I would describe this book as a contemporary horror drama.  This is a story about a 26-year-old woman who retreats into a claustrophobic apartment in a new city to escape an abusive ex-boyfriend.  As the unhappiness is so much, she decides to do what desperate people do, resort to a greater force, in an attempt to improve her life.  There are those who resort to God, she resorted to witchcraft and the question that prevails is: what is scarier?  the power of our mind or witchcraft itself?  I really liked the approach to the subject, and the way the author showed how the mind of a woman who suffers abuse works, whether physical or psychological one. 
What I like d less: I would like the author to give more framework to the story of the narrator, that is, I would like to better understand why the woman allowed to continue in a relationship like this.  Lack of self-esteem?  something that didn't go well in childhood?  or because she had a more dependent personality?  As it was not addressed, it left me intrigued!  And the fact that I don't know the name of this woman, The author opted for the narrator's total anonymity and it made me confused not to know what to call the narrator.  But I understand the author's choice. 
Thanks to #netgalley and #dreamescapepublishing for giving me the opportunity to have access to such a great book

#disturbance, #jennaclarke, #netgalley, #dreamscape

When I tell you that I jumped at the chance to read Disturbance that's an understatement. Waving a horror book with witchy vibes in front of me is like dangling a carrot in front of Olaf - consider us unstoppable until we get what we want.

The premise behind this book was one that I was not only excited for, but one that I was sure I would absolutely lose myself in. Unfortunately, this story missed the mark for me.

Our MC is a 26-year old that has recently moved into a new flat after leaving her abusive boyfriend. We follow the protagonist as she attempts to use black magic in order to banish the negativity that seeped into her soul.

Sounds pretty darn good, yeah? I agree - it sounds amazing. I'll keep this short and sweet when I say that the unnamed narrator came off as whiney. The fact that she was "friends" with two people so much younger than her also really threw me off. I couldn't get my brain past those two major flaws.

I liked this book. It's about a woman fleeing an abusive relationship who decides to get into a little black magic when she sees her teenage neighbor performing spells. It has an unreliable narrator, and was not exactly what I was expecting. But I liked that about it.

I have to be honest, Disturbance by Jenna Clake wasn't my cup of tea. I personally struggled to connect with the characters and the overall story. The premise held so much potential, but it fell flat for me.

The book tackles sensitive topics, particularly domestic abuse, but I didn't feel the impact I was hoping for. The incorporation of magic into the narrative didn't resonate with me, and if the book had been any longer, I likely would have stopped reading altogether. It's disheartening because I had high hopes for this book.

While Disturbance may find an audience among certain readers, it unfortunately missed the mark for me.

2.5 stars ⭐️
“disturbance” very strikingly portrays the lasting effects an abusive relationship has had on the protagonist and how, during its aftermath, it still taints her perception on a day to day basis. i thought this sensitive topic was addressed in a very thoughtful manner and the novel was generally really well-written.
however, the witchcraft plot seemed a little random and not that well developed, which definitely made me disengage a little. the ending, too, was rather abrupt and a bit dissatisfying.

Thought-provoking. What would you do if faced with trauma, turmoil, abuse? Would you move forward as an adult with strength and conviction? Or would you wallow in grief and fear connecting with your younger self? This book explored the implications of abusive relationships in a way I haven’t read before - black magic.

The narration is well done and felt like I was entrenched in the main character’s thoughts. Paced just quick enough that we could feel all the conveyed emotions.

Thank you NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and author Jenna Clake for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

With some books I simply can't believe they're debuts. Clake, being a poet, clearly has a way with words, but must also be blessed (burdened?) with a deep knowledge of human nature, because I have rarely - if ever - seen certain types of people conveyed so dead on. Her descriptions of human interactions, the heat wave that adds to the protagonist's unease - the uncomfortable escalation of her abusive relationship, even though I thankfully never experienced one myself. I was completely immersed in it regardless, because it was so skillfully put into sentences.

I keep reminding myself that Disturbance was merely narrated to me. The unnamed woman falling in with two young girls practicing witchcraft, that could be anyone. The family next door and the edgy teenage neighbour she hears coming and going through the house - you've met people like them. The haunting she incurs - didn't something similar happen to you too, once? And was that truly a haunting? Or a series of coincidences? Or your hurting mind and heart?

Not a single wasted word to find in this book.

Disturbance is a fascinating book told in the perspective of a domestic abuse survivor who becomes intrigued by her neighbor. It's tightly written and no words are wasted in this slim novel. I was immediately intrigued by the novel as I was brought into the narrator's world. We learn about her tumultuous relationship with her ex-boyfriend and the mental and emotional struggles of recovery. The story becomes more and more disturbing as we're not sure why her apartment seems haunted by him. I listened to the audiobook, which was perfectly narrated by Catrin Walker-Booth. This won't be for everyone, but this was quite a chilling read.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing this ebook/audiobook ARC. All thoughts are my own.

The main character is a woman recovering from a four year long abusive relationship. She lives in an apartment with thin walls and spends most of her time spying on her neighbors. Chelsea, one of her neighbors, is in a relationship similar to the one our narrator has escaped from. Chelsea performs a magic ritual that the narrator witnesses, then tries to imitate. She inserts herself into Chelsea's life in an attempt to rescue Chelsea from her boyfriend and herself from the memories haunting her.

While the author certainly portrays domestic abuse accurately, it doesn't exactly make for good fiction. It often reads like trauma-dumping, and the narrator is so frustrating that she is difficult to sympathize with. It's almost too relatable, without adding any original commentary. The book would perhaps be better served by targeting a non-horror audience.

Thank you to the publisher for the ALC. Such a creepy and engrossing thriller I couldn't stop listening to.

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

In the beginning of the book we meet the main character who is getting to know her neighbors by eavesdropping on them one of them is a teenage girl she witnesses fighting with her boyfriend Ben sees one of the girls friends come over and they do some type of ritual to banish any yearning for the neighbors boyfriend. Our main character decides she needs to do that but unlike the neighbor we get to see the consequences and throughout the book get to know her abusive boyfriend Eddie from her flat Bing haunted to having a super amount of flies hey Siri really summoned negative demons or can this all be explained. This book was a super surprise to me I felt so bad for the MC who if they said her name I missed it so I’ll just call her and say she tried so hard to get her boyfriend to love her and seem like she would do anything but in the end he was just an abusive jerk and it all made for a great book the narrator did an awesome job and set a great tone for such a spooky listen. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Great potential, but the story was just okay. I almost wish it was longer and more developed! I loved the narrator, though. I could recommend this to certain readers.

Jenna Clake’s Disturbance revolves around a twenty-six-year-old woman as she struggles to cope in the aftermath of an abusive relationship. Our unnamed narrator has recently moved into a new apartment after ending an abusive relationship that lasted for over four years. She is haunted by her experiences, traumatized to the point that she feels like she is always being watched, almost as if her former boyfriend is still a presence in her life. She also believes the strange occurrences in her new home are indicative of sinister forces at play. She does not socialize with her neighbors much (though she does keep her eyes and ears open), is wary of seeking professional help and works from home, limiting her interactions with the outside world. One day she observes her teenage neighbor Chelsea and Chelsea’s friend Jess performing an occult ritual of sorts and gathers that they are casting spells to “banish” Chelsea’s boyfriend with whom she is having problems. Our narrator befriends the girls and gets embroiled In their lives and their problems all the while hoping that not only would she be able to make sense of her own life and deal with her trauma but also protect another young girl from a toxic relationship. She befriends a young man by the name of Eddie, who encourages her to seek professional help. As the narrative progresses we follow our unnamed narrator as she deals with the consequences of choices she makes.

The author is unflinching in how she dissects the relationship between our unnamed narrator and her former boyfriend – the emotional and physical abuse and gaslighting and what that does to our narrator’s sense of self – her denial, self –doubt and how she is unable to emerge from her feeling of suffocation, self-blame and fear even after ending the relationship. The narrative is presented from the limited first-person POV of our narrator and we are given an intimate look into her psyche as she experiences traumatic memories, paranoia, and fixation with her neighbor’s relationship problems (projecting her own experiences onto what she believes is a toxic relationship in the making) and her obsession with spells and the occult as an outlet for her frustrations.

Touching upon themes of toxic relationships, domestic abuse and mental health this is an intense (bordering on claustrophobic) and atmospheric read. However, the ending might prove a tad less than satisfying for many readers with too many threads unresolved and much of what transpires left to the reader's interpretation. Needless to say, this is not an easy read but it is a thought-provoking one.

I paired my reading with the audio narration by Catrin Walker-Booth, who does an exceptional job of conveying the narrator's state of mind and setting the tone for this atmospheric read.

Many thanks to W.W. Norton and Company, Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the digital review copy and the ALC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This novel is due to be released on July 4, 2023.

𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗹𝗹, 𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼-𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸.

There is our unnamed Narrator, she's 26 but we'll never going to to know her name in this Story. Neither will we ever know the name of her Ex-Boyfriend.
She just 'recently' moved to this apartment.

It all starts with her obeserving a witchy ritual between Chelsea and Jess, at night. A ritual with chants and a stone.
Chelsea is the neighbour's daughter, Lis and Mark Walker, and Jess is her best friend.

The walls in the house seem to be very thin, since our Narrator can hear almost everything.
From Chelsea fighting with her parents, to Chelsea talking to her somewhat on and off boyfriend Joseph.
But also her other neighbours, Alice and Sean, having sex all the time.

This Summer will be a wet, hot mess for our Narrator as she is drawn into witchcraft and happenings in her flat which might be supernatural or just her imagination.

It's hard to tell since our Narrator is quite unreliable… or is she not?

As she tries to banish her abusive Ex from her life, she starts to feel as if someone or something is stalking her in her own home.

The only one who might seem to help is her co-worker Eddie. But is she ready to interact with a man after the traumatic years she went through and let him into her life? Or is it just too much for her to cope with the whole situation?

¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦ · ¦ ߹ ¦

Two important bits first!
01. If you want real hard horror, you are wrong here. While this (Audio-)Book has that supernatural feeling to it at certain times, it deffinitely is up to you as the reader/listener to decide if this all in her head or IF there really is somethign going on.

02. The narrator, Catrin Walker-Booth, did great here. I liked her accent and enunciation of words. Her voice was awesome in this Audiobook. A great choice!

Now, my thoughts.
I was a little bit sad, that we didn't get more into the witchy bit and that this wasn't the fictional horror it could have been.
BUT, all in all this was a great Book! (With the 'real horrors' of life and how we deal with them.)

The Narrator was a victim, scared and easily confused by almost everything, most probably because of what had happened to her during her last relationship.
I was really sorry for her… her ex-partner was a gaslighting a**hole. (And even worse, but I do not want to spoil this for you)

I really liked Eddie, the only one I would actually call a friend of hers.
He was there for her, even if she sometimes kind of ghosted him. Maybe Eddie will be a reason for her to try and get better… go through everything and start try healing?

The rest of the people in this story were common people, just like you and me, but I had a feeling as if I could only focus on their faults.

𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫… 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝!

I can easily give this a 4 Star Rating, I really did enjoy it!

Woah - first I just want to say that this book resonated with me in such a deep and tough way that it’s hard to review it without that lens. There were so many different elements mixed in that somehow worked well together: domestic abuse, witchy rituals and spells, and the path back to one’s self to name a few. While the domestic abuse was hard to read, I saw so much of myself and my own experiences through this character in such a a heartbreaking and eye opening way.

I recommend going into this one expecting more general women’s fiction with sprinkles of witchy shit, rather than a straight up horror book, and just enjoy the story. Thank you so much Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for my ALC!

3.5-3.75 stars

This was kind of a fun story, but it was a bit less exciting than I’d anticipated. I was expecting more horror elements than it actually contained; there were a few tense moments, but that was it. I also found it amusing that the protagonist wanted to explore witchcraft and spells…so, naturally, her primary learning came from Google and YouTube searches. All in all, I didn’t mind the book, but I just feel like some pieces could have been a bit stronger.

I thought this was an incredibly accurate take about the aftermath of leaving an abusive relationship. You are willing to try anything to feel better...including black magic?! YES! I wouldn't necessarily categorize this as a horror though. With her neighbor's relationship, it shows you can't make someone leave their abusive partner until they are ready to. I highly enjoyed this story and loved the aspect of the black magic rituals.

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

This book took me completely by surprise! The narration was fantastic and fit the main character perfectly! The story is about a woman getting out of an abusive relationship and getting her own apartment. She gets invested in one of her new neighbors when she starts noticing strange stuff going on. I don’t want to say much more without giving anything away. This book is definitely a unreliable narrator situation, so make sure you’re cool with that before jumping in!

I am so bummed out. I really wanted to love this!

I went in with such high hopes and it fell flat for me.

While I appreciated the journey the narrator took as she left her abusive relationship, I wanted more from the storyline. I expected/wanted a lot more to happen with the witches next door.

Great premise, I just wish it had been executed differently.


*Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review*