QUICK TAKE: seems like sister relationship stories, in particular where one sister joins a cult, are all the rage for 2022, as this is one of three I read recently. This was solid, though not as memorable as ROSE. Ultimately, a solid read, but not very memorable.

5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I would definitely be recommending this book to readers on my Instagram bookstagram account.

Thank you to @netgalley and @berkleypublishing for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Truly, I can't decide if I'm in a reading slump or not because I just have not loved any book I've read recently. This was a really unique plot and really had me shook, but I just don't feel like it entirely hit the mark.

Here's what I loved:
There are 3 POVs throughout this story; one is Natalie in current day, her sister Kit in current day, and the other is someone we don’t know yet. BUT, the mystery woman covers her childhood and she has THE most insane father and mother! I loved the youthful perspective of emotional abuse and the older version looking back and realizing it for what it really was. This book knows how to grab your heart strings and make you feel for these characters. I also loved the setting of a wellness center. It reminded me so much of "Nine Perfect Strangers" but I love this execution better.

Here's where it lost me:
There was way too much filler in this book. It felt like I was reading so much back and forth that didn't add to the story, and it began to feel really repetitive. The multiple POV's covered the same thing over and over, but hardly introduced a new point. I often found myself getting bored and wanting to get to the point. The ending was also very confusing so I worked through all of that for nothing!!

Overall, I think I would still recommend this to someone if they loved the author's first work "Darling Rose Gold". I really think this is such a unique plot, but the writing style just isn't something I enjoy!

Lately I’ve been reading lots of books about cults. Or based on them. It’s a subject that sparks interest in people, because of all the mystery surrounding it.

Let me start by saying I loved Wrobel’s last book, Darling Rose Gold. I loved the writing and the weirdness of the story.

This Might Hurt has the same vibe. The writing is amazing and I was completely immersed.

Imagine you have a sister who’s going through a rough time since the death of your mother. She’s seduced by a place called Wisewood. A place that promises to heal your deepest wounds in very non-traditional ways (aka weird and totally immoral).

Turns out this place is basically a cult.
Well… you’d go to Wisewood to try to change your sister’s mind and get her back, right?
What if things get a little out of hand and your life is at risk?

This book will get your attention for sure. Some scenes are pretty graphic and gross, if you’re not used to this genre, so be aware!

Oh and also, major CW: there’s a lot of child abuse in here. Proceed with caution!

First, I would like to thank Stephanie, Berkley, and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC I exchange for my honest review!

Stephanie can do no wrong! She has mastered the art of Suspense novels! From the first line of the book, I was hooked! The story is told from three different POV's, and three different timelines, the past, 2019, and 2020. Although it was a lot to balance, the author wove the 3 timelines in a way that tied everything together! The past timeline was definitely my favorite because of how dark and twisted it was! This was such a quick page turner with a cult like vibe to it that will leave you wanting to figure out more!

The ending was so well wrapped up, and left it up in the air about the fate of the characters after the story ends.

I have reviewed this novel for New York Journal of Books where it will be posted on their site the evening prior to the release date!


"This Might Hurt" by Stephanie Wrobel
Berkley
February 22, 2022
10-0593100085
Psychological Thriller



Since becoming adults, Natalie Collins and her sister Kit have been somewhat estranged. Raised by an overly pious pushover mother and a brute of a father, they could not wait to leave their childhood home.

As the oldest, Natalie got the nickname Jack by their father as he was disappointed she was not the son he wanted. Three years apart in age, Jack (aka Natalie) often took the brunt of their dad's cruelty. He insisted both girls call him "Sir" and kowtow to his every whim, no matter how bizarre.

While growing up, their father regulated everything they did by using a point system. Before they were allowed to go to bed at night, they needed to accrue a certain number of points on his terms. At age eight, Natalie was terrified of the water, and her father made it his goal that she learn to swim. On the lake in their aunt's boat, "Sir" forced her into the water. He taunted her with threats of swimming lessons but said she would be able to skip them if she stayed in the chilly lake for an hour. He also offered to give her six points. She already accrued nine points that day, so this would give her enough points if she complied. But how could she do this? Petrified of the water, it was freezing, she hoped for help from her sister, but that didn't come.

Jack always tried hard to gain her father's acceptance and approval but never seemed to achieve it. When bullied by her peers, she found her release in magic and delighted in performing new tricks for Sir, but he scoffed at her foolishness.

Now grown, the sisters are alienated but manage to keep in touch, though sporadically. When Kit is concerned with her life plans, she informs Natalie, she's going to Wisewood Wellness & Therapy Center, a resort on a tiny island off the coast of Maine, where she hopes to get her act together, which concerns Natalie terribly. Kit, enthralled by the center's purpose to help others overcome fears and gain freedom, believes this is where she can find her true self. Their mission is:

"1. I want to live a life in which I am free.
"2. As long as I fear, I cannot be free.
"3. I must eliminate any obstacles that impede my path to freedom."

Meanwhile, Natalie residing in Boston is working at a corporate job she hates. She must deal with condescending and chauvinistic CEOs, and she wishes she could be anywhere else. Instead, Natalie goes back to her love of magic and becomes quite celebrated, holding performances in which she's known as "Madam Fearless."

Now it's been six months since Kit left for Maine, and Natalie does not hear from her, nor does she answer her texts. Feeling responsible, Natalie decides to go to Maine and bring her home. The two are the only family they have, and she wants to repair their relationship.

Natalie recalls their last phone conversation before Kit departed:

"We ended the call snapping at each other. I haven't heard from her since. She doesn't even know I moved across the country to Boston, taking a page out of her playbook that mandates when the going gets tough, the tough flee the situation. Back when I started toying with the idea of moving, I had pictured more frequent sisterly get-togethers; I would only be a train ride away now. She left New York before I got the chance. On my more honest days, I can admit her absence is a relief. The less often I talk to her, the less guilty I feel."

Then Natalie receives an email stating: "Would you like to come to tell your sister what you did—or should we?" She panics, and the decision is made—she is going to Maine, and she needs to rescue her younger sister from what she thinks is a cult.

She phones Wisewood to talk to Kit, but guests aren't allowed phone calls, and she cannot speak to Kit. This information solidifies her resolve to go there.

For once, Kit believes she has control over her life as she learns how to ignore fear and pain while gaining greater empowerment. Her friendship with some guests retreats as she is drawn closer to Rebecca, referred to as "Teacher." Rebecca gets into Kit's head, looking to banish the hurt of her youth. She sees Kit is naïve and impressionable, just the right type for the center. Before long, Kit is embraced by the employees of the center and offered employment. Kit finally feels she belongs and is overjoyed until she learns Natalie is on the island looking for her.

Why is Natalie there? Will she try to drag Kit back to the "real world?" And what secret is Natalie is keeping from Kit? This complex and convoluted novel contains many different aspects—learning about the girl's abusive father, their hurtful upbringing, and how their lives have changed as adults.

It is painful how these two suffered when all they wanted was to be loved, and even as adults, they go to any means to be accepted. Though this is a suspenseful read, the shifting between characters and time frames makes this often confusing and difficult to understand.

This book surprised me with how interesting and fast-paced it was. I was worried that it would quickly become a contemporary-based story around cults, but then we got into the chapters about Teacher, and I had a physical reaction. The details in this story are gritty and horrifying. Yet, it's the backstory that truly would create the ultimate recipe for a toxic wellness-based cult. I found our main character in the first half less interesting, but as the plot developed, things got more and more intriguing. Personality-wise, though, she still falls flat. She is not nearly as interesting as her sister- which turns out to be, more or less, the point. This was hard to put down, and incredibly enjoyable for me.

This Might Hurt by Stephanie Wrobel is a suspenseful novel but the plot was confusing and the subject matter and actions of the characters not desirable. Hopefully these ideas remain fiction.

Review posted to blog:https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend.com/

Sisters, as if that relationship wasn’t complicated enough. Throw in a cult and anarchy ensues!

The day Natalie receives an email from Wisewood, the island retreat her sister Kit took off for a few months prior, threatening to reveal something Natalie would rather keep from Kit is the day Natalie takes off for a private island on the coast of Maine. Natalie has no idea what’s in store. Wisewood isn’t like any of those other wellness retreats you’ve heard about or been to. Their goal is to teach their guests to become their Maximized Selves by becoming fearless, specifically by letting go of the pain and suffering they’ve been carrying for years. Their methods for doing so, however, are wild.

Kit has embraced this way of life and has come into her own at Wisewood, just like so many others before her.

Dark, disturbing, and entertaining at times, I was enthralled by several of the characters, yet some of the storyline dragged a bit and left me a tad confused. Though I didn’t quite love this book as much as Stephanie Wrobel’s Darling Rose Gold, I enjoyed This Might Hurt and look forward to her next book.

A buddy read with Kaceey.

Thanks to Elisha at Berkley Publishing Group for the arc.

Published on Goodreads, NetGalley, and Twitter.

There is a lot of fun to be had in reading This Might Hurt by Stephanie Wrobel. The book is frightening to the best of its abilities.

Looking for a retreat to get away from it all? Well folks, perhaps Wisewood is just the place you’re looking for! Just beware of the small print in the brochure…you’ll have zero communication with the outside world. And let’s hope you don’t feel privacy is at all important. Because there’s a good chance they’ll be watching you!🥸

Natalie and Kit are two sisters that went in polar-opposite directions. Natalie, successful in business, while Kit has constantly floundered.

After receiving a cryptic email threatening to expose a deep secret, Natalie races to the island retreat where Kit has been living for months. It’s imperative she find Kit and come clean before it’s too late.

An entertaining, captivating thriller. I loved the ‘cultish’ vibe of Westwood as well as Natalie’s quest to ‘save’ her sister.

The storyline is told from two separate timelines, which I found easy to keep straight. As the story develops, you can feel serious tension building to what you know will be a great ending! And yes, it fits perfectly.

Already looking forward to more from this author.

A thrilling buddy read with Susanne.

Posted to: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend...

Thank you to Elisha at Berkley Publishing via Netgalley for an ARC to read and review

Thanks so much for this ARC copy; this is my honest review.

Ooof. This was not for me. I loved her debut novel, so I was so excited for this - but it fell short for me. I felt like the opening was strong and lost its footing from there - unwinding into a disjointed story that couldn't keep my attention. But, I will try future books from this author!

When Natalie gets an email about her sister who is currently attending a wellness retreat. In the email, the sender mentions that they know a secret she’s been keeping from her sister and if she doesn’t come, the sender will tell her.
Natalie drops everything to go up to Maine to visit her sister. When she gets to the retreat, Wisewood, she finds the practices very odd. All the staff members have shaved heads, and technology, mirrors, and touching are not allowed.
Kit, Natalie’s sister, is obsessed with Wisewood. During the last 6 and half months, she has grown fearless and has become a different person. She loves Teacher, Rebecca, more than anyone else and will stand by her teachings at whatever cost.
Natalie struggles to help her sister see sense and get off this island before it’s too late.

I love a good cultish book! This one was absolutely wild and I had no idea where it was going. I really liked the multiple perspectives and thought they added depth to the story. My favorite parts were the flashbacks to the past as they were so intriguing and insane to read about. The details about Wisewood were so well thought out and you can really tell that the author did her research.

As a True Crime fan I found this read incredibly real and touching. The author is a very enthralling writer and wrote the characters in a way that made the story feel personal.

Thank you, Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a LOT. Not going to lie, I had to consult Goodreads reviews at the 25% mark because I wasn't sure I was supposed to be as confused as I was. Turns out, I was supposed to be confused (I think)...

With different perspectives and timelines, this book has a lot going on, but ended up tying together in the most interesting ways. I really enjoyed the cult aspects and the focus on sibling relationships. At times it got a little too philosophical for my taste and I skimmed a bit, but for the most part the plot was quick moving and developed a ton. Will look out for more from this author!

Natalie's sister Kat left for Wisewood, a spiritualistic retreat over six months ago. Other than a cryptic email, Natalie has not heard anything from her. Puzzled over the email, and worried that Wisewood is really more of a cult than a retreat, Natalie travels to Wisewood to find her sister. Alternating with Natalie's point of view, is an unnamed girl with an abusive stepfather. When the unnamed girl is given a book about Houdini, she discovers a love for magic and spiritualism.

This book felt like something was missing. The plot was a bit weak and lacking. I did think the back and forth point of views worked very well. The unnamed girl's story was particularly interesting, as I tried to guess exactly who she was. Overall, 3 out of 5 stars.

This Might Hurt is an excellent second novel from one of my new favorite authors, Stephanie Wrobel! I absolutely loved Darling Rose Gold last year and was a little worried this wouldn't be able to stand up against that one but I was wrong because it did! And everyone needs to read it!

Stephanie Wrobel delivers another creepy, suspenseful story about family, secrets and abuse. I could not put this one down! I loved the multiple POVs and converging timelines. When everything started clicking in place, I audibly gasped. This is one that gives a lot to ponder and discuss when it comes to how our past influences the choices we make in the future. If you enjoyed the suspense of Darling Rose Gold, I think you'll enjoy this one too!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an e ARC of this book.
Interesting plot with lots of twists. Unfortunately it doesn't hold up to the end.

Natalie is worried about her younger sister, Kit. She hasn’t heard from her in over six months and is concerned that her sister is in over her head with some kind of bizarre cult. When Natalie gets a threatening email about her sister, she decides it’s time to take matters into her own hands----she’s going to go and save her sister, whether she wants to be rescued or not. This book had some really good potential and a pretty good twist in the middle of the book. Unfortunately, the ending just didn’t hold up. Very disappointing for such a promising book.

Special Note: Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.