Disturbance started off really strong following a protagonist, who is never named, recovering from the trauma her ex-boyfriend left her with after emotionally and physically abusing her. I thought this was incredibly well written and an interesting twist on how people who are coming out of abusive relationships deal with it and this case the protagonist turns to magic. However I felt like this fell a bit flat in the second half because there wasn't much happening in the plot and I was waiting for the horror to come, which it never really did. Although I did like this I think the ending needs to be a bit less abrupt and maybe the genre changing from horror to more of a drama/general fiction.

The narrator (do we ever learn her name?) is living tentatively and nervously in a new flat, trying to heal (survive?) after escaping an abusive relationship. She works from home and eavesdrops and watches her teenage neighbor and her best friend as they dabble in witchcraft.

Atmospheric and claustrophobic, narrated so perfectly in a nervous yet vaguely apathetic voice by Walker-Booth, the MC is bedeviled by a presence in her home, conjuring flashbacks of the manipulation and anger of her ex.

This is an enveloping story of anger and forgiveness, denial and healing.

I love an unreliable narrator! Is any of this (ALL OF THIS!) happening? A short journey into the mind of a young women trying to find herself, heal herself, forgive herself.

When I saw this book was horror and witchy I think I had the expectation that I was going into a readalike of the Craft which would have been cool, but the horror expressed in this book was actually a lot more terrifying.

I still don't think that horror is the appropriate assignation for this little book. It's not colorful with blood and flashing knives, it examines the real horrors of a person systematically broken, both physically and emotionally, by the abuse that they've experienced.

Our narrator is 26 and one night, sees the utter devastation a boy has wreaked on her teenage neighbor, as well as the ritualistic, witchy spell her neighbor does after.

Then she begins to think that magic can heal her from the trauma of her last relationship - a man whose abuses started small with tiny comments, culminated to cheating, leaving her locked in a hot car.

The way the writing was here was GREAT. The narrator excessively uses the phrase "my boyfriend" as she dissects her past, making the point that though this man isn't in the picture anymore, she's different than the happy, sweet person that she was formerly and the real tragedy of his abuses is the bruise that he's left on her soul.

It's her past that makes her see in her neighbor's boyfriend what she's just escaped from and through helping her do that, she comes back to herself and finds her voice again. I was left feeling like I didn't know if the magic in this was ever real, whether the true magic was survival all along.

3.5 stars. In Disturbance, an unnamed 26-year-old narrator becomes involved in witchcraft with her teenage neighbor and friend, in an effort to heal from the effects of the abusive relationship she's recently left.

Calling Disturbance a horror novel is really doing it a disservice, and setting a certain expectation for readers that the book doesn't quite meet. Based on the description, I expected a book filled with occult rituals and violent spirits, but that's not what Disturbance delivers. There are horrors here, but they are not supernatural. Instead, they are the all-too-real horrors of an abusive relationship, conveyed by Jenna Clake in unflinching, harrowing detail.

Once I adjusted my expectations and settled in to the flow of the narrative, which unfolds on a non-linear timeline, I was completely riveted. Clake's writing is straightforward and flowing, with a hypnotic quality to it, and her exploration of domestic violence and its aftereffects is devastating in its authenticity. Her unnamed protagonist's narration is full of vulnerability and uncertainty, which makes readers sympathize with her, even as we watch her go about her healing in such an ineffective way.

The witchcraft subplot really just serves as a catalyst for the narrator's healing process and kind of fizzles out as the book goes on, but Clake has important things to say about the destructive and long-lasting effects of abuse: the loss of self-confidence, the mental distress and paranoia, and, hopefully, the healing and rediscovery of so much that was lost.

Catrin Walker-Booth's narration of the audiobook is haunting and full of feeling -- thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the early listening opportunity.

3.5 stars. Disturbance was a — well, disturbing read! It's short and fast and I enjoyed the story and the "twist" near the end. I'd classify this as more a "light" horror genre, as there are no blatant horror elements and it's more of a psychological suspense novel. In general, I don't like reading about abuse or domestic violence, but I suppose this was a bit different for me since our MC is looking back at those events in the past, after getting out of the bad situation. Overall, I enjoyed this book and the somewhat scattered was-it-magic-or-just-my-imagination journey of our unnamed female narrator.

Thank you to Jenna Clake, WW Norton, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for my advance audio copy.

I want to start off by saying that this could be a good/neutral book for a lot of people, but I really did not like this book. I was pretty disconnected from all the characters and everything that happened. The premise of this book is definitely something that could have blown me away, but man did it not hit.

There were a good amount of sensitive topics tackled in this book, but it was lost on me. The narrator is recovering from domestic abuse, but the magic made me not feel anything. If this book was any longer I would have for sure Dnfed it.

The audio I think was what ruined this book for me. I'm not totally sure how to describe it or why, but I just hated listening to this and I'm kind of sad about it.

The Premise: A woman in a new flat sees her younger neighbor and a friend performing what she perceives to be a spell or form of magic in the garden to banish an ex. The woman decides to have a go and banish her own abusive ex from her life.

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I *hate* giving one star reviews. I avoid them as much as possible, and really only pick books that truly speak to me, especially when applying for advance reader copies. But man, this book is in the wrong genre, and falls flat for me in all the ways, but it has great marketing, I'll give it that.

All in, this book is much more about abusive relationships and the fallout and PTSD that comes after. The gaslighting on the part of MC & her ex (neither of which are ever named as far as I could tell, which, while it's a stylistic choice, it makes things a bit hard to follow when she says "boyfriend" over and over while also jumping timeframes and developing a bit of a relationship with a new guy as well, even if MC says she isn't truly interested...), the PTSD of feeling 'some kinda way' about the situation, the loss of friends and family, and the desperation to control the situation from all sides.

This story read much more as though it were a portrayal of mental illness and PTSD than a portrayal of anything supernatural. The only horror here is the horror that we can inflict on ourselves and others.

On the one upside, the audiobook narration was fluid and clear, though it was very difficult to tell what was happening and when, as it jumps around without very clear indications of the timeline switches.

I really enjoyed this in the beginning and was excited to see where it was going to go. The premise was very intriguing. Unfortunately, the second half fell flat for me. The horror was almost like a flash-sideways dream that I wouldn’t classify as horror. The ending was left undone to me as well.
Thank you again netgalley for this opportunity to review Disturbance

Disturbance is a book that I actually listened to twice. After I finished the first time I was so confused I had to go back again and I’m glad I did. I missed a lot of the key parts of the story due to some confusing writing and below-average narration.

The story focuses on some heavy themes, domestic abuse and the aftermath that follows. The first time I listened I didn’t pick up on everything. I was very distracted by the lack of emotion in the narration so I originally did not like the unnamed main character. She came off as someone who just needed to be in a relationship and didn’t care about anything else. This could not be further from the reality and I got that my second time around.

I love when I’m wrong. This was a case of me being wrong. My first read through I didn’t even know how to rate it because I didn’t follow anything and was always lost. On a second go around my brain just seemed to get the material better and I enjoyed my time with the book much more.

This is not a book you can multitask with. You have to put all your concentration in it. If that’s something you like then I recommend this book.

Another tale of a battered woman looking for a unique way to escape her past instead of just... you know... something logical. Same story, different setting.

This is a slow burn, a horror that builds, and maybe the worst kind of horror, the kind when you aren't exactly sure what took place.
When a young woman moves into a flat to begin to heal from the dissolution of her relationship she looks out her window at the goings on around her. Working from home, she has very little to do and still obsesses over her broken relationship. When the woman sees her teenage neighbor casting spells in her garden, she is transfixed - can she do the same? Short, powerful and a through provoking read that is sure to say with you long after #Dreamscapemedia #Disturbance #JennaClake

This book portrays domestic violence and its aftermath really well. I didn’t feel the witchcraft really had a place in the book and it really didn’t even fully come into play until the end. The book ends leaving a lot of unanswered questions. It’s a good book but isn’t a favorite.

Disturbance was a quick and easy listen. It was an interesting take on abusive relationships and the pain and trauma they continue to cause after the fact.

The narrator lives alone in her apartment that she moved to after escaping an abusive relationship. She is nosey and spies on her neighbors through the peep hole in her door. She discovers the teenage neighbor and her friend are performing dark magic, becomes interested, and begins to learn from them in the hopes that it would help resolve her issues.

This was a very average read. I was truly expecting more horror given the synopsis and the ending was rushed and left many questions unanswered. If it were longer or if I had been reading rather than listening, I'm not sure I would have finished.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A young woman, recently out of an abusive relationship, gets caught up with her teenage neighbor, Chelsea and Chelsea's friend, Jess, while trying to hex her ex-boyfriend. When the spells and hexes go wrong, the narrator's flat seems to emanate hostility and general wrongness. The narrator believes if she can help Chelsea it will also help her get over the abuse and emotional instability she is feeling. You honestly feel her anguish and upset. Very emotional.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this audio e-arc.*

The unnamed narrator in this story has just moved into an apartment alone, after leaving an abusive relationship. Out of the window one night, she sees her neighbor’s daughter, Chelsea, and her friend performing what appear to be magic spells and incantations. She soon learns Chelsea is “using” magic to deal with Chelsea’s own toxic relationship. Will black magic avenge our narrator and her young friend? Ultimately this novel is about the after-effects of abuse on the psyche and finding a way back

Many thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the free audio book in exchange for my honest review. This is narrated by Catrin Walker-Booth, who does a fantastic job of pulling you into the story!

A young woman has recently broken up with her boyfriend and now lives alone in an apartment. She is fixated on a teenage neighbor who similarly, has broken up with her boyfriend. The teenager and a friend appear to be performing spells on the ex-boyfriend and the narrator becomes intrigued. Could she as well perform the spells to banish her ex?

Its clear that the narrator is recovering from domestic abuse and in a Rear Window fashion, is seeing her own trauma reflected in her neighbor. While the premise is really good, the delivery just falls flat for me. The narrator is dealing with a lot on her own, unreliable and depressed. So staying in her head with reading her POV, just did not work for me. I did not like the characters and just did not feel invested in the story.

I stuck with this as its short but had it been longer, this would have been a DNF for me.

Jenna Clarke did a good job writing about the aftermath of an abusive relationship. Abuse is such a sensitive topic and I feel like it was handled with care. This was a really quick listen for me. I think the narrator did a good job with the narration. I do think the synopsis was misleading, I personally was expecting a horror novel and to me that is not what Disturbance is. Though I enjoyed my experience I think I would have enjoyed this more if my questions at the end were answered.

This book was just ok. The premise had so much promise, but I was expecting a more creepy vibe. It was not creepy at all. The best part is that it was a short read.

Not to be dramatic or anything but I'd take a bullet for this author.
Our protagonist is struggling and she's trying to cope in the only ways she knows how. In the process she befriends two teen girls who are dealing with their own stuff. She fully recognizes that they are babies and gets protective. It's sweet. It's creepy.
Also her flat is going through some stuff. It's got flashing lights, sounds, and water turning on by itself. And she's just sitting with it. I find that to be kind.
I loved every word. I loved the narration as well.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book was an interesting ready but not something that I enjoyed. I can't really say why so take my thoughts with a grain of salt.