Wow! I had no expectations coming into this book so it was a great surprise when I absolutely loved it. Lexi is a fantastic protagonist, slightly unreliable and with a lot of issues but a good heart so you root hard for her to get back onto her feet. The mystery of the house is classic but even more foreboding with the stark, dramatic landscape of Norway as its backdrop. There are plenty of spine tingling moments as the point of view switches throughout the whole cast.

I was so impressed with how the writer seamlessly took the reader in and out of different characters' minds without breaking state. Each additional insight only adds to the question of how Aurelia died, and why, and who (if anyone) is to blame. The pacing was so good the whole way through that I was surprised when I got to the ending, which was really satisfying. I'd absolutely recommend this book to any reader, especially during spooky season. I myself can't wait to read more from this author.

Note: I received a free electronic edition of this book via NetGalley in exchange for the honest review above. I would like to thank them, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to do so.

I’ve been finding myself really enjoying more of the gothic thrillers. This book definitely falls into that category. It had a supernatural mystery that truly drew me and I found myself thinking about the book even when I wasn’t reading it.
Lexi’s life has taken a turn, her boyfriend has left her and moved on with her best friend, she doesn’t have a home and she has recently attempted suicide. While on a train she over hears a girl named Sophie talking about a live in nanny job. Lexi decides to impersonates Sophie and she ends up getting the job. The nanny job has her move to Norway and taking care of two young girls Gaia and Coco whose recently lost their mother. Their father Tom is a well known architect and he’s committed to finishing the house he had promised his wife Aurelia before she had died. Gaia whose six and Coco whose nine months miss their mother horribly, Gaia tells Lexi that she saw her mother running away the day she died and the scary sad lady with no eyes comes and visits her at bedtime. The house that she’s staying at while Tom builds the new home sits alone in the woods near a cliff above the fjords and she’s told the basement is off limits, she swears she hears noises coming from there. When she discovers a diary sitting on her bed that someone left there, and it belongs to Aurelia,she’s shocked Tom may have played a role in his wife’s death. Is the house haunted? What are the noises she hears and whose the woman with no eyes dripping water? Is Sophie/Lexie hallucinating? What really happened to Toms Wife? This book was amazing I’m giving it five stars! It was the perfect fall book and just the right amount of creepy!

The Nesting is a chilling gothic mystery thriller that is perfect for an October read with its flawless atmospheric depiction of  the supernatural.  From the Norwegian house on a cliff to the dark folklore to the eerie and ghostly elements, this book has everything you need for a chilling and spooky read.  

CJ Cooke has delivered a page-turner with a rising sense of dread that permeates the entire novel and had me on the edge of my seat.    

I did struggle with plot holes and the similarity of this book to others I have read recently, but all in all, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves a Gothic thrill ride.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for a gifted copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars. A modern gothic thriller with a desperate young woman, an assumed identity, two adorable little girls, their dead mother and bereaved father, a strange housekeeper, and a touch of supernatural. Norwegian fjords and folklore add good atmosphere. Along with being a paranormal mystery, issues of depression, suicide, homelessness, neglected childhood, nature, and the environment are all touched upon.

3.5 stars

Lexi Ellis’s life is, quite frankly, about as bad as it gets. A recent suicide attempt has caused her boyfriend of eight years to ask her to leave. Now homeless, jobless, and trying to adjust to new antipsychotic drugs, Lexi doesn’t know where to turn. When she overhears a conversation where the young woman turned down a job as a nanny, Lexi manages to obtain the pertinent information from the woman, Sophie’s, laptop. She replies to the potential employer, assuming Sophie’s name, and directing the correspondence to come to a new email address she created. When an interview is set up, and she is offered the job, Lexi can’t believe it. So, she becomes Sophie, and sets off for her new life as a nanny to two young girls in Norway.

Tom Faraday is an architect, who was working on building a dream house for his family, when his wife, Aurelia, committed suicide. Tom decides to complete the house, located in Norway, to honor his late wife and her heritage. Though Tom is determined to be environmentally friendly in his construction, several mistakes have occurred, causing serious damage to the native wildlife and the land. Stories start to swirl about Norse legends, and how mythical creatures do what they have to do to protect the land and water.

Lexi, now known as Sophie, arrives and has soon fallen in love with her two young charges, Gaia and Coco. Surprisingly, she seems to fit the position of nanny perfectly, and it looks as though her life has finally taken a turn for the better. Then odd occurrences begin to happen -- mysterious animal footprints inside the house, and the threatening phantom like creature dubbed as “Sad Lady” who appears and just as easily disappears.

THE NESTING has a creepy atmosphere and a definite gothic feel. The setting of Norway is not one typically found in fiction, so reading about the land and the legends was unique. The reader is taken through Aurelia’s story, wondering at her sanity, until the truth comes to light. Will Sophie’s masquerade be discovered? And, if it is, will she be forced to leave? If she stays, can she protect the girls? There is plenty of evil at work, both supernatural and of the human variety, making for a compelling read for those willing to open their mind to all the possibilities.

This book is insane to me. There are so many cultural concepts I had to work through with a Nordic thriller. But the writing kept me hooked and I didn't lose interest. Architect Tom Faraday has some far out ideas on his new home, but disaster keeps striking with darkness lurking everywhere on the property. Lexie is homeless and desperate, so she comes to live with the family and nanny the kids after mom supposedly committed suicide. Did Tom kill his wife or is something more sinister lurking in the shadows. Is it just nature being upset at being disturbed and destroyed? Entertaining and suspenseful.

I think when it comes to gothic horror I am very hit or miss on it and it wasn't till I was reading this book that I became aware of it.!

It starts off rocky with the MC trying to commit suicide and so right off the bat I am not a huge fan of the MC. I am thinking great this is going to be a good one. Lexi isn't have a great go of things and she has some kind of mental illness because it makes mention of her thinking the toaster is talking to her at one point. Then her long term boyfriend has had enough and kicks her out and so she has no place to go and no money. She over hears a woman on a train talking about a nanny job she is thinking about taking and hatches a plan to take her place.

So for Lexi to take the nanny job she has to become Sophie who was the one inquiring about job. It's in Norway which is fine with Lexi/Sophie because she has no family that really matters (she has a mother but they don't get along well). She finds out she is taking a job to watch two young girls as Tom is a recent widower and working on a big housing project dedicated to his late wife who had committed suicide.

While Lexi/Sophie is there trying to figure out how to be a nanny because she has never done anything like that before some strange things happen. Gaia the oldest girl is a bit strange to because she talks about a sad lady with no eyes. To be honest everyone in the house is a bit strange, but there is a lot of superstition surrounding some things that has been happening at the worksite because of some things Tom did.

It's based on some nordic folklore and you get a story at the beginning about an Elk which was interesting but hard to figure out how that has to do with anything till close to the end. Then I was still not real sure about things. Though it's told in third person you get select chapters from both Lexi/Sophie dealing with the household and trying to figure out Nannying and cooking vegan and the Tom with his working on the housing project.

It is definitely a very slow going gothic horror that isn't really spooky or anything but does have a bit of atmosphere and even though I felt like nothing was happening I was still curious to see what was going on. Was there spooks in the house or was Tom a bad person or someone else that was in the house doing it, etc. If that is your kind of thing then you will probably like this a bit more than I did.

I wasn't a fan of any of the main characters except for Gaia even though she is a very strange child. Coco was to young to really like or hate. I loved Louis the Teddy Bear too because the little girl makes it seem like he talks sometimes which was funny. I found it strange too that Lexi/Sophie was seen as this huge mental case in the beginning that couldn't get herself together but then she takes the Nanny job and it seems like she never had any problems. I found that weird as if the author just forget she made her kind of super unreliable and now she is taking care of kids no problem!

Overall, I thought it was slow but at the same time I wanted to see what happened so it wasn't super dull. I am not sure if I liked the ending or not. Could I recommend it? Yeah, I think it has it's audience even if that isn't really me. I know a lot of people who like a slow burn, atmospheric read with spooky vibes but not really scary horror.

I would probably give this more of a 2.75 but rounded up to 3.

This novel was crazy good – -suspenseful, set in a unique and beautiful place (Norway), and it kept me guessing again and again.

Here’s the overview:

Description
The woods are creeping in on a nanny and two young girls in this chilling modern Gothic thriller.

Architect Tom Faraday is determined to finish the high-concept, environmentally friendly home he’s building in Norway—in the same place where he lost his wife, Aurelia, to suicide. It was their dream house, and he wants to honor her with it.

Lexi Ellis takes a job as his nanny and immediately falls in love with his two young daughters, especially Gaia. But something feels off in the isolated house nestled in the forest along the fjord. Lexi sees mysterious muddy footprints inside the home. Aurelia’s diary appears in Lexi’s room one day. And Gaia keeps telling her about seeing the terrifying Sad Lady. . . .

Soon Lexi suspects that Aurelia didn’t kill herself and that they are all in danger from something far more sinister lurking around them.

If you like suspenseful thrillers, this is one for you.

And now I want to go to Norway.

Thanks for my review copy!

Lexis Ellis’s live-in boyfriend breaks up with her and she has to move out. She overhears a woman on a train mention a job in Norway, with free food and accommodations, as a nanny to two English children. The two women ask Lexi to watch their stuff while they do something. Lexi snaps photos of the woman’s laptop, planning to pretend to be Sophia Hallerton, and do the interview. She gets the job and goes to Norway. She hopes to write a novel which she always dreamed of setting in Norway. But soon finds herself busy with the children, plus she finds a mystery with muddy elk footprints, and the older child, Gia, telling her about the “Sad Lady.”

A haunted mix of gothic suspense and the atmospheric paranormal, the story will draw you in and leave you feeling uneasy even long after the book is done.

The Nesting by C. J. Cooke

**Thank you to Net Galley and Berkley Publishing Group for the chance to review this eArc.**


You have love a good thriller! And this one does not disappoint. I love all things Nordic and all this supernatural so these two combined make for a great read!

Lexi is a likable character, looking for something new. Tom and his daughters are looking for a new norm. Perfect that these two should collide. She applies to be a nanny and is excited to start the next chapter in her life. But... there are other elements at play.

This is an interesting thriller/spooky read to pick up. Although not as creepy as it could be and a bit slow at time I really enjoyed reading this story.

Thank You C.J. Cooke for writing such a great read.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an advanced Ebook copy for an honest review. Thanks to Berkeley publishing and the author C.J. Cooke for this very intriguing read!

This book had me hooked from the very first chapter, going back and forth between past and present, the story of a woman who wants to get away from her current situation, taking a job as a nanny in Norway to get a fresh start. This thriller was very unique and unpredictable with a supernatural twist to it as well. The book kept me interested until the very end, the ending however left me with unanswered questions, but maybe that was the point, leaving it up to the imagination of the reader.

The writing flowed easily, characters well developed, with a very intriguing setting making it unpredictable in comparison to other thrillers which made the book very hard to put down.
Review will be posted to amazon, Twitter, social media, Barnes and noble, net galley and goodreads.
Highly suggest for anyone who loves a Supernatural type thriller, with a little folklore mixed in! I would definitely read other novels by the author again!

This book is one of the best books I’ve read this year! The ending was the best and the rest of the book does a great job with never letting you know what’s going to happen next.

There were quite a few things to love about this story. The atmosphere is extremely well done. Dark and gothic feeling, it is a great setting for a spooky October read. I really like Lexi, the main character. She is easy to empathize with and root for. I also loved the paranormal aspect and the flashbacks of Tom's now dead wife. Overall the story was a really good one, spooky and creepy and very well done.

What an excellent gothic thriller! The supernatural elements as well as the Nordic setting really helped infuse the book with a creepy atmosphere. I felt great sympathy for Lexi, the main character. The chapters which focused on the past really helped to better understand Aurelia and Tom's marriage. I loved the ending! I would greatly enjoy reading further novels by this author.

In the opening pages of The Nesting, we meet Lexi, who is suffering from a nervous breakdown. Not sure whether or not to kill herself or finish that Nordic Noir novel, Lexi hears about a nanny position in Norway which she is completely unqualified for, but she decides to steal the identity of the real nanny, so she can finish that novel. Upon meeting the widowed Tom and his adorable daughters, she takes the position. Once in Norway, Lexi is sure she has made the right decision, but when the unexplainable starts to occur, Lexi is not so sure?
The Nesting is supposed to be a creepy literary thriller with some horror elements. The story is told in two timelines then and now from multiple povs. To Ms. Cooke's credit you do get attached to the characters and you want to know what happened to them both in the past and the present, still I just wished the pacing was faster. I thought the book would pick up towards the end but it did not, it was not even particularly scary, not even psychologically for me. If you are an environmentalist or a nature lover, this may be the horror novel for you, since the book attempts to tackle the complicated issues that exists between human nature and mother nature, the hidden and mercurial characterstics of both, and their power over one another, sadly it simply was not for me.

I really enjoyed Cooke's latest mystery/thriller! Told mostly from Lexi's perspective, the book opens with her in. very bad place mentally and physically. During a chance encounter, she overhears of an opportunity to go to Norway as a nanny. It seems like the perfect solution to fix all of her problems - the only catch is, that she has to pretend to be someone else... Alongside the present, the book also relays the events within the family that needs a nanny - particularly the build-up to mother Aurelia's untimely death. Both parts of the story move along quickly. This makes for a great Fall read - there are some spooky elements and I appreciate the way Cooke includes Norse mythology and stories.

I really didn't want to put this one down and I really enjoyed the setting, the spookiness and the characters. The young children really come to life as well. And while the adults here aren't always exactly sympathetic and certainly make questionable choices, the book remains entertaining throughout. There are few instances of one of my big pet peeves (head-hopping!), but otherwise, I thought this was a great read and I am looking forward to seeing what Cooke will write next!

I have such mixed feelings about The Nesting! It’s hard to even decide exactly where I land on this.

To start with the good - I was 100% drawn in to the gothic moody vibes of this book. A woman takes a role as a nanny at a remote home in Norway and pretty quickly some spooky stuff starts to happen. Is there anything creepier than a young kid saying “but the Sad Lady won’t like that” 😳😳😳

I also love when a character directly addresses what I’m thinking - so appreciated Lexi making a Jane Eyre reference after being told not to go into the basement.

I struggle with books where there could be paranormal elements. And my big struggle is I DON’T KNOW if I want the answer to be that there truly is something paranormal happening or if I want there to be a human explanation. And whenever I read this type of book - it’s so hard to know how I want it to end because I can’t decide!

I also had some issues with the way suicide was handled in this book. It’s hard to put my finger on exactly what made me so uncomfortable in how it was addressed but I would definitely caution anyone who wants a content warning to be careful.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

A fast paced gothic thriller steeped in Nordic fairy tales. A statement on family and nature, I found this novel entertaining although the more paranormal things became I just wanted to be done. If you like fairy tales and paranormal activity then this book is for you.

** I received an electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Is there a genre that already mixes Gothic elements with cli-fi elements with psychological thrillers and folklore? Because The Nesting took some excellent bits from each of these and combined them into a tense, dark, interesting story. The bleak atmosphere and dark past of the characters created an environment that constantly felt ready to tear itself apart, and it's a unique mix of styles that somehow worked better than I could have expected.

I really enjoyed this. At times, I felt it was getting a little weird but then it would suck me back in. I enjoyed the characters, the story line, and the descriptions of the landscape were very well-written; I felt like I was there. Recommend.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.