This book was very atmospheric and had a strong gothic feel. I was fascinated with the story in the past and the dynamic between the 4 sisters was well done. But I really didn’t connect to the story in the present time and felt it got in the way of the heart of the book. Since the dual time periods didn’t work as well as I hoped I’m giving it 3 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am a bit behind on my reading this year. I find I am constantly distracted and reading more than I should at one time, thereby not making much progress on anything. I received this story as an ARC from Netgalley and while I was suppose to review it several weeks ago, I say better late than never!

This was not a usual choice of mine. At heart, if I have a choice I pick something with a little magic. This had a different kind of magic. It was a story about the bonds of sisterhood and motherhood. It was a coming of age story in some ways as well. But at its core, I felt the story was focused more on the strength of family even when we think they are slipping away.

I had specific ideas of where I thought this story was going. It never went to the darkest places I imagined, but it kept me hooked because I needed to know how it ended. It was well-written even for being an unedited copy.

It was cryptic and eerie even when nothing creepy was going on. There was always a cloud that followed the characters around. Chase did a masterful job in creating an uncertain and troubling feeling that pervaded the story and the separate story lines.

Her characters were likeable and real. I felt drawn and compassionate to them all and understood when they made mistakes.

If you are looking for a story that unsettles you in more than one way, and yet can make everything clearer then I think this story it for you. It's a story about family and about loss. It tells the tale of four sisters who choose each other, even when vanities divide. And it open wounds that need to be cleaned when it comes to loves insecurity. A truly emotional and moving story.

A web of secrets and betrayal unravel in this story. A page turner that kept you on the end of your seat unsure who did what. Some great characters that I really felt I had a relationship with. I really enjoyed the way the story was written, two stories one from the past and one from the present however cleverly entwined to reveal one story of love, family and betrayal.

I absolutely loved Black Rabbit Hall by Eve Chase and when I saw this book available for request, I immediately pushed that button.

While this is a good read, I didn't feel as mesmerized by the story like I had in the first book. There were parts that I loved about this book as well, don't get me wrong. There were, however, parts that I felt were fluff and parts where I thought expansion could be done.

It was still a good read and I was definitely entertained. I will also "hit that button" again for any future Eve Chase books.

Thanks to Penguin Group/Putnam and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

I'm not sure what I expected from this book, but I had trouble connecting with it and did not finish it.

I read Eve Chase debut book, Black Rabbit Hall last year and it was such a great book! So, when The Wildling Sisters showed up on NetGalley didn't I hesitate to request the book. Now, I have to admit that this book's cover isn't really a favorite of mine and if not the name of the author had been familiar had I perhaps not have been interested in the book. I just think that the three faces on the cover so oddly placed, like why are the third girls face under the other two's? It's puzzling!

However, the cover is the only thing that I have to complain about for the story is superb. Even better than Black Rabbit Hall and that book was really good. I was instantly pulled into the story and I loved both timelines. Eve Chase has an ability to write that makes it hard to stop reading the book, it feels like you just breeze through the pages, and loved both the story in 1959 about the sisters who are living with the aunt and uncle on the Applecote Manor during the summer after their mother has decided to work abroad. The time has practically stood still in the house since the day five years before when their cousin Audrey disappeared. What happened to her? In the present story has a Jessie and her family moved into the house. For Jessie is this a dream house and a chance to start over fresh after they have lived in a house where her husband lived with his first wife who tragically died. But, soon she wonders if they made a mistake when her stepdaughter tells her that 50 years before a young girl disappeared from the house and was never seen again...

I love books with two timelines, and The Wildling Sisters is a fabulous story. I liked both the story in the past and the present and I found the ending very emotional. It's such a beautifully written story, filled with both happiness and sadness.

I'm always drawn in by stories that center around a home and detail the lives of past and present residents, bringing their stories together. If those are your favorite kinds of books too, then I would highly recommend picking up The Wildling Sisters by Eve Chase.

Applecote Manor is at the heart of both stories. In 1959, sisters Flora, Pam, Margot and Dot, nicknamed the Wildlings, spend a life changing summer with their Aunt Sybil and Uncle Perry. In present day, Jess and Will are just moving into Applecote Manor in hopes of bringing their blended family together, particularly Will's teenage daughter Bella.

Both stories are equally compelling, but being a fan of historical fiction, I was more drawn into the drama surrounding the Wildling Sisters. There are several surprises throughout their narrative and I liked how the author resolved both stories in the end.

I received this book courtesy of Penguin Group Putnam through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Really enjoyed this book. Incredibly atmospheric and beautiful tale of human relationships, tragedy and the effects it has on us all.

This book really surprised me. It’s a gothic tale that shifts from the 1950s to present day. It centers on Applecote Manor in the English countryside. There are all the elements of a gothic novel – an estate with a mysterious history, strange rumors, and interesting characters that leave you guessing. Eve Chase’s writing is beautiful and she’s able to so effectively weave a plot of suspense with this novel. The sense of intrigue combined with an air of foreboding just permeates the book, page after page. I didn’t want to put it down. It just kept drawing me deeper and deeper into the narrative. The characters are interesting and thoughtfully written. I enjoyed how the weaving of time was handled. It really effectively helped keep the sense of unease going throughout the novel. The primary focus of the novel is ultimately around family relationships and dynamics. How these things play out and impact everyone so differently. The characters were all well drawn but the way that Chase made Applecote Manor a character in its own right was done brilliantly. It felt as real to me as any of the characters. All in all, a wonderful novel with suspense, mystery and a family saga all rolled into one! Highly recommend this one particularly if you’re a fan of the gothic novel!

Thank you to netgalley for the free copy of THE WILDLING SISTERS in exchange for my honest feedback.

I loved it!! Wow, what a great book! I devoured this book in just two sittings (it would have been one if I didn't have to feed my family). This is one of the best books I have read this year, and will be added to my top ten favorites list. I will tell everyone i know that it is a must read. I literally have no words to describe how well written this book was. It flowed, it entertained, I loved the characters, and I wanted to be a part of this book!

A lovely mystery. Great reveal. A thorough understanding of how the dynamics of marriages and sisterhood work.

This was Fantastic of the best books of summer!!

The Wildling Sisters is spellbinding, mysterious and will keep you on the edge of your seat to the very end!
This was my first book by Eve Chase and it will definently wont be my last. Loved it!

My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I want to thank Eve Chase, Penguin Group Putnam and Netgalley for giving me this book for my honest review.

Review By Stephanie
5+++ Stars

I fell in love with Eve Chase's writing when I read Black Rabbit Hall so I was beyond stocked when I saw The Wildling Sisters on netgalley! I was like YESSSS PLEASE!

In The Wildling Sisters Eve writes a provoking tale set in the 1950s and then fastword 15 years. I loved this! The overlapping time differences were written so seamless. The charatcters Eve created in this book were amazing. I was instantly drawn to them and felt an odd conntection to them. I have also come to LOVE the ghosety preance in Eve's books and how one location has seen two different time eras. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that! The desription of the Applecote Manor was huntingly wnoderful!

I would love to write a million words about how amazing this book is but I do not want to spoil any aspect of this epic tale! Just trust me when I say if you see Eve Chase as the writer ONE CLICK!!!

Favorite Quotes:

Jessie is sure her little girl will love the freedom of the countryside, just as she did as a kid, all those secret nooks of childhood, tiny worlds invisible to grown-up eyes.

There’s a thrill that comes with being awake when everyone else is lost in sleep. I don’t feel rushed. Or watched. Time even passes differently, molding itself around me like a kid glove on warm skin.

…our aunt and uncle step around each other like awkwardly placed furniture or guests at a party with a long-running feud… All our lives we’ve been brought up to want what Sybil has: a marriage to a firstborn son, a big house, a loyal maid, the clawed silver sugar tongs, a gold carriage clock ticking down to the next wedding anniversary. And yet Sybil grinds pepper over her boiled egg in the morning as if she’d like to wring the neck of the chicken who laid it.

My parents prefer not to think, Margot. They simply decide on a course and stick to it, like ocean liners.

Flora starts to flirt, fluttering her long lashes. I get a sudden unsisterly urge to pick them out one by one like legs from a spider.


My Review:

The Wildling Sisters kept me on edge, although I was immediately taken with the author’s writing style and remained intensely fascinated with the cleverly nuanced storyline as well as with the compelling and complex characters. The premise was unique and the writing was spellbinding and exceptionally well-crafted. Ms. Chase demonstrated uncanny word craft and repeatedly and deftly created an intense ambiance that could shift within a sentence. The story was cunningly and maddeningly paced and entailed two timelines, fifty years apart, in the same eerily creepy manor house in the quiet English countryside. The house and grounds contained a devastating mystery that prevailed over those fifty years, and long-held secrets that also provided a peculiar and unnatural undercurrent to the tale. I was enthralled and so intrigued I warily read late into the night, a bit fearful of each new turn in the story, although I adored the author’s colorful and insightfully observed descriptions that triggered sharp visuals to flicker through my brain. The narrative also provided many amusing smirk-worthy analogies and comical details. Eve Chase has mad skills.

Jessie and her husband, Will, have been searching a few months for a big house in the country so they can move away from London. They feel it will be a good move for Will’s teenager, Bella, who’s been troubled since the death of her mother, Will’s first wife. And it would be a wonderful way to raise their preschooler, Romy — out in the fresh air, with plenty of room to run and wander and explore. When they find Applecote Manor it seems to be just perfect: It needs lots of work, but that means they’ll be able to afford it.

But Applecote has its ghosts: A girl went missing there more than 50 years earlier and was never found. Audrey’s cousins used to spend weeks in the summer with her at Applecote before she disappeared, but it takes five years until they end up back there, spending the end of the summer with their bereft aunt and uncle.

The story of The Wildling Sisters goes back and forth between August of 1959, when the four Wilde sisters stayed at Applecote and shared a horrific bonding experience, and the present, when Jessie is settling her blended family in to the old home.

There’s a sense of foreboding hanging over the story in both times: Readers know something devastating is going to happen to teens Flora, Pam and Margot and preteen Dot, that they will have a secret to keep of their own, all on top of dealing with the secrets that underlie the disappearance of their cousin. And those secrets somehow cling to the house decades later, when Jessie and Will move in. Will they be able to find some peace in the countryside, or will the ghosts of the past, however unrelated to them, make it impossible?

I enjoy stories of dark secrets from the past bubbling up to the surface in the present day, so I was eager to find out how this book played out. I wasn’t disappointed. I felt invested in what happened not just to the four “Wildling” sisters (as their uncle called them) but to Jessie, who so much wants to make peace with her stepdaughter and the ever-present specter of her husband’s seemingly perfect dead wife. I couldn’t put the book down for the last third and enjoyed how the ending came together.

Rated: Moderate. There are three uses of strong language and a few other uses of milder language; sexual content includes vague references to the free lifestyle of the four girls’ mother and the developing bodies of the girls, as well as a few teen-girl observations on seeing or almost seeing manly body parts. The one narrator talks about her sister saying she almost “went all the way” and there is a scene of some kissing and fondling.

Dual time-line stories are one of my favorite, but this one lacked a little something in the present story. I enjoyed the past timeline much better, let's face it, that's where all the secrets are! I found the present family to be a little boring, maybe if they had been related to the sisters, it might have been more engaging.

Applecote Manor and the area were deftly described and I felt the presence of the house in the writing.
Ms. Chase brings the Wilde family to life for us, even Uncle Perry and his sweaty palms. A nicely done mystery with some twists, and good characterization.

**Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley in exchange of an honest review.**

To say I loved Eve Chase’s debut, Black Rabbit Hall is something of an understatement. I was head over heels for the book – over a year since it’s release and it still remains one of my go-to recommendations (to the point where I’m running out of people to recommend it to!) In April of last year I featured the book in a GoodReads Recommends post where I highlighted similar titles: so far I’ve read two of the six and have an ARC of a third! Finally, in January I featured a week-long series highlighting the 2017 novels (from the first half of the year) that I couldn’t wait to read. No surprises here: Eve’s follow-up was included in my list of historical novels…where I shamelessly flailed over it even though it’s a July release. #sorrynotsorry

In June the author of my second-favorite novel of 2016 (a seriously twisty psychological thriller) released her follow-up and…it was a total dud. Like, painful to where I almost tossed it aside. I don’t know if my expectations were just astronomically high or what, but it was a terrible read and one of the worst I’ve read all year. So, yes, I’ll admit I was a teensy bit worried The Wildling Sisters would follow suit – after all, I liked Black Rabbit Hall even more than that other novel. Surely any expectations would be even higher, any disappointment even more painful.

The Wilde girls, Flora; Pam; Margot; and Dot, spent summer after summer at their aunt and uncle’s country house, Applecote Manor. Long, lazy days spent swimming, exploring the grounds, sharing secrets, all with their cousin Audrey. If Margot were to be completely honest, as much as she loved her sisters, she secretly wanted to be Audrey’s sister instead. Audrey was like the sun they revolved around and whoever she chose to be her friend was considered very special indeed. Then one summer everything changed. Audrey disappeared, vanished. Though the grounds and surrounding village were thoroughly searched, no evidence ever turned up – Audrey was simply gone.

When the sisters finally (and begrudgingly) return to Applecote some years later, their uncle has given himself over to drink, their aunt insists Audrey will return home one day safe and sound, going so far as to keep her bedroom exactly how it was the day she left – and see to it that her closet is full of new clothes. Obviously she would no longer be the 14-year-old girl she was when she left. She’ll be grown, filled out, and in need of a young woman’s attire.

Fifty years later, Applecote Manor is a shell of its former self. Jesse, determined to move out of the London home her husband had shared with his previous wife, can’t help but fall in love with the place. Where others would see a drafty home in serious disrepair, Jesse sees a new start. A place all of their own where the ghost of a woman cannot touch. However, when Jesse’s step-daughter returns home from school one day with rumors of a horrible tragedy surrounding the house, Jesse begins to wonder if there’s some truth to it. Did she finally free herself from one ghost only to find herself with another?

Like Black Rabbit Hall, The Wildling Sisters features a dual era story with a grand old house at its center. And, much like Black Rabbit Hall, Applecote Manor is every bit a character. There might be some readers who would complain that Eve Chase is just rehashing the same story but with new names. I can see that, but I didn’t mind one bit. Dual era narratives, a moody, Gothic tone, a once-grand estate – I love every single one of those things and happily went along for this ride, formulaic or not.

As much as I love novels that feature multiple characters across decades, I feel like the present storyline wasn’t nearly as strong as the past. Jesse is learning how to make a home with her husband, their new baby – and Jesse’s teenage step-daughter. Will’s first wife Mandy passed away and while Will has moved on, Bella hasn’t. She refuses to allow Jesse into her family, sneaks in snide remarks about how her mother loved this, her mother did that. She wants nothing to do with her sister. Basically your average fifteen-year-old. This story wasn’t bad at all, but the past…that story was absolutely gripping. It’s hard not to be when the book opens with Margot and her sisters dragging a body through the grounds. That scene alone practically screamed TELL ME MORE!

While reading – and several times in this review – I found myself comparing The Wildling Sisters to Eve’s debut. That’s not entirely fair as this novel in no way ties to Black Rabbit Hall, but I loved that one so, so much and, as mentioned, Eve’s storytelling once more calls upon the past and a big old house. It’s hard not to compare the two, especially since both novels have been likened to Kate Morton and Daphne du Maurier.

With a haunting atmosphere (and a possibly haunted house), The Wildling Sisters is exactly the kind of moody, brooding mystery I love. Though I did prefer one storyline over the other, the book as a whole was phenomenal. Eve Chase is a master at what she does: Jesse’s bleak, isolating winter in her new home, Margot’s unsettling summer, my emotions were on high alert with every turn of the page. Black Rabbit Hall is still solidly on its pedestal, but The Wildling Sisters is a fantastically strong follow-up and just a plain good read. With two excellent novels under her belt, I’m even more excited to see where Eve Chase goes next!

I am highly recommending THE WILDLING SISTERS by Eve Chase (she also wrote the Library Journal star-reviewed Black Rabbit Hall). This is a superb mystery set at Applecote Manor over two different time periods, summer of 1959 and present day. In the past, the teenage Wilde sisters -- beautiful Flora, adventuresome Pam, Margot (primary narrator) and 12 year-old Dot – are sent to the countryside to stay with their Aunt Sybil and Uncle Perry (who calls them the Wildlings). The siblings, especially Margot, recall happier times when they spent summers at Applecote Manor with their cousin Audrey who mysteriously disappeared five years ago when she was twelve. The adults are fairly dysfunctional, still struggling with their grief so the sisters find distraction and romance with Harry Gore, son of the local Lord, and his cousin, Tom.

Shifting back and forth with the present, author Chase relates the story of the new owners of Applecote Manor, The Tuckers: City businessman Will, his second and therefore insecure wife, Jessie, their 3 year-old named Romy and his teenage daughter called Bella. As might be expected, there is some tension due to the blended family situation and it is compounded by Will's frequent absences.

In both time periods, there is a hint of menace and danger, of secrets and silence. Despite the fifty year difference, both Margot and Bella are curious about Audrey's disappearance and disconcerting items like small bouquets and a heart-shaped button appear again and again. If you enjoy titles by Kate Morton, or The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, Eve Chase's new mystery THE WILDLING SISTERS is one you will not want to miss.

Link in Live Post to previous Kate Morton review: http://treviansbookit.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-lake-house-by-kate-morton.html

Applecote Manor is a house stuck in the past. In the mid 1950’s, a young girl named Audrey Wilde simply disappeared from the English estate without a trace. Five years later, the four Wilde sisters return to their aunt and uncle’s home for a final, carefree adolescent summer. Middle sister Margot is determined to solve the mystery of what happened to her favorite cousin- and close friend- Audrey. But her quest for the truth is complicated by typical growing pains and her struggle to find her own identity.

In the present day, the neglected Applecote Manor is a little worse for wear. Londoner Jessie is trying to navigate life with her busy and often absent husband Will, her active toddler, and her fraught relationship with her withdrawn and moody teen stepdaughter Bella- who is still grieving the loss of her mother. In spite of the work needing to be done, Jessie cannot help but be drawn to the house. She’s sure its the perfect place for a fresh start for her fragile family. Perhaps here too, she can put to rest her insecurities over her inability to measure up to Mandy, Will’s glamorous first wife. But the past is not so easy to shake at Applecote after all.

Set in the Cotswolds, The Wildling Sisters is imbued with a strong sense of place. It was easy to picture Applecote manor- both in its prime in the 1950’s, as well as in it’s beautiful decay in the present. Chase’s incredibly evocative prose elevates this dual-timeline mystery. I fell in love with her highly-descriptive writing. There were so many sentences that stopped me in my tracks.

The novel opens with a tantalizing glimpse of a dramatic future event that will have you immediately hooked. This is not a fast-paced story though, but a slow-burn with subtly building suspense. I personally love novels with this kind of gothic feel. I had a delightful feeling of unease throughout my reading, a feeling which increased as I drew closer to the novel’s final reveals.

As is almost always the case, I preferred the historical timeline to the present-day one. I got a little irritated at times with Jessie, Bella, and Will’s drama and their inability to communicate. I did appreciate how human all of Chase’s characters are however. These are not idealized cardboard cut outs, but people you can easily imagine crossing paths with. Although I’m an only child, I felt that Chase perfectly captures the complicated bond that exists between sisters. The same can be said for the relationship between step-mother and step-daughter.

On a superficial personal note, it was interesting to read a book featuring a female protagonist who shares my name. I honestly can’t remember another book that I’ve read in which that is the case (although i can think of a few male characters named Jesse).

I figured out part of the mystery fairly early on, but that did not lessen my enjoyment of this novel by any means. There were even a few twists left at the end to keep this from becoming a predictable read.

Beyond the central mystery of Audrey’s fate, The Wildling Sisters is a novel about growing up, family ties, sisterhood, loss, and learning to live with the past.

I highly recommend this well-written, atmospheric novel- especially for fans of Kate Morton. I definitely want to check out Eve Chase’s debut, Black Rabbit Hall, and I can’t wait to see what she writes next.

**A huge thank you to Net Galley and publisher Michael Joseph for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review**

The four Wilde girls always spent the summers at Applecote Manor until the year their cousin Audrey mysteriously vanished. Since then, Audrey’s parents have withdrawn from life, grieving the loss of their only child.

Five years after Audrey’s disappearance, the girls are once again sent back to Applecote Manor for the summer. Flora, Pam, Margot and Dot were happy to be back, except for the fact that it felt strange for their cousin Audrey not to be there with them.
As the summer progresses, the sisters gradually draw Audrey’s parents out of their seclusion.

During their visit, the girls also become acquainted with a young man named Harry and his cousin Tom, who live on the adjoining estate. The status quo among the girls becomes off center with the arrival of the young men, as the girls cautiously compete with each other for their attention. Their Uncle Perry unwittingly adds to their competitiveness by encouraging Flora to set her sights on the wealthy Harry Gore.

Margot, who was closest in age to Audrey and looks the most like her, has an intense desire to find out what happened to her cousin. As the summer progresses Margot questions the housekeeper and her aunt and uncle, and finally Harry, who was a friend of Audrey’s when she was alive. As Margot puts all the pieces together, the mystery seems to be solved--or does it?

There are two storylines running throughout the novel, both past and present. As Margot gets closer to the truth, the story from the present intensifies and merges into the clues from the past to fill in the blanks of what happened to Audrey years ago.

Readers who like Kristin Hannah or Kate Morton will love this novel. I found the girls to be engaging and enjoyed reading about their unique relationship as sisters.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group for allowing me to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.