So ultimately I really enjoyed this one (but it started out rough!) The characters felt very real (deep enough to be distinctive but not given lengthy, overt descriptions). The whole thing was really well done (as are the others I've read by Kate Moretti!) I would definitely recommend this to my friends! The only criticism I have (which should be obvious by now :) is oh my gosh the over use of parentheses! I actually put this book down multiple times before I finally got into it because the parentheses were so distracting.

Ultimately, once you get past the parenthesis it's a great book!

I really enjoyed this book and it kept me turning the page, but there were some things I had a hard time with. But, I am a pretty cautious person.

I am also a parent and can't imagine letting someone live with me after so long, I wouldn't be able to trust them at all, even if we were close years ago

This story jumps between the past and the present seamlessly and it was hard to put it down. The past isn't nearly as exciting, but is a necessary part of building the story. I would recommend this one for anyone looking for a good mystery/thriller as it does a good job of being both.

Wow what a great book with such a twisty ending. This book was about friends that used to live in a remodeled church. There was a fire and someone was killed. All of the friends dispersed until 20 years later Willa shows up at Penelope house asking for help. Pips life begins to fall apart around her, but she ends up having to revisit what happened on the day of the fire. The book kept me guessing right up until the end.

4.5 stars

The Spires has it all : friendship, secrets, betrayal, fire, revenge and some nasty characters and so very atmospheric.

The book is told in the past and in the present.

The past being when a group of friends shared a house after college.

The present being when one of the group arrives Penelope's doorstep twenty years later and is asking for refuge.

Oh Penelope, you are too kind.

What could go wrong?

Lots.

Kate Moretti tells a gripping story, I felt like I was there at the house with all of them and as things go wrong, I cant help wonder what happened all those years ago.

Kate Moretti never lets you down and The Spires is no exception.

Get your copy and put to the top of your TBR pile. Great read.

The Spires
by Kate Moretti
Publish Date Sept.21 2021

A troubled woman becomes consumed by a past she’s desperate to forget in this unsettling psychological thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The Vanishing Year.
I thoroughly loved this book! Kate Moretti is the master of suspense.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC. I love to read books like this early.

5 star

The Spires is some of Kate Moretti's best writing yet, with an intriguing story line that really kept me guessing as to how, exactly, these pieces are going to come together and an interesting circle of characters with the kind of intense, insular friendships forged in early adulthood and the problems therein.

Kate Moretti has never disappointed me. Every book I read of hers has hooked me in and this was no exception.

Penelope's old friend Willa shows up at her doorstep one day. Penelope is hesitant but allows Willa to come inside and stay. Suspicious things are going on around the house and while Penelope suspects Willa, Penelope's husband acts as though he believe Penelope is paranoid and overreacting. Over the course of the book you learn what happened to Penelope and Willa back when they were friends in college and what happened to change their relationship. The twists and turns and the secrets that are revealed are so much more than you could ever guess.

This book had me on edge until the very end. I loved it!

3.5 stars

The Spires is an addictive thriller revolving around secrets, lies, and murder.

Twenty years ago, Penelope and four best friends lived in a house that was once a former church. A fire that led to a devastating tragedy ripped the friends apart. In the present, one former friend inserts herself into Penelope’s life, and in doing so, threatens Penelope’s marriage, friendships, and sanity.

The timeline alternates between the past and the present. =b>The chapters that took place in the past bored me, but I loved the ones in the present. The past focuses on the group of friends who lived in the church house: Jack, Bree, Willa, Flynn, and Penelope. Outside of Penelope, none of the characters came to life for me. However, in the present, Willa was fascinating. Told primarily through Penelope’s point of view, she is a solid narrator who held my attention. I didn't like her character but that didn't sway my enjoyment. There are short snippets from Willa’s point of view. I could have used some more of these.

This was a fun read. Not loving Moretti’s most recent books, I went into this with zero expectations. I was loving every bit of it until the last 10%. There is a twist that puts this in the ridiculous zone. It’s kind of stupid, but at the same time, one of the characters points out how dumb everyone is, so in that respect, it makes sense. The final chapter felt like it belonged to a different book.

I would recommend The Spires for the entertainment value. The premise isn’t all that original, and it is slightly predictable, but the way the events unravel had me eating this book up!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Penelope was one of a group of five young people who lived in an old church and called themselves the Spires until a fire destroyed so much. Now, many years later, she's barely holding things together but not because of her past but because of her present. And then her past, Willa, comes calling, asking for refuge from an abusive husband. Willa seems so nice but she slowly inculcates herself into the house. It's creepy and no spoilers from me. This is told in the past and in the present, largely from Penelope's point of view, It's well written and nicely paced. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. For thriller fans.

I read The Vanishing Year by Kate Moretti and really enjoyed it, she's definitely knocked it out of the park with "The Spires" as well. I loved how this book kept you questioning everything , even back and forth at some points. The way the story is paced makes the pages turn themselves and this book was un-put-downable.

Moretti's understanding of the human psyche are what makes her stories so incredible to me. Not only does she create incredibly relatable characters but she writes in a way that makes it easy to imagine yourself as the characters. Every breakdown, every heartache, every horrible, gut-wrenching moment feels like it's happening to you. The only reason I didn't five star this one was because the ending went a little too out there for me. It was a bit too far fetched, as they say, and I think that's why the reveal surprised me. Nonetheless, I would recommend this read.

With many thanks to Netgalley, Kate Moretti and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC.

Kate Moretti has this way of writing female characters that I instantly connect with and "Pip" was no different. Both college aged "Pip" and current day Penelope reminded me a little of myself so I found The Spires quite an easy and thrilling read.

The Spires is two timelines - present day (pre-pandemic) and early 2000's ish. Post college Penelope moves into a recently converted church with a group of her friends to take a 'gap' year after graduation.

Present day Penelope opens her door one day to Willa, one of those post college roommate, who she hasn't seen in 20 years, since a devastating fire. From that moment, everything starts falling apart.

Told in two timelines - with some looking back at the good time with a bit of rose colored glasses with a foreboding sense that something bad is going to happen very soon and in present day as everything starts getting worse and worse, we see Penelope try and figure out exactly what it is that Willa wants.

This is a thriller that move quick. The chapters in present day are dated....and it's 1.5 weeks long and it reads like 2 months. SO MUCH HAPPENS. SO SO MUCH. And then....the twist. My god.....the TWIST.

Kate Moretti has quickly becoming one of my favorite writers and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this excellent book.

I really enjoyed this book! It was my first by this author and won't be the last. I really enjoyed the mystery and had no idea what the final twist was going to be. I found myself slightly frustrated and impatient with the back and forth timelines though, and I felt it made the story drag a little bit. All in all 4 stars!

✨ The Title/Cover Draw:
I really liked The Girls of Brackenhill so when this book popped up, I grabbed it. Thank you to @netgalley (and the publisher) for allowing me to read this book ahead of publication.

💜 What I liked:
There was a pretty major spoiler at the end that was really unexpected. I did like the present time period as there were a lot of mysterious things that kept the story moving. This story is told between the present, with Penelope and Willa, and then back to the past when the group lived in the church.

😱 What I didn’t like:
The past chapters dragged a bit. I didn’t enjoy them as much as the present, wishing there were more nuggets to be had to move the story more.

🚦 My face at the end: 😖

💭 3 Reasons to Read:
1. A house in a church
2. Intrigue
3. That twist at the end



🕧 Mini-Summary:
Pip’s world is turned upside down when her college roommate Willa shows up. Does this have something to do with their past, a church turned house, and a fire?

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Received from Netgalley.

The Spires is a dark and twisty psychological thriller about the past not staying in the past. Penelope Cox has two teenagers and an unemployed husband when an old college friend, Willa, decides to show up at her door. Willa is escaping an abusive husband and needs to stay for "two weeks tops." Twenty years ago, the two were in a friend group of five at college known as "the spires." Their complex bond made them inseparable, but in a group of five girls, you can expect cracks and toxicity. One night, everything comes to a head and not everyone leaves alive. So the girls all went their separate ways. Now with Willa back in her life, Penelope is questioning her motives and why she's really here. Filled with plenty of twists and well-developed characters, The Spires is sure to be one to keep you hooked. Highly recommended!

Penelope Cox is happily married to Brett and they have two lovely children. Imagine her surprise one day when she receives a knock at the door only to find her college best friend, Willa, on her doorstep. She is desperate for a place to stay after leaving her abusive husband and she couldn't think of anywhere else to go. They haven't seen or spoken to each other in twenty years.

This brings back terrible memories of long ago, their gap year out of college, where a group of friends decide to rent out a converted church. Penelope (Pip), Willa, Jack, Bree, and Flynn are as tight as friends can be, almost like a family, and they spend their summer drinking alcohol in excess and playing head games with one another. They have taken to calling themselves the Spires and outsiders are unwelcome in their cozy clique.

Then tragedy strikes and they all scatter to heal and deal with all that has happened.

So why is Willa back? And why does it feel like Willa is slowly trying to destroy her life?

I was hooked on this from page one though it isn't without it's flaws. First of all, who would let someone they haven't seen in 20 years live with them and their family? My alarms bells would have been ringing loud and clear. So, yes, there are going to be some things you will just have to accept in order to enjoy this. That being said Moretti was able to build and maintain tension and suspense through it's entirety so turning the pages was a pleasure. We go back and forth between the present and the summer with the Spires until we find out what befell the friends. I'll admit that I did like the present chapters more as Willa got under my skin in the best way possible. I was desperate to know her endgame. The past chapters weren't nearly as exciting but are necessary in telling this tale. I found the five of them obnoxious, self-centered, and terribly pretentious causing me to roll my eyes on several occasions. I had a hard time believing that these five were as close as they were because by all appearances they didn't seem to like one another very much. Again, this is where I just had to accept it. Then we get to the grand conclusion and I'll admit that I didn't see that coming BUT did I not see it coming because it was an explosive twist or because it was so far out of left field? Initially I was disappointed and thought to myself "This is impossible!" then the further I read the author took the implausible and made it somewhat plausible allowing me to appreciate the ending more.

All in all I had a good time with this one and I think many others will too. 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for my complimentary copy.

After they graduated college, Penelope, Willa and three other friends all lived together in a converted church. They all grew extremely close until a tragic fire left someone dead. They have not seen or talked to one another since. That is until Willa shows up at Penelope’s door asking to stay with her for a bit. She hasn’t seen Willa in 20 years but how could she say no to a friend who needs help escaping her abusive husband. And right now she could use all the help she can get. She has 2 teenage kids, an unemployed husband and a demanding job. But as Willa stays with Penelope and her family strange things start occurring that get Penelope wondering about Willa’s true intentions.

This book switches timelines from the present to when they were in college. Both timelines were captivating and suspenseful. A really great read that kept me guessing!

I'm not sure what to say... This book The Spires just didn't hold my interest and to be fair I didn't want to pick it back up any time I put it down. I found it very slow and not very intruiging or interesting and struggled to keep going. Not for me at all.
2.5 stars

The Spires by Kate Moretti is a fast paced read about a woman and her past. Penelope is a married mom of 2 kids. Her marriage is lackluster.Her husband Brett lost his job a year ago and has spent that time taking yoga and wellness classes and spending all their money. When Penelope’s old college friend, Willa, shows up at their house unannounced after 20 years, begging for help Penelope can’t say no. Willa claims to be on the run from an abusive husband. She claims to need a week, maybe 2, and she’ll be gone.
With Willa comes a flood of memories of their college years. They lived with a group of friends in an old church in Pennsylvania. They called themselves The Spires. Something bad happened back then, someone died, and the group split, never to speak again.
This book was such a fun read! The chapters alternate between Willa and Penelope and also from Penelope in the past. The tension between past and present build until it all explodes. I really loved the character development of Penelope. You get to see her grow between the 2 timelines. Please do yourself a favor and read this book! Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I simply cannot put into words what this book did to me. It was a thriller, of course, but it was really heart felt and deep in a way a lot of other thrillers aren't. There was so much depth to the characters and so much mystery, I adored it. I loved the way it went back and forth between past and present, and switched between POVs. It was a hard book to predict but I did sort of figure out what was really going on about 3/4 of the way through...that didn't make it any less exciting.

Kate Moretti is my new favorite author - she gets it right every single time!

While this was a decent psychological thriller, to me it was just too long and drawn out. The ending was good, but not as unexpected as I had hoped.