This was such a quick read for me and it was so difficult to put down. I was so engrossed in this story and loved the writing style. This was heavily focused on infertility so I’d keep that in mind if that’s a triggering subject for you before you read this one. It really broke my heart at times and I really felt for these characters.

Solid psychological thriller. The twists made me question everything and I liked that the perspective flipped half way through (a la Verity, where suddenly everything you believed is flipped on its head).

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

Man this book was a ride for sure!!! I had the pleasure of reviewing Magpie by Elizabeth Day for #netgalley and I’m so glad I did! There were so many twists in this book I was t sure what was real and what wasn’t. What starts as a relaxation shop story—-a couple longing for a baby takes a turn into a psychological thriller that leaves you wondering which end is up. I can’t give a more specific review without spoiling but this one isn’t one to miss! Part relationship story, part journey to motherhood and part mental health twists…pick this one up for sure. #magpie #netgalley #elizabethday #bookreview #booksarelife

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. A great mystery thriller novel. Recommend

👩‍🍼 I generally enjoyed this domestic thriller, but I did have a few issues.

👩‍🍼 There are two major twists in the story. The first one comes quite early, and I honestly saw it coming a mile away, so it fell flat for me when it finally happened. But I was still intrigued enough by the situation to continue.

👩‍🍼 The second twist was a little more impactful, which made me more concerned about the characters and involved in the story. However, the cause of the “twist” was resolved so easily that it was ultimately dull.

👩‍🍼 The ending was the main issue for me. It was way too perfect and neat. For a thriller, I was very underwhelmed. Actually, I wouldn’t even call it a thriller now that I’ve read it. It is much more like women’s fiction.

👩‍🍼 All that said, I did appreciate the dual perspectives about what was going on, and there are some interesting themes in the book that I think were handled well – particularly regarding mental health, infertility, and motherhood. If those themes interest you, I think you might appreciate this book.

Thank you @NetGalley @SimonandSchuster for an eARC of this book, which I have read and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Jake and Marisa rent a room to Kate in order to make ends meet in their new house. Marisa and Jake have been trying very hard to get pregnant and that process isn’t helped by Kate’s intrusion into their relationship. That’s part one of the book - then comes the Big Twist, which did surprise me.

The book veered back and forth between Marisa feeling insecure and put upon and Kate feeling insecure and put upon. Jake just tried to please everyone (but especially his domineering mother) and did what he was told to do by the women in the book. This is not a thriller and not suspenseful but I did want to know how it turned out so I kept reading. The ending was actually a little wimpy. This is the second book I’ve read by this author and I thought that were both just OK.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

She has almost everything. The rest she’ll take.

Single White Female meets The Perfect Nanny in this taut, psychological suspense novel about a perfect couple and their seemingly perfect roommate—that is until she threatens to destroy everything they’ve worked so hard to create.

Marisa and Jake are a perfect couple, and Kate, their new lodger, is the perfect roommate--and not just because her rent payments will give them the income they need to start trying for a baby. Except no one is perfect. Sure, Kate doesn’t seem to care much about personal boundaries and can occasionally seem overly familiar with Jake, but Marisa doesn’t let it concern her. Kate will soon be gone, and it will just be her, Jake, and their future baby.

Conceiving a baby is easier said than done, though, and Jake and Marisa’s perfect relationship is put to the test through months of fertility treatments and false starts. To make matters worse, Kate’s boundary-pushing turns into an all-out obsession--with Jake, with Marisa, and with their future child. Who is this woman? Why does she seem to know everything about Marisa and Jake?

In her quest to find out who Kate really is, Marisa might destroy everything she’s worked so hard to create: her perfect romance, her perfect family, and her perfect self. Jake doesn’t know the half of what Marisa has created and what she stands to lose. Magpie is a tense and twisting novel about mothers and children, envy and possession, and the dangers of getting everything you’ve ever dreamed of.

My review: honestly this one is a hard one to review, I felt that in the beginning I liked it and was intrigued but I started to loose my interest about half way through. So I would probably have to give this a 3.5 because I was probably a 4 in the beginning and a 3 at the end.

An unforgettable story with a wild twist that will have you racing to the last pages to see how it all ends. Marisa and Jake meet and get right to the point. Both are looking to start a family immediately. They move in, and things are going well, until one day Jake's job is no longer as stable as it once was. Next thing you know, they decide to take in a lodger, Kate, but not only does she move in to their house, but also moves in on Jake. What comes next, you'll have to read it to believe it. Excellent and kept me interested until the very end.
*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is my own opinion*

Creepy, creepy, creepy but in such an amazing way! Take all of your worst fears about a relationship and money and put them together - tempest in a teapot time!!

A story that starts out like a nice novel of nice people getting along and helping each other through tough times...until it turns into an intense read about confused identities and mean intentions. Who the heck is Marisa, really, and who is Kate? The novel is tough to sort out, which is the best reason to keep turning the pages.

This book felt like it started out to be about one thing and then took a major left turn into territory that had nothing to do with the original premise promised to the reader. There were some really nice surprises -- Annabelle's take-charge attitude when Marisa breaks down, for example, was a change from other books in this genre. However, What started as thriller kind of morphed into a family drama. It was confusing and disappointing all at the same time. And at the end, I was left wondering why on earth the book was named _Magpie_. Other than a couple of appearances of the bird, it didn't seem to bear much weight -- literally or metaphorically -- on the story at all.

This didn't really do much for me at all.

I really enjoyed this one but I will say it took me awhile to get into it. There was something about it that despite the interesting plot and good writing that just did not suck me in right away. That being said I still recommend Magpie if you enjoy thrillers/mysteries.

Elizabeth Day gives a well-written voice to the sadness of infertility, the misunderstandings surrounding mental health and the stereotype of evil mothers-in-law. The book stalled in places, but the audiobook version made the lags tolerable. The shift in voices, from Marisa to Kate, are confusing, but ultimately truths, or at least as they personally interpret them, are revealed.

Premonitions abound from the beginning. A creepy house. A tenant without boundaries. Dealing with infertility puts the principles on edge. The pull of motherhood, the failure of IVF treatments. The narrative moves just at the right moment. What remains is a story with depth and insight.

This book absolutely floored me. I did not see any of the twists coming and they just kept coming. Elizabeth Day does a fantastic job of introducing you to these characters and making you understand them and then immediately turns everything on its head. This is one of the best thrillers I have ever read, and I highly recommend it.

Okay now that's a twist!!! FUN!!!
I didn't think I was going to like this book as much as I did. I was expecting lots of musing about motherhood (and there was lots of musing about motherhood) but there was so much more. A fascinating protagonist. A weird little love interest. A compelling villain. That's all I can say without spoiling. What a fun time!

Magpie is cleverly-plotted story about with three women who are involved in the surrogate birth of a child. Kate is Jake's girlfriend. The couple would like to have a baby, but Kate is unable to carry an infant to term. Marisa is a woman in her twenties who (spoiler alert) decides to stop taking her mental health medications when she becomes the surrogate for Jake and Kate. Annabelle is Jake's mom who takes in Marisa to care for her during the pregnancy. So, there are three females, all with different agendas, surrounding Jake, a guy who just wants to be a dad. Kudos to Elizabeth Day for crafting a good page-turning novel who has readers wondering who the crazy person really is. Slightly similar to Julia Fine's The Upstairs House, but each book shows pregnancy and mental health in a different way.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

This book has some serious twists and turns, and quite a dark side once it comes out.

Marisa and Jake are starting out their lives - they have not known each other long, but are moving in together to save money and start their family. Marisa does not have a family anymore and hopes that this will help her with her feelings of loss. Jake is there to support her and is a great shoulder to lean on. As they try to conceive, funds become tight in the house and they agree that they should rent out the extra room.

Kate moves in and "takes over the house." Marisa starts becoming resentful of Kate and lashes out. However, all parties are not who you think they are.

It is hard to post a summary about this book without giving away the major twists that happen. There were some issues with the back and forth; however, it was a very interesting concept and I would read another book by this author.

The book in one word, was crazy! In all honestly in delves into mental illness at the heart of it so maybe crazy isn’t the exact word I would want to use. But once you start listening to Kate’s point of view in the second half of the book you really start to wonder who is in their right state of mind.

Overall I liked this book, the writing was good and so was the storyline!

***thank you Netgalley for and ARC copy in return for an honest review***