The Nesting by C.J. Cooke @CJessCooke @fictionpubteam @RandomTTours #TheNesting #BlogTour

 

The Nesting by C.J. Cooke was published by HarperCollins on 15th October 2020. My thanks to the publisher for the review copy and Anne Cater of Random Thing Tours for inviting me on to the blog tour. 

The grieving widower.

The motherless daughters.

A beautiful house in the woods.

Deep in a remote Norwegian forest, Lexi has found a new home with architect Tom and his two young daughters. With snow underfoot and the sound of the nearby fjord in her ears, it’s as if Lexi has stepped into a fairy tale

But this family has a history – and this place has a past. Something was destroyed to build their beautiful new house. And those ancient, whispering woods have a long memory.

Lexi begins to hear things, see things that don’t make sense. She used to think this place heavenly, but in the dark, dark woods, a menacing presence lurks.

With darkness creeping in from the outside, Lexi knows she needs to protect the children in her care.

But protect them from what?

My Thoughts:

First of all I just wanted to pass comment on the absolutely stunning and bewitching cover of The Nesting by C.J. Cooke. 

The Nesting is a gothic tale of the finest proportions, perfect for the nights that are now drawing in. I recommend hunkering down and getting totally swept up in this often bleak and brutal story of Norwegian Fjords, folklore and psychological suspense. Although I would personally recommend leaving a light on. 

Lexi is a complex character and has been having a tough time so when by chance more than anything she stumbles across a job as a Nanny it seems like the perfect escape and an opportunity for reinvention. Lexi is feeling that she might have bitten off more than she can chew when she realises that the job is in fact in Norway and she is leaving virtually straight away. 

The job will be challenging that is for sure the two young girls have recently lost their mother Aurelia and husband Tom is grieving and on the surface seems more interested in money and work than his childrens well being. 

 

So when the atmosphere around the house and strange things seem to be going on Lexi puts it down to herself and her current state of mind at her recent events. Although it transpires that she might not be the only one that is finding things a little strange and unusual. 

 

Tom is an architect and he is building a house for his wife Aurelia, when she passes away he decides to finish it anyway. I found the landscape took on a character and a life of it's own. I could hear the noise of the fjords and sense the vastness and the great beauty. Also the fact that some things are way bigger than us as humans and that we should often have more respect for what is around us and our environment. Some things and places are meant to be wild and not tamed. 

 

The Nesting is told in the present by Lexi and also other chapters revert back to the past and events that have led up to the present. I found these particularly moving and a sense of foreboding was screaming out across the pages like a howl in the wind.  At points a shiver ran down my spine as if I was standing underneath the snow covered trees.

 

I found The Nesting completely unsettling, incredibly compelling and an ode to Norway, to the landscape and the vastness of nature and also a nod to the folklore that features. 

 

Beautiful and bewitching in equal measure. 

About the Author:

C.J. Cooke is an acclaimed, award-winning poet, novelist and academic with numerous other publications under the name of Carolyn Jess-Cooke. Born in Belfast, she has a PhD in Literature from Queen’s University, Belfast, and is currently Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow, where she researches creative writing interventions for mental health. She also founded the Stay-At-Home Festival. 

 

#TheNesting @CJessCooke

 

Please do also have a look at some of the other stops on the blog tour.