Lexi has reached rock bottom. With nothing to live for, she slashes her wrists. Luckily for us, her suicide attempt fails and through a serendipitous encounter with a pair of friends, finds herself en route to Norway and an entirely new life. But new isn’t necessarily the same as better...

I loved this part thriller, part chiller, with a perfect gothic setting and read beautifully by Aysha Kala. She manages to make everyone sound different and is particularly strong as the voice of Lexi. There really is a fantastic mix of suspense and mythology and it’s very atmospheric.

I found myself doing lots of cooking and cleaning after work just for the pleasure of listening to more of it - don’t you love it when that happens!

Thanks to Harper Collins Audio and NetGalley for the chance to listen to an advanced copy in return for an honest review. I’ve already recommended this book to my book group/friends, it’s a great read.

I picked this book as it the blurb was unlike anything else I had read and I was intrigued. CJ Cooke did not disappoint with this hauntingly atmospheric gothic novel set amidst Norway’s forests and fjords with a drop of Nordic folklore thrown in for good measue. The main character Lexi Ellis is not in a good place, and from the outset I expected more to be made of her mental state, however nothing with this story was as I expected. The narrative flips from present to past and is easy to follow. This Cooke's dark, twisted and mythical novel was the perfect reading for a total escape. I have recommended this book to several friends already.
Many thanks to #netgalley for gifting me the audiobook of #thenesting in return for an honest review.

A spine tingling thriller. Perfect for fans of a dark story! I really enjoyed listening to The Nesting. Highly reccomend!

This is my first ever listening/reading of C J Cooke novel. The Nestling audible book is a wonderful atmospheric, folklore, ghostly and enjoyable read. I listened over three days, with interruptions! The narration by Aysha Kala was excellent and the changing voices kept me listening. The storyline was an enjoyable creepy and ghostly read. Certain gaps in the storyline didn't feel right, especially Lexi's moving to Norway, my fault, for reading between the lines and enjoying this audible book,. Through the excellent narration, I could see in my mind's eye the ghostly figures, Norwegian forest, the falling snow, the glistening cold water of the fjords.

This audible will stay with me for a while!

I give a 5 star rating and would recommend this audible book.

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK NETGALLEY FOR THE OPPORTUNITH OF READING AN ADVANCED COPY OF THIS AUDIBLE BOOK

Lexi's life is falling apart. Her boyfriend has left her, her best friend has moved in to take her place alongside him, she has no home to call her own, and her depression is weighing heavily upon every decision she makes. A chance encounter and an overheard conversation could prove her salvation, however.

Despite owning no qualifications to do so, Lexi impersonates nanny Sophie and moves to Norway to enrol as caretaker for two motherless girls. Their father, and her new boss, is an award-winning architect and his esteemed position soon puts her in the impossible position of acting upon the secrets she believes she unearths. Her new abode, and her new role within it, are under threat and there are things that walk the corridors at night that are difficult to discern and yet are even more difficult to disprove.

I initially struggled with the first portion of this book as I felt events snowballed far too quickly. Once the setting was removed from England, however, I quickly settled into the story-line. This was helped along with the ever-increasing exposure to the Gothic elements that haunted Lexi and her young charges. I was unsure where truth lay and, despite feeling no terror whilst reading this, admired the suspense that dogged the events, throughout.

*Many thanks to CJ Cooke, HarperCollins Audio UK, and NetGalley for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.*
The offering by Ms Cooke combines elememnts of Gothic novel, suspense and thriller all set in modern-day Norway, with references to Norwegian folklore.
Lexi Ellis, after at attempted suicide, manages by a trick to get a position of a nanny to two girls whose mother died in mysterious circumstances.
The story was quite engaging, and kudos to the reader, Ms Kala whose interpretation is truly good. Some moments were beyond my believability, however, I suppressed it in order to enjoy this book.

I loved the description of this novel and was delighted to be given the opportunity to listen to it. The narrator was excellent and I loved the change of voice for the two timelines that weave together.

The book started with promise. I loved Lexi's story and felt true compassion for her situation. However, this quickly changed as she easily assumes someone else's identity and flies through an interview. I found it a little unbelievable that a grieving widower would take so few checks before he hands his daughter over to a 'highly qualified' nanny. Lexi is able to fly first class with no mention of how she managed to get a passport in someone else's name. The first time suspicion is cast on her identity is over a bank account, which she passed off with an implausible lie.

Lexi's relationship with the children is heart warming and the episodes where she reveals how out of her depth she is in relation to caring for them is quite funny in places.

I got a little bored about Tom's obsession with 'Aurelia's Nest' and quite frustrated at his pig-headed attempts to build the property regardless of the challenges nature keeps presenting.

The book has some love gothic elements in it and promised so much. It spent a lot of time revealing the past but the ending felt quite abrupt.

Sadly, this missed the mark for me. I wonder if the printed version where I could easily flick back to reread what seemed to be anomalies might have been more helpful. Lots of difficult content such as self-harm and suicide which is worth noting.

This Gothic Thriller is set in the remote Norwegian forest which should suggest beautiful scenery and idyllic surroundings but the area is tainted by events and chilling folklore.
The story is separated with chapters of the past and present which I found interesting. I have read I Know My Name, a previous book by this author and really enjoyed it but unfortunately The Nesting was not for me. It maybe that I am new to audio books or that this genre is not for me.
My thanks to Net Galley, this is my own opinion of The Nesting.

I really enjoyed this atmospheric gothic thriller, which was beautifully written and narrated. It had an unusual eerie setting, realistic characters, plenty of mystery and intrigue. I haven’t read any books by this author before but now will definitively get some of her others.

The Nesting is told in two timelines. In the past we follow Aurelia, as she and her husband Tom build their dream house in rural Norway. In the present, we follow Lexi, homeless and suicidal, who lies her way into becoming the nanny for the couple’s two children in the wake of Aurelia’s strange and tragic death. We get to know Lexi and the house, as she tries to make sense of the basement she’s not allowed to enter, the strange voices whispering her name, and muddy hoof prints in her bedroom.

Inevitably, The Nesting will be compared to Ruth Ware’s The Turn of the Key but the basic set up is really the only thing the two books have in common. Weaving Norse folklore with the gothic; a traditional ghost story with Nordic noir, Cooke creates a seamless, gorgeous and entirely unique work. It’s claustrophobic, atmospheric, poetic and moving.

Its gentle, background focus on grief, mental illness, nature, morality and healing, is what takes this book above and beyond a typical thriller, while still maintaining the necessary pace, mystery and suspense to keep you reading. While the book was, for me, a little longer than it needed to be and there was rather a lot going on that didn’t really matter in the end, I found myself utterly drawn into the world and its characters, and wanting to listen as often as I could. This worked really well on audio and loved the narrator’s performance. Recommend if you love the strange and mysterious and you’re happy to take a little weird and supernatural with your thriller.

Content warnings: suicide, suicidal ideation, self harm, grief, animal death, drowning.

Big thank you to Harper Collins UK, Netgalley and the author for the advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review. The Nesting is out on Oct 1st,

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.

I listened to this on audiobook and the narrator really did a fantastic job capturing the voices of individual characters and setting the scene. It was read at a good point pace and a very enjoyable experience.

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

4 stars for the audiobook narrator, 2 stars for the story

This is well-read but the underlying story needs a huge injection of suspension of disbelief: there's *a lot* going on: depression and suicide, motherhood, a suspicious husband, cutesy 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 swallow 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 she does for a job where she's 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! The narrator makes a good job of a messy story.

What a fantastically creepy book. CJ Cooke has cast a chilling and foreboding feel to the whole story. Lexi/Sophie, despite her obvious character flaws, is sadly a product of her environment and I felt a strong empathy for her and was desperate for her to succeed in her 'con'. Those little girls, Gaia and Coco, were so adorable and I loved how the connection between Lexi and her charges grew into love. Listening to Lexi, so broken herself, put her heart and soul into repairing those damaged girls was emotional and beautiful. But I never felt too comfortable because the gothic element of this tale spun its web around me and I was trapped. The scary elements were very, very scary and kept me on the edge of my seat at all times. Fast paced and entirely credible, this tale will have you sleeping with the light on and wishing you'd kept hold of your own favourite dummy. A fabulous listen that I most definitely recommend

I listened to the audio version of this book which was narrated by Aysha Kala. The story is set in different timelines and with different character's POV so good narration and chapter definition was critical for this Nordic ghost story. Aysha Kala delivers the voice of main character Lexi/Sophie in a gentle age-appropriate tone and seamlessly transfers to other characters, even making the voice of a six-year-old believable. I found the narration to be atmospheric and delivered exactly as the writer intended.

Now on to the story..

Lexi grabs an opportunity to change her life and travel to Norway where she will work as a nanny to two young children. The children's mother has recently passed away and she finds herself in a cold, regimented household where she must educate two grieving children.

The location is a remote Norwegian forest where architect Tom is building a dream house in the memory of his wife. However, when he tampers with nature, the elements rebel, and the build turns into a nightmare. With Nordic folklore, ghostly visitations, remote conditions, and mental health issues it is hard to separate fact from fiction.

I loved the eerie atmosphere which spiralled into a chilling, twisty tale where anything could happen. I invested in the character of Lexi/Sophie who I felt deserved a break in life. She used desperate (illegal) tactics to secure the job but once in the position she put the children's needs above everything. There is a mystery element to the story which surrounds the death of Aurelia and Lexi/Sophie becomes entwined into the complex family history.

The writing is a masterpiece of atmospheric, intricately detailed imagery. This is perfect for lovers of gothic, dark, ghost stories with believable characters and a breathtaking location.

Lexi Ellis has a brand new job as a nanny to Tom Faraday’s two little girls at a gorgeous home in Norway. The house may be beautiful, but it has a rather grim provenance. Faraday, an architect, built the house to honor his dead wife; it was built in the place she died. If you think there are going to be problems for Lexi, you’re right, as things begin to go bump in the night and the dead wife’s diary keeps showing up in Lexi’s room. Suddenly, it seems clear that Aurelia didn’t kill herself and that Lexi and the children may be in terrible danger. A fun, literate ghost story. The narrator does an excellent job of providing atmosphere to this delightfully spooky tale