Harriet Evans, you are a force to be reckoned with and a fabulous storyteller.

I told myself in January that I wanted to prioritize "new" or "new to me" authors. Harriet Evans, was an author I had never heard of but when I read the synopsis for The Beloved Girls, I knew I was destined to become a long time fan. Well, Evans exceeded all of my expectations.

The Beloved Girls is told from three different time lines, this was really interesting and kept my attention. I tend to favor one point of view more than others but this what not the case when it came to this book. I loved every bit of it, I did not skip through a word let alone a page. I became obsessed with this storyline and I just had to know what was going to happen. The Beloved Girls, is a book that once you pick up there is no way you will want to put it down. I became completely consumed and lost.

Immediately after concluding The Beloved Girls, I hurried on over to Amazon to see if there were any other books by Harriet Evans, and lucky for me, there is!!! I just downloaded The Garden of the Lost and Found.

So while I go stick my nose in a book, I suggest you all run out and purchase The Beloved Girls. Anything short of a five star rating would not do this book any justice.

Big thank you to Netgalley, Grand Central Publishing, and of course Harriet Evans, for allowing me to read and review this incredible book.

The Beloved Girls is a dark family drama that rewinds the clock on Catherine following a loss in a high profile case. She starts seeing a girl or perhaps the ghost of a girl from her past that she is sure is dead. She finally cracks and runs from her life trying to finally get ahold of just what happened to her. We then go back to 1989 to get an understanding of why she is struggling and just what happened that year. We take one more trip back in time to 1959 to see how her and her family became intertwined with the Hunter family. We then go back forward in time to 1989 and 2018 to get some answers to the build up of questions and drama that has been building during these rewinds.

Many of the characters in this book are hard to get a full read on, should we hate them, should we love them? What are their motives, why are they the way they are?

I much preferred the past sections of the book as compared to the present day. I understand the present day was necessary for the book to come full circle but those portions felt a bit out of place as they were not set in the shadows of "The Collection".

I recommend this to fans of atmospheric, dark family dramas that are okay with the story coming at you in pieces as you go. It is not a fast past book but one that keeps you reading to find the full story.

After reading and loving this author’s “A Place For Us“, I had high expectations that I would love this book as well. My expectations were unfounded. I expected a warm family saga, yet it was more an unsettling, over-long thriller.

The setting was perfection, but the plot was meandering, slow, and confusing. I wanted so much to get into this novel, yet it didn’t really hold my attention as I expected it to. The Hunter family were eccentric, yet not in a good way. The patriarch, Charles Hunter gave off a odious, supercilious, and somewhat lecherous vibe. The only two characters that I really cared for were Janey Lestrange and her father Simon Lestrange. Janey’s story had an almost dreamlike quality. Her relationship with the Hunter’s son left me feeling uncomfortable… Simon’s narrative was more grounded and described how deeply damaged he was by his experiences in the war.

I enjoyed the triple timeline, I quite like a saga with some back and forthing. I enjoyed the history of the old family house, and the ancient honey collecting rituals associated with it. These though, were a bit repetitive which mired down the plot.

I predicted the ending way ahead of time, though I didn’t know the logistics of how it would come about.

I did enjoy the writing, but felt a distinct disconnect to most of the characters and the plot. I liked the way the author subtly disparaged class snobbishness. Also, her story emphasized how outward seeming perfection can harbour a nasty, rotten underbelly. It told of family dysfunction and the lengths some people will go to escape.

Given that I have really enjoyed other works by this author, I would definitely read more of her work, though this time, I wasn’t enamored with the book. Still, though, this book has been very positively reviewed by many readers whose opinions I respect and the ending proved satisfactory. Give it a try and see, it might just be the perfect read for you.

The Beloved Girls was an enjoyable Gothic mystery. I have enjoyed Harriet Evans’ previous books and was happy to receive a copy of her latest.

The story takes place in three different time periods and revolves around the strange Hunter family of Vanes house. In the 5o’s it tells the story of Simon Lestrange and Sylvia Raverat, later Hunter. In the 1980’s Simon’s daughter Janey and Sylvia’s children Kitty, Joss and Melissa (Merry) Hunter, and Catherine Christophe in 2018. The story slowly unravels how the different people interconnect and what happened that long ago summer of 1989 to Janey and Kitty, the Beloved Girls. The Hunters have a strange ritual that they enact yearly, the gathering of the honey from the wild bees that live in the chapel on their estate. The summer of 1989, Janey participates with tragic consequences. In 2018, Catherine is a successful barrister, married with two children who suddenly disappears without a trace, How does her disappearance relate to the tragic occurrences of that long ago summer?

I really enjoyed this book, the different perspectives of the characters and the ties that bound them.

Thanks to Netgalley, Grand Central Publishing and the author for the chance to read and review this book.

Catherine seems to have it all. A fulfilling career, a husband she loves, two children, and a lovely home. But something underneath the surface is very wrong. She sees people that may or may not be real. When she and her husband are about to board a train, she realizes she has just enough time to run back to her office. She never returns. Was someone stalking her or have unresolved memories taken control of her life?
Told in three timelines, the present, the 1950s, and 1989, I will admit that I struggled to understand how this tied together and to get engaged with the rhythm of this tale. I put it down more than once, but repeatedly found myself wanting to know more about this creepy story. I did wind up intrigued, so initially, it might just be that it was a case of the wrong book at the wrong time. Or it might have just taken 100 pages or so to work for me.
In the past, we meet the Hunter family who live in an old house and have some rather odd habits and rituals. Charles and Silva, live at the Vanes along with their children Kitty, Joss, and Melissa. We meet them early in the story when Janey and her father visit them. I was disoriented when the focus shifts to Catherine and her family. This is where things initially fell apart for me as I could not figure out how these two timelines and stories were connected. However, with a little patience and perseverance, almost everything made sense to me, except for some rhymes which flew right over my head. Unreliable narrators abound and at almost 450 pages, at times it felt a bit too long.
Looking back, I am thinking this sounds like I didn't enjoy The Beloved Girls. That wasn't the case, I am just highlighting things I believe might be issues to another reader. If you hold on, you could be sucked into the drama and mystery like me. Or, it might grab you from the first page! 3.5 stars.

When Catherine disappears in 2018, it sets the stage for an exploration of family secrets that span three time frames-2018, 1989, and 1959. The Hunter family has a ritual every summer - taking the honey from bee hives. Janey who stayed with them in the 1980s found herself fascinated by the family and Vanes the house where they live. This is a big immersive novel which is hard to synopsize but easy to enjoy. It's creepy and entertaining with good characters and atmospherics. Know that the male characters (especially the father) are less engaging, to put it mildly, than the female characters, who are sympathetic. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

The Beloved Girls by Harriet Evans. Pub Date: May 10, 2022. Rating: 3.5 stars. At the center of this novel is an epic family saga surrounding a familial home with a gothic feel. A woman vanishes and the key to her disappearance lies in her past. The reader is exposed to rituals, bees, honey and family ties. Even though Catherine disappears, the reader is taken on a journey to the past to unravel family history. Secrets of the Lestrange and Hunter families are explored. At times I felt this book dragged, but others I loved the history. This was a good book, but not my favorite. Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to love this book. Every description sounded fabulous and sadly, I had to give up on this novel and didn't finish it.

This was a dark, gothic mystery that was good, but I struggled at times. I like the plot of the missing girl, and the secrets that are revealed. I felt like there was a lot of story that could have been edited out to make the book flow better and at a faster pace. I found myself so slowed down in uninteresting pages and pages of information. I wanted to just skip it and move on. I think reducing some of that down would make a better flowing read.

An atmospheric Gothic read that pulls at your heartstrings. Told over several decades , this family tale of dark traditions and unhappy people was a well written tight novel.

I struggled to enjoy this book. It was a mystery of sorts but there was too much back and forth between past and present for me. I will say the other did a wonderful job of building her characters, she really makes you hate a few people.

Catherine disappears from the train station. Where is she? Where did she go? The answers are full of secrets and hidden in the past. There is a lot of filler parts and I lost interest sometimes and just skimmed pages but all in all it's a good mystery read. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

I’m not sure what to say other than what a marvelous story! A tale unraveled, a mystery, and a curious custom. I read it in one day because I wanted to see how it played out.

Original review posted to Goodreads,

This book was just okay, I think it was a lot with all the different timelines thrown in and I found it difficult to get interested or invested in any of the story of characters. I like where it was going sometimes, but it is not one of my favorite reads and I don't think I'll be recommending it to anyone.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

""It's a funny old house. They have this ceremony every summer...There's an old chapel, in the grounds of the house. It's half-derelict. The Hunters keep bees in there. Every year, on the same day, the family processes to the chapel. They open the combs, taste the honey. Take it back to the house. Half for them -" my father winced, as though he had bitten down on a sore tooth. "And half for us."

Catherine, a successful barrister, vanishes from a train station on the eve of her anniversary. Is it because she saw a figure - someone she believed long dead? Or was it a shadow cast by her troubled, fractured mind?

The answer lies buried in the past. It lies in the events of the hot, seismic summer of 1989, at Vanes - a mysterious West Country manor house - where a young girl, Jane Lestrange, arrives to stay with the gilded, grand Hunter family, and where a devastating tragedy will unfold. Over the summer, as an ancient family ritual looms closer, Janey falls for each member of the family in turn. She and Kitty, the eldest daughter of the house, will forge a bond that decades later, is still shaping the present...

'We need the bees to survive, and they need us to survive. Once you understand that, you understand the history of Vanes, you understand our family.'"

It's been too long since I've read a Harriet Evans book. This will rectify that wrong!

I received an ARC of, The Beloved Girls, by Harriet Evans. This is a interesting and sometimes intense read. How are past shapes us for the future.

This seemed like a very long book but it kept me interested. The story revolves around the Vanes, a family manor in England. The Hunters are a well established family in the region although the coffers have been dwindling. Sylvia who we first meet as a twelve year old, is married to Charles Hunter. If it weren’t for her artistic abilities, there would be no real income. Sylvia and Charles have three children but don’t really seem to parent them. Sylvia is checked out and Charles is strange. Running alongside the story of the Hunters are Simon and his daughter. The lives of these characters center around a ceremony that is held at Vanes for the collecting of honey from an old chapel on the Vanes property. This book is rather disturbing because from the beginning of the book, it was obvious that something was very wrong about the house, the people and the honey collecting ceremony. Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central publishing for the DRC and exchange for an honest review.

This story was intriguing I was hooked from the prologue. I just knew it was going to deliver with the ominous feel it invoked. What I loved most is that no matter how much I tried I could never get it quite figured out which makes for an amazing book!
This book switches between periods of time giving you everything you need to know about all the characters and even though this story has quite a long going on I was never confused and knew exactly what was going on.
Both Kitty and Janey were the perfect characters and as I continued their story, but heart broke for each of them. So many secrets and so may lies but in the end the story comes full circle. Which all the darkness and menacing feel it was a fantastic story that I would read again.
Thank you to Netgalley, headline and Harriet Evans for my copy of The Beloved girls in exchange for an honest review.

Lengthy and tense with a family, a house, and ritual, add richly atmospheric writing, and a heavy dose of mystery to this novel and you’ve got a slight idea of what you’re thinking about reading. This story was so richly crafted that my above recap only gives you a concept of what you’re maybe looking at.

I’ll be honest, this was reading that required patience and attention - this isn’t a fun, fluffy read, it’s not really dark but there is a definite creepy factor in parts. The story moves back and forth over three separate timelines and there’s a deep tension all throughout. I found the beginning a little slow but it picked up nicely and I found that I was captivated and raced through the rest of it so I could find out what the ending would be.

The beloved girls by Harriet evans released may2022. The beloved girls is very slow moving. It was difficult to stick to.