After reading other reviews of this book, I expected it to be more frightening, creepy and atmospheric than it actually was. I also expected a reasoned, logical explanation to some of the strange events that happened. Being of somewhat cynical nature, I find myths and legends just that. However, I did enjoy the story and willed Lexi to succeed throughout. I loved the descriptions of the beautiful Norweigan scenery and the bleak, dark winter. I had different ideas of how I expected the story to develop and when it didn’t, maybe that’s why I was a little disappointed. It is definitely worth a read though and as I read it very quickly (for me), that would imply a well written tale.

I read some reviews before I started this book, and noticed quite a few said how they had been genuinely hooked from the first page. Well, you can add me to that list too. The Nesting is such a gorgeous, intricate novel with a pace and characters that keep you utterly immersed in the story. It isn't often that books which cross genres in this way - psychological suspense with Scandinavian mythology themes - work, but this absolutely does. The Nesting has to be one of my top books for this year, I adored it.

What an absolutely beautiful read this was.

I truly felt for Lexi the MC of The Nesting. The way she'd been treated in her relationships screams out to remind us of those who suffer with mental health and have no support network.
The same can be said about Aurelia's internal struggle with depression and either the oblivious attitudes of those closest to her, or perhaps their refusal to accept it.

Despite Lexi never having met Aurelia, Cooke portrays their potential kinship well making both characters more endearing.
In an odd way although this is a creepy thriller, I thought it uplifting when Lexi became Sophie and found the love of those children.

I wasn't a fan of Tom and I think this is Cooke's intention. He's rather neglectful of his grieving children and for a strict vegan he didn't mind messing with nature to suit his own architectural desires. It's surely hypocritical to refuse your children honey on account of the treatment of bees(!?) yet happily reroute a lake that serves the wildlife. Honestly, I think Cooke gives a clever and sly nod to the virtue signalling that's heavy in society nowadays with Tom's character.

The ending was a surprise for me. I guess not because it was unbelievable but more because I was so wrapped up enjoying the beautiful setting and invested in Lexi/Sophie and the girls that I forgot to untangle the hints along the way! A first for me that's for sure.

There were a few red herrings in The Nesting that seemed to be only for the sake of misdirection and weren't really resolved. One plot line in particular I don't believe added anything to the story at all, but I didnt give it another thought until I sat to write this review so it can't have really bothered me.

My favourite aspect of The Nesting was the atmosphere and Norwegian folklore. I love hearing of different culture's myths and beliefs especially centred in righteous retribution as Cooke has given us here.

This was my first read of C J Cooke and I'll definitely be looking for more.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

an interesting tale that is at times hard to read....
but if you like atmospheric books then this is the one for you...

A very atmospheric gothic like read. Set in Norway, a country I have visited it was easy for me to imagine the setting and scenery. Would recommend to others. Will look out for other titles by this author

I loved this Norwegian mythology themed book. It was a page turned and also quite spooky at time. The description of the creature was something else and it had the hairs on the back of my neck standing to attention. The story moves between then and now and it really did keep me guessing as to the true nature of how things really happened.

We begin the story with Aurelia, wife and mother, who dies jumping off a cliff, but there is mystery surrounding her death the whole way through the story and as a reader, I did find myself wondering what really happened to her.

Then we meet Lexi our main character who is homeless and deeply depressed. She overhears a conversation on a train and in a desperate bid to salvage some sort of live she takes on the persona of Sophie a Nanny and applies for the job Sophie was going to turn down. Lexi becomes the Nanny to Gaia (age 6) and Coco (9 months old) and travels to Norway with them and their father where he is building a new home. His wife Aurelia died 4 months previous.

Without giving too much of the story away, readers should be ready for a gripping tale that will have you wondering what is real and what's not. This is a very atmospheric story and the forest and cliff come to life on the page as does the sad lady that seems to haunt them all. As the story progresses we learn more about the torment Aurelia faced in the months leading up to her death and the plot thickens when Sophie (Lexi) finds Aurelia's diary.

If you are looking for a fast pace, mystery that will send shivers down your spine, and you love old folklore and mythology, you will love C.J, Cooke's The Nesting.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read an early copy of this book. This is a thrilling atmospheric read. The author created not only the sense of place extremely well but also the sense of tension. I certainly will be recommending this to the library readers in the monthly books to read newsletter.

I absolutely loved this book and despite her deception I couldn’t help but warm thoroughly to Lexi, if anyone deserved a break, she did.
The characters were well written and each had their own individuality.
The Norwegian setting was perfect, eerie, spooky but breathtaking all the same and the hints at Norse folktales was intriguing.
Full of plot twists and well paced, I would definitely recommend this book.

Firstly I would like to thank the publisher, author and Netgalley for my free ARC.

This is an incredibly thrilling story – atmospheric, compelling, intriguing and vividly scary. I haven’t read anything like this in a long time. It is laden with Nordic folklore, the power of nature and the inescapable compulsion of mind over body.

Lexi is struggling with her life. She hits rock bottom when she steals the identity of an unfortunate random girl on a train to apply for a job which she is then offered. Life now has potential and opportunities. Soon she is on a first class flight to Norway to a home with views of forests and a fjord. Events that follow require Lexi to dig deep, to find hidden resilience, to use the power of her mind over body in a good way. She discovers her strength, her resolve, and ultimately her people.

Themes: relationships, betrayal, deceit, foster care, suicide, folklore, abandonment, parenting, love, trust

I can’t recommend this book enough, but probably a good idea to keep the lights on! I have pre-ordered my hard copy for the book design and to read again!

This book is the perfect blend of suspense, mystery and folklore.

Lexi has just attempted suicide and soon finds herself homeless after breaking up with her long term partner. By chance, she overhears details of a nannying job in Norway and decides that it would be the perfect fresh start for her - the only problem is she doesn’t have any experience! Lexi ends up stealing the identity of someone much more qualified and finds herself in Norway as the nanny to two young girls who have recently lost their mother in suspicious circumstances. From there the plot unravels as the truth is slowly revealed along with a touch of the supernatural.

The Nordic setting is incredibly atmospheric and really a character in its own right. The remoteness and drama of the surroundings described really raised the stakes and drew me into the story. Several Norwegian style fairytales are inserted into the narrative, this was a nice touch but I did find the ones used a little bland and rather jarring next to the rest of the book. They weren’t long though so I was able to quickly move onto the main narrative.

The suspense comes in the form of a number of threats, both physical and supernatural. This worked very well together as they amplified each other. I liked that the supernatural elements weren’t too heavy handed either, there was just enough to make you ask questions but it wasn’t relied upon to drive the book.

The conclusion was also very satisfying with a big showdown and most loose ends being tied up. There were a few plot holes but I was happy enough to overlook these. I’d also say the book could have been a bit shorter to really pull it all together and ramp up the suspense but again this didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book too much.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this book, it was a wonderful mix of folklore and mystery. Great characters and a wonderful - if slightly creepy - location. Your imagination ran wild at the house locations and the lovely snowy weather.
A beautifully written book and one I will remember for a long time. Thank you

The nesting is a great thriller and it very chilling.

This book is dark creepy and twisted and has many twists and turns it will have you turning the pages to see what is going happen next it is a gripping read and will have you on the edge of your seat with so many answers to be answered and by the end you will have them all. This is my first book by this author and will not be my last. this book is very well written it really is a creepy read.

Dark and mysterious.
Fear of evil spirits and animals from Nordic folklore and superstition fill this tale. Who is the sad lady that haunts the house? Why do they see her and does she mean them harm? Is there more to Aurelia’s death? So many questions arise from this story of suspense that you will want to embark on the journey to discover what really happened that night. If you’re of a nervous disposition, read it in the daylight but do read it. Fabulous book.

The Nesting was an absolute delight to read. The remote Norwegian setting was perfect for creating a sense of isolation, linking the moods of the characters with the harsh and beautiful landscape. It is not surprising that the people living here are suffering from obsession, depression and anxiety; the forest seems to impose itself on them even as they attempt to change their surroundings by diverting the river and cutting down ancient trees. I loved how the myth of the Nokk was interwoven into this eerieness, from the stories read to the children, Gaia and Coco, to the mysterious hoof marks on the the floor and the dreams / visions that haunted them all..
Everyone here is lying and fixated on their own isolation; from Lexi who steals a nanny’s identity to escape her past, the housekeeper Maren who abandons her career as an artist to look after Aurelia, the suicidal mother of Gaia and Coco, Tom who is obsessed with building his wife an eco-house and their friend / business partner Clive and his wife Derry. At times you feel repelled by these characters, but the need to know how Aurelia dies drives you on. The sense of strangeness is perpetuated throughout the story, the feeling that tragedy lurks around every corner as each bad decision is highlighted in the 'then' and 'now' chapters. This swinging from one time frame to another could jar, but here it just adds to the overall sense of disembodiment, a sense of releasing the known and entering the world of myth and legend, a sense of things not being real but still happening. Loved it!

Not for me unfortunately. A rather muddled and overlong read.

Its the story of Lexi, who we are introduced to at the start. In her late 20s, severely depressed and having just survived a suicide attempt, the opening part of the book is narrated by her as her life slowly falls apart as her boyfriend leaves her, she finds herself homeless with no money.

Finding her boyfriends rail ticket, she hops on the first train she can find. She is still riddled with depression, her sanity and her life on a knife edge. On the train journey she overhears two women talking. One of them a nanny, tells her friend she has applied for a job in Norway for a few months to look after a widowers two children. Her friend tells her that she is pregnant and she cant leave her on her own so she decides to stay!
The two women head off to the get something to eat and ask Lexi to keep an eye on their stuff.
She steals a look at the laptop and finds the womans CV and job application which she takes photos of and decides its a good escape for her, she will pretend to be this woman and go for the interview.(this feels so far fetched as I type it and an extremely clunky bit of plotting)

So obviously Lexi gets the job and heads off to Norway to look after two young children, despite having no experience whatsoever, having submitted the glowing CV. Apparently she is able to wing it and learn from YouTube how to do the job. This is the woman that not a chapter or two ago had a failed suicide attempt and couldnt look after herself, never mind to young children in another country!

What entails is the story of the father determination to build a house he had started before his wife had committed suicide, Lexis life looking after the kids and trying to find out about said late wife, some Norwegian folk lore involving spirits of Fjords and nature and not to mess with it and well.. a rather meandering, dare I say it uninteresting read(a bit like this review perhaps!)

No real likeable characters here, all a bit wooden. The story does really drag and the Lexi we are introduced to is not the Lexi we find in Norway. Its all a bit preposterous. I get that the author was trying to build an air of tension and atmosphere in the Norwegian countryside but for me it fell flat on its face. At least 100 pages too long, even the ending annoyed me.

Many thanks to Netgalley, HarperCollins UK and C.J. Cooke for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

CJ Cooke writes a hauntingly atmospheric novel with gothic overtones set amidst Norway's magnificent ancient forests and fjords, a location that serves as a central character in itself. The fragile and vulnerable Lexi Ellis is not in a good place, with a broken relationship behind her, she is suicidal, depressed and virtually homeless. Her desperation leads her to take on the identity and CV of another woman, Sophie Hallerton, for the purpose of securing the post of a nanny after she overhears a conversation. This has her travelling to a remote part of Norway to look after two lovely young children, Gaia and Coco, their mother, Aurelia, recently dead in mysterious circumstances, assumed to have committed suicide.

The widowed and grieving father is a well known architect, Tom, intent on constructing a home in the cliffs, like a nest encroaching on the environment, a dream of his and his late wife, Aurelia, a project that continuously runs into trouble, a previous house by the river was destroyed. His business partner, Clive, is married to Derry, and the odd housekeeper, Maren, was completely devoted to Aurelia. In the face of a series of strange events, and the 'sad lady', Lexi as Sophie is determined to do everything she can to protect the children. The chilling narrative shifts from the past with Aurelia and the present with Lexi, making the most of the stunning location, with local history, culture, the folklore and superstitions infused adroitly into the story.

Cooke's dark, spooky, twisted and ghostly novel provides the perfect reading material with the approaching Autumn and its shorter days, particularly with its elements of the supernatural. It positively drips with atmosphere, hinting of the darkest of fairytales, a diary, and of the breaking the laws of nature. The writing is vibrant and compulsive, with a growing sense of dread pervading the pages, touching on issues of mental health, grief, nature and the environment. A great read and wonderfully plotted Scand-thriller. Many thanks to HarperCollins for an ARC.

I cannot explain how much I loved this beautifully written and wonderfully eerie novel.

'The Nesting' begins with Lexi, who, following a failed suicide attempt, jumps at the opportunity to pose as someone else in order to take up a nannying position in Norway. When she arrives, she immediately falls under the spell of the place, and is enchanted by her charges, Gaia and Coco. Their mother, Aurelia, recently committed suicide, and their grief-stricken father - Tom, a talented architect - has thrown himself into building a one of a kind house in her memory.

Then strange things begin to happen: Gaia experiences night terrors and talks about a Sad Lady with holes for eyes, who her mother could see as well; Tom's construction site is plagued with mysterious happenings after he accidentally floods a river with poison.

When Lexi finds Aurelia's diary, she begins to suspect that not only did Aurelia not commit suicide, but that there may be something more sinister afoot than she could ever have imagined...

Part psychological thriller, part gothic novel, I LOVED the way this beautifully written story wove so many threads together to create an absolutely stunning plot. The Norwegian folklore angle was both fascinating and right up my alley, as was the gorgeously realised setting, which was almost a character in its own right. I loved the beautifully drawn characters, and genuinely had no idea what was going to happen at the end and whether the supernatural element was going to turn out to be a combination of tricks, mirrors and mental illness or an actual plot element (I'll let you see for yourself);

The biggest compliment I can think of paying to an author is that I wish I'd written their book - and oh my goodness, is this one I wish I'd written. I couldn't put it down, and will be thinking about this story for a long time to come. Beautiful, strange, and intricate: I loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher, who provided me with an advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

There's *a lot* going on in this book: depression and suicide, motherhood, a suspicious husband, cutey kids, wild animals, possession, a diary with pages ripped out... and a real, honest monster!

I found this very slow to get going and we have to suspend a lot of disbelief that a woman who's just tried to commit suicide, who is depressed and on medication, who can barely drag herself out of bed manages to impersonate a trained nurse and qualified nanny and be given a job - I mean office temps probably have more rigorous interviews than someone living in the home and responsible for kids!

With the usual 'now' and 'then' split narrative, this isn't doing anything wildly original - it's a bit 'The Turn of the Key' and a bit of lots of similar modern Gothic-y, troubled female style books. I think I've read too many of them to get excited over this one - sorry!

#TheNesting #NetGalley
C J Cookie's best work till date.
Lexi isn’t telling the truth about who she is? Escaping to the remote snows of Norway was her lifeline. And all she wanted was to be a part of their lives.
But soon, isolated in that cold, creaking house in the middle of ancient, whispering woods, Lexi's fairytale starts to turn into a nightmare.
With darkness creeping in from the outside, Lexi’s fears are deepening. Lexi knows she needs to protect the children in her care.
I loved the characters as well as narration of the story.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK Harper Fiction for giving me an advance copy of this psychological thriller.

So tense so chilling I picked up this so well written so creepy read. Could not put it down.an author and a book I will be recommending.#netgalley #harpersuk