Ugh could not get into it! I finished it, but it felt like a slog. I liked the premise but the main character just did not click for me.

If you like stories about creepy cult like places and podcasters then Dark Circles by Caite Dolan-Leach is for you! Think new age spiritual retreats in the woods and people dying. The tension in this book was suffocating at times, in a good way. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy reading about cults, amateur detectives, and podcasters. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Okay, this is a tough one to rate because I really really wanted to like this one.
I enjoyed the first part immensely and it captivated me. Olivia is an actress going to stay in this wellness retreat but learns it’s a whole lot more than just a retreat after seeing a dead body being pulled out of a lake.
The story goes back and forth from present day and to a podcast she is producing about a true crime case linking deaths of 4 women.

However, after 25% of the book it just began to drone and wane on and it was so convoluted to make sense of what was going on and what direction it was going in. I stopped at 70% and I rarely do that but it just didn’t get any better for me.
Too many books too little time.

This book on paper seemed like something I'd love, but the reality was that the plot was kind of a mess with lots of loose threads. The writing and descriptors were strong, but it felt like a letdown from time to time. Rating 3 stars.

This was a story that held my interest but also was able to disappoint me at the end sadly. I enjoyed the idea of an ominous cult type organization that seemed to know everything about their clients. However, some of their former clients mysteriously died and so that sets the wheels in motion for our main character, Olivia Reed, whose manager has sent her to said "retreat" entitled The House of Light, for a spiritual reawakening and had become the fodder for the news, so her manager, felt time rehabbing might be just what Olivia needs.

Olivia has gotten herself into a bit of a very compromising position. She meets another participant, Ava, who makes her aware of some mysterious deaths and puts Olivia on the trail of finding out what really is behind this so called retreat with its mysterious creators.

She, of course, runs into danger, is cast out of the House of Light, but can't let the dead girls out of her mind. She with the help of others starts a podcast and then the floodgates open.

As I said I was totally invested in the story, but that ending was like falling off a cliff and was totally disappointing causing this reader to drop my star rating to a three.

However, thank you to Caite Dolan-Leach and NetGalley for a copy of this book that was published in May.

I had to pick this up because I really liked We Went to the Woods by the same author. I found it well-written and compelling at first, so the average Goodreads rating confused me, but We Went to the Woods also has a low average so I brushed it off. I really enjoyed the setup, meeting Liv and the House of Light. Olivia is an actress who had a recent public outburst that prompts her assistant slash best friend Jess to send her to rehab. The House of Light is more of a spiritual retreat and Liv thinks she knows exactly what she's in for. Since this is a literary thriller of sorts, I think we all know that things end up taking a turn.

After the first third, this began to drag for me. I felt like the various elements didn't quite mesh and some things began to get repetitive. It was just missing that <i>something</i> to make it feel compelling. It was a bit of a disappointment for me because I did like the concept of integrating a podcast into the narrative (which I think was done well here) but I struggled with the novel as a whole. I also found one of the final twists to be unsatisfying and wasn't convinced by some of the character motives. I'm really hoping I get along better with Dolan-Leach's next book.

Book review: Dark Circles by Caite Dolan-Leach
Dark Circles is a suspense novel with a plot that centers around cults, mysterious ritualistic deaths and the popularity of true crime podcasts.

Olivia Reed is a successful tv actress that found herself in the headlines after climbing drunkenly on her boyfriend’s fire escape in front of the paparazzi. Her manager arranges for a visit to a rehab center (House of Light) which emphasizes clean living and spiritual awareness. But when one of her roommates tells her about the series of young women that were found dead after visiting the center Olivia starts her own investigation. After getting kicked out of the House of Light Olivia turns her obsession with the dead girls into a popular podcast.

Dark Circles has a really complex layered story which not only involves the ritualistic deaths of the young women around the solstices but also Olivia’s own family history and her mother that walked out when she was a teenager and was never seen again. Much of Olivia’s fascination with what happened to these girls is rooted in never knowing exactly what happened to her own mother. Dark Circles is fairly slow-burn with a lot of detail about Olivia’s searches for places to stay after she leaves the House of Light, her beloved dog, interviewing witnesses and her complicated relationships with both her friend/manager and her father. Readers that like a lot of action, juicy bits and twists would probably find these sections slow but I thought it added to the overall plot. Olivia herself could be snide and selfish and sometimes her demons got the best of her. This definitely wasn’t the sweet angelic main character who did all the right things for the right reasons but I found her entertaining.

Overall, this was an enjoyable slow burn suspense novel with a “ripped from the headlines” type cult. I enjoyed the podcast angle and Olivia’s backstory especially her relationship with her father and the unsolved mystery around her mother.

3.75 stars

In Dark Circles, Caite Dolan-Leach combines two of my obsessions - true crime podcasts and cults - with a fresh take on both subjects. Olivia Reed is a star, a paparazzi favorite with a history of acting out. When she gets sent away on a spiritual retreat to the ominously named House of Light, she encounters some dark secrets. With plenty of twists and a satisfying ending, Dark Circles checks all the boxes.

There’s something not quite right about the House of Light rehab center, where dead women keep turning up, and Liv is determined to get to the bottom of it. The premise of the story is curious, but I found I could not get into it as I would have liked. It was a bit slow and drawn out, and lost my interest rather early on I’m afraid to say. The writing itself is not at fault but the storytelling piece didn’t capture me.

Dark Circles by Caite Dolan-Leach is a hard to put down thriller. An actress hits rock bottom and heads to House of Light to regroup and ride out the storm. After hearing concerning things and seeing some herself, she is told to leave but cannot forget what she saw. Starting a podcast about what went on and what is probably sgill going on gets her into trouble and has to choose between her own safety and finding out the truth.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I enjoyed the atmospheric suspense of this novel! At times the story was a bit redundant with a lot of aide plots, but overall I found it engaging and a worthwhile read.

There's a pattern of books being written about cults lately, and I have been enjoying this take on society. I also enjoyed the podcast angle, as someone who really enjoys true crime/mystery podcasts. I really appreciated the addition of the Reddit threads too; so I would say this is a social commentary. The writing is very detailed, and I had a very hard time putting this down.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

I requested this book mainly because I've always been interested in learning about cults and I read quite a bit about the LDS and Scientology so this subject matter intrigued me..
This turned out to be a fun read with engaging characters, an intriguing plot and plenty of atmospheric tension. I also pick up every book that incorporates modern culture (such as podcasting) in it. The podcasts components were well written and brought more to the story.The podcast sections were freaking fantastic, realistic, and fascinating, though I felt that the pace dragged a bit in places but it really picks up at the halfway mark. I enjoyed the mystery and the setting of this very readable novel with twists and turns that keep you absorbed till the very end. Additionally, I loved Liv. I really enjoy characters who are flawed and realistic. Maybe they drink too much, maybe they're a little selfish or rude, but they're always interesting and they have a lot of room to grow.

DNF at ~25%. I cannot quite pinpoint what I didn’t like specifically, but couldn’t get into the story. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the free ARC in exchange for a review. Hoping my next read is more of a hit.

I really enjoyed this one! I have a strange fascination with cults, so this was right up my alley. I liked that there was so much more to the story than just an actress digging into a possible cult. It was also her personal story about her struggles, which just added to the drama of the mystery.

I'm new to the thriller/suspense genre, and sort of still just dipping my toes in. So take my feedback with a grain of salt, haha! There are a lot of characters and events referenced where I was left feeling confused, and I see after finishing this book that Caite Dolan-Leach has another book (Dead Letters) that maybe I was supposed to read first? But there's nothing in the blurb of this book that suggests there's a prior book, so I don't know, maybe it was just me. Sadly I didn't like this enough to go read Dead Letters and see if that would have helped.

*I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for my honest review.*

A novel about a cult-like group, but this one seems to be plagued with suicides by members or previous members. And the person leading the investigation is a 20-something semi-washed out actress with a moderate drug problem. Characters were hard to relate to or to even like.

The cult and the learning model was interesting enough that it seemed like a new spin on spiritual learning. I would probably read this author again.

This starts out as your typical Hollywood type gets into trouble and has to go to rehab to clean up their act. But this story is much much more. Olivia finds out about 4 girls who have gone missing and are thought to be dead. She finds herself on a trail to discover what happened to the missing girls. What will Olivia uncover?
It is an intriguing story with an unexpected twist at the end.

Thank you to netgalley for complimentary copy.

Olivia Reed needs a break. She doesn’t want to think about her name plastered on tabloids or be reminded of her recent meltdown on a Manhattan street. Her micromanaging publicist has just the thing in mind: a remote retreat in upstate New York—the House of Light. It’s not rehab; it’s a Spiritual Center, a site for seeking realignment and personal growth. There will be yoga and morning meditation, soft bamboo-blend fabrics and no shortage of crystals to cleanse her energy.

But Liv will soon find that the House of Light is filled with darkness. A prickly local, Ava, informs her that something twisted is lurking behind the Light’s veneer. There have been a series of mysterious suicides committed by women caught in the Light’s web, and no matter who Ava talks to, no one believes the Center is involved. To find out what’s really happened and put her celebrity to good use, Liv starts a podcast, seeking to connect the dots and expose the Light’s true intentions. Because beneath the glowing skin of the Light’s inhabitants lie rotten souls, and Liv starts to wonder if anything—even her own life—is how it appears.

Caite Dolan-Leach brings her tantalizing voice, her gift for atmosphere, and a cast of delightfully devious and absorbing characters to this riveting novel of suspense.

Dark Circles by Caite Dolan-Leach was my first by the author and after reading this I'm really looking forward to what else she brings us in the genre. This story is told through the POV of a celebrity actress and her podcast series she is creating to investigate the mysterious wellness center she has attended. When the secrets of her life all start to intertwine with the center, things really start to get messy. I found this to be more suspenseful than thriller, but never found myself losing interest. It started a bit slow but the latter half of the book was full of twists and red herrings. A lot of authors are starting incorporate the true crime podcast theme into their thrillers but this was a bit unique in that the main character was developing the podcast while also living her life after the center so the two plot lines were deeply intertwined. I thought this was very unique and that the ending twist was a bit predictable given the foreshadowing but that it was still shocking for the reasons behind it. Overall, I thought this was a really unique suspenseful novel and I would definitely recommend this to readers who love watching a story unfold through the lens of an investigative podcast.