Cackle by Rachel Harrison [book review]

Book: Cackle

By: Rachel Harrison

Published: October 5, 2021

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 293

Genre: Horror

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About Cackle:

Annie has always played it nice and safe. After she’s dumped by the boyfriend that she thought she was going to marry, Annie wants to start new. So, she accepts a teaching position where she has to move from Manhattan to a small town upstate. When she gets there she is stunned by how perfect the place is. The people there are all warm and friendly. On top of that, her apartment is great too but seems to have a spider infestation. Then she meets a beautiful and charming woman named Sophie that takes a special interest in her. At first, all Sophie wants for Annie is to start living for herself. But there’s something off about Sophie and she seems to always be the topic of the town.

What I thought:

So, I picked out Cackle because I was looking for a good horror book. Not only that but I just want to be able to read a really good witchy book. The premise of it sounds really promising, but little did I know that this book was by the same author that wrote The Return. The Return was Rachel’s debut book and I hated it! HATED IT!

So, why exactly did I pick up Cackle if I didn’t really like her first book? Well, I had completely forgotten that this was the same author. Even if I had known I probably still would have given her a chance. I always like giving authors another chance because who knows I might like the next book they write. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case with Cackle.

To me I found Cackle to be rather boring. I like Annie’s change in the story where she goes from really nice to a little bit snarky. I liked that she eventually stood up for herself. My only issue is that she’s a bit too trusting and a bit too forgiving. This is one aspect I didn’t like about her. On top of that, I did find Annie super weird. I felt like her personality was that of a shut-ins but she wasn’t exactly a shut-in. I just wish she had a more enticing personality.

There’s another thing that’s a bit confusing to me. Annie is supposed to have a roommate but she’s never there. It’s never explained where she is and how Annie can afford the place. Is her roommate still somehow paying? Why wasn’t this explained? Maybe I just missed it though.

I don’t know if I really consider this horror though. There’s really nothing creepy about it. Honestly, I’m more annoyed with this book than anything.

If you’re interested in this book then you might also enjoy horror movies based on books.