Cackle

by Rachel Harrison

A darkly funny, frightening novel about a young woman learning how to take what she wants from a witch who may be too good to be true, from the author of The Return.
 
All her life, Annie has played it nice and safe. After being unceremoniously dumped by her longtime boyfriend, Annie seeks a fresh start. She accepts a teaching position that moves her from Manhattan to a small village upstate. She’s stunned by how perfect and picturesque the town is. The people are all friendly and warm. Her new apartment is dreamy too, minus the oddly persistent spider infestation.  
 
Then Annie meets Sophie. Beautiful, charming, magnetic Sophie, who takes a special interest in Annie, who wants to be her friend. More importantly, she wants Annie to stop apologizing and start living for herself. That’s how Sophie lives. Annie can’t help but gravitate toward the self-possessed Sophie, wanting to spend more and more time with her, despite the fact that the rest of the townsfolk seem…a little afraid of her. And like, okay. There are some things. Sophie’s appearance is uncanny and ageless, her mansion in the middle of the woods feels a little unearthly, and she does seem to wield a certain power…but she couldn’t be…could she?

• ISBN10: 0593202031
• ISBN13: 9780593202036
• Publish Date: 30 August 2022 (first published 5 October 2021)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780593202036

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

What do my eyes spot here? A new story by Rachel Harrison? Why, yes, please! Cackle is a story perfect for this time of year, with a witchy focus that I will never turn down.

Annie is a stereotypical good girl. She always does the right thing, listening to others and playing it safe. Yet none of that prevented her heart from getting broken, now did it? Struggling to find peace with what had happened, Annie decided to take a risk.

She now has a new teaching job, one that's going to require her to relocate to a beautiful small town. It's almost too perfect. Here, Annie makes a new friend. Sophie is stunning, and she wants what is best for Annie – which means she's never going to encourage Annie to accept second best. Only...there does seem to be something odd about Sophie...

"It's best not to be specific with wishes. Otherwise, you end up getting what you think you want instead of what you need. How dangerous."

Cackle was such a fun and enchanting read – slight pun intended there. It's a perfect read for right around Halloween (though I am rather behind on actually writing the review, my bad). If you like witches and Rachel Harrison's sense of humor and storytelling, then you're going to enjoy this read.

I will say that there's more funny than frightening in this story – but I'm okay with that. I like lighter witchy reads, for obvious reasons. But those expecting something darker may be disappointed, so I wanted to mention that as soon as possible.

The friend vibes of Cackle are pure perfection. They're also super endearing, and were the highlight of the book, at least to me. The pacing, character development, and surprises along the way were all bonuses.

Thanks to Berkley Books and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Read more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks