This book had me hooked from the very first page and i couldn't read fast enough. I was in the edge of my seat, but luckily for me this wasn't too scary. I would recommend this for anyone that's wanting a good mystery with just enough to keep you entertained. Just as I thought I figured it out I was thrown for a loop. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The ending was way better than the beginning. It had a clunky start with too many pov’s and not enough explanation. By the time you realize who the mystery person is, you realize you’ve actually been reading three different pov’s not two. There was a lot of claustrophobic writing that made this a creepy island read but not enough to be scary. It’s a resort where you’re taught to let go of material position and reach a higher plane but there’s sometime sinister and cultish with the employees who run it. Nat and Kit’s story was interesting but it didn’t give enough to actually have you root for anyone but to get off that island. It’s an entertaining read with clever twists though and an ending I’ll keep thinking about.

Dark and twisty, but do you expect anything else from the author of #DarlingRoseGold ? Two sisters; one is trapped in a cult, one is trapped in her own lies and a dual timeline with a truly despicable parent are the bare bones of this book.
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Compulsive and at times shocking Wrobel knows how to write edgy and dark. I don’t want to give too much away because I was surprised reading this but if dark and twisty is your jam add this to your TBR when it comes out next week.
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Thank you @berkleypub for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
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My kids have an elearning day today for the Impending storms. What’s the weather like by you?

Thank you to Stephanie Wrobel, Loren Jaggers, Berkeley Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review. All reviews are my own unbiased opinion.

“This might hurt”... Umm, yeah, this one did a little. It chugged along at a snail's pace, was confusing, jumped timelines and characters erratically, and finished with lackluster twists. I truly found myself thinking, “oh, ok” when the major twists revealed themselves instead of being shocked. We had 4 narrators lead us through this book, and I found it almost impossible to keep track of who was who, especially when name changes came along. None of the characters were all that likable and I found it extremely difficult to connect with them. However, as much as the plot was lacking for me, there was something that kept me interested, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. I have to say I am a little disappointed, especially because I really enjoyed Darling Rose Gold. Maybe my opinion will change once I sit on it a little longer.

I really enjoyed Darling Rose Gold and was excited for this one. A secluded island, a cult, a mysterious secret between two sisters all sounded so intriguing. There was plenty of tension and bait to keep you turning pages. Unfortunately, this was a bit slow for me, it felt unbelievable that the island was so secluded and no one knew what was happening there. The storyline of Rebecca felt disjointed from her childhood of abuse, she seemed like a different person and her speech felt so pretentious. I felt that Nat and Kit's relationship and their time growing up could have used more attention.

I couldn't put this one down! In This Might Hurt, Stephanie Wrobel tells the story of a cult led by a terrifying master of manipulation. This character's backstory makes for some fascinating and uncomfortable reading (trigger warning for sadism). The other two main characters are two sisters, Natalie and Kit, who also have an unsettling backstory. Natalie leaves her corporate life to find out what's going on with her sister, Kit, whom she hasn't heard from in over six months. Kit is currently unreachable at a wellness retreat on a tiny island in Maine. When Natalie receives a threatening email, she rushes to find Kit before the sender can reveal her darkest secret to her sister. When Nat gets to Wisewood, she quickly discovers that Wisewood's occupants are far from well. I loved the gothic-vibes in the Wisewood segments, and the multiple narrators and non-linear timeline kept me turning the pages. So much to think about in this one--could be a fantastic, and possibly polarizing, book for discussion! Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin for the librarian preview copy.

Every single thing about this book was incredible. Family secrets, an isolated island, and page turning drama. Wrobel knows how to write a story. I devoured this.

Wowza! This book was absolutely unputdownable!!! I loved the first person perspective from multiple characters! I love guessing who one character was. I love the cult aspect of the book and the questions posed to the characters. Some of them made me stop and think. And I loved the twisted mind of at least one character! I’ve already bought Wrobel’s last book, Rose Gold, and now I can’t wait to read it!

Welp. I’m so bummed about this one. 2 1/2 stars rounded up to 3 only because I loved Darling Rose Gold so much.
There are multiple narrators and at least 2 are unreliable and there are several timelines as well and if you’re not paying super close attention, you’ll get it all mixed up! The devil is in the details with this one.
Natalie has always been the protective older sister, saving her from her not the best choices, so when her sister ultimately decided to give up her life, job, apartment and modern day convenience to go off and stay for at least 6 months in a commune in the wilderness, Nat is shocked. But she is also keeping a secret. Then she gets an email saying that her secret is about to be revealed so she heads to Wisewood to confront the sender and try to restore some sort of relationship with her sister before it’s too late.
This is a weird cult book with all kinds of subliminal messages about being a “follower” The story is super slow and there’s no big twists or action and even the ending was anti-climatic. I think the author tried too many things in one story and it didn’t quit work for me.
Thanks to Berkley Books and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my review.

I enjoyed this book. It was interesting how how the two story lines come together. I will definitely be recommending this book to the patrons at the library where I work!

This Might Hurt by Stephanie Wrobel

Published: February 22, 2022
Berkley
Pages: 336
Genre: Psychological Fiction
KKECReads Rating: 5/6
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Stephanie Wrobel grew up in Chicago but has been living in the UK for the last four years with her husband and her dog, Moose Barkwinkle. She has an MFA from Emerson College and has had short fiction published in Bellevue Literary Review. Before turning to fiction, she worked as a creative copywriter at various advertising agencies.

“Some people guzzle the Kool-Aid when they should take sips.”

Kit longs to feel like she belongs to something, anything. She doesn’t want to feel like she is free-falling through life anymore. Natalie has always done things by the book. She has made sure her little sister, Kit, has never had to go without anything. When an unconventional type of therapy falls into Kit's lap, she is ready to leap. But after months without any contact, a single email with one sentence brings Natalie rushing to save her sister before it’s too late.

Whoa. This was a ride from start to finish. I loved how the story was told, with several alternating angles, giving different perspectives, and both past and present intertwining to lead the reader to one terrifying conclusion.

The characters were fantastic and incredibly well developed. It was apparent how much effort went into bringing them to life. I loved the stark differences between the characters—the imbalance of fear, family, truth, and justice.

The themes throughout this novel were beautifully presented, and terrifyingly realistic. So much truth is hidden behind how our childhoods shape up, and the choices we make to take is through life.

The power dynamic was well played, and the manipulation, deceit, lies, and goals were both hidden in plain sight and camouflaged among the trees. There was such a realistic quality to the storytelling in this book, yet it grabs you and holds on tight until the very end.

Life is about making decisions. Choosing what we think is right. And sometimes power makes people forget.

This Might Hurt is a slow burn, more mystery than thriller in my opinion, but an engrossing read just the same. Wrobel has an uncanny ability to write about dysfunctional families in a true and authentic way.

Natalie receives an ominous email regarding her sister who entered into a ''self-help program'' six months prior and Natalie has had no contact with since. Natalie decides it's time to check out Wisewood, see her sister and face the past. Told in alternating point of views and multiple timelines, the reader is entwined in a sticky mess of family abuse, secrets, stage magic, indoctrination and what it means to sacrifice for yourself or your loved ones. Well-written, a bit dark with flawed characters and an ending that well... it's best left unspoiled.

Thank you to netgalley and Berkeley Publishing Group for an advanced copy to read and review honestly.

This Might Hurt by Stephanie Wrobel

I got off on the wrong foot with This Might Hurt by not realizing that there were three narrators for this story. There are various timelines throughout the book and the narration of sisters, Natalie and Kit. Then there is another narrator, unnamed until later in the book, whose timeline I didn't understand until towards the end of the story. I'm not sure if understanding things sooner would have helped me enjoy the story more but I know my confusion kept me from caring as much about Natalie and Kit.

Natalie has always been saving her younger sister from herself and her unwise choices. So it seems like a bad joke when Kit decides to give up her latest low level job to spend six months at a place called Wisewood. Six months shut off from the internet, phone service, any contact with the rest of the world. No word from Kit at all, during that time. Then Natalie gets an email from Wisewood threatening to tell Kit something that Natalie did, something that Natalie is ready to confess to Kit.

Off Natalie goes to the private island where Wisewood is located. What Natalie finds is beyond creepy, with "cult" written all over it. Shaved heads, no touching, spartan quarters, and no answers. The question is, "can Natalie escape this place with her sister in tow"? Finally, towards the end of the book, I caught on to what the third narration was telling me. Say no to cults, folks, nothing good comes from being one of the "followers".

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

As someone who is a sucker for cult stories, THIS MIGHT HURT was a book that caught my eye. Especially since I enjoyed Wrobel's previous novel DARLING ROSE GOLD. And THIS MIGHT HURT, while not as strong as I had hoped it would be, was an entertaining read that gave a lot of tension and suspense. I liked the narrative structure to this story, as it's told through a few different perspectives that helps build said tension. The first is Natalie, a driven woman who is looking for her younger sister Kit after the 'self help' group that Kit has been staying with sends her a threatening email. Natalie's perspective is looking at Wisewood and slowly realizing while she's on the island that she's possibly in danger. The second perspective is that of Kit, and is the timeline of her arriving at Wisewood months earlier, to show how she has gone from lost soul to perhaps brainwashed cult member. I liked how their story unfolded in this way, but I wasn't really invested in either Natalie or Kit, as they both kind of fit into very well worn tropes of characters that we see in this kind of story. But it was the third perspective that made this book for me, which was a mysterious third person, who goes on a life's journey that is bleak and at times deeply disturbing. Not going to spoil much here.

THIS MIGHT HURT has a lot of familiar aspects to it, but has some unique subversions that made it stand out.

Principle I: I want to live a life in which I am free.
Principle II: As long as I fear, I cannot be free.
Principle III: I must eliminate any obstacles that impede my path to freedom.

Welcome to Wisewood. Teacher will help you to overcome your panic attacks, your addictions, your guilt, your . . . . Natalie's sister Kit has gone to Wisewood for a 6-month regimen. A cryptic email from Wisewood to Natalie makes her fear for Kit's wellbeing. Natalie has a secret and this may be her last chance to come clean. Once she gets there, things will not be so simple. Teacher says the island is a safe haven and those in the Inner Circle believe in her. But what if it is really prison? Peer pressure is real and wanting to be Teacher's Pet can be quite a motivator. Do you want to be free? Are you afraid? What obstacles are impeding your path? This might hurt. . .

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
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Thank you so much to @berkleypub and @netgalley for this free copy of This Might Hurt

Having LOVED Darling Rose Gold I was so excited to be able to reviews this book in advance of it’s publication. It’s a taught thriller, written from multiple POV’s. There are many discussions of sisters, traumatic family abuse, feelings of fear and failure, loss and grief. The story winds itself up, culminating at a cult-like self help retreat on a remote island in Maine.

Who is telling the story? Some of the time you think you know and some of the time you are wrong, 😂 I did guess some of the twists ahead of time but not all. This is always when I will give a book the highest kudos, because I am not easily fooled,

I thought the premise was excellent, the pacing from 60%to about 80% is a little sluggish but overall a very solid and suspenseful read.

If you liked Darling Rose Gold and/or you like taught and suspenseful reads with mostly strong female characters I highly recommend this one.

This was a very disappointing read for me. The premise was interesting, but the pacing was just so slow and the ending was anticlimactic (honestly,I’m still not quite sure what happened or what it meant). I usually get into multiple POVs, but it was frustrating to have it every other chapter with slow pacing. Also, the identity of one of the POVs was a little confusing and the reveal was not satisfying. Sorry, but I had a hard time connecting to the magician plot..

This Might Hurt? No. Unfortunately, This Did Hurt.

In a past timeline, there are two sisters who grew up with a deeply depressive mother and a sadistic, abusive father, Sir, who mentally manipulated and controlled them through daily tasks ranging from innocuous to cruel, supposedly designed to position them for success later in life. These girls couldn’t wait to get away from their father, and for 25% of the book while I debated whether to DNF, I couldn’t wait to get away from him too. Parents being cruel to children … grrr. I don’t want to read it, no matter how it serves the plot.

In a current timeline, successful businesswoman Natalie has received a menacing email saying that her sister Kit is at an idyllic sounding self-improvement retreat called Wisewood on a little island off the coast of Maine and that this individual is aware of a secret Nat wouldn’t want Kit to discover. In an effort to do damage control and protect her estranged sister, Nat visits the reclusive island, where it quickly becomes clear that all is not well in this place where the enigmatic leader and inner circle train participants to become their “Maximized Selves”. What becomes of these two sisters and how do the two timelines connect? You’ll have to read and find out.

I’ll leave it at that and just get to what did and didn’t work for me.

<b>What worked:</b>

Wrobel writes decently and the characters were all interesting and well-portrayed, despite being unlikable.

The idea was solid and the twists and reveals were clever.

It has some decent nuggets of wisdom about fear and vulnerability.

<b>What didn’t work:</b>

The cult plot just wasn’t doing it for me. I can read about real-life cults all day long, but for whatever reasons, I don’t like it in fiction.

The story is fairly slow and there’s no real sense of dread or menace. At best I got the tiniest bit of creepy vibes, but nothing that had me on the edge of my seat.

One of the characters is into magic and later, mentalism. That’s not my jam, so the only magic trick I wanted to see is for that part of the story to disappear.

The ending felt a bit rushed and anti-climactic, leaving me without a sense of resolution.

I have no doubt this was just a story with too many elements and triggers that I personally don’t enjoy and less about the author’s skill at writing, so I’ll still watch for more by Wrobel. Plenty of users have really enjoyed this, so please check out those reviews as well!

★★ ½

Thanks to Berkley Publishing, NetGalley and author Stephanie Wrobel for this digital ARC. I’ve given my honest and unbiased thoughts. This is due for publication on February 22, 2022.

3 To Cult Or Not To Cult Stars
* * * Spoiler Free-A Quick Review
This book has many who have truly gotten behind this book. After reading Darling Rose Gold, I decided to give it a go.

The writing was solid and if you like multiple POVs, then this may be for you. It also has a controlled location where much of the action happens with no way to reach out to others that are not there. The focus has sisters who need to confront all the family issues they experienced and discover what type of relationship they actually had. There is manipulation abounds.

Thank you NetGalley.
This was a different read for me. The characters were well developed and the storyline gets your blood pumping!