A fast-paced thriller that deals with multi-generational family secrets and the harm that some men need to inflict on women. Anne, Rose and Thea are three generations of women in the same family who are faced with the need to survive on their own wits and strengths when faced with physical threats by the men they call family.

This was a great book told from three alternating POVs. There are three females, grandmother, daughter, and granddaughter in the story and I loved hearing their side of things and also, reading about their journeys in life. There are some nice twists, surprising reveals, and suspense. I loved the close relationship between all three of the females and how they would do anything for each other. It really does come down to that, too. Highly recommend.

This was a great novel written by Jen Waite. I was so excited to be approved on NetGalley and started the book immediately. I was not disappointed. Told from alternating points of view between a grandmother, mother, and 12 year old daughter you really get to know and understand the motives behind each character. When tension between the mother and daughter are high, the 3 females decide a family getaway is just what is needed. What they didn't expect was to be taken by gunpoint to a remote cabin in the middle of winter. The three women must fight for their life against their kidnapper and their own demons to survive.

The alterntlating points of view, stories told within the story and the build up from past occurrences and current danger add to the drama in this novel.
Waite really offers up a story that has you wondering "what would I do?" In the situations posed in the story. This was a great read with a ending that I didn't expect.

I can’t believe that I read Survival Instincts by Jen Waite and didn’t review it until now. I could have sworn that I reviewed this book, but I guess I didn’t.

Sometimes I will read a superb book and then get busy and forgetful and then I will be reminded of the book and have to circle back!

Honestly, this was a heart-pounding novel. Besides loving stories about prep schools and stranded strangers, I love books that take place in the woods. Jen Waite does a fantastic job of developing tension and suspense which kept me turning the pages.

Check it out:

FOURTEEN YEARS BEFORE THE CABIN: Twenty-something Anne meets the man of her dreams right out of college, but after they get married, Anne notices that her husband begins acting differently. Why is Ethan suddenly so moody? And will their marriage endure?

A WEEK BEFORE THE CABIN: Ten years later, Anne and her twelve-year-old daughter, Thea, are safely living in Vermont. Anne is a successful therapist, Thea has friends at her new school, and they receive an endless stream of love, support, and baked goods from Anne’s sweet mom, Rose. When Thea takes to brooding and showing classic signs of teen angst, a trip for the three women to the White Mountains of New Hampshire seems like the perfect chance to bond.

THE CABIN: A man follows the three women on a hike at a nature reserve and drags them at gunpoint to an abandoned cabin in the woods. And just like that their peaceful weekend away turns into a fight for survival. It isn’t clear what this man wants from these women or how he is connected to them if at all, but it is increasingly clear that they won’t all get out of the cabin alive.

SURVIVAL INSTINCTS is a captivating and terrifying novel that brings to life one of the scariest truths of all–that people’s inner monsters come in various forms, some more recognizable than others, and that we are all one random encounter away from tragedy.

Survival Instincts offers plenty of action, mystery, hints, clues, excellent characters, and a plot that steadily moves along. This is a MUST-READ!

Published on July 14, order here!

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read and review this title. I will review this title at a different date.

A very good book told from three alternating viewpoints of a mother, grandmother and twelve year old daughter. All three are headstrong and fiercely devoted to each other, but they've all suffered terribly and they've each got different strengths and personalities. When the three go on a holiday weekend together, the daughter is abducted off a hiking trail and taken to a remote cabin. The mother and grandmother are taken at gunpoint, and between the three of them, they have to figure a way out. Interspersed with the tense current situation, we find the backstories of each of the three women, and this builds the suspense and leads to the culmination. There were a few parts of the story line with the grandmother that seemed a bit of a stretch but that didn't stop me from feverishly reading in all my spare moments. A good thriller with a satisfying and unexpected ending.

Okay, where do I begin with this? When I put in the request for this book on NetGalley I was so excited to see that my request was approved. After getting the copy sent to my kindle I finished the books I'd been reading and then sat back, ready to dive into this story.

I was only half ready, it seems, as there were a lot of twists and turns throughout the plot and a lot of secrets being held by each of the characters. Whether we're talking about Anne, her daughter Thea, her mother Rose, literally anyone and everyone had a secret. As we all know secrets can be deadly, especially when the story is headed for major conflict.

If you read the book summary you know that this isn't just a story of three generations of strong women bonding while on a vacation in a cabin. Trouble is coming for them, in the form of a strange man and no one can be sure what he really wants from these women.

I will say that while there were slow points in this book for me or things I didn't love 100% overall the book kept me interested, kept me turning pages and kept me cheering for Anne, Thea and Rose while cursing the man (and really all men that appeared in this book, save for Rose's husband Sam.

One tactic the author used to drive tension and keep readers guessing is veiled hints at the past of each character, the mystery around who Thea's father is, why Thea has scars, why Anne is now a therapist when at the start of all of this she wanted to be a lawyer, wife & mother and, most important to me, how and why does Rose know how to shoot a gun? This tactic was very effective to keep me guessing and to not trust what I thought I knew but at times it did frustrate me, going back to the feeling that I couldn't trust anyone's perspective on the story as the POV shifted throughout the book.

Between strong female characters (especially Rose who is my current hero), mystery, drama, suspense and a healthy dose of action this book was definitely worth picking up and I'm sure I'd have bought it off the shelf if I'd seen it at the store. Thank you to NetGalley & Dutton for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

What a very different story sequence! Jen Waite builds the story in layers from different points of view but then she layers in another back story that twists the reader's experience completely. Tension is built as a young women's mother and grandmother try to protect and save her but then a twist and we must figure out who is saving whom from what! A unique read that kept me reading "just one more chapter" until the end of the book!

My appreciation goes out to Dutton and Netgalley for approving me to read an early copy of this title.

Anne works as a therapist, but feels she’s growing apart from her preteen daughter. So, she rents a cabin in the mountains and invites her own mother, Rose, along. That way all three generations can enjoy a weekend getaway while resting, relaxing and bonding.

After lunch, the first day of their time away, they set out on a hike. During that excursion, a man runs into the preteen, Thea, knocking her out. Seems it was on purpose and he kidnaps the three of them and leads them to a warming cabin in the woods.

Told from three perspectives and in various time periods including “ten years before the cabin,” some chapters relate the back story needed for this plot to make sense.

Both Rose and Anne try to plan escapes because they fear Thea will be raped and murdered by the man.

I saw deeply into the women’s terror and felt the stinging cold of the mountains and an unheated cabin. Waite did a good job of describing the place and the characters.

I loved this book. It didn’t stall at all and you never knew what would happen next. I would definitely read more of Waite’s writing.

This book is smart and tense, and I will definitely be reading more from this author. While I found the denouement a bit confusing to follow, the build-up was entirely worth it.

Annie and her daughter, Thea live in Vermont; their lives are unremarkable, but good. Annie is a therapist, her daughter has good friends and Annie’s mom, Rose lives close by. When teenage mood swings begin to affect Annie’s relationship with her daughter, mom, daughter and grandmother head out on a girl’s camping trip in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. But they aren’t alone, a man is following close behind. But what does he want? The only thing that becomes certain is that this trip is becoming a fight for survival. and not everyone will make it out alive. Creepy and intense, this thriller packs a real punch