⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Gripping and Unforgettable!

This slow burn had me thinking I had it all figured out—until the twists hit, and my jaw was on the floor! The eerie atmosphere, unsettling family dynamics, and dark secrets of Ravencliff kept me hooked. It took several turns that I never saw coming, making it impossible to put down.

I’m shocked at some of the lower reviews—while some parts seemed unbelievable, they fit this story perfectly as everything came together in the end. A must-read for thriller fans!

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I enjoyed this book, though I definitely had to suspend my disbelief at times. The story centers on Iris, who is down on her luck after her husband died a few years back. She meets rich and charming Hugh, who swoops right in as she is losing her house and her job and asks if she and her teenage daughter Ellory want to move in with him. When she gets to the creepy house that Hugh is fixing up for his mother, she realizes that there might be more to Hugh (and his family) that she expected. You also get a dual timeline told by another character, and the author does a good job at tying these timelines together.

The mystery in the book was sound, and I felt like the house was suitably creepy and the plotline twisty. I did struggle a bit with Iris herself as a character, and about the short-sighted decisions that she made. I had trouble believing that a real person would be as gullible as her and also do some of the things that she did. There was also time given to her internal monologue, which unfortunately didn't endear her to me further. I thought the major twist in the book was really good, and was surprised that I didn't see it coming. I thought the end of the book was good and worked well with the rest of the story.

Overall, I enjoyed this book despite my lack of connection with the protagonist. Though I had to suspend my disbelief, I enjoyed the plot twists and thought this was a quick read overall. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 57%

I reallyyyyyy tried with this book but I just was not invested in the plot or the iffy writing. Seems like I am an #unpopularopinion. Thank you, Harlequin Trade Publishing, for an #ARC in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed the psychological suspense and unreliable narrators! I wanted so bad to keep reading this. Other than that.... stupid decisions after decisions, I could not stop the eye rolls. Confusing timelines. Slow paced which let me to start skimming pretty quickly. Check it out for yourself!

🚪Dual POVs
🚪Dramatic
🚪Unreliable narrators
🚪"WTF" moments
🚪Psychological Suspense

I truly wish I could give an honest review but unfortunately I had to DNF at 20%. I couldn’t get past the writing style. It just wasn’t for me. It felt very juvenile in my personal opinion. The characters, especially the FMC were extremely unlikable and honestly just annoying. This one just wasn’t for me at all.

I would, however, like to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought that the characters were the strongest part of this story. The mother-daughter relationship felt really real, to me, and their reactions to the house they moved in were believe-able. I think that the plot is where this story lost me, unfortunately. I just felt like this was like every other domestic thriller I've read in the last few years plot-wise. It wasn't horrible, not by any means, but it was just not....interesting, per say. I also felt like some of the inner dialogue could be a bit contrived at times.

This was a super creepy and atmospheric thriller that really made me imagine a haunted house so well. Iris has been down on her luck ever since her husband died three years ago. She also loses her house and her job and she and her daughter are on the outs as well. What feels like prince charming swoops in to save the day. Iris's very new boyfriend Hugh invites them to move into his family's house in NY. Once they arrive the creepiness starts to happen and no one really is who they seem. I thought it was spooky and interesting, but was all just okay in the end for me. Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC.

Conceptually this had all the right pieces. The mother daughter relationship was extremely believable, and everything about the house they moved into spooked me. Some of the inner dialogue lost me, and the author released copy had some formatting issues that made this tough to read. Overall good, but missed the mark for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I did love this book and read it in one sitting. I could not put this book down. I did not see some of the twists coming! I would definitely recommend this book.

This book was absolutely wild and I loved every minute! I didn’t see the twist coming and there were a lot of them. It was done very well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start by saying the reason this book took me so long was the format that came across my NetGalley and my kindle, I had to physically read the book. I do a lot of my reading during the day by listening to the book through the NetGalley app.

With that being said, I loved this book. While it took me a little while to get into in and understand the writing, I was hooked. The multiple POVs and the revenge...not to mention to twists. Ugh it was so good. I kind of want to read it again when it comes out and I have a normal format so I can really enjoy it in one sitting because it was so good. I will be adding Katie Garner to my author list because I enjoyed this one a lot.

If it sounds too good to be true...........it probably it is. Iris, I wish you would have just said no. This book had me rolling my eyes and then just skipping around to the end. I am sorry that I cannot give this book a good review. Thank you to NetGalley and Mira Books for the complementary ARC. This review is my own opinion.

Thank you Netgalley & HTP Books/MIRA for an eARC of The Family Inside by Katie Garner! 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Interesting plot - I found myself confused throughout a lot of this book but I know that was the point of the writing looking back on it. Cleverly written, I flew through this one while alternating between audiobook and eBook, but couldn't help but feel like I've read so many thrillers with a similar trope in the past few years. I loved the clever ending and am looking forward to seeing what Katie Garner comes up with next!

The Family Inside by Katie Garner is a fast paced domestic thriller that kept surprising me with twists.

this was my first katie garner book, and i absolutely devoured it! this book plays with your mind in the best way. just when i thought i had it all figured out, she slaps this insane bomb on me and my brain went into overdrive piecing everything together. i will definitely be adding this author to my list of books to look out for!

Thank you for the opportunity to read The Family Inside. I went into reading excited about the synopsis. Who doesn’t love a twisty thriller? Unfortunately, although I gave it more time than I normally do, I chose to DNF about halfway through. There was just too much going on, and I felt that the author was going more for constant shock value than taking one thread and developing into a well-constructed story. I will however be interested in reading the author’s next book, which is hopefully less chaotic. Having said all that, I do feel like this book has an audience with those who enjoy multiple-twist popcorn thrillers.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this book. I was interested at first, but as I continued reading the writing was really bothering me. The dialogue was clunky and sort of melodramatic, and I just couldn’t get past it.

Thank you to NetGalley and HTP (Mira) for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. This book was very difficult to follow and I feel like I read the plots for 3-4 different books at the same time. I’m willing to suspend disbelief to an extent but the way everything was connected was confusing, inconsistent and frustrating to keep up with. I also have trouble reading books where there’s no reason to root for the main character. Iris spends the entire book whining and being fearful and yet is willingly putting herself in these positions. And when her daughter is missing, somehow that’s less important to her than dealing with what she thinks people in the house are hiding. A final thing that I feel like was an issue is the dual timeline with no dates to split them up. I understand that it’s for the shock factor and to provide that plot twist but when lumped in with the rest of this book, the inconsistencies made it too difficult to work. I did like Sloane, she was honestly the best and most reasonable character in this entire book.

This was everything I want in a thriller. It takes a lot the shock me with how many thrillers I read but I was kept guessing throughout this one!

𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you love:
✨ Twisty thrillers
✨ Dual POVs
✨ Layered storylines
✨Revenge plots

Three years after her husband's murder, Iris finds herself in a dire situation. She turns to her new boyfriend, Hugh who offers to take her and her daughter in. Only, they won't be along. Hugh's mother, brother, sister-in-law, and sister will also be living with them in the under renovation family home.

This was such a twisty one. It took me awhile to get into it but after about halfway through I was flipping pages fast.

Here's what I liked:

Iris: I connected with her right away. She has such a tragic past that keeps coming back to haunt her. I was rooting for her and her daughter as they navigated this new low in life. She had me in a panic at times as she gets wrapped up in the mystery of what is really going on with Hugh and his family.

The house: I loved the setting of this. The house, especially since it was under construction, has this super creepy feeling to it. There are noises and things being moved around. It has this locked door feel to it that I loved.

The structure: there is a dual POV in this with Iris and runaway Ellory. Both stories keep you wanting to know what is going on and what is going to happen to both women. This book is really well laid out and I applaud Garner for how she organized this layered story.

All in all, this was a creepy and twisty thriller!

Thank you to @netgalley, the author and publisher for an eArc of this book!

#bookreview #bookstagram #thriller #newreleases #suspense #fivestarread

This was almost a DNF for me - I started a month ago and put it down because the premise started out so over the top. However, I came back to it and realized that the beginning had to be absurd in order for the coming twists and turns to work. And man, did those twist and turns fly at you! Iris and Hugh have only been dating for a short time when Hugh asks Iris and her daughter Ellory to move in with him. But the caveat - it’s with his family in their crumbling mansion. As Iris has few options left, she agrees. But upon arrival, she realizes there is a lot more to this family and the house than it seems.

As I said, the twists and turns that come in the final few chapters might give you whiplash, but they were ultimately propulsive.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a digital ARC of this title!