This book probably could've done with at least 50 pages less. It got so tedious! But overall, I enjoyed it and look forward to reading more from this author. 

Had really high expectations cuz Sarah Pinborough’s previous book is one of my all time faves. While this didn’t live up to that book, it’s still a very clever, twisty thriller with some creepy supernatural elements. Scarier than some horror books iv read tbh. The twist didn’t twist as much as I wanted it to but it was very well crafted and so hard to put down at the end. 

⚠️ CW: mental health, childhood trauma and murder ⚠️ If you want a read that will blow your mind and keep you up at night then you need to read this book! From the outside, Emma has the dream life. A loving husband, a beautiful house and two gorgeous children. But something is keeping Emma awake, scratching at her sanity at 1am. She's tried so hard to bury the past to protect her family, but witching hour loves a secret. And Emma's is the stuff of nightmares. This book was such a gripping and heart pounding read that I just couldn't put down and ended up binging. It is one of those reads that keeps you guessing until the very end when it reaches a jaw dropping climax! All of the characters start off being a bit unlikeable but then as you get to know them and all of the aspects of past and present you realise that you can't trust anyone and constantly second guess yourself at the end of every chapter. Overall, I highly recommend this read if you're a thriller lover.

This was hard to rate because it's a book I have super mixed feelings about. As a thriller, it's really strong, and I loved the absolutely batshit turn that it takes and I just know that, like Behind Her Eyes, it's one that's going to stay with me and continue to haunt me every time I think about it. I also really loved the way the protagonist's complex relationships with her mother and sister are dealt with, and appreciated the look at difficult childhoods and generational trauma.

However - and it's a big however and potentially a little bit spoilery - there is one fairly prominent element of the book, outside of the main thriller-y storyline, that is just dealt with so, so, so fucking awfully and that I cannot in good conscience neglect to mention, and that's the way the grooming of a teenage girl is portrayed and dealt with. The way one character in particular, and one we're clearly supposed to root for, reacts to the situation is both ridiculously unbelievable and insanely infuriating. I was so mad and it ruined so much of the reading experience for me that I probably would have rated this lower had there not eventually been one whole character who finally points out how horrific what's happened is. That redeemed it just enough for me to still come away feeling like I enjoyed this overall, but this whole aspect of the book still let it down a lot for me. What makes it even worse is that plot-wise the book still would've worked absolutely fine had the grooming storyline either not been included or been included but dealt with appropriately.

I have another gripe with this book - though this one is more personal preference - and it's what happens in the epilogue. It's infuriating because in a way it's really clever and adds another haunting dimension to everything that's already happened, but it also does something that I just absolutely hate in any book that it happens in. I'm just going to pretend that the book ends at the end of the last chapter, as everything still would've made sense and I'd still have been left absolutely mind-blown.

So yeah, a mixed bag. I'm not sure whether I'll pick up anything by this author again, which is such a shame as her mind is clearly incredible and I love that I can go into her books just knowing that whatever I predict, the whole truth is going to be so much wilder than I could ever guess. But the grooming thing just so badly rubbed me up the wrong way and isn't something I can forget or brush over.

While I did really enjoy this book, I still found myself with unanswered a questions at the end that I felt should have been resolved better. 
It was an enthralling read, I listened while I did chores around the house which allowed me to forget about how much cleaning I was doing. 

Lots of build up,  very quick (but tidy) wrap up. Second Pinborough book I’ve read with a surreal/supernatural element.

There were some decent twists in this book that I enjoyed - definitely similar to Behind Her Eyes so if you enjoyed that I'd recommend this book. However, a lot of it was very repetitive and boring, I honestly think this book could've been about 50-100 pages shorter. Plus, I'm tired of the trope of a woman not being believed & being gaslit by everyone in her life, it's just exhausting to read in a thriller for the millionth time, especially with how repetitive this book gets. Also there was a lot of ableism in this book from all of the characters, including internalized ableism from the MC, and a shit ton of throwing around words like 'crazy' and 'mad' which I thought wasn't properly addressed at all.