*Blog Tour: The Nesting by C J Cooke

 Today I'm on the blog tour for The Nesting by C J Cooke:

The grieving widower. The motherless daughters. A beautiful house in the woods. And a nanny comes to save the day...So what if Lexi isn’t telling the truth about who she is? Escaping to the remote snows of Norway was her lifeline. And all she wanted was to be a part of their lives. 

But soon, isolated in that cold, creaking house in the middle of ancient, whispering woods, Lexi's fairytale starts to turn into a nightmare. 

With darkness creeping in from the outside, Lexi’s fears are deepening. Lexi knows she needs to protect the children in her care. But protect them from what?

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.

My thoughts?

Lexi needs a new challenge, a fresh start. When she hears the girl on the train talking about a nannying job in Norway she finds herself quite randomly pretending to be "Sophie" and heads off to be nanny to little Gaia and baby Coco. When she gets there she finds herself in the middle of nowhere, with a reluctant housekeeper, a distant employer and two lovely little children, whose mother sadly and quite tragically recently died, having taken her own life.

Their dad, Tom is determined to finish Aurelia's dream home even though it's tearing him apart. What are the noises Lexi keeps hearing in the basement? Is there more to Aurelia's death that anyone's letting on? The diary Lexi finds makes her want to reach out - but to whom..

I loved the folklore and stories the author created interweaved between the pages, the icy and remote Norwegian setting, the stillness of the forest and the feeling that the house is alive. The story jumps between then and now so the reader gets the whole picture. I really enjoyed the story which had a few twists and turns I wasn't expecting. Would recommend.