Synopsis

All her life, Annie has played it nice and safe. After being unceremoniously dumped by her longtime boyfriend, Annie seeks a fresh start. She accepts a teaching position that moves her from Manhattan to a small village upstate. She’s stunned by how perfect and picturesque the town is. The people are all friendly and warm. Her new apartment is dreamy too, minus the oddly persistent spider infestation.

Then Annie meets Sophie. Beautiful, charming, magnetic Sophie, who takes a special interest in Annie, who wants to be her friend. More importantly, she wants Annie to stop apologizing and start living for herself. That’s how Sophie lives. Annie can’t help but gravitate toward the self-possessed Sophie, wanting to spend more and more time with her, despite the fact that the rest of the townsfolk seem…a little afraid of her. And like, okay. There are some things. Sophie’s appearance is uncanny and ageless, her mansion in the middle of the woods feels a little unearthly, and she does seem to wield a certain power…but she couldn’t be…could she?

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Review

This was quite an interesting tale. It was promoted as dark and frightening, but I don’t think it was either of those. It is a little spooky so a great read for October!

Annie is a bit lost in her life after her long-term boyfriend breaks up with her. So she decides to start over in a small town in upstate NY. I don’t think she is very happy there, but then I think she doesn’t know what in her life will make her happy. She admits to focusing all of her energy on the relationship she is in versus having her own interests and hobbies. I think we might all be able to relate to that to some degree.

However, Annie does meet Sophie and from the beginning, I wondered about her. Something seems a little off. She doesn’t drive, doesn’t have a phone or any sort of technology, lives in a massive home. She is off the grid without being off the grid if that makes sense. Sophie does see something in Annie, a better woman and one that is not so obsessed with finding a relationship to lose herself in. She works hard to bring out the best in Annie and is met with some resistance because Annie can’t seem to let go of Sam (the ex).

The citizens of the town act strangely towards Sophie and once you discover why it makes sense. Should they treat her that way? Maybe. But perhaps they can look past their pain and to the future just like Annie? Only time will tell.

While I am not a big fan of spiders, the ones in this book are cute and the personalities are so much more than the spider. This doesn’t mean I won’t try to relocate spiders I find in my own home!

This book is about finding yourself and becoming the best version of yourself that you can be and exploring the paths set in front of you.

We give this book 4 paws up.

About the Author

Rachel Harrison was born and raised in the weird state of New Jersey. She received her bachelor’s in writing for film and television from Emerson College. After graduating, she worked on TV game shows, in publishing, and for a big bank. She lives in western New York, with her husband and their cat/overlord.

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