The book starts out from Marissa's viewpoint - telling the story of her and Jake's new relationship and their desire for a child. When Jake suggests getting a lodger to share expenses and quicken their plan, Kate moves in. Once the viewpoint switched to Kate, things seemed to not be as originally thought. It was a weird transition that left me thinking there was going to be another switch. I felt disappointed at the end, expecting so much more.

I think I was just mostly...confused? It felt so slow paced that it was difficult to keep track of characters - but once it finally did pick up, I was already a bit lost and confused. I just wasn't grabbed in anyway. Part II started off with a bang - but because I had already spent time with the characters...and wasn't invested...even the wild twist couldn't keep me engaged.

It’s intense when you really want to have a baby, but there are hurdles to overcome. Whether those hurdles are physical, financial, about timing, or don’t fall into any of those categories, it can be hard for women to silence that biological clock that just keeps ticking. And many women, will stop at nothing until they hold their cherished newborn in their hands.

Jake and Marisa are expecting a baby, but have taken on a lodger, Kate, in order to make more money. It’s a bit peculiar to me. Having had three children, the last thing I can imagine wanting to do is to have someone I don’t know staying in the house to witness all the crazy. Not only that, but Kate kind of becomes a problem and Marisa is super confused about what to do.

This is really one of those books I can’t say too much about. But I can say that three’s a crowd and just wait until Jake’s mother gets involved….

Special thanks to Netgalley and and Simon and Schuster for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review.

The themes of "Magpie" are infertility, surrogacy, and mental illness. Spoiler Alert—The reader must determine which of the two women in the tale is inventing stories in her mind as the plot centers on them and one male. One of the women is in a long-term relationship. Sorry if this sounds confusing, but so is the story. Reading this one sent my head into a tailspin. I wondered just what the heck was going on. However, reading of the sorrow experienced by a young couple as they learn to live with the woman's inability to conceive and the painful details of her IVF treatment is what saves this novel. I sank into this part of the tale empathizing with the woman. Still, I am sure other stories deal with IVF, and they will not make you dizzy. Maybe, the author shouldn't have mixed the genres.

This book was great until the ending. It starts out with Marisa's point of view then switched to Kate's which makes the story blow wide open. The contrast between the two points of view made the story that much more compelling. The only issue with the book I have is that the ending could have been better, it seemed a little far-fetched to me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.

The gaslighting is strong with this one.

Whew. I think a lot of people will absolutely love this book. It is suspenseful but I am just over the books where the woman to gaslit into thinking she is crazy or mental health is used as a trope.

So for me this book was not my cup of tea. But I do think a lot of people will enjoy it.

A frenetic paced page turner! You are spun around and unsure what to think until the very end. I'd recommend it to people who enjoy dark, twisty suspenseful plots.

I got into this book in only the first few pages. There were so many twists and turns and unexpected events. I would have never guessed the ending, but I’m so happy it ended the way it did!

This psychological suspense novel is about a couple who, after years of struggling with infertility, decide on surrogacy. I didn’t love the pacing of the story and the ending felt rushed….even with the entirety of the book dragging on. The title, ehh…like I get it, but just a symbol loosely intertwined (I think only twice) was anticlimactic at best.

Thank you to NetGalley & Simon & Schuster publishing for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Marissa and Jake find themselves in a whirlwind romance upon meeting each other. Everything seems perfect and they decide to expand their family, but when Marissa has troubles conceiving they decide to look into other options. The couple meets Kate and she seems to be the perfect fit to help them on their pregnancy journey. Kate moves in and things seem to be going great, until they aren’t. As Kate seems to be moving closer to Jake, Marissa finds herself worrying about how things will all shake out. Told from the alternating perspectives of Marissa and Kate this book will keep you on your toes and wondering which of these ladies to believe.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC.

An amazing book with a fabulous twist in the middle! Loved it! Gripping from beginning to end. I found the motivation of the ultimate villain to be a little hard to believe, but other than that, it's fabulous.

The plot was kind of all over in this one, but pretty easy to follow along if that makes sense🤷🏼‍♀️ i felt like it was pretty easy to see what was going to happen next. The ending twist was pretty much what i expected it to be besides a couple details. But i guess that’s kind of what excited me to speed through the last 25% of the book because i wanted to see if i was right! I liked the 2 different POVs because it really made you second guess all of your expectations. Over all a 4 star read for being a book i was kind of intimidated by!! Thank you Netgalley for the eARC!!

I was really surprised at how much I liked this book. The character development was really strong and the twists/reveals were well-paced. I loved the manipulative narrative voice - at no point did I know how I should feel.

Wow this book is not just your normal fairy tale love gone crazy book. This book is a new kind of crazy that is so amazingly good you won't be able to put it down. I read this book in one sitting. I couldn't keep away from it, it is that good!!!!!!!! I will definitely check out Elizabeth Day's previous books.

This is a quick little thriller that I did enjoy. The twist pops up about halfway through and I began to second guess everything I already read. May do another read through knowing the ending to see if I catch it. I didn't care for the ending we got, but I would still recommend it for the rest of the book.


Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC.

DNF at about 50%
It started of interesting, but then it got boring and repetitive and I hated all of the characters. Based on other reviews, I would not like the ending.

I loved this book so much that I purchased my own physical copy. I really loved the overall plot and the heartbreaking themes throughout. Great story!

What a ride. I went up, down and all around with this twisty tale and it was great!
I will admit that the wind down and ending were a tad disappointing.
But overall, a great ride. Tangled web mystery that will leave you reeling!
Thank you for the ARC!

Interesting book with dual MC perspectives. I figured out what was going on very early on, but I was still interested to see how it played out. Unfortunately, the ending felt a little "meh." I think I wanted more of a "showdown," but everything kind of fizzled in out in the last 1/3 of the book. However, the author did a wonderful job accurately portraying the anguish of infertility. A decent, quick read!

I am a sucker for a good thriller but the thriller needs to be captivating with twists and turns you aren't expecting until right up to the big reveal. This story, however, was pretty predictable. It was pretty easy to determine who the villain was in Melissa and Jake's story. In addition, I found the ending to be a bit unrealistic. Normally with thrillers, the ending still leaves you a little on edge and shocked, however, the ending of this book was a little too put together and perfect, not matching with the rest of the story.