This was a DNF for me. I’m sure the story will appeal to other readers. I had a hard time following the story which in turn caused a lack of concentration on my part.
Thanks for the approval.

I found this to be an okay book - I just couldn’t get into it. The storyline didn’t hold my attention. The book didn’t flow really well for me, the writing style is dry and choppy.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book to review.

Under the Willows
by Pamela McCord

Unfortunately, I did not care for this book. I could not get into it therefore never even finished it. Please remember this is only one person's opinion perhaps what I feel is boring someone else may find interesting. Sorry 2 stars for this novel.

I rarely enjoy thrillers and just something about this didn't get to me at all. I had so much trouble with the writing style and the story itself. DNF.

This was a beautiful, emotional story. It involves the supernatural but is not unnerving at all. I did not want to stop reading and I loved the ending.
Many thanks to Acorn Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was really hard to get into. It was very bland and boring.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.
All opinions are mine.

'Under The Willows' by Pamela McCord is the story of a young mother, Kelly, who is dealing with the loss of her husband and starting a new life with her son TJ. She decides to move them into a house that her late husband inherited. Once there some strange things start to happen centered around their Alexa Dot.

This book has a crime-mystery vibe to it, with a touch of the supernatural. The whole premise is you get to see Kelly dealing with the grief and loss of her husband and possible new love interest, all at the same time she and her son TJ are trying to figure out what is going on with this Alexa Dot. This Alexa Dot takes center stage in this story.

I loved supernatural stories. That is why I was very drawn to this at the beginning. But I think this book failed in developing an interesting paranormal storyline and interesting character set. It struggled a lot to build an atmosphere that is normally used in these kinds of suspense, paranormal stories.

There was just a lot of filler. A number of times a series of events would happen to Kelly and we watch them happen, but then she would sit and explain those same series of events to different characters and it felt very much unnecessary. So it starts to feel like this story was longer than it should have been. I don't need to know all of the minute details. And the way some of these things were described felt very underdeveloped. Almost like this was the first pass and it could have used further refinement.

At the same time, time didn't seem to have real weight. Things seemed to move very, very quickly. Especially for the fact that this is a recent widow who is dealing with raising her son, on her own, for the very first time. And yet we have this love interest that starts to take center stage. And the loss of her husband doesn't seem as big of a deal anymore even though it is directly after those events that they move into this house. And TJ himself doesn't seem to feel a lot of that loss for his father. He readily accepts a bunch of new characters into his life without really having any repercussions or emotional stress because of it.

Then it started to feel like ghosts are a parlor trick. Even though the whole main point of the story was that these ghosts have an integral part in everything that was going on, they became a novelty. They are this trick being shown off to various different characters, trying to get all of this explained. And because of this, the paranormal aspect started to lose some of its seriousness.

There was another whole part of the story that was added in and really didn't have a point to it. There was this whole secondary crisis or plotline going on that didn't help the main plot. It felt like an afterthought or something that was thrown in there to try and throw you off. But it wasn't filled out enough to actually accomplish anything.

It wasn't a bad story by any means. I just feel like it could have been revised a little bit, pared-down a little bit, and then beefed up in other areas to really give it some weight.

A well written novel, that leaves you asking if there is such a thing as the spirit world and could they actually communicate from the other side. The imagination of the author is surreal.

This was a unique and enjoyable thriller. I enjoyed the twist of a ghost helping out in a mystery. The only problem I had with this book was I thought that the use of Alexa to communicate with the ghost was unnecessary. It was kind of hard to grasp at first, and I feel as though a ghost would be able to communicate without Alexa. I did think that the characters were well-rounded and the grief that the main character felt about her husband and questioning her feelings was genuine feeling.

it was very hard for me to get into this book, very dry and didn't flow very good in my opinion. i was hoping for more when i picked it up. i prob will try it again to see if i can get into it more.

After a tragic car accident, Kelly lost her husband. She decides to settle down with her young son - T.J - in a family house that her husband inherited from an aunt before his death. While a missing kid in this new town occupied the background, they gonna have to find a way to keep living their lives and welcome new faces.

The story is a mix of missing child - grieving a loved one while keep going and some romance.

Kelly found it difficult to think ahead and allow herself to keep having a life or to start a new one ... which is perfectly understandable. FOR ME it became too much to take or should say - irritating - when she's spending most of her time in this story between accepting her feelings and attraction for this new man - Rob - and at the same time forbidden it because of her fresh grief. When it's happening every two seconds it's starting to lose my interest.
The author wanted to use the 'voice of a ghost' to help the search of the missing kid BUT explaining how it's get connected to their Alexa Dot in order to communicate with them would have been nice otherwise, it's just convenient!!
There was no use at bringing an element of contesting the inheritance by a cousin since that character is never in the picture what so ever. It may be a possible way by doing so to misdirect the reader but it really doesn't do the trick.
Kids can react a bit strangely when facing drama about a loved one but here, T.J who expressed missing his father a lot has no problem welcoming whole heartedly this new man into their house - knowing quite well what is going on between the two adults (feelings wise). No justified anger by accusing his mother of replacing his father way too quickly since it's only been a handful of months (maybe even less). A bit difficult to believe.
And finally, guessing who's the villain in this kidnapping story was super easy (and it will be for anyone) so, there was no surprise at the end. A very poor choice in the placement of the different elements for the building of the story.

I would say that Under the willows is for you if you like romance books and if you want to try a bit of 'suspense'. It really didn't deliver for me.

I really enjoy a thriller that has a ghost story tied into it. I really enjoyed how kelly was so accepting of Emma and her pleas. One thing I didn’t enjoy about the book was how it seemed to jump from a calm conversation to action really quick without any real explanation of how or why it was happening. All in all I would recommend this book! It was enjoyable

This is an okay book - I just couldn’t get that into it. The storyline just really didn’t hold any appeal to me. The book didn’t flow really well for me and I found it to be a bit dry. It wasn’t the worst book I’ve read but not the best either.

After the recent death of her husband, Kelly moves to a different town with her son and soon after is contacted by a little girl asking for help through the Amazon Echo Dot. This was a unique plot and I enjoyed reading it but I had hoped that the storyline would be a bit more creepy/frightening. We aren't given much, if any, background information on the killer and the girls, how it happened or what his motive was in the first place. Due to this and the storyline mostly touching on the main character's romantic life, I would classify this one as a "cozy mystery". A good, quick read.
It might just be the way it comes up on my Kindle but every chapter starts with a big bold letter - usually "J" or "O" - where a chapter number would normally be. The first paragraph of each chapter also starts with the first letter of the first word, separated from the rest of the paragraph. For example:
"T
hey went to the market."
I've highlighted a few areas where it looks like some words had been deleted/moved around.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book for my honest review.

A good mix of genres (horror, thriller) that kept me hooked till the end.
I appreciated the cast of characters, the setting and the plot that flows.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

After the death of her husband Tom, Kelly and her son TJ move to Ohio, to a house Tom inherited from his grandmother. They slowly start settling in and making new friends, getting to know the town and it's people. Then one night TJ's Alexa unit starts crying. Stunned Kelly and TJ listen to the tale of a young girl, who claims her friend Marilee needs help. The thing is Marilee has been reported missing. With the help of local detective Rob, Kelly has to try to figure out where Marilee is, and the only clue they have is a disembodied voice coming through the Alexa unit.

While I did enjoy this book, it was never as creepy as it probably could have been. The old house setting and ghost child could have made a far more chilling tale than it did. Plus Kelly's attitude towards Rob for the entire book became annoying. Yes, it was understandable at first, meeting someone so soon after the death of her husband, however it kept being brought up again and again...and again, and it became tedious. So yes I did like this book, but I didn't love it.

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

This was a lovely story. It really pulled on your heartstrings.
I really felt for Kelly with her emotions after losing her husband and moving with her son TJ. The grief felt very real. I loved the relationships between Kelly and Rob and how the relationship developed.
This story has ghosts but it wasnt scary at all and was very emotional. It really pulled at my heart strings and brought tears to my eyes.
I really liked that the story ended all wrapped up in a bow (quite literally ;)).

A very different kind of horror story which made me eager to look for the answer till the end, but there were few questions which was unclear and left me dissatisfied.
I wanted to know more about the little girls and how and why the incident happened. Especially Emma.
A mix of mystery, horror, action , love and emotion is what this book is all about.


Thankyou #netgalley and #underthewillows for the ARC in exchange of my honest review.

Kelly and her son TJ move into her husband’s grandmother’s house after he passes away.
TJ has an Alexa unit in his room and he hears a little girl crying and asking for help. The girl talking through the unit identifies herself as Emma and she tells Kelly and TJ about a little girl named Marilee who is with her. It turns out that Marilee has been missing for a few weeks. Kelly is extremely worried about the little girl and investigates the case, along with a detective named Rob, who she recently became acquainted with.
This is a great little ghost story for people who enjoy a bit of the supernatural in their fiction. The end is satisfying and ties up the story nicely.
I found the story to be sweet and sentimental, and it plays on your feelings. This is not a scary story but rather an emotional one.
I recommend it for people looking for a relaxing read and a feel good ending.
Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader’s copy so that I could review it.

Kelly and her son TJ move to Ohio to live in the house her husband inherited from his grandmother, before he was killed by a drunk driver. Things get really get spooky when her son's Alexa Dot begins to emit sounds of a young girl crying and asking for help in the middle of the night. Will Kelly be able to convince Rob, a super attractive cop, that she isn't crazy? Will they figure out who this voice belongs to and be able to help in time?

I was super intrigued with the idea of a ghost talking through Alexa (although I may never look at my own Alexa in quite the same way again). For a good chunk of the book this made me feel chills and suitably creeped out. I also liked the attraction and conflicted feelings between Kelly and Rob.

*Spoilers: However, I felt the amount of conversation and information that came through Alexa just got to be way too unbelievable. I also didn't like Tom's voice suddenly having the ability to come through Alexa either; it felt too convenient and contrived. I found myself wanting to know why these girls were taken in the first place, but no reason was given (although we never really know why some people do the things they do anyway). I don't understand why the whole will issue was included in the story either: it wasn't necessary to the story and really didn't amount to anything.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #UndertheWillows