Thank you to Netgalley for letting me read this early in exchange for an honest review. This is my favorite kind of horror story - the slow build, the "is this something I actually need to worry about or am I being paranoid" sort of story. It's so creepy, funny, and a great book to curl up with with a glass of wine and a black cat.

This book is an absolute DELIGHT. I loved the MC and at times disliked the MC. Highly entertaining from beginning to end, this is my favorite from Rachel Harrison to date. And, honestly, I kind of want to live in Rowan now. Maybe I’d make a new friend…

Spooky and Empowering

All her life, Annie has played it nice and safe. After being unceremoniously dumped by her longtime boyfriend, Annie seeks a fresh start. She accepts a teaching position that moves her from Manhattan to a small village upstate. She’s stunned by how perfect and picturesque the town is. The people are all friendly and warm. Her new apartment is dreamy too, minus the oddly persistent spider infestation.  

Then Annie meets Sophie. Beautiful, charming, magnetic Sophie, who takes a special interest in Annie, who wants to be her friend. More importantly, she wants Annie to stop apologizing and start living for herself. That’s how Sophie lives. Annie can’t help but gravitate toward the self-possessed Sophie, wanting to spend more and more time with her, despite the fact that the rest of the townsfolk seem…a little afraid of her. And like, okay. There are some things. Sophie’s appearance is uncanny and ageless, her mansion in the middle of the woods feels a little unearthly, and she does seem to wield a certain power…but she couldn’t be…could she?

Rachel Harrison does a fantastic job of balancing spooky with empowering. Just as the main character, Annie, questions Sophie’s motives so too will the reader, wondering what Sophie’s true purpose is. It is obvious from the very beginning that Sophie isn’t quite what she seems and Annie questions why she would take an interest in someone like Annie. The spiders add the perfect touch of spooky unless you know that spiders can be helpful as well as scary and that adds a layer of complexity to the story. 

One of the tools that Rachel Harrison uses is the presentation of the story. She doesn’t use the typical past tense. Instead she opts for the first person from Annie’s point of view and present tense. This adds an immediacy to the plot and the characters, making the story more intense. If you’re not used to it, it can be difficult to read but does make the story more personal. Also it makes Annie more engaging and Sophie more mysterious. Annie’s break up with her boyfriend also leads her to choices that while might not be right for every person are ultimately about empowerment and I think we all could use a little of that. 

If you like novels about witches, empowerment, and all the spooky things that go bump in the night, you will love this novel. The depiction of witches while fictional still has authentic touches and also manages to not depict witches in a bad light. It is a marvelous story that makes for a powerful narrative. 

Rating: 5 out of 5 spiders

This book was absolutely charming. I was entertained the entire time and deeply enjoyed reading this one. The romance was adorable and this read was delightfully cozy.

Romance, magic and a cozy autumn vibe that is sure to keep you entranced for hours. I loved the way that you didn't really know what you were going to get? A mystery? A romance? A horror novel? A paranormal? A magical realism? This book could be any or none of those ideas! Loved the writing and looking forward to more Harrison books!

I like Rachel Harrison, I do! But Cackle was cute, and not quite as good as The Return. That was creepy!

I was excited to read this book, as I think Rachel Harrison's The Return is a terrific book. However, the spiders got me. As someone who is creeped out by spiders, well, let's say I was too creeped out to read every page. Annie Crane has an all but flashing "L" for loser on her forehead after her trainwreck of a break-up and her new friend Sophie oozes sweetness and evil. A strange tale of developing self-awareness and women's empowerment.

This was a quirky fun read. It had elements of potential horror but didn't step over that line. Rather it was a warm uplifting reading touching on the power of friendship and how other's perceptions of you should not keep you from living your best life!

P.S. I need my own Ralph ( once I get over my fear of arachnids )

Annie is getting a new start - new job in a new town. The townspeople are all friendly, but Annie is especially drawn to Sophie. Everyone seems a little afraid of Sophie, but Annie can't resist Sophie's magnetic and eccentric personality.

Cackle is a fun and magical read. With some paranormal themes and quirky characters, Cackle is not as dark as some witch-themed books. This also isn't a romance focused story. This is women's fiction with strong female characters. A great for readers looking for a lighter paranormal read.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

it's not a new favorite of all time but it's a breezy read with a good message of finding validation within oneself.

Annie's life hasn't gone to plan. Instead of marriage and Happy-Ever-After, her long-term boyfriend dumps her. On her birthday. She decides to take a job upstate, and get away from everything. She is not expecting her first new friend to be a witch.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Annie has been dumped. And without her long-term boyfriend, she finds that she has nothing else in her life. Sam was also her best (and only) friend. Without him, she can't even afford her own apartment in New York. When a job opportunity arises upstate, she takes the chance to start life afresh.
The new job might have its challenges, but her new home of Rowan is perfect. The little town is quaint and friendly, and ready to accept Annie with open arms.

One woman in particular is very keen to nurture a friendship with Annie. Sophie is beautiful and mysterious, and a little bit magic.

I liked how this was a story about friendship, and Annie finding herself after an all-consuming relationship.
I like how realistically this is portrayed. Annie has never been alone, going from one boyfriend to another; and she doesn't cope very well.

Sophie was an intriguing character, she makes no apology for who she is, and she keeps you guessing throughout what her motives are for Annie. Especially with the town's strange response to her. That fear and respect in varying levels.
(mild spoiler) I did think her falling out with Annie near the end was completely out of character, and just added for the sake of adding a bit of drama.

Unfortunately, I didn't like Annie. She spends her whole time whining. Which is kinda understandable in the circumstances, but it was never-ending, and there was nothing else to the story.

I felt like the story didn't know what it wanted to be. At times it paints Sophie as dangerous, and has some scary settings, but doesn't take full advantage of it. It could have been a thriller, and some groundwork was done, but it was abandoned.
There are little bits of how the various townspeople see her, but despite some very interesting hints, you never learn their history, which was very disappointing when the author has opted for more of Annie's whining instead.

Overall, this was an OK story about female friendship and anjoying life without romance.

I want to move into this book and into the old mansion in the woods and live quietly with my cute spider friends - except my evil cat will probably eat them. Maybe we’ll skip the spider friends. Anyhow, Cackle was a delight and just the book I needed right now. It’s witchy and a little dark and incredibly readable. I loved (nearly) everything about it and if you’re needing something comforting I feel safe suggesting you should pick yourself up a copy.

Annie is down in the dumps. She’s been told by her longtime boyfriend, who she planned to marry, that he “just wants to be friends”. Ouch. She finally kinda-sorta accepts the fact and leaves him, their place and her job for a new start in an idyllic little town called Rowan. She quickly falls in love with the town (as did I) and is befriended by the most glamorous and confident woman she’s ever met. Sophie has an air of otherworldliness about her, and lives in an old mansion hidden in the woods. She’s friendly, kind and nothing but lovely to Annie at a time when she truly needs a friend who is on her side. But there’s a little catch. Apparently, almost all of the town seems to fear her and Annie cannot figure out the reason . . .

I adored this book. Typically a super needy character like Annie might grate on my last nerve and ok she did at times (haha) but I still adored her story. She’s a bit of a sad sack, is a little clueless about life and thinks things are over because she’s turned thirty and doesn’t have a man. And I’m not going to lie, omg the pining was so exhausting. Her constant longing to have a man to make her life complete or risk spinsterhood forevermore is a big part of her internal struggle and it felt believable. She did make me roll my eyes so hard with that nonsense that I’m surprised they’re not stuck but I’m grouchy. With all that said, she was never unsympathetic and though it’s annoying it ultimately all fits in line with the story.

“I’m not brave enough to be who I am.”

I read The Return last year and loved it for its body horror but some of the characters annoyed me and much of the drama felt unnecessary to the meat of the story but Cackle, ahhh Cackle, books like this are the reason I love reading. I fell into this book so hard and it took me away from my worries for a while. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Read it! I don’t think you’ll hate it but as always if you do don’t be blaming me!

Eu preciso começar essa resenha dizendo que a sinopse de “Cackle” é um pouco enganadora e eu vou explicar o porque: porque simplesmente não existe nadinha em Sophie que faça você ficar assustado com ela – bom, talvez tenham alguns momentos em que você ache as coisas um pouco questionáveis, porém, tudo tem um motivo, sempre tem. Vou explicar mais a seguir.

Quando o livro começa, nós somos apresentados a Annie. Ela está fazendo aniversário, comemorando a entrada nos seus 30 anos com uma ex-colega de trabalho com quem ela não tem muito contato, simplesmente porque Annie não tem muitos amigos, apesar de morar em NY por 12 anos. É um dos últimos dias de Annie na cidade, porque ela está de mudança para uma cidade interiorana que não é conhecida por quase ninguém após aceitar um trabalho em uma escola por lá que a manteria longe de seu ex, Sam.

Annie e Sam namoraram por dez anos (ou oito, se você perguntar a ele) e então em um dia Sam apenas chegou para Annie e falou que achava que eles deviam terminar porque ele ainda a amava, mas “não estava mais apaixonado por ela” porque eles eram muito mais amigos do que namorados de todo jeito (primeira red flag aqui) enquanto tudo que Annie pensava é que logo eles tomariam um passo a mais no relacionamento e se casariam.

Com o fim do namoro, Annie não tinha para onde ir, afinal, ela e Sam moravam juntos e ela não tinha como manter uma casa sozinha, ele aceitou que ela ficasse por ali porque eles podiam seguir com a amizade deles (segunda red flag aqui) e então eles ficavam fazendo um rodízio: uma noite ela dormia na cama e ele no futon na sala, na outra noite ela quem dormia no futon e ele na sala (terceira red flag aqui) e, mesmo jurando que eles ainda eram amigos, ele não se prestou nem a passar o aniversário dela com ela (então, já perdeu a conta de red flags?)

Então por isso nossa protagonista resolve que o melhor é ir para longe, mesmo sabendo que sentirá falta de NY – e do próprio Sam, porque é um lugar onde ela pode pagar por um apartamento e um emprego bom e estável. Assim Annie se muda para *procurar o nome da cidade*, que é uma cidadezinha bem pequena e pitoresca e com uma vizinhança bem amigável. E é nessa vizinhança amigável que ela conhece Sophie.

Sophie é uma das moradoras da cidade, apesar da casa dela ser uma mansão no meio da floresta e ela parece ser adorada por todos – ou até mesmo um pouco temida. Mas ela recebe Annie de braços abertos e faz dela uma amiga, cuidando e fazendo de tudo para que Annie se sinta em casa na nova cidade, não sinta falta de NY e nem de seu ex e Annie nem consegue acreditar na sorte que tem de uma mulher tão linda e interessante se interessar assim por ela, que se considera tão tediosa.

Claro que ela nota o jeito do pessoal da cidade, que parece ter um pouco de medo de Sophie, mas ela não consegue ver nada demais na nova amiga, ela só é um pouco mais… mágica que a maioria das pessoas que ela conheceu e nada disso poderia ser tão ruim assim, certo?

Tenho que confessar o que eu comentei com a Vi quando terminei de ler que, pelo menos por 90% do livro, eu fiquei bem incomodada com Annie. Eu fiquei incomodada porque, como nós vemos o livro do ponto de vista dela e com as coisas que ela fala, eu ficava confusa de como era possível ela não ver o que estava na frente dela sobre Sophie – apesar de saber bem que muitas vezes nós não vemos o que não queremos ver mesmo.

Mas, o que mais me incomodou de longe nela, foi o fato de que ela passou muito tempo do livro apenas chorando e se lamentando por estar solteira e sozinha aos 30 anos, falando sobre como sentia falta de Sam (sim, apesar de todas as red flags, e sim, eu odeio ele bastante HAHAHAHA). Parece que ela entrava em um vórtice onde tudo que ela precisava na vida dela era ter o apoio de um cara, estar em um relacionamento para se sentir validada e isso me deixou MUITO incomodada.

Ao mesmo passo em que isso me fazia adorar Sophie. Sophie, por ser um pouco mais velha que Annie, já não dava muita bola para isso e ela tenta o tempo todo, fazer Annie ver que existe mais na vida do que estar em um relacionamento sem futuro apenas para não estar sozinha. Como eu disse acima, eu não consegui ver nada de maldade em nenhum ato de Sophie. Eu entendo que a sinopse tenta vender como se algo estivesse errado com ela, não sei se por uma escolha da autora mesmo de querer montar um plot twist para o final ou se era para odiarmos ela em algum ponto. O que eu sei é que: apesar de ter algumas atitudes que eu acho que podem ser consideradas questionáveis ou até mesmo um pouco mais duras com Annie, eu não consigo ver maldade nenhuma em nada do que Sophie faz.

Ela está tentando ajudar Annie a alcançar seu potencial e ver que ela não precisa de um namorado para isso: ela só precisa se ver pela mulher foda que ela é e que ainda pode ser mais foda do que isso.

O bom é que, mesmo só acontecendo perto do fim, nós vemos uma mudança em Annie e vemos ela enfim aceitando quem ela realmente é e deixando de lado os medos e as inseguranças que aquele relacionamento falido com Sam fizeram ela ter. Eu confesso que fiquei com um gostinho de quero mais sobre a Sophie. Como eu disse, o ponto de vista do livro é todinho de Annie, mas tem MUITAS coisas sobre Sophie que eu fiquei curiosa e querendo saber mais.

Fica aqui minha esperança para que a autora resolva fazer uma história contando mais sobre essa maravilha que Sophie é.

Ah, e o que aconteceu com o boy-lixo-Sam? Isso eu vou deixar para que vocês descubram lendo o livro. Mas eu garanto que vale bem a pena 😉

Thanks for the free book, Penguin Random House International.

Annie lived with her boyfriend for a while. The he dumps her. She takes a teaching position in a town in upstate New York. Before she goes though, she goes out for a night on the town with the only teacher she had been friends with at her old school in Manhattan. Both go to psychic who reads her friend’s fortune, but she won’t do it for Annie. A foreshadowing? Then Annie gets to the apartment in the house she rented in a quaint little village near where she will be working. The place is nice, although she has a spider infestation. She meets Sophie, whom others living in the village seem afraid of, but Annie finds herself drawn to the beautiful and magnetic woman, despite her mansion in the woods that is almost fairytalish, she appears ageless, and she seems to have a sort of power.
A feminist, dark fairytale that bewitches the reader. Supernatural horror that draws you in until you can’t put it down until you realize you finished the story. Rachel Harrison has turned the vampire story on its ear with The Return, and I think she will have readers rethink this witchy tale differently than they have know before.

I don't think this book is horror or really what it is described as but is a book about witches and I enjoyed it.

I love all things witchy, so I was immediately drawn to this book, love the cover!!! Don’t be too afraid to read this one, you will meet some wonderful characters that you can root for and have some great life lessons reaffirmed.
Cackle wasn't what I was expecting, but it was different and gave me the witchy feels I've been craving this Halloween season. The tone of the story starts out light, then gets a bit darker, delves a tiny bit into mild horror, but clearly not much if I was able to handle it. Despite those elements, under all of the hocus pocus, it is really a book about finding one's true identity. I enjoyed watching Annie's growth and found myself cheering for her. I am most definitely not a fan of spiders, but Ralph stole the show and may have converted me. This is a good choice if you are looking for a lighter story with atmospheric fall vibes. 3.5 stars.

While I overall enjoyed this story it kind of felt like it was having an identity crisis.

I liked the characters and the setting but it felt like the book was too focused on creating a specific atmosphere to really have any plot.

Steeped in magical fun with a little bit of edgy mystery added into the mix, CACKLE was my first book by Rachel Harrison where I truly felt swept away by the story & cast of characters. This is a perfect Halloween-y seasonal read, but it's also excellent if you're just trying to keep the spookytime vibes alive year-round!

A woman who moves to a small town after a breakup and befriends a witch. A fast, fun read with a bit of female empowerment.

Is this scary? No, not really - unless you're spider-phobic, which plenty of people are. It's an interesting depiction of a relationship between two women that brought up more questions than it answered for me. Annie and Sophie occupy opposite, extreme ends of a spectrum of how women interact in society.

I'm not sure I like Sophie's solution better than Annie's, nor did I fully buy the premise that Annie's devotion to long-term relationships was automatically bad. It would be nice to be "free" of society's expectations for women, but ultimately that route may be limited to a chosen few who have some preexisting advantages. (Money. They have to have money.) I'm skeptical of a worldview that rejects out of hand traditional relationships (and the idea of having kids) in favor of "I'm an independent woman, hear me roar and fulfill myself." That attitude might literally require magic to fuel it as a lifelong strategy for more than a select few....

I was intrigued. This would be a good bookclub pick, as there is plenty to question and unpack.

Received a free copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.