This was quite the spooky read. It packed an emotional punch that I wasn't expecting and I still find myself thinking about it every so often. This one really sticks with you!

I'll Be Waiting is the consummate ghost story that will have you questioning everything when a young woman who feels that her deceased husband is trying to speak to her and decides to his old family homestead to get closer to him. Only to discover that there are very good reasons why you should never cross the veil between life and death.

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

This one is a supernatural horror which is not normally a genre I would consider. Haunted-house, seances, lost loved ones, and a sinister spirit? This one was creepy and will give you goosebumps. Could not put it down because I had to know what happens! Recommended

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing an advanced copy for an honest review.

I just finished I’ll Be Waiting and honestly, it stuck with me longer than I expected. It’s not your usual ghost story — it’s way more emotional and layered. Nicola has already been through so much with her illness and the heartbreaking loss of her husband, Anton. When they decide to do a séance at this old lake house, things get seriously creepy. Doors open by themselves, weird noises echo through the house, and there are all these unsettling moments that kept me on edge.

What really hooked me was Nicola’s complicated past and the secrets she’s holding onto. The story isn’t just about ghosts; it’s about grief, trauma, and trying to make sense of your life when everything feels out of control. The tension builds slowly but surely, and Kelley Armstrong nails that creepy, eerie vibe without going over the top.

Final thoughts: If you’re into ghost stories that go beyond just scares and have some real heart and depth, this one’s definitely worth a read. It’s spooky, emotional, and pulls you into Nicola’s world in a way that sticks with you. Perfect if you want something atmospheric but also thoughtful.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher!
I started reading this book and-very smugly-thought I knew what was going on from very early stages.
Delightfully, I did not and was utterly surprised at the end.

I can't wait to read more books by Kelley Armstrong. I'm not completely sure I would classify this as horror, but maybe a paranormal thriller. That's just me, though. But this story is a breath of fresh air that the main character is someone who wound up being someone with a disability and things took a weird turn for her. Overall, this story is pretty good.

Nicola is grieving the sudden loss of her husband, who died in a car accident. As he lay dying on the side of the road, he made her a promise: he would be waiting for her. Now, struggling to move on, Nicola finds herself drawn to mediums and séances in a desperate attempt to contact his ghost, but Nicola can’t help but see through the tricks used by these "psychics." As a compromise with her concerned family, she agrees to stop after one final try with a researcher, not a psychic. who shares her healthy skepticism. But when they retreat to a secluded lake house, Nicola experiences things that make her question her marriage and her past A fast-paced and entertaining read.

For Nicola the unthinkable horror has already happened, her husband died tragically in an accident. Being diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis usually means death at a young age, but Nicola has managed to make a life for herself and plans for the future. With this death shattering what took so much to build she finds she cant let go of her husband. She becomes addicted to seances and spiritualists hoping desperately to make contact. As she tries one last time to make contact using a more reputable source-a skeptical scientist, strange things start to happen...

I absolutely loved this spooky book! This was my first book by this author and won’t be my last. The story instantly hooked me and kept me turning pages late into the night.

I’ll Be Waiting is horror novel with a lot of supernatural elements. Read if you enjoy books that will have you looking over your shoulder, ghosts, possession and spiritual connection. I loved the flashback scenes and finding out what happened in Nicola’s past and the dark mystery of what actually occurred with her friends. It was so twisty and unexpected, I seriously didn’t see any of that coming. This was definitely a five star for me. Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC!

Wow, this book was a *ride*! The beginning was confusing in a good way, wondering what was going on and who were all these new characters. The middle was a bit slow in that everything we thought we knew was being challenged. And the end of the book was just chaos. A culmination of all of the madness. This was my second Kelley Armstrong book, so I knew there was a good chance of horror and supernatural events.
This book took me a little bit to get into, I'll be honest. It wasn't feeling it until about 20% of the way in, but then it picked up and started running.
I did pick out one of the big twists at the end, as info that seemed relevant was deliberately left out, so I got suspicious.
It was interesting having a protagonist who was a little bit unreliable but was aware of that.
Overall, this book was kind of 'brain candy'. Not something serious or that I'll be thinking about past today, but still kind of fun while you're reading it, especially if you're looking for a supernatural escape that isn't the all-consuming fae or cozy witch subgenres. Fun, but not life changing.

I’m thankful for the arc of this book. I haven’t really read any of the author’s works but I did enjoy this one for the most part.

I really enjoyed this supernatural horror novel. Thank you so, so much to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for allowing me to read this title!

Blurb:
Nicola Laughton never expected to see adulthood, being diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis as a child. Then medical advances let her live into her thirties and she met Anton, who taught her to dream of a future… together. Months after they married, Anton died in a horrible car crash, but lived long enough to utter five words to her, “I’ll be waiting for you.”

That final private moment became public when someone from the crash scene took it to the press—the terminally ill woman holding her dying husband as he promised to wait for her on the other side. Worse, that person claimed it wasn’t Anton who said the words but his ghost, hovering over his body.

Since their story went public, Nicola has been hounded by spiritualists promising closure. In the hopes of stopping her downward spiral, friends and family find a reputable medium—a professor of parapsychology. For the séance, they rent the Lake Erie beach house that Anton’s family once owned.

The medium barely has time to begin his work before things start happening. Locked doors mysteriously open. Clouds of insects engulf the house. Nicola hears footsteps and voices and the creak of an old dumbwaiter…in an empty shaft. Throughout it all she’s haunted by nightmares of her past. Because, unbeknownst to the others, this isn’t her first time contacting the dead. And Nicola isn’t her real name.

That’s when she finds the first body....

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Woah. So, Nicola is living with Cystic Fibrosis and isn't expected to live long. She marries Anton with the knowledge that she probably won't make it past their first year of marriage. Then, one day, they get into a car accident and Anton dies, which makes Nicola ask a loooooooot of questions about mortality and the purpose of her own life. However, right before Anton dies, he says" I'll be waiting for you." Years have passed and Nicola still replays the image of Anton dying in her mind and seeks to know where he is and if she can contact him from the great beyond, despite being a sceptic.

This book had so many twists that it had me, literally, biting my nails. I was audibly gasping and sometimes left sitting on my couch just starting at the wall in awe trying to process what I read. There were some really creepy moments in this book. I. LOVED. EVERY. SECOND. OF. THIS. BOOK. Having lost a loved one myself and having always had an hankering to know whether the "great beyond" actually does exist, this hit home for me.

What a great book. This was my first Kelley Armstrong book, and I already know that I will read her other ones.

Another great book from Kelley Armstrong! I really like that the more acclaim she has received in her career the more she writes whatever she wants and honestly, it's so fun. Might go back and read The Summoning series now.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

This was an absolutely perfect read for the spooky season. I couldn't put it down, like most of Kelley Armstrong's other books. It was also heartbreaking and romantic. Definitely will recommend to customers.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. I have read a few books by Kelley Armstrong and really enjoyed them, so I was excited to read this one. It was well written and provided enough suspense and intrigue, but it was gorey. There were moments in the book where I was confused at the story, but that might have just been where my mind was at. Overall a great read. 3.5 stars

Kelley Armstrong has been one of my all-time favourite authors since I was a teen in the late 2000s. Her captivating writing always entranced me from start to finish, and I'll Be Waiting was no exception.

I'll Be Waiting is a beautiful unsettling novel that walks the line between supernatural thriller and psychological drama. Set against the windswept shores of Lake Erie, the novel takes a more gothic turn compared to Armstrong’s usual action-oriented thrillers, trading chase scenes and complex conspiracies for creeping dread, emotional weight, and a deeply personal haunting.

The story centers on Nicola Laughton, who's carefully maintained world is upended when she marries Anton, a kind and gentle man who falls for her quickly, and dies just as suddenly in a car crash shortly after their wedding. His final words are “I’ll be waiting for you”, and they become an eerie thread that runs through the story, calling Nicola back to his family’s beach house, a place both emotionally charged and steeped in secrets.

Armstrong’s writing in this novel is restrained, allowing the setting to do a lot of the heavy lifting, and it works! The house most of the plot takes place at is isolated and perched at the edge of a harsh, unpredictable lake, pulsing with tension. It’s full of locked rooms, strange sounds, and fading memories, a perfect mirror for Nicola’s own mental state. Her grief is palpable, but never melodramatic. Her chronic illness, too, is written with sensitivity and realism. It isn’t used as a plot gimmick, but rather shapes Nicola’s outlook and interactions in subtle, powerful ways.

The novel unfolds in two timelines—past and present—which allows Armstrong to deepen the mystery piece by piece. As Nicola reconnects with Anton’s family and begins to uncover what really happened at the time of his death, she’s also navigating an eerie and possibly supernatural experience. Is Anton really trying to reach her from beyond the grave? Or is her grief—and her increasing isolation—warping her perception of reality?

What makes I’ll Be Waiting stand out is how personal it feels. The haunting, while possibly literal, is also deeply metaphorical. It’s about unresolved trauma, the lies people tell to preserve peace, and the painful process of accepting loss. This isn’t just a ghost story; it’s a meditation on letting go—of expectations, illusions, and even love when it turns dark.

That said, the book isn’t without its slower moments. The pacing, especially in the middle third, might feel slow to readers expecting a fast-paced supernatural thriller. Instead, the novel leans heavily on atmosphere and self-reflection. Those willing to go along for the ride will be rewarded, but action-focused readers may find it more muted than expected.

I'll Be Waiting is a slow-burn, character-driven gothic ghost story that explores the fragile threads between grief, memory, and identity. It’s eerie without being terrifying, emotional without being overwrought, and satisfying without sacrificing complexity. Armstrong proves here that she’s just as skilled at crafting intimate, moody suspense as she is with her more thrilling mysteries. A must-read for fans of gothic horror and atmospheric thrillers.

Thank you so much for an ARC of I'll Be Waiting by Kelley Armstrong! I always say in my reviews, but I do truly enjoy everything Kelley write.

I'll be waiting hits home with me as I used to work with an organization that raised funds for Cystic Fibrosis research and care. It isn't a disease often talked about, so I was very intrigued by the premise of the book and knowing so much about CF already.

I loved Nicola as a character, add in the supernatural aspects and twists, I was completely sold. I will say some parts were slightly repetitive, but overall it didn't really take away from the book.

If you like thrillers, this is definitely one to add to your TBR.

I love this author’s books but I think I prefer not to read horror. This one started slow for me, and it took me a while to get going. Once I did, it was hard to put down (which is common for me with this author’s books!). I guessed the culprit early on, although not their motivations. This was pretty gory and creepy, which is great if that’s something you get a kick out of, but it’s not really for me.

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Another fantastic book written by Kelley Armstrong.

This is a paranormal/supernatural style thriller.

It is based on following the life of Nicola, who as a child was diagnosed with CF. She is trying to live life to the best of her ability.
Shortly after her marriage to the love of her life, an accident occurs and she loses her husband. However, her search to reconnecting with him leads us to the story. Herself and some friends seek to reach out to the other side when strange things start to occur.

The story has some creepy moments and fixtures, some unexpected twists, paranormal moments all while secrets and hidden truths start to reveal themselves.

I really enjoyed this book! Well written, great descriptions and wonderful storyline.