The last half of this book was wayyyyyyyyyyyy too long. When the action gets going about halfway through, I wondered what could possibly take place for another 50% of the book. TBH I skimmed most of the second half because every time I started to read again, the same events were taking place at a different area of the barn. I feel that at least 20% of the last half could have been cut and the story still would have been told effectively. For that reason, I couldn't recommend this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. It is always appreciated.

This book was too slow, bland, repetitive and a little too mundane for me. I found myself skimming the book to get to the actual intrical pieces of the book since there was too much odd filler in the book for me.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for my ARC for my honest review!

I loved this book from the start to the end. It was a really descriptive and gripping book throughout. The only thing I kept wondering was why Jodie didn’t go for help when she had the chance? I know it was explained, but I thought that she would have done. I couldn’t put this book down. Shared in books and booze 🥂 on Facebook.

Beyond Fear is the story that captures the feelings of Jodie, who went through a bad experience fears about history repeating itself when Jodie and her friends go away for the weekend and stay in a hunting cabin. After being through a trauma, Jodie feels something bad is gonna happen, but her friends neglect Jodie's feelings! The author has well captured the feelings of a woman who has been through trauma in this novel. I kinda hated that Jodie's friends didn't understand what Jodie went through when she was 17, to have those fears so embedded deep within her! But that's true, I have seen ppl not believing the after-effects of trauma and blaming the traumatized. This novel is beyond fear, mystery, and thriller.
Thank you, NetGalley and Jaye Ford for the reader's copy of this book. This review is based on my opinion and is not influenced in any way.

This was a great book which follows four female friends who take a vacation together in a rural area in an old barn, turned a B&B. You can tell from the beginning the tension in the air as they get ran off the road on their way and that's where they meet Matt, a cop who is on leave while helping his dad with the family business. Two are left behind to hail a taxi, which never comes, and once they finally all meet up, they end up in a bar for a few drinks. Our heroine Jodie, encounters a creep there and they all quickly leave and go to the B&B to drink some wine, to have a few laughs, and to relax.

After having a bad experience in her teens in which her friend was raped and killed while Jodie got away, she can't help but shake her gut instincts that something isn't quite right. I don't like the way her friends treated her and didn't believe her, and used her bad experience as an excuse to say she was having a mental breakdown.

She then goes to pick up her car from the mechanic, and when she gets back, two men are at the barn. She recognizes the one from the bar. Once again, her friends ticked me off and didn't come to her defense right away when she said "Hey this is the creep who tried to pick me up at the bar".

This whole book resolves around Jodie's determination to right the wrongs she felt she did to her friend all those years ago, and Matt ends up right by her side when he unexpectedly shows up at their doorstep. At this point, they must all fight for their lives.

Well, sometimes you're not strong until stong is the only option you have. The battle between good and bad seemed very long and drawn out and started about halfway into the book. You can sense both Jodie and Matt fighting their demons and each other as to who is in charge, but you can also feel the undeniable chemistry between the two of them as well.

The final scene reminds me quite a bit of the movie "Enough" in the fact that Jodie has had enough of feeling like a victim and has been training her whole life for this moment. She is going to go down fighting, just as you expect. Overall, this was a great, fast paced read. Thank you NetGalley for letting me give my honest review.

Beyond fear by Jaye Ford

4*

Great book, really enjoyed all the characters. First half was really interesting finding out about the lives and families of four women and one male. In the second half the women go on their annual weekend together and the pace of the book really picks up.

This is a physcological thriller where the women end up trapped at their holiday home. It’s all about who survives and who doesn’t. The past has a way of repeating itself. Gripping I couldn’t wait to get to the end.

Momo

@sunnybookreview received a free copy for review

I enjoyed Beyond Fear a great deal, though I felt that it became a little far-fetched towards the end.

The best thing about the book, hands down, is Jodie – the female protagonist through whose eyes the majority of the narrative unfolds. The survivor of a horrific crime in her teens, she's strong and capable yet realistically affected by her past. I also enjoyed her developing relationship with Matt, the make protagonist, and the way his trauma complements hers – though he's given less 'screen time' so inevitably goes through less of an arc.

I was less keen on Jodie's friends, particularly Hannah and Corrine who basically gaslight her into doubting herself when she senses danger. That's not how friends behave!

The first half of the book was very tense as the various incidents escalated, but once the men were in the cottage, the action felt a little drawn out. Some of the decisions made by the bad guys seemed a bit daft, or intended solely to keep the story going, and the 'mystery' of what was under the floor struck me as so obvious that the characters not getting it straight away made them come across as stupid.

Nevertheless, a cracking read and I'll say it again: Jodie is awesome.

Jodie and her three best friends go out of town for a girl's weekend.

The weekend becomes a suspenseful event. Jodie's car is in an accident to start. She is also unhinged - she spars with her friends - is stressed out and even carries "weapons."

Matt, an ex-cop, meets the four and helps them out of a jam on the desolated road. Afterward, it also becomes clear that the B&B they are staying at is well isolated from the town.

Along withJodie's past and paranoia, the in-fighting and now Matt being on the scene, the reader is in for quite a suspenseful read.

Recommend!

Many Thanks to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for a very good read.

Very good book that i enjoyed reading and would recommend to other readers makes you feel as if you are weekending with them. 5*

I his book is definitely a great debut novel. At first I was not sure if it would be just another book of a weekend with friends that turned into a nightmare. But the more I read, the more I got engaged but the plot and the characters. It is a really well written fast paced thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat, the whole time. I’d definitely recommend this book and look forward to the next thriller from this author,

This was an action pack read,with thrills from beginning to end. I haven't read anything by this author before,but will do so without any doubt again. Recommended.

Brilliant book. Felt like you were actually living the flashbacks.Definetely edge of your seat reading

This book read almost like more of a rough draft to me. There were various typos, incorrect words and grammatical errors that steadily grew in number right up until the end. One or two don't bother me, but when it's noticeable enough that it detracts from the story line, it's too blatant and unprofessional. The plot itself is pretty basic, four women go away for the weekend on their annual girls trip, this time to a secluded barn in the countryside. They are run off the road on the way there and that's just the start to the weekend from hell.

Jodie is the main character, your typical tough woman who's hard on the outside in order to protect her inner shell that was damaged almost twenty years ago when she was attacked and her best friend murdered. None of her current friends know this, by the way, which doesn't hold up to me. The author tries to explain it away with Jodie rationalizing that she doesn't want to dredge up old bad memories while making new happy ones with these women. She still waits way too long to bring it up now on this trip even though every encounter they have with a stranger puts her on edge and keeps her from trusting anyone.

It's an enjoyable enough story that thankfully moves much faster in the second half. There are large portions of internal dialogues that repeat often and just need to be trimmed down. The characters aren't well developed and as you read their interactions you wonder why two of them are even friends with the other two. None of their personalities are particularly appealing and come across as cliched and stereotyped. You can spot the bad guys a mile away, yet of course only Jodie sees anything remotely disturbing about them.

I wanted to like this book more than I did and if it were just cleaned up some and the characters fleshed out more, I think I would have, and other readers would, too.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.


Beyond Fear starts off with an interesting premise. A group of female friends is on holiday, excited to get away from work and family obligations. Champagne has been poured, even before they arrive at their cabin. Predictably, they get into an auto accident before they reach their destination. In the dark of night, on the side of a relatively deserted road, they are forced to split up. The tension builds from there. Before long, the friends are stalked by two men who have less than honorable intentions. The story sound out of control from there.

My thoughts. I had a difficult time with the writing style in this book. I won’t spoil anything, but I have to mention that I thought the characters consistently made stupid decisions. They also argue for much of the story, which does lend to the drama of it all, but it started to grate on me after a bit. I actually got to the point where I wanted the assailants to kill off a few of the women. I was that annoyed. It reads a bit like a B-rated horror movie, rather than a smart thriller. I know there are plenty of readers who would enjoy that sort of book. It just wasn’t for me.

Imagine if your worst fears came true … again.

At seventeen, Jodie Cramer survived a terrifying assault at the hands of three strangers. Now thirty-five, she is a teacher and mother, her memories of that past horror are buried deep – so when she sets out for a weekend in the country with friends, all she has in mind are a few laughs and a break from routine.

Unknown to the four women, their secluded cabin was once the focus of a police investigation and, like Jodie, it nurtures a dark secret.

As her friends relax, the isolation reawakens Jodie’s terrifying memories. When she finds evidence of trespassers, she is convinced they are in danger. But the other women don’t believe her and suffering flashbacks that threaten to ruin the weekend for everyone, Jodie begins to doubt herself.

Until two men knock at their door …

Wow, this book kept me on the edge all the way thru. I loved it as it sped up, and I was hooked.
Thank you, NetGalley for the advance copy for review.

I would like to thank Jaye Ford, Independent Book Publishers and NetGalley for a copy of this book and a chance to review Beyond Fear.

This is the second book written by Jaye Ford I’ve read. Her writing is thrilling and suspenseful sometimes exhaustively so. This story revolves around four women having a weekend away at a renovated barn which was the previous residence of two criminals. The protagonist Jodie suspects the group is in danger; she is belittled by her friends who regard her as delusional. I found Jodie’s friends to be exceptionally unlikable. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys extreme levels of suspense and lovers of Australian fiction.

A fast-paced, action-packed thriller. Interesting characters and an interesting setting in Australia. An enjoyable read that took me two readings of quick page turning. Only fault is an unnecessary and awkward romantic tension which is haphazzardly thrown into the plot. The moments when passion raises its head in the middle of fighting for their lives is frankly silly. Otherwise a satisfying read.