A review by becsobookish
Disturbance by Jenna Clake

challenging dark reflective

3.75

This story has the cadence of thriller with the sort of lyricism you'd expect from a poet. Based on the book's summary, I expected a story about a woman who finds kinship with other women going through a similar experience, and they use witchcraft as a tool for healing. While this is loosely accurate, the story is much more nuanced and less optimistic than that outline implies. I think this book is good, but it's hard to say that I liked it or enjoyed it, because the author so skillfully made me feel unsettled, paranoid, and heartbroken. Emphasis on the unsettled. The paranormal aspect is a bit under-explored in my opinion, and the ending felt rushed and a little out of place with the rest of the novel. This book is unique because it focuses on a very specific part of the healing journey - the part where the victim realizes that they were wronged and that they deserve to heal. I don't know that I would recommend this to anyone recently or currently experiencing abuse, but I do think this provides great insight into the mind of someone in that position.

When describing this book to my partner, I said it was The Woman in the Window meets My Year of Rest and Relaxation meets The Turn of the Screw.