The Harpy is a perfect example of genre bending - but in the very best way.

I'm very picky about magical realism/fantasy books. They sometimes come across as contrived and nonsensical.

This book works!

I never thought that a story about infidelity could be poignant, identifiable and even beautiful.

Thé subject typically puts many readers in a morally uncomfortable position and makes you ask yourself... "what would I do if it happened to me?"

I highly recommend this book! I really enjoyed the audiobook version. What a wonderful narrator.

'The Harpy' was a unique take on the classic infidelity trope, and I loved every second of it!

Lucy has set aside her career and aspirations to be the perfect doting wife and mother. She has meticulously fine-tuned all the details of their lives to utter perfection, or so she thinks. Until one phone call shatters their perfect facade. A man calls and divulges a secret that would tear even the strongest of families in two. Lucy's husband Jake has been having an affair. Against the odds, Lucy and Jake decide that they will stay together, and to do so, they make an arrangement. To save their marriage and even the score, Lucy will hurt Jake three times.

"I asked my mother what a harpy was, and she told me: they punish men for the things they do."


The couple begin their little game of crime and punishment, but as it progresses, Lucy begins to change. Such actions aren't without consequences, and quickly Lucy finds both her body and mind transforming.

I personally thought this book was beautifully written, although a bit dark. The storyline of a cheating spouse being exposed is nothing new, but it's not often that the scorned lover tortures them ( especially in an attempt to save the relationship).

I absolutely love reading a story from the POV of its characters. Being in their heads is one of my favorite places to be. And let me tell you, Lucy's head is a messed up place. This type of writing works perfectly in audioformat, and I highly recommend checking it out if audiobooks are your jam!

If you are looking for a book that will shake you... have you questioning your own morals and just might leave you as unsettled as Lucy, then I highly recommend giving this book a look.

As always thanks to the publisher and netgalley for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review

This book was a wonderful examination of motherhood and marriage. It was incredibly raw and real, and brought on an emotional punch. I could not stop thinking about this and would recommend it to any book club.

Honestly I am not interested in reading this story anymore and I thought the story was different from what it is. Not for me at this time.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for allowing me to read this!

I was instantly intrigued by the synopsis of this book. This book instantly drew me in and I am sooooo glad I read this! This author did amazing. I loved the writing style.

This was a strange little story but I really enjoyed it. I wasn't really sure what to expect going into this one and that just made it all the better. This is definitely one of those books that isn't for everyone but for those who do enjoy this genre its a shining light.

Clare Corbett, who brought to life Paula Hawkins's The Girl on the Train, does a fantastic job narrating this tale of a woman punishing her husband for his infidelity. It was an interesting premise: husband and wife agree that she can punish him three times. Obviously what kept me reading was the need to know what the punishments were going to be, but I was also engaged by Hunter's writing style. As is too often the case for me recently, the book's ending was disappointing, even if it was predictable.

I am so happy I got to listen to the Harpy audiobook. I really enjoyed the experience. I loved the narration and the story got me from the first lines. The author has such beautiful and lyrical writing. I was a bit sceptical about the ending, but as time went by, I really like it.

4 stars!!

I read this book as a paperback and when I saw that this title was for request in the form of an audiobook, I didn't hesitate to request it. This audiobook was very atmospheric. The narrator did an excellent job. My reading experience was definitely amplified, thanks to this audiobook!

Many thanks to the publisher for providing this review copy via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

A fascinating novella with a huge amount of commentary as well as wonderful character development and demonstration of the ways women tear themselves apart for those they love. A fascinating novella with a huge amount of commentary as well as wonderful character development and demonstration of the ways women tear themselves apart for those they love.

Interspersed throughout the story are recollections of her youth when she became obsessed with the mythological creature the Harpy. Those who don't know the Harpies are bird-like creatures with female faces that are known to torment and kidnap men who did terrible things. During these recollections, we also find out about the abuse her mother faced at her father's hand often openly in front of her which leads to her obsession with the Harpies

First, I must say that this novel gets a star for it's captivating cover. The novel is a quick and somewhat dark read. The story is about an average couple, Lucy and Jake who have two children. Lucy works from home and on one very normal day, the telephone rings and a man tells her that Jake is having an affair with his wife. This changes everything.
Lucy and Jake come to an agreement that Lucy can hurt Jake three times; he won't know how or when, but they believe it will even the score between them and they can carry on.

The writing was my favourite part of the book. I loved the poetic flow and how it captured a mundane and dark atmosphere. The writing of caring for children and taking care of a house are not usually details I find interesting, but somehow Hunter makes them vital.
There are breaks between chapters in which we find out about Lucy's lifelong obsession with harpies and we gradually see some components of magical realism as she transforms herself psychologically and physically. I loved this concept but in the end it fell a bit flat for me which was disappointing.

The themes of infidelity, marriage, revenge, and metamorphosis had much more potential; I think if given just a few more pages it could have gone deeper, maybe even a little darker, and had more impact.

It's definitely worth the read and I think the narrator, Clare Corbett was phenomenal.
Her narration definitely added to the atmosphere of the book.

Thanks to RB Media and NetGalley for the audiobook!

Bookworm Rating: 🐛🐛🐛🌱

I love the way this book talked about a wife's role in life. It talked about the mundane functions she has to perform to keep the house running and the husband happy only to be betrayed by the husband she's doing it all for. I love a good revenge story and this book started off strong. Unfortunately I found it didn't go as dark as I wanted. It just kind of wavered a bit at the end.

Wow. Just... wow. I was immediately pulled into this story. I wasn't sure where the author was taking me but I was happy to go along.

This is a fairly short book but it packed a big punch for me. I did feel like it dragged a bit in the middle but I listened to the final chapter twice because I wasn't quite ready to be finished.

Very satisfying. I nearly forgot to mention how much I enjoyed the author's writing style and language choices. And the narrator was fab! I can definitely see myself reading The Harpy again.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the audiobook!

The Harpy is a story of infidelity and its effect on the member of the family. Hunter's prose is lyrical and poetic. The main character, Lucy, is a fully developed and complex. However, I found myself bored with this book. I was so focused on the characters that not much else seemed to happen. I usually like character driven books, but even for me, this was too slow.

I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the voice acting.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book has a lot of things that I love in a story. An overarching dark, consuming atmosphere. Morally grey characters. References to mythology and magical realism components. But despite all this, it just didn't really hit the mark for me personally.

The pacing of the story felt odd and inconsistent. For such a small story, this book definitely felt dragged out in places.

It did something, that I typically love in weird, dark books - focuses in on small mundane moments and makes them into something engaging and tangible. And yet, this style of writing mixed with a more domestic plot-line was just not something for me. Instead of getting wrapped into these moments, I simply did not care.

I also struggled with understanding the intent of the story. Our main character is grappling with marriage issues and motherhood. And yet the sadistic nature of the character's actions just left me feeling confused.

This is not just a story about the husband's infidelity and an agreement that the wife will hurt him three times to make it even, then eventually turning into an evil man-hater (which in itself is a great character arc). This is not just a book about how complicated marriages are. There were some great exploration of the problematics of the patriarchal society and the unequal distribution of power within it, but that discussion was introduced towards the very end of the book, so there simply was not enough page time to really make it a visible point in the novel. So I though the way this book analysed these themes was interesting, but they could also have been deeper explored. The writing style was no doubt beautiful, very poetic, full of metaphors. Despite some of the positive aspects, I didn't feel invested in the story that much. I would recommend it if the premise sounds interesting, however, you should go into it expecting literary fiction, not a thriller.

Ugh. This book... I am not really sure about this book. I liked it... kind of... I have feelings. The concept was really interesting. Lucy and Jake are a married couple with two young children. One day a man calls Lucy and tells her Jake is having an affair with his wife. Lucy proceeds to spiral into a dark place of revenge that she struggles to navigate.
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Don’t get me wrong. The story was really well written. The writing was beautiful and had a blend of past and present timelines as well as a magical Harpy story wound throughout. Lucy’s reaction to her husbands infidelity and her inner dialogue felt realistic. However, none of the characters were likeable. I felt like there was not much world building. We visit a few scenes and besides saying “here we are” I could barely picture any of them.
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The parallels drawn between Lucy and a Harpy were beautiful and captured the feeling of betrayal and a loss of trust really well.

Sorry, I thought I would not be able to listen and review this title, but t still appears on my bookshelf on my NG app, It may be due to me sampling the start of the narrator. I will update my review once I finish listening to it (over my holiday break).

thank you

The Harpy is the story of Lucy & Jake, a married couple with 2 small kids, in an English neighborhood - by all accounts a very normal family and a very normal life. Except, right at the beginning we learn there’s been some major infidelity. What follows is the couple’s challenge...to keep it all together or let it fall apart. They decide on a resolution that is maybe unconventional or maybe not - we discover the normalcy in the messy. We all have that in our lives in some way or another. But then things do get quite unconventional for the couple. Told from Lucy’s point of view, her feelings are so real and raw - from being a wife and mother to being spurned by her husband. The narration was hypnotic.

”Sometimes I question whether anyone can know what it's like before it happens. Marriage and motherhood are like death in this way, and others too: no one comes back unchanged.”

Lucy is intrigued her whole life by the idea of a “harpy” - a mean, foul-tempered woman- and she envisions herself becoming such a thing as she grapples with the conflict in her marriage. I found the whole concept of the book very intriguing, the repeated reference to the harpy seemed very symbolic - women endure so much, I kept thinking we all have the right to be a little harpy-ish! It was well written too but whoa, it went off the rails a bit at the end and it lost me. A disappointed finish.

Still, this is a short book and worth the time as the themes of marriage and motherhood are really well developed. I loved 3/4 of the story.

It's another routine day in Lucy's life when she gets the call. Lucy lives in a small town in England with her husband, Jake and her two sons, Paddy and Ted. After the boys came, Lucy scaled back her work and now works from home, writing copy for various enterprises, from manuals to articles to editing someone else's content. Jake is a professor at the local university in biology. All in all, a routine life that a myriad of women are living.
Then the call comes. It is the husband of a woman who Jake works with. He informs Lucy that Jake is having an affair with his wife, Vanessa. Lucy doesn't really remember how she hung up. She slowly takes in the news, reeling emotionally. Now she remembers late nights at work or casual mentions of lunches and dinners with Vanessa. Vanessa isn't even some young exciting woman; she is probably ten years older than Jake and Lucy.

When Jake comes home, he doesn't deny it. He is appalled that Lucy knows and contrite, willing to do anything to make things right. He insists he will end it immediately. Lucy is furious but wonders if leaving him is the right thing to do for the boys. She moves him to the sofa while she decides what comes next. When Lucy was working on her doctorate she studied the classics and was drawn to the story of the harpies. Vengeful, powerful figures, they stole and ravaged and did whatever they wanted. She sees something of them in herself and vows to solve this crisis as a harpy would.

The solution occurs. She will do three hurtful things to Jake. He will not know in advance what they are or when they are coming. They will appear out of the blue and he is not allowed to complain or do anything in retaliation. Perhaps then they can find a way out of the morass of pain and hurt. Jake agrees. The first occurrence comes quickly and takes Jake by surprise. He cannot say anything but must soldier on through the pain while Lucy finds that she feels more powerful and in control, that the inflicting of pain on another eases her own. Will she be able to stop herself before she does something irretrievable?

Megan Hunter has written a searing novel that explores the pain that infidelity can create in a relationship and the diminution that marriage and family can cause to a woman. It explores the dynamics of marriage and how children change lives as their needs must inevitably come first and how those needs are still met primarily by women. I listened to the audio of this novel and the clear, crisp diction of the narrator added to the experience and provided depth to my mental picture of Lucy. This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.