Reviews

The Nesting by C.J. Cooke

Only show reviews with written explanations

melissa_boyer's review against another edition

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I can’t connect with this one. Forgot I was reading it.

shinysarah28's review against another edition

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Just can’t get into the characters or premise

thepaperwitch's review against another edition

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2.0

The Nesting by CJ Cooke is a slow burn Norwegian supernatural story that I read through pretty quickly and was left feeling disappointed. Some people described it as a Gothic thriller, which is right up my alley, but it certainly is neither (at best, it is very watered down). I think it is really the lack of emotion set against death, mystery, ghosts, and obsessions along with the overly normal and dominant domestic tasks of taking care of children that pull it away from a Gothic tone. It's just too sleepy of a story that the parts meant to be spooky or scary lost their edge.

If you are looking for light horror elements or a touch of Norwegian folklore, you may enjoy The Nesting, but I wasn't impressed.

(((REVIEW CONTINUES WITH SPOILERS BELOW)))
I didn't quite get the connection between the environment/Mother Nature/nokk and Aurelia (especially if she was from the area) and why, if Tom was the one changing the environment, polluting the water, and disrupting the forest, why it chose to kill Aurelia. Tom was outside all the time and it would have had plenty of opportunity to enchant or kill him, so why it chose his wife was confusing.

I also didn't understand why Tom took Lexi back after the crash. She never had anything to do with solving any mystery or saving anyone, but he decides to let her live with him and his kids after the accident?

And what about the body that Tom and Clive cover up and build over? That's not mentioned again and everyone is fine with the idea that the house is built on a dead body?