this, I am looking forward to getting to the rest of this series. There are some twists, and some creepy feelings that kept me reading quickly to find out what was going to happen. All is not dark though, there is a romance blossoming between Evelyn and Amarok. I am looking forward to seeing where it goes in the rest of this series

Short and full of information and action, this novella introduces psychiatrist Evelyn Talbot; she specializes in the criminal mind. Most specifically male psychopathic serial killers. She's been a victim herself -- she suffered at the hands of her own boyfriend when she was just 16 -- so she knows how sick these sadistic killers can be. In order to further her study, she has established Hanover House, a maximum security facility located in Hilltop, Alaska, a small town located an hour away from Anchorage. She is in the process of setting up the facility and selecting the first prisoners when she visits there to check on the progress and finds vandalism. It seems that many of the townspeople do not want Hanover House there, but there's one person who she might be able to win over and she needs all the support she can get. Benjamin Murphy, AKA Sergeant Amarok, is an Alaskan State Trooper and the only police presence in the town. Unbeknownst to Evelyn, she's going to need him because something evil has followed her to Alaska and his name is Jasper Moore. NO SPOILERS.

Despite the excess amount of romance (which I don't really like), I am quite interested to see where this series is going to go and what obstacles Evelyn is going to face in both her professional and person life as she adjusts to Alaska and her job duties. Alas, I don't have access to books #1 and #2, so I will be jumping back in at #3 shortly. I think this premise has a lot of potential especially if the author focuses more on the psychiatric aspect and less on the love interest. Evelyn is quite damaged, no doubt both physically and mentally from her ordeal, but she has worked hard to gain a sort of recovery. I think the setting will also prove interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this e-book ARC to read and review.

An okay read. I was expecting more, but it wasn't as I expected. Though it wasn't all bad either. Decent story with good plot and okay characters.

The prequel to a series is always important I feel. One to entice readers to be eager to read the subsequent books in the series and to test the waters I would think for feedback and readers reactions.

I really was looking forward to reading this 200 page introduction however I think it played more on the suspense romance than the physiological thriller aspect to entice thriller lovers to want more.

The actual Hanover House isn’t even built yet.

I’ll take my opinion to the next book in the series and try to keep an open mind.

My thanks to the publisher(author) for my copy

This book was well written-author does not disappoint.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved it so much I cannot wait to read more in this series and highly recommend it to others!! Fantastic gripping writing that has you worried for the lead character, just like any good book should.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Psychiatrist Evelyn Talbot has dedicated her life to solving the mysteries of the antisocial mind. Why do psychopaths act as they do? How do they come to be? Why don’t they feel any remorse for the suffering they cause? And are there better ways of spotting and stopping them?
After having been kidnapped, tortured and left for dead when she was just a teenager—by her high school boyfriend—she’s determined to understand how someone she trusted so much could turn on her. So she’s established a revolutionary new medical health center in the remote town of Hilltop, Alaska, where she studies the worst of the worst.
But not everyone in Hilltop is excited to have Hanover House and its many serial killers in the area. Alaskan State Trooper, Sergeant Amarok, is one of them. And yet he can’t help feeling bad about what Evelyn has been through. He’s even attracted to her. Which is partly why he worries.
He knows what could happen if one little thing goes wrong...

This is an introductory novella to the coming Hanover House Chronicles by author Brenda Novak.

And what a great introduction it is. Without going into detail about Evelyn's background, this is a woman who wants to understand the worst of the worst - the truly evil psychopaths that roam the earth and what makes them tick. She sets up her centre and finds some opposition...from a guy who is attracted to her, although he knows what could go wrong...

This is a better than average romantic suspense novel/novella - with the emphasis on 'suspense.' This is good because it would have watered down this tense, tight story by getting too deep into a romantic storyline.

I am completely taken with this book and will follow the series closely.


Paul
ARH

What a great introduction to Evelyn Talbot and her passion for Hanover House!

The Good: This is more of a novella rather than a full length book but it felt full and complete. I really liked this glimpse into Evelyn Talbot's life leading up to the finishing touches on Hanover House which will be a psychiatric facility for sociopaths in a small Alaskan town. The town folks are not too keen on the idea of this facility coming to their town but couldn't stop the development. Evelyn is a complex character molded by her past as a victim/survivor of a killer who was never caught. She now studies psychopaths and her "baby" Hanover House will help her goals of finding reason behind why killers do what they do. There is a small amount of romance within the story which should develop more during the course of the series. I liked that the romance is taking time (especially based on her past). The suspense was great as well and I can't wait to find out what happens next.

The Bad: Even though the length of the story felt as if it were enough I couldn't help but want more. This is just my own opinion though and others may not feel the same. I also thought Amarok's character could have been fleshed out more but this should resolve itself in upcoming books.

In a Nutshell: An excellent beginning to the series and I'll definitely move on to the next book!

Copy provided by Netgalley for an unbiased review.

This novella was a decent start to a new series. The characters are interesting, and there's the beginnings of a romantic storyline to go along with the promised thriller aspect. The idea of a psychiatrist (who is herself the survivor of a near-deadly attack by a psychopath) setting up a psychiatric prison to study psychopaths is an interesting one, and sets up an interesting dynamic for future books in the series. It's only a novella, so it definitely felt like what it is - a set-up. But it has potential, and I look forward to seeing where Brenda Novak goes with this series.

I abandoned Hanover House at 32%.

I can sum up this book in one word - superficial.

Having trained as a psychiatric nurse and worked in the mental health system for a number of years I am naturally drawn towards books set in this environment. There have been some wonderful reads. Unfortunately I am unable to count Hanover House among them.

Thank you to author Brenda Novak via Netgalley for providing a digital copy of Hanover House for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I tried to read this book but found that this style of Brenda's I did not like as it was more along the lines of Thriller and I enjoy more of the romance and mystery.