The House of Brides audiobook

Jane Cockram’s debut was hauntingly atmospheric a perfect fall read. Her descriptive writing style will completely transport you too the creepy Barnsley House. I would not classify this as a thriller it was more of a slow burn suspenseful family drama a little reminiscent of a Kate Morton Book. The beauty of the story was not twists and turns but rather immersive incredible storytelling. Miranda’s life has hit a bit of a bump and she is looking to reinvent herself. When she receives a mysterious letter from a cousin she’s never met Miranda believes it is the perfect time to leave Australia and fly to the UK to find a piece of her pass. Miranda’s mother Tessa was a famous author who died when she was young. Tessa had fled the UK for reasons unknown to Miranda so she ensconces herself in the family as the new nanny. What follows is the unraveling of a web of family secrets and lies. A creepy house full of creepy characters with a creepy past. The story really drew me in these characters were so vividly drawn, so real to me. I wanted nothing to happen to these children, I wanted to know where their mother Daphne had gone? I needed to know what was up with Max and scary Mrs. Mim. What was Elizabith really up to out on that island? Miranda was a great character and I was right there with her trying to piece all of this together. The ending to this story really surprise me, however there was an abruptness to it that didn’t flow with the rest of the book. All in all this was a captivating debut and I am looking forward to what’s next from Miss Cockram.This book in emojis: 🌫 📖 🛥 ✍🏻 🏚 *** Big thanks to Harper Collins for my copy of this book ***

4.5 stars! Long hidden family secrets. An old secluded (haunted?) mansion. Unreliable and mysterious characters. Gothic foreboding atmosphere. This book has all the ingredients to satisfy my reading tastes!Miranda discovers a letter from her estranged twelve-year-old cousin asking for help. Intrigued by her mothers’ dark and secretive past, Miranda starts to dig into her familial background uncovering secrets and long buried stories that make her question her sense of identity.The writing was excellent! I was completely engrossed from the first to last page and felt as if I were actually there alongside the characters. The thick, eerie atmosphere was palpable and ever-so-enjoyable. The pace and flow were consistently perfect and kept me curious throughout. Miranda was a unique and endearing character who I loved rooting for - I enjoyed following her journey in uncovering her family’s past. Though there were a few convenient situations that occurred within the pages of this story, they didn’t take away from my love for this novel. The writing, characters, old mansion house, family secrets and foreboding atmosphere were so brilliantly done that I could easily overlook those aspects and stay lost within the story.This was a phenomenal debut novel and I look forward to reading what this author comes out with next!Thank you to Edelweiss for the review copy! Thank you to my lovely local library for the loan of the physical copy!

The synopsis of this one grabbed me from the start. Miranda is a social media influencer who falls from grace when the product she endorses completely flops. Trolls are all over her accounts, and all she wants to do is hide. So, that she does on her family’s English estate.Once there, Miranda is surrounded by secrets and a dark family mystery. The descriptive writing works so well in this story. The storyline is original, and the pacing kept my thoughts churning. I had a hard time putting this one down.If you are looking for a refreshing thriller, you should check out The House of Brides. It has Gothic touches making it perfect for fall. Plus, it has an eerie old manse and is full of family secrets and drama.I received a complimentary copy from the publisher. Many of my reviews can also be found on instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader

Add this to your TBR for October!Jane Cockram captivates with her haunting debut novel, The House of Brides. With echoes of Daphne de Maurier, it examines the inescapable ties of family and what happens when a complex tangle of secrets starts to unravel. Gripping, atmospheric and with an ending you won’t see coming, this book held me in its spell long after the final page. A sure-fire bestseller!

An English estate has been home to generations of the women who married into the Summer family.When one of the daughters gets a letter from a current, teenage relative addressed to her mother pleading for help, Miranda leaves Australia and heads to Barnsley House. The funny thing is that her mother has passed away.Miranda never was reliable, and after her job disaster and her father's finding her another job she doesn't want, she thinks this letter from a cousin will save her.Miranda tricks her father into paying for her flight from Australia to England to find out what the letter meant and finds herself being interviewed for a job as a nanny instead of why she came in the first place. Did Miranda go from a bad situation to a worse one?She can't reveal why she really arrived, and she doesn't know what really is waiting for her at Barnsley House, but she soon finds out all isn't as it should beWhat she finds are three children, their father, a housekeeper, an empty, not well-kept inn, an estate in disrepair, odd things happening, and no visible mother.Ms. Cockram created the story line in a very creative way. She revealed some of the family's secrets by using a book Miranda’s mother had written that describes the history of the house and the family. Ms. Cockram also used a diary with background information of the characters written by the infamous, "missing" mother.Everyone and everything seemed to have a secret at Barnsley House. The housekeeper was especially secretive, dangerous, and frightening.If you enjoy odd characters, old mansions, family secrets, supposed ghosts, a stolen book, and Gothic undertones, you will want to have THE HOUSE OF BRIDES added to your TBR.HOUSE OF BRIDES has an absorbing, captivating story line you won't want to put down.Ms. Cockram’s writing style is descriptive and draws you in. A marvelous debut all around. 5/5This book was given to me by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

What a ripper! A strong narrative that is a page turner, with reveals all through the novel that are compelling right to the end. I especially loved the sense the reader gets of both Australia and Barnsley house, an atmospheric book that should top your 'to read' list!

Miranda Courtenay has had a very public fall from grace, Her career as a life style influencer has come to an end. But when she finds a letter from her twelve year old cousin whom she has never met asking for help from Mirandas Mother. She decides to go to Barnsley house her mothers family home. Her mother wrote the famous book about the house it was a chronicle of the generations of women who married into the infamous Summer family From Gertrude Summer the famed crime novelist to Mirandas grand mother Beatrice who committed suicide after setting the house on fire. Miranda decides to go to England to see the family home for herself and to help her cousin and also hopefully meet other family members When she gets there she has to pretend to be a nanny for the children . As her Mother left the family years ago and had no contact with them because of something that she did. Will they accept her if they find out she is related to them. Or is she doomed to follow the path of the other Summer women?

Miranda cuenta con una legión de seguidores en las redes sociales y una aplicación propia, pero un montón de consejos repartidos sin pensar demasiado van a echar por tierra su reputación. El precio que pagará por su error será alto; cerrar sus perfiles en la red y buscar otro trabajo. Pero puede que se le presente la oportunidad de escapar por un tiempo, siempre y cuando esté dispuesta a adentrarse en lo más oscuro del pasado de su familia.Su madre murió cuando ella era aún una niña y su padre no habla demasiado de ella ni de la familia de su esposa. Se ha vuelto a casar y Miranda tiene dos hermanas adolescentes que, junto con la madre de estas, se han convertido en su nueva familia. Su padre es estricto, pero también ha estado al lado de Miranda cuando ella no tenía a nadie más, incluso le ha encontrado un nuevo trabajo para ayudarla a emprender una nueva vida lejos de las redes sociales."La casa de las novias era mi único vínculo con mi madre y su pasado, pero ni siquiera era el vínculo más personal. Lo que sabía sobre Barnsley House era lo mismo que sabían todos los lectores. Y lo que recordaba de mi madre también era más o menos lo que sabían ellos".Jane Cockram, La casa de las noviasQue su padre no le hable nunca de su madre y el resto de su familia materna, no implica que Miranda no tenga curiosidad. Incluso conserva a escondidas un ejemplar de La casa de las novias, libro que lanzó a la fama como escritora a su madre. En ese libro se cuenta la historia de las mujeres que habitaron en la casa familiar y destapa algunos de los cotilleos que más pueden haber avergonzado a la familia a lo largo de los años. Secretos, infidelidades e incluso asuntos de mayor envergadura se esconden entre las páginas de un tomo del que parece que nadie quiere hablar.Una carta dirigida a la madre de Miranda llama poderosamente su atención una noche. Se encuentra en casa de su padre y sabe que si no curiosea qué contiene el sobre, él nunca le mencionará el asunto. En el remite se distingue claramente que la misiva procede de la auténtica Casa de las Novias, en la campiña inglesa."Ha ocurrido algo malo. A mi madre le pasa algo. Papá dice que alguien tiene que cuidar de nosotros, pero que no puede enterarse nadie de la familia".Jane Cockram, La casa de las noviasLas palabras escritas por quien parece su prima, remueven la curiosidad de Miranda. Además, sería una oportunidad increíble de desaparecer durante un tiempo, hasta que todos hayan olvidado lo que hizo y pueda volver a llevar una vida normal. Sabe que su padre se opondrá y que nadie en aquella casa la conoce, pero el plan se va formando en su mente casi sin que se dé cuenta y salvará la distancia entre Sydney y aquella recóndita región inglesa donde nació y creció su madre. Por fin iba a conocer a su familia materna y podría convertir en tangibles todos esos lugares que había imaginado leyendo aquel libro.A su llegada a la mansión, se da cuenta de que aquel hotelito con encanto y el restaurante que, a manos de la mujer de su tío, había alcanzado fama internacional, no es como esperaba encontrarlo. De hecho, está cerrado; el hotel sin huéspedes y el restaurante sin comensales ni personal. Un atávico instinto de supervivencia se apodera de Miranda que decide no desvelar su parentesco y permanecer en la casa en calidad de niñera. Parece que sus tíos no pueden hacerse cargo de sus hijos ya que Max está muy ocupado con los negocios y Daphne ha sufrido algún tipo de accidente. Así es como Miranda se adentra en la historia de su propia familia y se propone arrojar luz sobre lo que quiera que esté sucediendo entre esos muros."Su conducta maníaca era inquietante. Ella era inquietante.Comprendí por qué necesitaban a alguien para ayudar con los niños".Jane Cockram, La casa de las noviasLo que no sabe Miranda es que el misterio que se desata a su llegada con la desaparición de Daphne no será el enigma más grande al que se enfrente y que las garras de los secretos familiares son tan largas y afiladas que pueden llegar a alcanzarla aún sin haberlo imaginado. ¿Merecerá la pena haber viajado hasta allí? ¿Encontrará Miranda en la Casa de las Novias la verdad que busca?La casa de las novias en un thriller que comienza muy suave. Una vez has llegado a Barnsley House empiezas a imbuirte del temor que se apropia de Miranda y del ambiente tenso que se respira en la mansión. Los personajes desfilan exhibiendo su particular enigma, hasta que todos parecen ocultar un secreto que el lector tratará de descubrir si es propio o compartido.La narración va tomando ritmo y para cuando has llegado al ecuador ya estás irremediablemente atrapado. Quieres saber no solo qué ha ocurrido con Daphne, sino qué más oculta esta particular familia. Y la autora reserva algunas sorpresas para el final, que no decepciona.Recomendado para los que disfrutan con los misterios familiares y las historias que se ambientan en mansiones cargadas de personalidad y con una estirpe familiar con más de un secreto que esconder. La casa de las novias tiene una extensión perfecta que la convierte en una lectura ligera pero bien construida que engancha al lector y lo arrastra hasta el final casi sin que se dé cuenta.Jane Cockram es australiana y estudió Periodismo, con especialización en Literatura y más tarde un posgrado en Publicaciones y Comunicación. Tras trabajar para la editorial Pan Macmillan y una cadena de librerías, presenta La casa de las novias, su primera novela.

Miranda es una joven marcada por la muerte de su madre. Solo tiene un libro, La casa de las novias, es la historia que escribió ella sobre Barnsley, una idílica villa gobernada por fuertes mujeres donde ella creció. Actualmente, la vida de Miranda va cuesta abajo, no logra encontrar un trabajo y su padre está harto de rescatarla. Una carta procedente de Barnsley dirigida a su difunta madre es la oportunidad perfecta para descubrir que esconde su familia.He disfrutado muchísimo con esta lectura, me encantan las novelas con casas misteriosas y niñeras que deben enfrentarse a ellas junto con un montón de niños revueltos. Esa es la gran premisa del libro, junto con una dosis de fantasmas y desapariciones. Una delicia.Como os decía, no es una novela negra tradicional pese a contar con algunos de sus tópicos. Encontramos muchas reflexiones sobre la familia, sobre el fracaso y la verdad, así como un toque de amor e historia. El estilo de la autora es impecable, los capítulos son cortos e incluyen pequeños fragmentos de noticias o de diarios personales para enriquecer la historia. Los personajes están bien construidos, en especial Miranda, nuestra protagonista, una joven cargada de valores y determinación.En resumen, una novela muy especial que me ha recordado bastante a “Otra vuelta de llave” de Ruth Ware, una de mis obras favoritas. Así que os la recomiendo si no os gustan las novelas negras tan sangrientas.

This is a squishy sorta gothic novel with an intrepid heroine in Miranda, an social influencer who has retreated to her father's house after a big oops. She finds a letter addressed to her long dead mother, Tessa, pleading with Tessa to come from Australia to Barnesly House in the UK. Her mother was the author of a book about the house and Miranda opts to fly in, pose as a nanny, and find out what's going on. There's a lot of creepy stuff focused on the current residents, Daphne, Max, their children, and the housekeeper Mrs Mins, which, given the history of what the various women who lived there, is not a good thing at all. Where's Daphne? No spoilers. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A quick read and a nice debut.

For a full review please check out my blog Lost in LiteratureI somehow had thought this was a romance, and boy howdy was it not, which for me is a good thing. Not going to lie, it took me about a week to get past the first 70 pages. but once I did I could not put this book down. I loved how unreliable every single character in this is as a narrator.It’s this that made it hard to get into because, in the beginning, Miranda is so damn unlikeable. She’s been caught lying and in a huge scandal that hurt many people and all we hear about is how hard it is on her. Then she lies to everyone around her more and more. But as things go on I did start to feel more for her.It’s her genuine caring for her cousins and the people around her that make you warm up to her. The remorse she feels and how it seems like she wants to be a better person. Especially as everything she knows as the truth begins to unravel around her.

An enjoyable read. I found the protagonist annoying in the early chapters but she grew on me. I was expecting more tension and drama, so I was a little disappointed and was left with unanswered questions. Easy read!