When she meets Frank at the local library, inexperienced Maya is taken in by the older boy right away. It's not necessarily his looks, but more a certain magnetism he has that is hard to resist. Prior to becoming a mom myself, I would stay up late reading books here and there with no issue. Now I try not to read too late as I need that sleep to chase a toddler around, haha. However, I had to know how this story would end so I found myself breaking my rule and staying up to read to the end. So that’s a big endorsement there! Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Dutton and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own. Andrea Bartz, New York Times bestselling author of We Were Never Here, The Herd, and The Lost Night

The central mystery (well, there are two, the first one is whether Frank actually killed those two women, and if so how, and) what is the deal with the strange house in the woods that haunts her dreams, the House in the Pines of the title. This was a book I had high hopes for, but it failed to wow me. I put this in the liked but didn't love category. The author does a good job looking at addiction and memory. This book was atmospheric which I love in books, but again, I thought this was just ok at best. It was a little slow and when the reveal happened, I wasn't overly excited about it. The best part of this book for me was the atmosphere the author created. I was really intrigued by this story. It pulled me in from the start. I enjoyed how Reyes structured the telling of the story. There are both past-and-present timelines, as you slowly piece together what happened between Maya, Frank and Aubrey that summer and how that has impacted Maya's life ever since. Some cultures blame such deaths on evil spirits. The mind will always try to explain what it can’t understand—it will make up stories, theories, whole belief systems—and Maya’s mind, Dr. Barry said, was of the type that saw faces in clouds and messages in tea leaves.”In what ways were the various representations of home (Maya’s hometown, her family’s home in Guatemala City, Frank’s cabin, and even Pixan’s fictional home in the mountains) significant? How do you feel about Maya’s decision to hide her addiction from her boyfriend, Dan? Do you think it’s ok to withhold some truth from your partner? stars rounded up. The House in the Pines was Ana Reyes’s debut novel. I listened to the audiobook that was narrated by Marisol Ramirez. The cover of this book initially pulled me in. You have to admit that it is pretty creepy! The beginning and ending of The House in the Pines were strong and atmospheric. I lost some interest when the middle part of the book took a slower turn and thus my 3.5 rating. The House in the Pines alternated between the past (before Aubrey’s death) and the present. This story follows Maya. When Maya was a Senior in high school, her best friend Aubrey, died suddenly, mysteriously and with no identifiable cause, directly in front of Maya's eyes. The only other person around, a young man named Frank, fled the scene. In an interview with The Mystery of Writing, Reyes said her novel was inspired by a cabin that she’s been thinking about for a long time.

Powerfully eerie and atmospheric, The House in the Pines is a compelling mix of psychological thriller and dark fairy tale. By focusing not on whodunnit but how and why, Ana Reyes’ stellar debut explores the many ways our memories can fail us—and how they can set us free.”Maya has struggled with the circumstances of Aubrey's death ever since. Due to this, she has understandably had trouble with sleeping and the pills sort of took the edge off, helped her to suppress the overwhelming anxiety. If it were guaranteed to work, would you ever consider undergoing hypnotherapy to correct a habit or forget about a painful experience? Why or why not? These questions have been tailored to this book’s specific reading experience, but if you want more ideas, we also have an article with 101 generic book club questions. During their last year of high school, Maya's best friend, Aubrey dropped dead while in the presence of Frank, a man they had been spending time with over the summer. Seven years have passed, and Maya has a secret addiction to klonopin which she has been keeping secret from her boyfriend, Ben.