After the initial pages, I found myself not connecting with the story or characters, so I decided to pass on this book. Did not finish

Wow, this book had me on the edge of my seat - it was so captivating and creepy I could not wait to get to the end to see how it all played out. While I enjoyed the story immensely, I was a little disappointed with the ending. I wanted more resolution with Frank. That said, this story was highly original and unique. I will definitely be recommending this book!

The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes is an atmospheric psychological thriller with an unreliable narrator. This debut novel features twenty-five year-old Maya who is still haunted by her childhood best friend’s death (Aubrey West) in front of herself and Frank Bellamy. Seven years after that incident, Maya has tried to start a new life. She has moved in with her boyfriend, Dan. She’s trying to kick a secret drug habit that started when they were originally prescribed for her after the incident in high school. Then Maya sees an online video of another girl sitting across a diner table from Frank. The girl dies on camera and Maya’s past hits her like a brick. With fuzzy memories of the events seven years ago, Maya is determined to discover the truth of what happened then and more recently.

Maya and Dan’s characters have depth. Maya is intelligent, loves poetry and reading, and likes a good buzz. However, she hasn’t been able to write after college. Is she delusional, is she in danger, or is it all a dream? Dan is kind, open and honest, loves books, is studying for law school exams, and is a procrastinator. The secondary characters of Maya’s mom, her friend, Aubrey, and Frank play pivotal roles in the story.

The premise for this book was good and the characterization and atmosphere were great, I felt the story could have taken place anywhere, not Boston, Amherst, and Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Additionally, the story felt disjointed. The story goes back and forth in time and this disrupted the flow and adversely affected the pace. Despite this, it’s a good novel with some important themes including addiction, communication, honesty, trust, and manipulation. I also learned something about Guatemala and its history of internal conflict. The way this information played into the story line was unique.

I definitely wanted to know what really happened to the two young women that died. Were their deaths natural? While the ending tied up most threads, there were still a couple left up in the air. I wanted more closure and less of an abrupt ending. However, the ending plot twist was unique and intriguing. The last 25 percent kept me turning the pages rapidly.

Overall, this psychological thrill felt menacing and chilling at times. It also had suspense, interesting characters, and a thought-provoking story line. If you enjoy psychological thrillers with an unreliable narrator, then this may be the book for you.

PENGUIN GROUP Dutton and Ana Reyes provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for January 03, 2023. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.

This was sort of a slow burn to start but I actually ended up really liking it! It was a good thriller and the twist was unique. I thought it was a good debut for this author and once I got into it I thought it was pretty fast paced. I also enjoyed the outcome.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the author for an advanced copy. Opinions are my own.

Will be reviewing a physical copy of this one. Thank you again for the ARC and hopefully this opens up a space for someone else.

First off, the premise of this book pulled me right in. Hazy memories, creepy woods, secret messages in a book? yes! I did enjoy aspects of this one, but wanted just a bit more. Would read more from this author! 3 1/2 stars

I really wanted to like this book but it felt like a chore to finish. I could not get into the story and didn't like the characters. The plot has many fast and slow points and it would have been better with a steady plot and fleshed out characters

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a copy of this title in exchange for a review. An interesting thriller with elements of magical realism.

Seven years ago, Maya witnessed the inexplicable, sudden death of her best friend, Aubrey. She's never really recovered from it and now she's trying to overcome an addiction to prescription sleep medicine and a tendency to self-medicate with drinking. Although she's in a good relationship, she knows she needs to confront her problems to keep it that way, so she returns to Pittsfield, where she grew up, where Aubrey died, and where Frank, the man she blames for Aubrey's death, still lives. As she investigates the events of that summer, Maya sometimes wonders if her mother's greatest fear--that Maya may have inherited the family mental illness that killed her aunt--is true.

This unusual suspense thriller is intriguing and enjoyable. It's impossible not to feel sympathy for Maya and not to mourn Aubrey along with her. What is mystifying is why people are drawn to the super-creepy Frank. #TheHouseinthePines #NetGalley

The House in the Pines was an interesting psychological thriller. This novel follows the story of Maya whose best friend, Aubrey, died suddenly and unexpectedly while in the presence of Maya and Frank, Maya's boyfriend. Maya, certain that Frank did SOMETHING to Aubrey, but unable to figure out exactly what, goes to college and begins partying. The story picks up seven years later, with Maya watching a YouTube video in which another woman dies in Frank's presence. Convinced he has murdered and gotten away with it again, Maya goes back to her hometown of Pittsfield, Ma and begins questioning people there in hopes to return her own lost/repressed memories and finally get justice for Aubrey.

I enjoyed The House in the Pines because it took place in my home state of Massachusetts. It is always interesting for me to read a novel that has a familiar setting and landmarks. I also really liked the twist when we figured out what had actually happened to girls. I felt like I should have picked up on this earlier, but couldn't place exactly what was going on. Was something supernatural happening, was Maya simply losing her mind, was she choosing to repress traumatic memories? This book kept me guessing until the end.

I do think the author could have done a better job developing the relationships of the love interests in the story. I understood the love Maya felt for Aubrey, but her obsession with Frank in such a short time was a bit confusing. She has minimal interactions with him but was head over heels for him. I felt the same way about Dan. Maya describes her love for him multiple times, but we don't really see that love in the relationship - particularly because he ignores her for most of the book.

Overall, I enjoyed the plot and twist at the end, but thought the writing and relationship development could have been improved. It was a quick read and entertaining thriller. 3/5 stars from me!

Easily 4.5 stars!! If you're looking for a fast-paced, clever psychological thriller look no further! This book is addictive and hard to put down. This was my first experience reading anything from Ms. Reyes but I look forward to enjoying more of her works in the near future.

Maya is in a terrible place she is suffering from the Wooddraws after being addicted to Clonopin for years and she’s miserable she finally is in a good relationship and wants to settle down and she is even buying stuff for her and Dan’s new apartment. Is it things were bad enough she sees a video online that has gone viral with a girl at a restaurant in her hometown that just passes away and the reason this rocks Meyers world is because her best friend died the same way and with the same guy. Maya and Audrey we’re childhood friends and stay friends until her untimely death. They were seniors in high school in Maya started seeing Frank who she was so into but then after she insisted he meet her best friend. The next thing Maya knew she was catching Frank and Audrey together and was there when Audrey passed away all of a sudden. Frank was good looking swave and seem to meet every need a girl could have he even had his own cabin in the woods it was always warm beautiful with great smelling food on the stove with the roaring fire and it all felt like home. Suffering from with drawls and after seeing the video Mya desperately wants to go back to her childhood home. She finds it extremely suspicious that two girls would just pass away at such young ages in front of the same guy from natural causes. So she’s going back tap the very least see what you can find out about the date the last girl died this wasn’t her down the rabbit hole that does have a bottom and what she finds out will not only rock her world it may just end it. This is Anna Reyes‘s debut novel and I was so excited to read it and wasn’t disappointed but found some parts to be all over the place and then some parts I felt very long winded. Having said that though I didn’t have to make myself stick with it the book is very interesting and there’s a little bit I rolling involved but not so much that it takes away from the book. I would definitely recommend this to those who love thriller books with an original plot and If you love mysteries with a twist then you love the new book by Anna Reyes. And I certainly did. I want to thank NetGalleyg and the publisher for my review copy I am leaving this review voluntarily but please forgive any mistakes I am blind and dictate my review.

I LOVED this debut novel from Ana Reyes. This twisty thriller keeps you on the edge of your seat as the main character, Maya, tries to prove that her ex-boyfriend is the person who killed her best friend years prior. She believes he has killed again, and enough is enough. Along the way, she realizes that her mind has tricked her in the past. She learns a lot about herself.

I found that some reviewers weren't happy about the plot... Saying it was all too far- fetched. It's a fiction novel, and I enjoyed the mind games throughout.

The biggest negative that I found was the way each chapter began. We were constantly going back and forth between the past and present... Which I like in most books. In this book, however, the chapters don't make it clear as to what year we are going into at the start of each chapter. I found myself reading a page or two before realizing what I was reading.

United States Publication Date: January 3, 2023

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for this advanced reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

Seven years ago, Maya's best friend Aubrey dropped dead in front of her and she's convinced that the other person who was present, her recent boyfriend Frank, is to blame. But she could never prove it. Her boyfriend, Dan, knows nothing about Maya's past or her present drug and alcohol dependence to get through each day. The drugs have run out and Maya is withdrawing and then she sees a video of a woman dying that has gone viral. To her shock, the woman falls over dead and the person with her is...Frank. Immediately, Maya knows she was right all those years ago about Frank and his involvement in Aubrey's death. Fueled by her withdrawal and need to bring closure to that part of her life, Maya decides to go back to her hometown and figure out how Frank is killing people without touching them or giving them anything. As Maya continues to withdraw and remember what happened 7 years ago, the truth begins to drift to the surface until Maya finally knows what happened. But will anyone believe her?

This started and ended up falling flat for me. It lacked the ability to grab my attention. I could never quite buy into Maya's character and the storylines surrounding her. And the big reveal was, in my opinion, very anti-climatic. I didn't guess it but I wasn't super impressed by it, it felt very "huh?" to me. And at no point did this ever feel like a thriller to me, it felt like a story that wanted to be a psychological thriller but couldn't quite get there.

I love psychological thrillers, so I was pretty excited for The House in the Pines. Unreliable characters can be hit or miss for me, and our main character Maya is definitely unreliable. She’s addicted to Klonopin and suffering through withdrawal that she’s trying to mask with alcohol.

One night she stumbles upon a viral video of a woman named Cristina, who suddenly dies in front of man in a diner. But when she realizes the man is a guy she used to date named Frank, Maya is triggered and completely unravels. Her best friend Aubrey died years ago, in the exact same way but Frank walked away innocent and Maya was put on the very drug she’s addicted to to cope with “mental illness.”

Maya risks the demise of her relationship with her boyfriend Dan to return home and confront Frank. Returning to the cabin he built in the woods leaves her with more questions and confusing memories that she had unknowingly suppressed, and she quickly finds herself in the same position as Aubrey and Cristina.

The House in the Pines was a quick read, but it didn’t have much to it. I liked Maya and felt for her, but I felt like I was wanting a little more from it. All in all, I did enjoy it and would read more from Ana Reyes. Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Randomhouse and Dutton for my review copy. The House in the Pines will be published 1/3/23.

3.5 stars. This upcoming thriller probably won’t be for people who are over the drunk female protagonist trope, but it does have another plot point that is unique and that I haven’t seen done before. The story goes back in time between the present and 7 years ago, and I did struggle occasionally keeping track of which timeline I was on, but overall this was an enjoyable read to end 2022 with.

The House in the Pines is a psychological thriller (debut) that will leave you ready for more from this author!

The story follows Maya, who is currently withdrawing from Klonipin, and trying to move forward with her life even though her mind drifts to her small town and the death of her best friend more often than she'd like. After watching a video online of a death eerily similar to that of her friend, Maya abandons her fiance to return to her hometown and explore the peculiar circumstances behind the two seemingly identical deaths.

Ana Reyes definitely delivered with her debut novel and I found myself wrapped around the pages as I burned my way through this novel. I liked the ties between past and present and that the time jumps made sense as the story unfolded. The inclusion of Maya's Guatemalan heritage was a great addition as well as her father's manuscript. This novel does give an unreliable narrator in Maya as she struggles from withdrawal and slight alcoholism, so it was interesting to read through and wonder if the past she remembers is slightly altered due to her dependency. This was definitely a multi-layered story, but I didn't find it to be too much at all - I did think all of the elements worked well together.

I tend to love debut novels. This one was unique, but as it went on it bacame bizarre and disjointed. Maya is an interesting MC, but is just a little too scattered for my taste. The slow burn style was good, but the resolution left me very disappointed and seemed very far fetched.

I felt for a debut novel, the story was pretty good. There were a few problems like how the story went from past to present and you were never sure at first which each chapter was. Maya was an unreliable narrator so I couldn't tell sometimes what was really happening. Also, the ending was unsatisfactory. I liked Ana Reyes writing style so I will read her next book.

This book should have been a thrilling short story. Instead, it's a long novel — well, the actual page count is 336, so it's not long in word count but it is long in getting to the point. Here's the synopsis. A girl named Maya is shocked when her best friend dies while having a conversation with a guy named Frank. Years later, another woman dies in front of Frank and Maya is determined to get to the truth.

OK, so it's pretty mysterious premise. But it takes too long to conclude and when it does, the ending is so abrupt you'll wonder what the hell you just read.

Extra star for the cover art.