Cackle

Chick-lit but with a Tim Burton atmosphere.

There is a touching, sweet friendship between the two women. I also enjoyed the very Muppet-y spider.

This is a fast read, nothing very complex or anything that you have to think about too hard.

It's not a horror novel, as people have said. I'm looking for spooky books t0 read this October and am striking out all over the place.

I will take the good reads genre nominees with a big grain of salt in the future.

Cute book though.

This book was so poetic. The writing style is great and it also made a lot of sense in character, seeing how Annie was an English teacher. That's one thing I liked a lot, the second being how uneasy the book made me feel after Sophie showed up. Just for a bit, before I got to know her. The description, everyone's reactions to Sophie, told me there's something off.

I enjoyed Annie's journey a lot. We started off in the middle of her pity party and accompanied her in her journey to something new. A new job and a new place. And Rowan sounds like a really nice little town with friendly people and really good coffee, who wouldn't want to live in a place like that?

But even in this new place Annie continues her pity party and she is thinking and drinking and crying over her ex so much and so often. Surprisingly, though, that didn't annoy me as much as it normally would. I attribute that to the writing, because, okay, I get it, long relationship, you didn't see it coming, fine. But Annie kept making things harder for herself, she kept trying to hang on to something that was not there anymore.

On the other side, there's Sophie, and Sophie was great. She did everything right, she tried to help Annie and make her see her own worth. I may not completely agree with her methods, but no one's perfect.

I think the book falls in the feminism category, it is esentially about being your own woman, about making your own decisions and about not being on your knees for the first man that shows you attetion. I liked that. Annie was definitely this type of person, thinking she can't ever be happy without being tied up to a man. And when Sam dumped her, with no warning, she was lost and depressed. Sophie did a wonderful job at trying to show her, to teach her that happniess doesn't come from outside. I really liked Sophie for this.

Overall the book was great. It was recommended to me by my best friend and I am going to go and give thanks again for it because I really, really liked it. More than it, I want to read 'The Return', also by Rachel Harrison. 'The Return' is the first book the author published and I saw it was generally well received so I want to check it out. But until that, definitely give 'Cackle' a try. If you like everything empowering, witchy, and don't absolutely dislike spiders, it is a great book.

3.5 rounded up.

I picked up this book because I vaguely remembered enjoying the other things I'd read by this author and it's probably why I didn't DNF it.

The beginning and the ending of this book are pretty good, the middle section seemed to drag on and on. It's a cute story in many ways, it's also a story with a main character that can be relatable but also kind of annoying. She's a teacher but she doesn't seem to like students and has no delusions about being a great teacher, she doesn't really have friends and the one she has she doesn't seem to treat super nicely and the one she makes is more of a mother figure, she can't seem to get over her ex or more accurately the fantasy of who her ex was (that might be the most relatable part), in short she sounds like almost every millennial I know (I am one myself it's not disdain it's being real). I guess what I'm trying to say is if you're interested in a character exploration on the heart-broken millennial you might enjoy this book.

4 shining gold stars going to best autumn vibes ever! The feminist undertones and the glorious ending hinted at more than made up for the initially whiny protagonist.

Coming from a fellow teacher, her class management skills were execrable. There is no way letting students get away with so much can be conducive to a good learning environment.

On another note, her personal growth and empowerment being conflated with a skew to the dark makes sense in the story, but kind of rankles. Why should empowered women keep on being considered mean or old witches? It kind of defeats the purpose of the underlying message.

While I enjoyed the book to no end, I'm still in two minds about the conflicting narrative and morale it tries to convey.

First off, this is not a horror novel, unless you have crippling arachnophobia. Next, I have mixed feelings about this book - on the one hand, the main character, Annie, irritated me so badly that I nearly DNF'd the book around 40%. She was so whiney and judgmental and desperate for validation. I did ultimately like her arc, but dang did she annoy me along the way. However, the end made me a little uneasy - it almost read like the townsfolk didn't have a will of their own or they were at least being magically manipulated. 

I liked Sophie. She fascinated me, and I wanted more about her backstory, but there was something off about her as well, which I suppose we're supposed to pick up on, but rather than the “Ooh, she might be a scary witch!” vibe, it was more “why is she so desperate for Annie to like her?” Sophie's desperation for a friend made more sense as the book progressed, but still she and Annie didn't have a healthy relationship. I do, however, rather wish they had become a couple, rather than mentor/mentee, but I suppose that would have defeated the point of Annie's lesson (and their power dynamic would have needed to be more even). 

Though I do not like spiders, at all, I did fall completely in love with Ralph.  

I'll premise this review with the fact that I LOVED Rachel Harrison's book The Return. It was the perfect spooky book. There was some gore, and mystery, and horror! As soon as I was finished I saw that she was releasing another book, Cackle, and I immediately added it to my TBR. Once I saw it on Netgalley I requested it. And waited. And waited. And FINALLY got the email that I was approved. In the meantime, I had read other reviews about how different this was from Harrison's previous novel. I try to never read reviews of books I have yet to read because I don't like being biased. However, I was happy I saw this because it allowed me to go into this book with the correct headspace. Instead of expecting the level of creep and grossness that The Return gave me, I went in just hoping for a good witch book AND I GOT IT!

This book is so fun. It really stays on the lighter side which was a nice break from the endless list of heavy, horror filled books I've been reading lately. It highlights friendship, sisterhood, and the reality that we are strong and capable alone, just as we are (maybe even more) in a relationship. It really gave me some girl power feels - and a strong feeling of self worth and capability. And gave me a strong dose of witchyness! This is perfect for the fall/spooky season. It made me want to grab my closes witch sister, head to the farmers market, then back to one of our houses to bake. I suggest grabbing a nice bottle of wine, finding a cozy spot with a comfy blanket, and settling in for a heartwarming book.

I suggest this to all fiction lovers. There's a bit of something for everyone. If you're looking for a dark and twisty tale, though, I'd go elsewhere (maybe try The Return).

*Thank you Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed The Return quite a bit when I read it, but this is even better, more lighthearted. I mean, there is an adorable spider in this!

Annie is dumped by her boyfriend and moves to a small upstate NY town called Rowan. Rowan has a secret: It has a resident witch–Sophie. People fear her, hate her, honor her, and avoid her. She latches onto Annie. Their relationship is dysfunctional, but, as Annie figures her shit out more, things even out more.

Yes, I fully acknowledge that Sophie's relationship with the town is fraught. It's toxic. And Annie's relationship basically becomes that. But it's interesting that it's mostly the men who take the worst offense at their witchiness. I don't think this book necessarily glorifies that toxicity of these relationships. It's blatant for everyone to see. But Annie had to choose between someone she came to love and the town itself. And she chooses that for which she cares most. Women aren't perfect, but I still understand Sophie's bitterness. Everyone fears her, even when she isn't harming them. This book understands the fear certain women provoke in others, just for being themselves, and it doesn't shine it up to make it look pretty by making them kind.

Also, it's cathartic seeing a raging a-hole get scared.

In the end, it is about women helping each other. Because Annie helped Sophie just as much.

Also, Ralph. Just. Ugh, spiders! SO CUTE!