Holy crap this one had me hooked from the very beginning and had me hooked the entire time. I literally did not want to stop!

I'll Be Waiting by Kelley Armstrong
Narrated by Jennifer Pickens

Nicola Laughton was never supposed to outlive her husband, Anton. She wasn't even supposed to live into her thirties but her ongoing medical treatments have allowed her to deal with her Cystic Fibrosis in such a way that she is able to plan her life for five years at a time. Having gotten together with Anton, her high school friend of years ago, Nicola and Anton fell in love quickly and before they even got through their first five years together Anton is gone. But as he died Nicola heard him speak to her, “I’ll be waiting for you”.

Eight months later, Nicola is about to stop with her attempts to contact Anton. Now, in one last attempt, a professor of parapsychology is meeting with Nicola and her friends the Lake Erie beach house that Anton’s family once owned. This is a place that has meaning to Anton, a place that he is likely to appear, if such a thing is possible.

Hang on to your Ouija Board because things are going to get creepy, crazy, and chaotic. Summoning the dead may not be a gimmick after all and may be be too dangerous for the living. Jennifer Pickens narrates and helps to enhance the scary, seance on crack, mood of the story. This is not a ghost story for sissies and Nicola, a woman who has beat the odds in life already, is not about to let whatever is coming at her beat her now.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for this ARC.

This was only the second time I read a book by this author. Last year I read Hemlock Island and I loved it! (apparently it's sort of an unpopular opinion...)
So, I was naturally excited to read a new adult horror from Armstrong.
I loved the main character, Nicola, a 37-year old woman diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis, who lost her husband to an awful car accident. I empathised with her struggles and her grief. I actually love to read horror novels with realistic characters going through realistic issues/struggles.

Nicola has a certain past with 'ghosts' or the supernatural occult, ever since she was a teenager.
After a few months she's lost her husband, she tries to contact him, or to his spirit, by performing séances.
She finally (or so it seems) finds a proper medium and they all head (along with a couple of friends) to her husband's old family home in the woods in order to perform a séance that will, hopefully, work and Nicola will be able to speak to her dead husband.
Meanwhile attempting to contact the husband's spirit, weird and eerie things start to happen both inside and outside that house, and eventually people start showing up dead.

I truly enjoyed the first 1/3 of this book: I thought it was very atmospheric and eerie, all characters were relatable enough and there is a lot of drama.
The second third was when things started to get a little disappointing to me: we, the readers, start to get a lot of flashbacks from Nicola's teenage years and to some event that happened in a forest with a few friends. That was when, in my opinion, this book sounded very YA (which is a kind of an issue for me since I don't like YA at all), so it naturally pulled me out of the story several times. I now understand that all those many teenager flashbacks moments had a purpose, but I gotta be honest: I got very bored by them.
In the final third of the book things finally escalate to the big finale, when the séance finally works (because they tried to perform several séances before and they all failed to happen) and we get to the purpose of it all.

My biggest issue with this book lies in the final 15%: it all becomes way too far-fetched, ridiculous even, and the conclusion dragged a lot. The 'teenage forest event' kept coming back constantly, repeatedly, and to me it just wasn't interesting. At all.
I personally was in it for the ADULT drama and repercussions of Nicola's husband death and how she would move on from there.
In the end, there was way too much teenage drama and 'buried secrets from the past coming to light', and the horror itself, which only genuinely happens in the end, ended up being underwhelming, in my opinion.
Too much buildup for too little impact.
In my opinion, the best part about this book is the main character's development. By the end, I felt like Nicola was a real person and I got to know her a little.

I'd recommend this book to any readers who enjoy this kind of supernatural story and don't mind teenage content.
I'll still keep an eye on Armstrong's adult horror novels in the future, though.

I listened to the audiobook and I personally had some issues with it, but I don't truly blame the narrator.
This book has a lot of 'whispering' ("I whisper", "he whispers", "she whispers"). I actually found it annoying and incredibly unrealistic of how much whispering the characters make. C'mon...real people don't whisper all the time. So, it was natural and expected from the audiobook narrator, Jennifer Pickens, that she would voice all the whispering tone by whispering! And she did that, which was a great job.
The thing is: I hate, I absolutely hate when audiobook narrators whisper. And this book has A LOT of whispering. Seriously, A LOT. Unfortunately, I couldn't help but feeling annoyed constantly by the so many 'whispering' passages. Again, I don't blame the narrator - she was just doing her job. I blame the author, really. LOL
So, if you are an audiobook listener who hates whispering - just like me-, I sadly do not recommend the audio format.
But if you're not, go for it. If you can pass through all the (endless) whispering, the narration is actually really good. It can make you feel more immersed in the atmosphere created by the writing.

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for allowing me to listen to a free advanced audiobook copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this sinister, paranormal , haunted house mystery/ thriller.

For me the story started as a slow burn, I was wanting the action to start but we have to wait while we are introduced to the characters: Nicola who is 37 and suffers from CF and isn’t expected to live a long life and her husband Anton . I enjoyed that the book was set in Ontario, Canada and the beginning of the story definitely intrigued me.

I enjoyed the books building of tension and the paranormal activity throughout as well as the sinister thought that there is something sinister from the other side coming for Nicola due to her past as a teenager. The house is given a foreboding atmosphere and the audiobook narrator does a great job with a house noises to make it even more creepy , there are many things that happen in the house that enhance the horror elements and made this book unputdownable for me,

I did suspect correctly some aspects of the books plot as the story emerged— and with the audiobook narrator doing a great job of the different characters voices in addition to the creepy house sounds helping to build the atmosphere even more.

The last 1/3 of the book — if you’re able to suspend your disbelief you can really enjoy the far- fetched action packed, fast paced ending.

I recommend the audiobook for the enhanced immersion in the world the author has created.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC . This is my honest review.

I’ll Be Waiting by Kelley Armstrong. Grief, suspense, creepy, plot twists, and betrayal. I was under the impression this book was a supernatural horror. But it was more a suspenseful mystery or thriller with some supernatural tones if I was to describe in my own words. Haunted house, seance, spirits, missing people, murder. I found the overall story decent, but it was too long, repetitive, and dragged out. Audio narration was good, despite the story being drawn out.

I was provided with a review copy of the audiobook and this is my honest opinion. I gave this book 3 stars. (If I am unable to leave partial stars, I will always round up.)

Thank you again NetGalley, and Kelley Armstrong.

To begin with, I appreciated the premise of this book, along with its story and connections. However, it felt quite prolonged. Although it was enjoyable and had supernatural elements, the plot took unexpected turns that weren't always clarified. Ultimately, it didn't resonate with me as I had hoped.

I'll Be Waiting is a supernatural horror novel that delivers some chills. It is not my usual go to, but Kelley is one of my faves so I knew I had to give it a shot. I'm glad I did. Was it my favorite, unfortunately no. The vibes were definitely there, it's a great read for spooky season and I enjoyed the overall feel of it.

The first part was really interesting and held my attention. It was creepy, chilling, haunting and mysterious. The tension was building at a great pace, the atmosphere was on point. But then it just started to go downhill and lose some of my interest. There was a lot of repetition, the seances were getting a little old and boring. Then Nicola started to just get on my nerves and that made me lose even more interest. It is in no way a bad read, it just started off so strong, and had so much potential !

It also did become a little lengthy and over the top for me. The ending did save it a little as it tied up all the loose ends. We also have all the reasoning behind everything which I appreciated. It was still a fun read and I believe paranormal horror lovers will love it.

🎧 The narration by Jennifer Pickens was good. I enjoyed her voice. I thought she was great at playing the characters. She also brought the creepiness factor up a notch with her creepy whispering voice which I liked. I felt the fear and sadness in her voice also.

✨️Thank you to @netgalley, @macmillanaudio & Kelley Armstrong for my gifted ALC in exchange for an honest review.

When terminally ill Nicola loses her husband in an accident, their tragic love story becomes fodder for paranormal investigators, But when old ghosts rear their heads, there's much more to this ghost story than meets the eye.

A great haunting read perfect for the spooky season, readers are kept guessing at each new twist!

It's probably the scariest one I will read in 2024.
Suggestion: Just go blind into this book.
I binged this book because I wanted an answer to. Is this a paranormal read, and there's evil for real? or is it fake, and there is a murderer? I was asking the wrong questions. Great (gorish and mean) ending. It is a book to enjoy more than to read reviews about it.

(Audiobook ARC review)
Do yourself a favor and add this to your spooky season reading list IMMEDIATELY.

I usually dislike thriller/horror genre because it can be super predictable to my ADHD detail brain. Normally by 30-40% of the way through the book I’ve predicted the ending. I was 95% of the way through and still audibly gasping at work. You won’t see the twists coming. 😱

Narration was fantastic. Jennifer Pickens gives the perfect amount of emotion and clarity to deliver a compelling, thrilling adventure. I listened at 2x speed (normal for me).

What a great spooky story!

I'll Be Waiting by Kelley Armstrong was a spooky and gripping mystery full of supernatural occurrences and danger. The first half of the book started was really strong. The plot was engaging and moved quickly. But I will admit that the pacing really did get off in the second half. Things started to get boring. The protagonist started changing her mind constantly about who was setting her up and it was kind of frustrating. The twists were too easy to see coming. But I did like that despite how far fetched and improbable the ending seemed, the author did manage to cover any plot holes and answered any questions I had about who and why. The audiobook was easy to listen to, and the narrator's voice really added to the eerie tension and dark vibes in the story. This was my first book by this author and I'll definitely be reading more soon.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Overall this book wasn't bad. It was enjoyable, the chronic illness rep was appreciated, and it had the perfect blend of horror aspects. I really enjoyed it, but it definitely is more on the YA side.

Okay, so I reread it and my opinion has changed. I think this book was really done on the chronic illness rep, a beautiful tale of how to process grief, and really scary in parts. Overall, it is perfectly creepy and a great addition to your fall TBR.

Y’all I absolutely loved this heart wrenching yet horrific story by @kelleyarmstrongauthor. I finished this audiobook in one day because I just did not want to put it down.

I’ll Be Waiting explores the lengths that people go to due to grief, including seances. The main character, Nicola, never expected to live well in to her 30s, let alone to be left a widow. Nicola has cystic fibrosis. She and her husband always planned their future based on her health timeline. Then her husband is killed in an accident and Nicola is left grieving. This results in her hiring mediums to try to communicate with her husband. Most are phony, however, this last one may just be the real deal.

I highly recommend adding this book to your October TBR list. It’s equally heartbreaking and scary.

Thank you @macmillan.audio for allowing me to listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest review. This same review was shared on the Barnes & Noble website.

I’ll Be Waiting is classified as a paranormal horror book. While I don’t feel it has much of a horror aspect(maybe more thriller or edge of your seat type of book) I enjoyed it. I did figure out the twist early on, really it’s kind of hard not to. I enjoyed the characters and the premise of story. It kind of reminded me of a bad 80/90s horror film. So if you like the cheesy old school horror films(that aren’t actually scary)you will enjoy this. I gave it four stars because it did keep my attention and I am on of those people that like the cheesy horror films.

I really loved the narrator. She was the perfect narrator for the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillian Audio for an advance copy in exchange for a honest review.

The beginning was slow and the ending was multilayered, and overly complicated
There was about 3 storylines too many.
*Spoilers below*
Why did the brother in law hide speakers?
Why did Brody have to die?
Davos was kinda crazy