This was an intriguing and interesting concept and the cult aspect was fascinating. I loved the tension, the drama and the build up to a fantastic ending. This was a great mystery/thriller and kept me guessing the whole way through.

I am sad to say this wasn’t for me. I felt totally disconnected from the story and found myself skimming along. I expect others will enjoy but I didn’t find this was for me.

Cannot recommend this novel highly enough!
Pacey, intriguing and full of interesting characters.
I did almost stop reading due to the opening chapter but the rest of the novel isn’t as violent as the beginning.

This is a well-written book with a clever story, but I found it all a bit too contrived. The twists and turns were well thought out, but I found it hard to really care what happened. I would say this would be a good holiday read.

This Might Hurt had a premise that was a bit of me. I love a cult! I liked that the cult leader was a female, so refreshing. I found the multi narrator factor confusing and the timeline moving around, I'm not sure if was because of the format of the book but I spent time trying to figure out who and when. The 'twist' was a little flat for me, the build up compared to the finale didn't really give me the punch that I was looking forward to.

Great thriller about Natalie whose sister Kit has joined a retreat and can’t reach her….entwined with another story which merges together. Excellent book!

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin UK for the proof copy of this book.

TW: Child abuse, Cults

𝕽𝖊𝖛𝖎𝖊𝖜:

So this was definitely not a thriller and more of a family drama, but with characters that didn't have you invested in their fates.

The plot-twists didn't work for me. The ending felt rushed and anticlimactic, leaving me without answers. Which is not how I want to part from any thriller!

However, I enjoyed the author's first book Darling Rose Gold and would be looking forward to any new releases by her.

I’m not always keen on storylines where it’s shown from different characters narratives and it took me a while to get into this book. The twists and turns kept me going but I struggled to read it to the end.

Brilliant twisty little thriller had me hooked from page one and the ending was not to be missed, will look out for more from the author!

Although it took me a while to get to grips with the three narrators of This Might Hurt, when I did, I found the book to be a slow burner but enjoyable nevertheless. Natalie Collins hadn’t heard from her sister Kit for over six months but when she finally catches up with her, she finds her sister has turned into a different person. Kit has been spending time at an island retreat called Wisewood, which has had an impact on how she now sees herself in the world. Wisewood is a private island off the coast of Maine , where people go to rediscover themselves, deal with anxieties or recover from drug addiction. Later we discover it is actually a cult. I enjoyed Wrobel’s writing and the characters were good but I found it a little slow and yet the ending seemed rushed somehow.

𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩 𝙗𝙮 𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙥𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙚 𝙒𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙚𝙡

Told in differing points of view and narratives, this was a disturbing, unnerving yet captivating read. We follow the perspectives of Madame Fearless and her childhood experiences, interspersed with a parallel story of two sisters Natalie and Kit. The plot was solid and unique but not exceptional: there were some dark and disturbing themes with a hint of cult lifestyle which was intriguing, and an eerie and claustrophobic island setting.

I found the pace pretty up and down which resulted in a less natural flow to the writing- the pace definitely slowed in part two as we experience the day to day life in Wisewood. I was also slightly confused regarding the characters - if you’ve read this I think you’ll know what I mean. I did guess one of the big plot twists and I wasn’t a fan of the ending which I found to be left incredibly open-ended but overall this was an easy read which kept me on my toes.

𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (3/5)

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫 + 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐀𝐑𝐂!

Thank you for my early copy of this book. Unfortunately I didn’t finish this. I’m not sure if it’s me or the book but I just didn’t want to continue and I didn’t feel gripped by the story.

What a book!!!! I loved the authors first book so definitely had high hopes for this one! Such a cracking thriller. I love this genre so much

I enjoyed this book, although it took a while for me to get into it. The storyline is a good one, and I like the premise of the chapters being split between the main characters. The ending was an unexpected twist.

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

First of all I've got to admit I didn't enjoy this as much as Recovery of Rose Gold but it was a good read.

Kit Collins has gone to Wisewood retreat to find herself and get back on track. After 6 months with no contact sister Natalie receives a mysterious mail asking her to go there. Who exactly has sent it and what do they know as Natalie has a terrible dark secret that she has been keeping from her sister.

On arrival at Wisewood Natalie is amazed at how much it resembles what she describes as a cult. Strange people all hiding their own secrets and just who is the mysterious Teacher who seems to have everyone under her control.

Not one of my favourites but I would still recommend.

Description 🔖

Kit Collins isn’t having a great time of life. She knows that something needs to change and this is how she hears about Wisewood. It’s a drastic change; a six month residential retreat on a remote island in Maine where no contact with the outside world is allowed. But maybe it is what she needs.

Kit’s sister Natalie knows that she isn’t contactable. However she knows that something is wrong when she receives an email from Wisewood. “We know what you did. Would you like to come tell your sister – or should we?”

Natalie sets off to try and find her sister and it soon becomes apparent that they’re both in danger. Will they manage to keep their secrets secret and more importantly, will they make it out of Wisewood?

General Thoughts 🤔

I had a constant creepy feeling whilst reading this book. It always felt like I had something lurking or hovering around me. It had such a steady build of tension that made everything feel eery and made me question everything that was happening and all of the characters.

The story was an interesting one that at a high level has been done before, but the specifics of This Might Hurt made it unique. I liked the loop around from childhood to adulthood which made me think of a concept that always interests me; nature or nurture.

Characters 👫👭👬

I found the characters a little bit difficult to follow at first as I was getting confused about who was who and timelines, but I think that was likely down to a couple of lapses in concentration as opposed to the book. However once I was clear on the characters, I was able to become invested in them.

The character I could relate to most was Natalie. Partly because she was the only one that I thought was sensible and not completely insane. She sacrificed her time and safety by going to Wisewood in search of her sister and unfortunately got herself wrapped up in something she probably wasn’t anticipating. I felt like she carried a lot of guilt and that was the reason for her rescue mission. It was unfortunate that Kit wasn’t able to see past her own feelings to realise this.

Writing Style ✍️

The story was told via multiple characters and different timelines. It was one of those books where I know the stories are going to come together at some point, but can’t quite work out how until it hits me right in the face. I think this helped in keeping me so engaged as every time I started a new chapter it felt like I was returning back to another story.

There were some pretty heavy going subjects covered in the story and there were a few moments where I felt quite uncomfortable, but I got the impression that it was supposed to make me feel uncomfortable. It was all done in taste and never felt like it had been taken too far.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

Overall this was a dark and eery book that gave me the chills whilst I was reading it. There were a few little surprises thrown in to keep me on my toes and the ending has left me with thought bubbles popping out of the side of my head. It didn’t quite hit the spot for me like The Recovery of Rose Gold did, but I would definitely still recommend.

After reading ‘Rose Gold’ I knew that Wrobel is extremely good at weaving dark and dangerous narratives so I couldn’t wait to read this one!
Natalie and Kit are sisters who have a complicated relationship and then Kit moves to Wisewood- a strange and reclusive private island where guests vow to stay closed off from the outside world for six months. Natalie receives an ominous threat from a Wisewood account and decides that she must go to her sister and get her off the island.
I love novels with elements of cults because the psychological hold is incredibly intriguing and perfect for the thriller genre. I did find the pacing a bit clumsy in places but it wasn’t something that put me off reading, it just wasn’t as slick as some novels I have recently read in the same genre. However the story felt really fresh and original and the whole atmosphere of the island really came through as intensely claustrophobic and heavy. Both Natalie and Kit are definitely balanced out by the third unnamed narrator used by Wrobel and for this I found the setup far more intriguing; something I had enjoyed from Wrobel’s previous works. Although the ending wasn’t quite what I had expected still a dark, addictive read.

I was intrigued by the synopsis of this book and enjoyed the early parts with different povs and timelines. I didn’t particularly like any of the characters but strangely I did feel more for the child who was being abused by Sir. I also liked that we aren’t told who the third pov is and this added to the mystery. I understand the motivation of Kit the younger girl who was searching for something and the attraction for her of the Wildwood retreat and equally the motivation of her older sister who was on a ‘rescue mission’ however there didn’t seem to be a lot of realistic jeopardy. The three povs come together towards the end of the book but I found the ending flat and strangely ambiguous. However I would like to commend the author on exceptional imagery, giving this story a solid grounding.

I found the writing clever and intriguing and I thought the characters were all very interesting and well written. I enjoyed the writing style and how the chapters were laid out I think it worked very well with you wanting to find out more and always keeping you guessing about the characters and where the story was going

I did like this book, but I did find it a bit of a slow read, which made it a little bit less enjoyable than I think it could have been.
Two sisters have drifted apart since their mother passed away, and Kit goes off to a reteat type place to see if she can begin to feel better and carry on with her life. Once at the retreat called Wisewood, you aren't to have contact with the outside world, and it isn't just a couple of weeks you go for. It is months, with some people choosing to stay there permanently.
Natalie receives email about her sister at this place, saying that they know Natalie's secret and that they are going to tell her sister everything. Natalie immediately sets off to Wisewood, she is ready to tell her sister everything, but she knows she has to be the person to do it.
The book consists of three naratives, the two sisters and another one who at first you don't know the identity of. This was interesting, but sometimes it did get a bit confusing. But it all came together towards the end.
With this being such a slow burn, I was hoping to have a better ending, But it didn't feel complete and it just ended without enough of an explanation. If the ending had been better than the slow burn would have been worth it.
I would read more books by Stephanie Wrobel, as I did like her style of writing, I just hope the next one is a bit faster paced.