This was just ok for me. I didn't really care for the characters or the writing style but the story was interesting.

I dnfed this authors debut so it's not super suprising why I wasn't the biggest fan.

I can definitely see people loving this when it comes out.

2.5⭐

I really wanted to love this book. The story started off great and I was hooked. One thing that stood out to me was that the writing had a great flow. However, as the story moved along it became more and more “meh” for me. I wouldn’t say it was boring, but it wasn’t all that gripping either. Some parts were confusing and I felt like the last maybe 30 pages didn’t fit with the rest of the story. There were a few twists but they weren’t as good as I expected based on the rest of the storyline. The ending was a weird cliffhanger and I still don’t know what to think.
All that being said, don’t write this one off. I honestly think there are readers out there who will enjoy it.

THIS MIGHT HURT is an entertaining suspense story populated by strong female characters, which seems to be Wrobel's specialty. However, I did not ultimately enjoy this one as much as I had hoped, primarily because the pacing feels a bit slow for this genre. I understand why the author takes the reader into the past and switches the points of view, but it does slow down the narrative a little.

The writing is top notch and I enjoyed the prose very much.

The characters are also well drawn. I liked how the reader is shown all aspects of the characters' personalities. They definitely seem like real people.

Wrobel also does a fantastic job of conveying the creepiness of Wisewood and the cult-like atmosphere on an island in Maine. I got a great sense of the isolation, the surrounding nature and Atlantic Ocean, the buildings, etc. and there was a delicious sense of dread throughout.

Ultimately, the pacing issue mentioned above did not detract much from my enjoyment of the story. I'm sure fans of suspense novels will enjoy THIS MIGHT HURT.

Having enjoyed the author’s previous work, “Darling Rose Gold”, I was really looking forward to reading this DRC of her newest novel, “This Might Hurt”. I really do think the author does interesting takes on strong, female familial relationships. That said, however, I was a little bit disappointed in this tale of two sisters, Natalie and Kit and the sinister and cultish, off-the-grid, island resort (Wisewood) where the primary action takes place. I found it just a tad derivative of another book that currently has a streaming adaptation happening. In addition, I found the multiple POV's and timeline jumps a little hard to keep up with, although I did enjoy the twisty resolution. Well worth reading if you like these sorts of "locked room" settings or survival type thrillers. My sincerest thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for generously providing me with a complimentary DRC of this book upon request. The rating and opinions shared are my own and were not affected by this exchange.

The book starts out alternating the stories of two young girls abused by their sadistic father (in the past) and two older girls suffering some lingering damage (in the present). You don't know until half way through if the girls are the same or if they are separate sibling sets.

One of the girls becomes a popular illusionist who then specializes in being unafraid of pain.

One of the girls goes to a 6 month retreat on a remote Maine island to try to get over some hurt/guilt that is holding her back from having a good life. Her sister gets an email that makes her go to the island to see if she is OK.

The first half of the book was really good and I kept grabbing my ipad to read a little more. But as it went on, it seemed to be repeating the same things and I started losing interest. By the end, I really didn't care. There were some good twists that perked things up a little, but I could have skipped most of the third quarter.

All in all it was good, just not 5 star to me.

Natalie hasn't heard from her sister in 6 months; she's disappeared to the mysterious Wisewood, where guests commit to better themselves but are cut off from the real world. Natalie receives a threatening e-mail and rushes to reveal a secret to her sister and bring her home.

What in the bloody hell Stephanie Wrobel. Let me tell you - I picked this one up, was hooked from the first chapter, and read this mindf**k of a book in less than 24 hours. THIS WAS MADNESS. Listen, some of the characters are crazy, twisted, and I just loved the insane storyline that was going on. HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THIS?!?!

Told from multiple POVs, you've got differing insights and perspective to what is happening in this f*kd up institution. As always, there are some things I can't spoil, but I was OBSESSED with the way everything came together. I finished this, and when I got done, I was just damn satisfied. SA-TIS-FIED. Writers like this (and I need to shout out Greer Hendricks/Sarah Pekkanen, PJ Vernon and Jonathan Parks-Ramage) - THIS is why I read the thriller/suspense category. I love something that's a little more complex, has moving parts that aren't just cheap shots and then we move on; it's a little more complex, deep, and really makes you think.

I realize this doesn't come out until February - but I hear there's a print shortage so I'm gonna go ahead and tell you to pre-order this thing. Absolutely phenomenal book. Wrobel, please sign me up for whatever you do next.

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

HOLY. SHIT.

I have never enjoyed a book this year so thoroughly as I have with This Might Hurt.

“One sister joins a cult, the other sister needs to rescue her” was an interesting concept by itself, but Wrobel went above and beyond my expectations. Every chapter in this book explores a different perspective, weaving timelines in and out as the book unfolds. Natalie was a tough, hardass (who was rather boring/predictable of a character, but hey, I’m being nitpicky). Madame Fearless was electrifying in every sense of the word. Kit was incredibly complex, as we got to be immersed in her emotional development at Wisewood.
I could not predict this book, and I’m an avid reader. I was completely floored by each plot twist and I finished this book in 2 days. Two days!!! I’m a full time university student who works 2 jobs, I don’t usually lay aside this much time to read! I stayed up until 1:30am, completely engrossed in this book.
I love this book. Totally buying it when it comes out.

Thanks Netgally for the ARC!

This Might Hurt is a wild ride and I was sucked in from the very beginning. All you had to say was "cult" and I was in. The two viewpoints were perfectly done and the exposition at the end...*chef's kiss*.

This Might Hurt - Stephanie Wrobel

Natalie and Kit are sisters with a bit of a shattered past. After the death of their mother, Kit goes into a downward spiral of depression until she learns of Wisewood, a 6 months Island getaway, with no technology, to help her overcome her setbacks and find her path.
After 6 months, Natalie receives an email from the mysterious Wisewood, threatening to tell Kit the truth and hurt their relationship even further. Natalie jumps into action and goes to Wisewood with every intention of dragging Kit back. Upon arrival, she feels like she is constantly being watched and knows that something on this island isn't quite right. Kit seems to be hard to track down and while looking for her, Natalie sees it as an opportunity to learn as much as she can and confront the famous Teacher about how her people are brainwashed. She quickly finds out that no one has seen Teacher, learning that she escaped due to a potential threat and it was Kit who helped her escape. Things feel more unsettling by the minute and Natalie wants off Wisewood Island, with or without Kit.
After reading Darling Rose Gold I was so excited to get my hands on this copy of This Might Hurt. Between the author and the synopsis, I was determined that this was going to be incredible, but, to be honest, I feel slightly disappointed. This book took me over a week to get through as I just couldn't seem to get into it. Multiple POV's can be very tricky, and in this case I was left confused until about halfway through, not realizing one of the POV's was Teachers backstory. Once I got past that, I started to get into it, only to be let down by Natalie's "big secret". The lead up to it was so grand, and it did not deliver. The ending also left me with so many questions as it seemed to have just cut off. I really hope that others can see this book in a different light and take more from it than I can. I give it a ⭐⭐⭐/5.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

Well, after devouring “Darling Rose Gold” in one sit, I was so happy to add another brilliant author at my favorite women thriller writers who scare the living daylights out of me list. Stephanie Wrobel can surprise you with her mentally disturbed characters who can easily make your precious jaws drop with their extreme and impressively bad shit crazy actions!

This book promises a great mash up of Courtney Summer’s Project meets Liane Moriarty’s Nine Perfect Strangers ( the adapted series can be watched at Hulu. It’s freaking scary! I screamed for 20 minutes after seeing Nicole Kidman’s ultra Botox-Ed face and confused her with a creature which is combination of Gollum and Gandalf! )

Let’s discuss my feelings about this book: I loved the fast, intriguing beginning and I enjoyed the blood freezing, WTH conclusion. But I think book’s direction got wavered a little bit. The different timelines of multiple POVs make you confused. This kind of story telling is smart but it can be also too complex for you to focus on the main conflicts and big revelations.

Especially the big revelation about Natalie’s part was a little bit disappointed and not so earth shatteringly surprising. The timelines and the details about Kit, young lady we don’t know her true identity who becomes fearless magician with the triggering impacts of her sadistic father and Kit’s POVs already fill your mind. You just get far away from the main story and you get tossed around the characters’ inner dilemmas, their fights with their inner demons. Their common point is both of them are emotionally disturbed characters who have different and a little delusional defense mechanisms to survive!

The story opens up Natalie, a shark, boss b*tch’s presentation at the meeting with local brewery company executives. She shows her true colors and I liked her instantly.

After the meeting Nat receives an email from the special retreat center her sister Kit checked in six months ago when she was hardly dealing with her emotional breakdown after her mother’s dying from big C.

The place’s name is Wisewood located on private island off the coast off the Maine. The guests are prohibited to contact with outer world: no cellphones, no internet, no visitors ( thanks but no thanks) the mysterious account owner from Wisewood threatens Nat to reveal the ugly secret she has been keeping from her sister if she doesn’t go to the island immediately.

Nat acts quickly to take the ferry, dealing with Gordon, right hand of retreat’s founder to talk with her sister! She is so adamant to face her and tell the big secret before she hears from someone else.

But the island already gives her haunted and excessively claustrophobic vibes: it seems like somebody watches her every move and the crew members of the Wisewood have stern and vicious methods to force you test your own survival skills.

Till the first third of the book: we read Natalie’s and a mysterious young lady’s POV ( she has also a sister which made me think if I’m reading Kit’s POV but a few pages later I realized she was someone else and we find out her identity -or guess- when we reach the first third) who has traumatic experiences because of her mentally sick father’s horrifying grading system. She thinks turning into Houdini is the only way to escape from her terrifying childhood. She has to confront her own fears.

As I told before: at the second third we start to read Kit’s and the mysterious fearless lady’s POV. As I start to read those parts, I think I lost my focus. Thankfully at the end: the author wrapped up the entire execution brilliantly.

I loved claustrophobic island theme: I wish the story was told with less POVs because there are enough materials for this book to write two separate novels!

I’m still rounding up 3.5 stars to 4! I enjoyed Darling Rose Gold more but I still enjoyed it’s one creepy location and cult themes of the book.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Pros :: Knew from about page three I was hooked. The three main characters (Natalie, Kit and Rebecca (Teacher) were well flushed out, as were the side characters (read staff of Wisewood like Gordon, Jeremiah, Raeanne, etc). The dialogue flowed, the descriptions were great. Horrid background that Rebecca had to endure -- it was written very well; felt like a fly on the wall. Interesting how Rebecca morphed her magic show to make it more of Houdini style venue. Even felt sorry for Gabe, who was her "partner." It was the twists that kept me going -- especially Kit. Obviously I didn't figure them out until they were revealed. What a wicked, wicked ending. Wrobel sets this book up perfectly for a sequel if she wants.

Cons :: Nothing

Cover art :: 5 out of 5; Perfect use of imagery and colors

Wow this book. I don’t want say too much about it because I don’t want to ruin the plot. However it’s the story of a missing sister. I absolutely was transfixed reading it. It’s very much a thriller but a solid story anchors the intrigue. I highly recommend it.

I would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. I read the author's first novel and loved it, so I was excited to read this, and it did not disappoint. I was hooked from the first page, couldn't put it down and finished it in one sitting, The ending will definitely something to think about.

Perfectly creepy….very cultish, so I am all in. Natalie and Kit are sisters who have become strangers, each going through their own thing. Kit tries to heal herself by going to Wisewood, a self help retreat. When Natalie I summoned by a mysterious email, everything in the past comes to the surface. Who will get off of the island?

I did not enjoy this book. Very depressing. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

DARLING ROSE GOLD was an incredibly scary book. I’m a big re-reader, and I don’t think I could even re-read it. But I do think about how great that book’s plot was. THIS MIGHT HURT wasn’t as terrifying, but that’s a different kind of good. I plan on returning to this book more than once. Stephanie Wrobel: an author who can do both!