I so wish this had been what the description said it was. Instead it was a kind of annoying couple-her whiny, him controlling. So what really happened was…nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. And then a bunch of changes in narrator to tell a bunch of different parts of the story. And then something. And then a bunch. And then just a mess. This just missed all of the marks.

Well, this was a bit of a letdown for me. I really wasn't impressed with the plot or character development. I liked how the book started off with such eerie vibes, but it completely fell flat. Don't even get me started about the ending. The twist was definitely not worth the read. Score one point for creating a story that's unforgettable and another for an absolutely beautiful cover! I will go back and try her previous book as I have heard a lot of hype about that one - in a good way.

I requested this because because I loved A Simple Favor. I figured this one would be pretty different based on the description. Lots of twists and ups and downs in this one. I want to be careful how I word things so that I don't give anything away. I really enjoyed the diaries and the isolation and the whole upstate feel of the setting. I did not love the gaslighting or the final twist of the book. I did enjoy this one, but I think it could've been better with a little more simplicity and focus on the house and characters. I will read her next book and I do like the way she builds suspense.

I'm not quite sure how to feel about this one. While I did like the main character and the spooky house vibe - I'm always down for a haunted house story - I think this one was a miss for me.
I feel like so many thriller writers are focused on "the twist," and trying to get in as many as they can, that maybe they miss out on other areas of the story needing attention.
Not a bad story, just not what I was expecting and I preferred her first two novels.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Author Darcey Bell blew me away with her debut novel, A Simple Favor, which was later made into a movie. It was a real page turner with so many twists and turns that readers couldn’t possibly see where they were going to end up.

While a sophomore book is hard to pull off after an incredible first book, Bell did it again with Something She’s Not Telling Us, a delicious page-turner that I read in one afternoon because I JUST HAD TO KNOW THE OUTCOME.

The third book is a letdown. In All I Want, the reader just wants to be done and forget about the time wasted reading the book. Ever since Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, writers of psychological fiction seem compelled to twist it up in their books, but this was a twist too far.

It sounds like the perfect creepy haunted house novel. Readers are promised Shirley Jackson-type overtones. But with no likable characters, an unreliable narrator, and no motivation for the characters to do the things they do, the book was hugely disappointing, not just to me, but to two out of three professional critics, as well as a good number of Goodreads members.

The premise deals with a young, expectant couple wanting to take on rehabilitating a Victorian mansion in upstate New York because they have more money than sense so why not? Of course, the mansion has a dark, dark history, which may be the best part of the book, but then that crumbles as well as the dilapidated country lodge. The last chapter is the coup de grace.

Darcey Bell is a preschool teacher in Chicago. She was raised on a dairy farm in Iowa. Readers know she has the talent to rebound from this book.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting January 20, 2022.

I would like to thank ¬Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

2.5 stars.

Emma and Ben are a wealthy young couple getting ready to welcome their first child. Ben, a Broadway producer with a successful show under his belt, wants to leave the city and move to a country home upstate. When he finds a listing for a Victorian fixer-upper with a dark history, it doesn't take long for him to convince his sweet, naive wife to relocate -- and to oversee a massive renovation project, while pregnant, while he returns to the city for work. All is not idyllic for Emma in their isolated new home. It isn't long before strange things start happening, and the vibe of the locals just seems off. When Emma discovers an old journal in the attic, she realizes the house's dark past may be seeping into its present.

After a somewhat shaky start with a weird and unnecessary prologue, I was really enjoying this book at first. I loved the tone, the pacing, and the structure -- which reminded me a lot of Peter Swanson's books -- and the "haunted mansion" vibe was fun and unexpected. I liked Emma's character; she was sweetly naive and neurotic without verging into the annoying protagonist territory. I think Darcey Bell did a good job keeping the reader off-balance throughout the book, and while the first big narrative twist was definitely outlandish and unrealistic, it still kept me turning the pages and was well-executed and entertaining enough.

But unfortunately, Bell just didn't know when to stop. This is a case where the second twist -- which comes in the last chapter -- was completely unnecessary and ruined the entire reading experience for me. When I finished the book, I was basically Adam Sandler in Billy Madison when he yells, "YOU BLEW IT!"

Ugh, such potential here, ruined by a writer's irresistible urge to go for that last twist. All I Want...is for the last chapter of this book to not exist. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I see that this book is getting a lot of low reviews, but I enjoyed it. The central theme is gaslighting. I found the book to be atmospheric, the characters are multi-dimensional, and I was guessing until the very twisted end.

All I Want, Is going to be one of my favorite books of the year. First and foremost, I absolutely LOVE Darcey Bell. Bell knocked my socks off with A Simple Favor. All I Want, surpassed every expectation I had. This is an author that we all need to be on the look out for as she is sure to continue to break the internet with her 5 star novels.

All I Want is a wild ride of love, obsession, and how far one will go to get what they want. Yikes!

The characters were multi-dimensional with so many layers. Everyone felt SO real. I found myself referring to them in every day conversation as if I really knew these people. The story line was captivating, I was instantly hooked.

All I Want , is a book you need to clear your schedule for. Don't think for one second you are going to be able to pick this up and put it down for even a second.

Do yourself a favor, BUY THIS BOOK!

Unfortunately this one was a miss for us. We did enjoy the atmosphere (creepy secluded mansion), but the characters felt flat and the story dragged a lot in the middle. We finished it to see what would happen, but the ending was disappointing and confusing… there are so many other great books in this genre that have similar themes and are better-executed. I would skip this one (sorry to the author!).

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟 3/5 stars

All I Want is a thriller that has such an intriguing premise with a synopsis that references Liane Moriarty and Shirley Jackson. It tells the story of Emma and Ben, who fall in love with a dilapidated Victorian mansion that has a creepy backstory. I love that storyline, but unfortunately this book did not capitalize on it.

This was just not the book for me. The writing style was not my favorite and, although the premise was enough to keep me turning the pages, that ending was not what this book needed. This was just a very odd book. I could see this working better on audio with a great narrator that could make the dialogue work. Sadly, it just missed the mark for me. I still give bonus points for the storyline, but hopefully Bell’s next book will be closer to A Simple Favor.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Full review to be posted on 1/18.

Thank you to the publishers at Atria Books and Netgalley for this e-ARC of All I Want!

I finished this one last night, and it really had me thinking long after that final chapter. I might be in the minority here, but I think Bell did something truly spectacular with this novel. Spoilers ahead, so feel free to skip if you’re planning on reading All I Want soon!

Emma and Ben are a married couple living in New York City. Ben is an up and coming producer, and Emma is excited and nervous about welcoming their new child into the world in January. In June, Ben tells Emma about a home he found up in the country that he thinks would be a perfect place to raise their child, an old dry out clinic for broadway actors 50+ years ago, complete with a private theater.

During their first visit to the home, Emma sees a woman and child standing in a field. Confused as they really are in the middle of nowhere, she points it out to Ben who doesn’t see anything. When she mentions it to the realtor, she blows Emma off.

After they purchase the home and begin renovations, Emma finds a mysterious notebook in the attic that describes a young pregnant woman that lived here awaiting the birth of her child. When too many coincidences appear throughout her story, Emma decides to tell Ben about the notebook, except it’s mysteriously disappeared. Ben thinks she’s made it all up. This pattern continues throughout the story, with Ben continually gaslighting Emma whenever she tells him something or suspects him of cheating.

Told mainly from Emma’s POV, we eventually see a few other POVs nearer to the end of the story, which really wraps everything together. Emma’s suspicions are not so unfounded as they appear to be. Many readers have hated the final chapter, but I think it adds to the main theme of the story: being gaslighted. As a reader, were we just gaslighted the entire time, or was it the ultimate gaslighting for Emma?

I really enjoyed this story. The characters were all quite unlikeable, but I think that adds to the overall danger that Emma seems to sense going on around her. These people are all untrustworthy. Even her husband, who should be her ultimate protector, secretly hates her guts. The ending was a wild ride. The second to last chapter felt highly unrealistic, with a too happy fairytale ending, and the real ending left me utterly confused. I think she did an amazing job of leaving us angry and astounded, and ultimately feeling like we were the ones being gaslighted!

All I Want is available wherever books are sold!

This is a tough one to review. I really think this had potential. I was intrigued with the idea of Ben and Emma buying the creepy house that comes with a past. When Emma found the diaries I was fully invested. and wanted to know more about the history of the house. However, it felt the storyline started to drag and I was losing interest. Then it seemed once we got to understand the other characters POV's it took on a completely different vibe. I wouldn't have minded that but it seemed to go down a rabbit hole and was a completely different book.

What really didn't work for me was the choppy sentences and dialogue. One minute I was listening to everyone converse but then it seemed like the author would interject with commentary of what was happening so I felt that at one point i was a fly on the wall immersed in the conversation to then being narrated to what was going on. It was odd.. The sentences were a little choppy, it reminded me of a children's book in a way---example:: See spot run. Look spot is running. Run spot run. I don't' mean this as a dig to the author it just seems the sentences sometimes were too simplistic and goes back to being narrated to, if that makes sense.

I did enjoy A Simple Favor and really believe this had potential just between the narration and the ending(seriously?) I have to lower my star rating. When it took a turn to different POV"s I was like hmmm I may like this but then it fell flat for me as I again felt it was just someone telling me what happened just from a different perspective.

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for my advanced edition in exchange for honest review

Unfortunately this was a total miss for me. I am disappointed to report that because I loved the movie A Simple Favor (never read the book), so I had high hopes. Emma was a super unlikable character-- I wanted to shake her and wake her up to what was going on with her husband. Although I finished it quickly, it was because I just wanted it to be over. Honestly, I should have just jumped ship. Also, what was that ending??!? Respectfully, this was just a "no" on all fronts.

Love Darcey Bell and this was a great read, but.....I am confused by the ending. I'm not sure if it was intentional on the author's part or not, but it was not clear and I really don't know what to think about the final scene. Even so, I would recommend this because it was very engaging. There was a lot here that reminded me of The Haunting of Hill House (mild version) and I loved following the characters as the plot weaved in and out of their lives. Just be prepared to not feel truly fulfilled at the end.

Emma and Ben are having a baby and they want to move to a bigger place and out of their New York City apartment. They both fall in love with a historic Victorian mansion in a rural part of New York. The house needs a lot of work and has a dark history. That doesn't seem to bother them too much, that is until strange things start to happen to Emma! Is all of this real or is she imagining everything that is happening to her?

This story started out really strong I was hooked to the creep factor and I LOVE old historic houses and the history behind them. About the half way mark, the story slowed down a bit and was not that engaging. The ending, however, took me by surprise and I was shocked. So I applaud the author for that, she really took me by surprise! Even though this was not my favorite book from Darcey Bell, it was still an enjoyable read and I look forward to her future works.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

Ok… so I was into and invested.. felt satisfied and then was left scratching my head thinking wtf… if the author had just left if I would have rated it higher. No need for the extra twist.

A couple is looking at a dilapidated old home. The ending and big reveal are very weak and one of my least favorite tropes ever. The book overall is wxtremely forgettable. The final chapter ruined the book for me and is very far fetched.

So many twists and turns that literally had me saying, "Wait, what?!" In the best possible way. With devious (yet likeable!) characters, this book will have you turning pages to follow Emma and Ben's marriage and the numerous other relationships that impact their world. A true psychological thriller!

Thank you Atria for the early copy of this book.
While I did finish this I can say that I found my self skimming from about the midway point till the end.
I have read so many books that involve Gaslighting lately and this one was just to far fetched.
Darcey Bell does write really well I just felt like this story was so out there that I could not get into it.

What a great ride! I had to take a minute after I finished to let everything sink in. The writing was really good in A Simple Plan, but I felt the characters were more fleshed out in All I Want. I truly did not know where this was going and was astonished at the ending, an ending that will have people talking! I will for sure be ordering this for my shop and hand selling!