Another wonderful book from a great author. There is enough in this book to really make the reader think, wonder, and suspect with no real answers. Raven Lane is the name of the street where a close group of residents live. They meet frequently to socialize. They seem to enjoy each others company and sharing their lives. However,there is unspoken feelings of jealousy, bitterness, competition and suspicion.
They come to learn that there is a fine line between intimacy and intrusion.
A terrible tragedy on the street leads to varying opinions. Was this an accident? Was it a deliberate act? If so, Why? As the case moves forward more extenuating circumstances arise.
It becomes quite clear that Raven Lane has many more problems to deal with.
One thing you can be sure of: Raven Lane will never be the same.
Excellent book!

Raven Lane was a trip! I went through a whole myriad of emotions while reading this book. I started off curious about the comings and goings of the fancy folk who live in the perfect little cul-de-sac called Raven Lane. It seems it's a lovely little suburbia where everyone knows everyone else's business and there's always a party to be had---basically my hell.
Right off the bat, things seem a bit off with Esme and her husband Benedict and then almost immediately into the book he accidentally hits a neighbor with his car and everything gets twisty. Surprise! Suburbia isn't perfect!

It took me almost a full month to read Raven Lane because I didn't care about any of the characters; they are all awful people (with maybe the exception being Esme's daughter Zoe, but we didn't get to know her) who do nasty things for no real reason other than to feel stuff. I feel like you're supposed to like Esme and feel bad for her as more of her background is revealed, but I just found myself annoyed with her.

Occasionally parts of the book cutaway to a book within the book written by one of the characters. These parts were confusing at best and maybe it's just my ARC, but it was hard to determine when they were starting and ending. They had a Lovecraftian type of vibe going on and I wanted more of them and less of annoying Esme.

However, my main problem with Raven Lane was the bad taste it left in my mouth after reading about Esme (a straight white woman) being seduced by Torn (a younger, gay guy). We, the reader are supposed to believe that Torn was such a fan of Esme's one movie role that he suddenly is a bisexual who finds her irresistible and wants to bang her. *eyeroll* Like, okay maaayyybeeee, but it seemed really weird and dishonest to the LGBTQ community. Oh and they have such good sex together that was cringy as fuck to read about.

I don't really know what this book brings that is worth reading about. I would read more by this author to give her a second chance, but what i really want is a full-length book of The Call.

Esme and Benedict live in a darling little cul-de-sac with their neighbors who are also “the chosen ones”. Everything appears to be idyllic at first, but upon further inspection, there is a lot more going on with Esme, Benedict, and the neighbors. A tragedy occurs involving Benedict and another neighbor, and suddenly, people are taking sides. This is a compelling read that brings to light the fact that we do not really know as much about our neighbors, our family, ourselves, as we think. We know the side that they choose to present. This is definitely a must read. Thank you to Amber, the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

Raven Lane by Amber Cowie is a thriller novel with an average storyline. The suspenseful ending is a bit unorthodox, but it isn't enough to revive the stereotypical plot involving rich people with their drugs, and love triangles, and whatever follows.

Across the length of the book, I encountered two grave mistakes. Firstly, in one of the scenes, a character picks up her phone to do something, but ends up putting back her laptop when distracted with something else. Unless this was magical realism or some sort of fantasy that I failed to grasp, the phone should have remained as such. Secondly, and more importantly, the author seems to have messed up with one of the chief character's name. Head chef Anthony is introduced with a family name Cole, but he becomes a King as soon you turn a few pages. A huge oversight on part of the author and the beta-readers!

Who is to say there aren't more such mistakes? I'd highly recommend a few more sessions of proofreads before the text is sent for publishing.

What I really liked in this book is the prose within the prose. During the course of the story, the chief character (I am deliberately not calling her the protagonist, or the antagonist, if you know what I mean! And that is all you're going to get from my review as far as spoilers are concerned!) reads a bestselling fantasy novel penned by one of her neighbors. The author has done a good job to relate it to the main storyline.

Thanks to the author and the publisher for the ARC.

Verdict: Read it for its ending.

This book is going to be a best-seller, without a doubt - the kind you see loudly and proudly promoted in all major bookstores. I loved it. I even miss the characters! They were all profoundly flawed, unique, and above all: interesting. The pace of this novel was excellent too; it kept me at the edge of my seat during the two days it took me to finish it. I particularly enjoyed Esme (such an intriguing character!) and the way in which the author described Esme’s passion for food, her dishes, and cooking. It was done with care and reminded me of one of my favorite novels: The Debt to Pleasure. Very different, of course, but equally well crafted when it came to the way in which food was described and flavours were incorporated into the narrative of the story itself. I would for sure recommend this and thank the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this advance copy.

Sorry to say, this was not my cup of tea. With little to no backstory, the action begins, leaving at least this bookseller confused and not really caring about any of the characters. About halfway through, it picked up, but never quite redeemed the poor beginning. Will i order it in? Yes, I can think of a number of customer who would like this, and I'll look to book 2 hoping for more!

Drew me right in from the first pages kept me reading long into the night.A tense chilling thriller.#y #lakeunionpublishing.

What a book. I was hooked just from the cover and description. Thankfully I was not disappointed. This is a fast paced read. Easy to read. Your on the edge of your seat wondering which way it’s heading. Fantastic read

Raven Lane started out strong but for me, it quickly derailed. Esme and Benedict were really interesting characters and I enjoyed that both of them had past careers that were cut short and they had to evolve and become a new version of themselves. It felt like the author tried to cram as many shocking things into the plot, instead of focusing the story on a few issues. It became extremely unbelievable that murder, adultery, drug use, sexual assault and other "shocking" things happened all in one story. The timeline also kept jumping around and it felt very disconnected.

I did not enjoy the part of the story in which Esme was reading pages from the dead author's book. Not only did I not enjoy the dead author's story but I also felt that it kept taking me out of the narrative. While I understand why Amber Cowie included these snippets from the dead author's book, it was the weakest part of Raven Lane. And the ending? Normally, I can get on board with a somewhat ambiguous ending. But this one just made me sigh and roll my eyes.

The beginning of this book was really good but then it turned boring and mundane
It was not for me

An accident occurs in a close knit neighborhood and divides friends. The question is the criminal case, and what a jury will find. A wife watches her husband put his car in reverse and back out of the driveway, only to run over one of their best friends. A man who is a successful author. Great book!

I was really excited for this book but it fell a little short for me. The story felt underdeveloped, the twists were fairly obvious and the characters were lacking for me. It was engaging enough to finish but wasn’t my favorite.

I couldn't get into this story. I wanted to and I tried but I had to give up. While I don't mind a slow pace, I prefer it with a slow burn. I also lost interest in the characters pretty quickly. I had no problem with the writing other than the pace. Some may like the story but its not for me.

The characters were really hard to get a good read on and figure out personality and it was alot of characters to have to remember. It felt kind of like an old time ish book to me.

This was okay.
I found myself becoming distracted whilst reading, which is never a good thing.... you know, have I left the tumble drier on? And other mundane things.
I persevered with the book because I wanted to know what the ending was, but in all honesty it was a bit boring.
A great shame after a good beginning to the story.

If you like stories with unreliable narrators, this is the book for you. Raven's Lane is a coveted enclave of beautiful homes and tight-knit friendship, but when one of their own is accidentally killed by another, the decidedly unpretty underbelly of the neighborhood is exposed. The story focuses on Esme, former starlet-turned-chef and her husband, Benedict, who misses his glory days as a model. When Benedict is accused of murder, Esme resolves to do everything she can to get him off. Or does she? Intriguing read with a surprise ending. I really enjoyed it.

Raven Lane, What can i say but YES to the Drama. Amber Crombie, well this authors writing is fantastic, she makes the story easy to follow and ensures its an easy read for her readers without being boring. Unfortunately this is something of late i have found books either have no character building or it has too much and it becomes boring.

Romance - Check
Drama - Check
Easy Reading Style - Check
Relatable - Check
Suspense - Check

The twists and turns incorporated into the story kept me on the edge of my seat and i could put it down i needed to know what was happening in Raven Lane.

I am a reader that once i am sold on a character i invest in them and Raven Lane by Amber Crombie did this for me, i invested and in such completed this in one sitting because i just had too.

I would give this book 4 stars. I would also recommend this to readers of suspense or readers that enjoy drama entwined with romance.

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. I didn't particularly enjoy this book. I found it difficult to engage with, perhaps as the pacing was quite slow and none of the characters were very likeable, but the ending was rushed and seemed to leave everything unanswered. I agree with other reviews saying it wasn't intended to be a mystery, but I didn't feel the plot really went anywhere.

This novel was okay for me. It was a romantic suspense that at its core had good promise.
While I did enjoy the story, the characters seemed one dimensional to me and the plot
was quite predictable. The twist did not seem like much of one, in my opinion. Having
said that, I would read another book from this author as the story line was intriguing .

Sorry but I just couldn't get into this book and I gave up on it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.