I did not finish this book, just unable to get into the plot or enjoy the characters enough.I do wish that the summary had a mention or hint to the sci fi genre of the book.

I feel like the synopsis and marketing for this story were a little off. It definitely should have been listed as a sci-fi story. I even went back and checked and did not see anything referencing to aliens. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t immerse myself into the story as I was unable to relate with the main character due to….aliens lol

I wasn’t able to finish this book. Because of this, it is my policy not to review the book on my site or on Goodreads/Amazon. I also didn’t mark it DNF.

I couldn’t get into this book. I tried multiple times and it just didn’t grab my attention. I skimmed through hoping something would grab me but nothing ever did.

Eh? Fun sci-fi suspense novel. It's got no real mystery to it because you'll quickly put the pieces together, but it sure has a lot of body horror and gore. Also, f/f pairing!

I don't know if I can actually review this book because I read an ARC that was just short of 300 pages compared to the final version's 352 pages. I'm well aware that plenty about books can change between the ARCs folks like me get and the hardcovers/ebooks put up for sale, but there's usually not so much change that the page count gets upped by 50. Anything I have to say may have been rendered moot by the significant amount of added content. This isn't a dilemma I've faced before.

<i>*This book was given to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review*</i>

Disturbing and immersive, had no idea how much I would enjoy this historical horror.

3 stars

Wanted a horror, got more of a sci fi. It was an ok book just not what I was expecting.

(Sorry for the late review, I’m finally getting around to writing reviews for books I read forever ago!)

Monster type horror has been really hit or miss for me, and Lukavics has been mostly miss. Bypassing this book in favor of others as they seem not to my preferences.

:At seventeen, June Hardie is everything a young woman in 1951 shouldn’t be—independent, rebellious, a dreamer.:

-If you love horror, or rather YA horror this is the book for you! Love the authors writing, It's beautiful and creepy, keeps you on your toes! I don't like giving too much away in my reviews, But this book will keep you going back and forth and really make you double guess whats going on!

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

I just couldn’t bring myself to finish this book and I rarely DNF titles. The synopsis seemed interesting , but the writing and characters were not for me, and I found the plot to be poorly structured and too out there for my tastes.

In 1951, seventeen year-old June Hardie was about to graduate high school. She dreamed of traveling, attending college, and publishing her dark science fiction stories. Her parents expected her to be a "better young woman". Her father forced her to date Robert, his business partner's son, while her mother groomed her to be the perfect housewife. June felt trapped in the societal role for women. When June tried to resist, she was committed to Burrow Place Asylum. After women began disappearing from the asylum, she was determined to figure out why.

I liked how feminist the book was. June was not afraid to disregard expectations placed on her as a woman, both by society and her family. I was also surprised by June's permissive attitude about sex. She initiated sex the first time she slept with Robert. After that first time, she started using a diaphragm as birth control. She stated that she liked being "able to indulge with no strings attached".

June's story was a dark science fiction story about aliens. Excerpts were included in this novel. I found myself skimming or skipping the story excerpts because I do not like aliens. I wished I would have known about the inclusion of aliens ahead of time. I also wished I would have known how much the book relied on body horror. I wanted more psychological horror instead of gore. Lastly, I was disappointed by the end of the book, which was a bizarre mess. Overall, I am giving this book 1.5 stars.

June is an aspiring writer, though her parents are determined to make her the perfect wife. It's the 1950s and women could never have a successful writing career, they can only become housewives, or that is what June's fiance believes. June has been working on a gruesome story about aliens and has decided that she is going to apply for a college level writing program, leaving out that she is a women, to see if she has what it takes to be a writer. However, along the way, June is sent to a mental hospital, for reasons the reader has yet to learn. Is June really losing her mind, or are she and the other patients being held for devious purposes?

Unreliable narrators are always a struggle for me. I had some issues with the fact that mental health and illness are used as a device to create momentum for the plot. I think if you like some of the old school Twilight Zone vibes, you may find yourself liking this book. I don't think that this book brought anything new to the table, especially after reading books by Robin Talley. While Talley doesn't tend to incorporate horror elements into her historical fiction, these books do have similar vibes.

Amy Lukavics is one of my favorite horror writers. All of Lukavics's books are a little odd (in the best way), but NIGHTINGALE takes the cake for weirdness (again, in the best way). Set in 1951, June is everything society doesn't like in young women: outspoken, bold, independent, and a writer. When her dreams and desires come to an ultimate clash against her parents's wishes, she is sent to an asylum. There, she finds horror, mystery, and a sinister plot.

What I love most about NIGHTINGALE is the setting. Historical horror can be such a specific type of horror, and Lukavics expertly combines the horror of 1950s society sexism with psychological (and maybe even a touch of speculative) horror. This book is so immersive and creepy that you'll want to read with the lights fully on. I can't talk too much about the plot without giving away spoilers, but I will say it manages to combine some of the most unexpected elements into a way that makes complete sense.

If you enjoyed AHS: Asylum but wished it was queerer, NIGHTINGALE is the perfect read for you.

There were many pros and cons to this book. Many parts I enjoyed, like the atmospheric quality, the world building, the groundworks to feel the scares. However, there were also some problems. Yes, there were issues with June dealing with gender roles, as well as what she faced in the asylum (which I love asylum stories since they have twists and turns in satisfying ways), but the hygiene issue got me as hygiene isn't a gendered problem. Some of the twists weren't built up as well as they could, which is fine, as authors will learn with more practice. Having June as an unreliable narrator really brought this book on the wild ride that it is, so much so that you don't really know if there are some sci-fi elements to the story. Overall, I enjoyed it, even with all of the cons because there is potential there and it makes for a really good story! I'll be keeping an eye out for more books by this author in the future.

Loved it a book within a book

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

I love Amy Lukavics, her books are always very refreshing and enjoyable. Nightingale was no exception, I immediately got the creepy factor which didn't escalate as much as I expected to compared to her other books. But nevertheless, this book did satisfy the scare factor.

This book was okay but not great. It was as slow read, not because of complexity but because of how long it took me to push through this. We have two childhood friends who rekindle their friendship (and grows into much more) now that they are in their twenties. Instead of a nice, cotton candy romance we are left with an astrological focus with romance as a side plot.

I purchased this title for our library based on my reading of this galley. (Review is short because it's been a substantial period of time since I read this book, but I wanted to give feedback and thanks.)

June Hardie does not feel like she fits in in her mid-twentieth century life. She has no interest in cooking and cleaning, all the things her mother pushes her to do. She loves writing, but her family will not allow such a frivolous activity, and she is placed in an asylum until she agrees to follow "cultural norms."
This is where the book lost me. I was very interested to see where it was going, but it was so confusing! June is such an unreliable narrator, I had a hard time burying into her story.
I had really high hopes for this one, but was just....lost.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book! It was a slow read for me, the plot was alright but generally i think that this isn't the book for me!