2 Bloggers 1 Book - The Nesting

 

This month we chose a book both Stormi and I were really excited to read.  I think it's gotten a fair amount of hype so read on and see I'm jumping in the bandwagon. Guess what, I jumped and totally missed! So read on for my thoughts and then head to  Stormi's at Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My! to see her opinion! 

TITLE: The Nesting

AUTHOR: C.J. Cooke

PUBLISHER: HarperCollins

PUBLISHING DATE: September 29, 2020

FROM GOODREADS: 

The woods are creeping in on a nanny and two young girls in this chilling modern Gothic thriller. 

 Architect Tom Faraday is determined to finish the high-concept, environmentally friendly home he's building in Norway – in the same place where he lost his wife, Aurelia, to suicide. It was their dream house, and he wants to honor her with it. 

Lexi Ellis takes a job as his nanny and immediately falls in love with his two young daughters, especially Gaia. But something feels off in the isolated house nestled in the forest along the fjord. Lexi sees mysterious muddy footprints inside the home. Aurelia's diary appears in Lexi's room one day. And Gaia keeps telling her about seeing the terrifying Sad Lady… 

Soon Lexi suspects that Aurelia didn't kill herself and that they are all in danger from something far more sinister lurking around them. ?

MY THOUGHTS: This book started out badly for me.  In fact, after the first chapter or so, I was convinced I might not make it through.  I'm glad to say it did pick up eventually but I was still wanting more.

As the book opens, Lexi has just attempted suicide.  We don't really get much backstory except that her life is pretty much a train wreck and soon afterwards, her boyfriend of many years kicks her out because she is "too much for him."  So Lexi is lost, broke and homeless.  She gets the bright idea on an actual train on day to steal the identity of the girl in front of her and accept a job being a nanny in Norway for a man and his two young daughter, who just lost their mother to suicide.  It seems Lexi is set to be a completely unreliable narrator.

But soon after she arrives, Lexi settles in to being a pretty decent nanny.  She likes to two young girls, Gaia and Coco, much more than she anticipated.  However, weird things start happening while Tom is building his deceased wife's dream house.  It seems the land, which he has dramatically disturbed with his architectural plans, is out to get even with the family.  Throw in the fact that Gaia and soon afterwards, Lexi, are seeing the "sad lady" in the home at night and that Tom is growing increasingly more angry and unpredictable.  In fact, Lexi begins to suspect his wife's death was not a suicide. 

So all of this sounds good and in premise, the book hit the mark.  I enjoyed the Norwegian folklore.  I even forgot for a time what a mess Lexi actually was.  However, the ending felt rushed and the author chose to throw in various elements to progress the plot which I don't feel were fully fleshed out.  Also, the ending threw me for a loop and not in a good way.  Something happens which just sort of erases lots of feelings of mistrust and violation and again, it lacked more explanation.

I do believe there will be a wide audience for this one and I don't regret reading it, it was just a middle of the road read for me.

RATING: 3 Paws