Cackle

Written by Rachel Harrison

Narrated by Dylan Moore

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?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Audio
• Release date: Oct 5, 2021
• ISBN: 9780593456866

Rachel Harrison

Rachel Harrison is the author of CACKLE, winner of the Ladies of Horror Award for Best Novel and THE RETURN, which was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel. Her short fiction has appeared in Guernica, Electric Literature's Recommended Reading, and as an Audible Original. She lives in Western New York with her husband and their cat/overlord.

Reviews for Cackle

[twilightcove · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I really got tired of Annie! That character was so incredibly whiny! It just got really old after a while I wasn’t much of a fan of her friend Sophie either.

Also I’m not a big fan of swearing in the books I read. A couple of words here and there doesn’t bother me but a bunch of f-bombs is super annoying. I am of the mind that if the story is really good it doesn’t need a lot of garbage to prop it up, that’s usually to my way of thinking trying to cover up a bad story line.

I gave the book two stars because the ending was really good, and there were some good thinking points throughout the book.

But overall I was really glad to get to the end because most of the time I was just annoyed by it all!

[Payton Reagan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this, first book in a while in this genre that I’ve enjoyed! I’m curious to see what else I will enjoy from Rachel now !

[sublunarie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Oh I absolutely adored every second of this story! Not only is it a beautiful tale of a woman coming into her own and learning that she is truly the strongest person she knows, but it takes place in a beautiful town that I'd love to be a resident of.

As one of the witches, of course.

[sageness · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3.5 stars. Really slow to get going and fairly predictable as far as plot, but the last third was a satisfying read. I also appreciate that this is a book about a deep platonic, if somewhat romantic, female friendship between a straight woman and a queer woman. That kind of relationship is so rare in fiction, it was refreshing to see here.

I am happy to read lesbian romance, BTW, but it is important that this be shown as a profound and also asexual relationship.

[charon07 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An entertaining if rather predictable chick-lit tale about a wuss of a protagonist, Annie Crane, who ends up in a small town after breaking up with her boyfriend in New York City. She becomes friends with the mysterious social outcast Sophie, to whom everyone in town seems strangely deferential, even afraid. I had little patience for Annie and her endless pining for her ex-boyfriend. On the other hand, at the end I don’t think the moral of the story was the one I wanted to see either.

Although the genre here on LT is horror, I’d call this rather a cozy witch story, nothing horrific about it unless you find the prospect of being single horrifying.

[kalliegrace · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Delightfully cozy and witchy with just a tinge of underlying dread. I can see this being a favorite to return to. I wish spiders were actually communicative pets.

[smashbasile · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very much liked this lovely, wholesome "horror" book! Perfect book for getting in the Halloween mood!

MC Annie was a bit of a complainer at first, but I am satisfied that her character development, so it made it much easier to deal with. Our witchy friend was great. Haughty and funny! Loved her.

Overall, great story, and I enjoyed the little epilogue to sum everything up!

[sturlington_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A good break-up book, with delicious food, sumptuous dresses, and a very cute spider.

[miserableflower · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I"m frustrated that this book is now effecting my book suggestions. >.< It was not the SLIGHTEST bit queer like I thought it might be.... even though the two really left some questions when the two MCs reacted to other female characters.... definitely gave some gay vibes... and I personally think it should have been written as queer.

Annie is boring and toxic. She needs to grow up and embrace the single life and learn to stand by herself. Shes so boringly obessed with Sam and its obnoxious, like girl, if you haven't been single since you were 13 than even WHO ARE YOU?? She does get some minor personal growth, but it really hard for it to feel tangible for the reader though.

Sam is a complete douchebag, and only wants Annie for what she can do for him. He strings her along and drops Annie crumbs, and only shares enough interest to keep her on the hook but not actually commited. He's pathetic and just makes me HATE Annie for her even caring about him. (at least this was resolved)

Sophie is messy as fuck....and at first I didn't mind her even if she was a little problematic. But then the drugging thing happens and it just gets worse and worse. Like Sophie was overbearing and a touch too controlling at first and then it just goes downhill. Sophie's big climatic moment kind of turned out like I was hoping it might.... but we still don't really know where she is at the end... and I mean I did enjoy her and Ralph.... all the other characters were garbage....

[amzzz_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Omg everything about this book annoyed me.

[adonisguilfoyle · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Finally! A supernatural story that isn't ruined by forcing the narrative into a romance. I'm sick of choosing books about witches or magic and finding instead men with ripped chests and obscure coloured eyes who charm the knickers off the heroine but bore me silly. This is the book I've been searching for - chick lit, Hallmark Christmas movies and Stephen King, but in a good way!

After being relegated back to the friend zone by her best friend turned boyfriend, Annie Crane leaves New York on her thirtieth birthday and moves upstate to a new life and new job in Rowan, a small town with a secret. Main Street is like a scene from a Hallmark movie, with coffee shops, bakeries and a farmer's market, and everyone is friendly and welcoming. The only downside seems to be the spiders in her apartment. Annie is battling her own demons, however, feeling depressed and lonely. Until she meets the stunningly beautiful Sophie, the best friend she has always longed for, who takes the newcomer under her wing and invites Annie out to her mansion in the woods. But why is everyone else seemingly afraid of this enigmatic beauty with a kind heart?

I absolutely loved this story, from the characters to the setting - in fact, I wanted to be both Annie and Sophie! And the only man on the scene is Annie's ex, Sam, who is likeable enough but neither an Adonis or a romantic risk. I enjoyed Annie's new start in Rowan, shared her neuroses while teaching a class of obnoxious teens, but was glad that she was allowed to find herself rather than a man. I'm not sure about the message - all single women over 30 are witches? - but I was all for not having to endure another romance. Sophie is also a fabulous character, comfortable in who she is but understandably lonely. The darker scenes - mostly involving spiders and ghosts - were also well written and unnerving.

Funny, moving, comforting, spooky, relatable, Rachel Harrison has thrown every emotion into the cauldron bar lust, which is fine by me! Definitely recommended, and I might even buy a printed copy to read annually during spooky season!

[stressedrach · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Many of my overseas friends read this last year and it was hyped to be very special. When I got a chance to read I, I jumped at it.
Sadly, I found it did not live up to the hype. It started off great and had the potential to be amazing, but I felt that it fell flat. It was more of a cosy mystery than I expected.
It was written well but just did not do it for me.

[mstrust · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Annie has been dumped by her boyfriend of ten years and needs to find somewhere new to live because she can't afford NYC. She accepts a teaching post in an upstate school and find an apartment in a small town not far away in a quaint and lovely town, and despite her depression, Annie looks forward to meeting people here because she really doesn't have any close friends.
Meeting Sophie changes everything. Charming, helpful and beautiful, Sophie wants to be friends with Annie because she's lonely too. But Annie gets the feeling that the people here are afraid of Sophie, and after seeing the two women together so much, they seem afraid of Annie too. The more Annie learns about Sophie, the more confused she is about whether Sophie is her kind friend or an evil tyrant.
.

[luminous4path · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Story of a woman slowly discovering she is a witch after being taken under the wing of a local scion. Lots of funny moments. One was LOL for me. Easy listen. Downsides: story was thin. I thought the ex-boyfriend learning experience would be for Act I, but it turned out to be the only major plot point for the entire book. So it felt really stretched out. Honestly I think it would have been better if she'd gotten over him in Act I and THEN backslid for Act III. This 250 page book feels like the first third of a longer work.

Not enough happens. Heroine starts relatable, then becomes annoying. There's nothing scary, which is fine, except all the scary things that scare the shit out of the heroine but get basically handwaved away by her witch friend.

[jjbooklvr · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

After a bad breakup Annie moves to small town Rowan where she meets Sophie who seems a little too perfect. Twilight Zone like this is a fun, light horror novel with just a touch of darkness.

[slmr4242 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I love the premise, but I find the use of power by the protagonist disturbing and imbalanced. She seems to have gone from giving all her power to a boyfriend (who is rather spineless in his own way) to overindulging her personal whims. Not that she should be perfect, but I wish she would try to be wise about it.

[jmchshannon · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Cackle by Rachel Harrison is not my usual reading fare, but I enjoyed every minute of it. Ms. Harrison’s story of female empowerment has some spooky moments, but really it is more about breaking societal expectations. After all, what is a witch other than a strong, independent female who doesn’t follow the rules set by others?

Annie starts out as a rather pathetic high school teacher struggling to adjust to life as a newly single woman after her long-time boyfriend decides they are better as friends than dating. For all that, she is equally relatable because of the fact that she always thought her path meant husband, children, and all the rest. Meanwhile, Sophie is quirky and charming even if she is a bit ominous. Watching Annie bloom under her tutelage is satisfying and inspiring.

You would think that a book that uses spiders as personal helpers would be a bit too much for this arachnophobe to handle, but I have to admit that by the end, I even found those damn spiders endearing. Cackle is what I would call a cozy witch story. It might take place in the dead of winter in an old and drafty mansion crawling with secrets, but the whole thing is just too damn cute with a great message about needing no one but yourself.

[carolesrandomlife · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book! I was hooked by the story from the very start and I liked it more and more as I worked my way through the book. I couldn’t wait to see what would happen to Annie next and hated to set the book aside. I thought that this book was smartly written and I loved the sense of humor throughout the book. I am so glad that I decided to pick up this book.

Annie and her boyfriend of almost 10 years just broke up and she is needing to start over. She is not happy about the break-up and would do anything to get him back. Her new life takes her to a small town upstate where she has a nice apartment and a job at the school the next town over. It isn’t long before she meets Sophie and Annie is thrilled to finally have a friend even if that friend is a little different.

I really liked the characters. Annie showed a lot of growth throughout the story. She had a lot of insecurities to work through but I think that helped to feel more authentic. Sophie was mysterious and rather glamorous. She knew what she wanted and what she liked and wouldn’t let anyone get in her way. I really loved the interaction between these two women. Ralph doesn’t make an appearance until the later parts of the book but once he showed up he stole the show.

I would recommend this book to others. I found this book an absolute joy to read and I loved the message of doing what brings you joy and standing up for yourself when necessary. I will definitely be reading more of this author’s work in the future.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley.

[choirchik · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I struggled with the rating for this book because the beginning was rough (underlined & italicized). I'll give you a synopsis. Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam, I can't believe I'm alone, Sam, Sam. I almost put the book down and DNF. I was waiting for Pet (this is what I called Annie whenever I thought about her when not reading because she was such a forgettable character I couldn't remember her name) to break out into Olivia Newton John's song "Sam.' Then she met Sophie. I'm 150% head over heels in love with Sophie; she is the saving grace of this book. Oh, and Ralph too. His little clothes!!

Sophie is sophisticated, 400 years old, knows what she wants in life and can be your best friend or worst enemy; just what I like in a person. I want to be her friend, I want her to make me clothes and tea and roast chicken, lol. I'm sad the book is over because I don't get to see if exacts revenge on anyone like she says she loves to do.

I'm not sure why they put frightening in the synopsis, besides a few ghosts popping up, nothing scary happens. There is some humor, Sophie is very sarcastic and Ralph is very cute, but its not really belly laugh/laugh out loud funny.

I'm wondering if there is going to be a second book because of the way the author left things. Two of the townsfolk are still very much skeptical of magic and Sophie. She kind of eludes to the fact that their families have been there for generations, and she has been a victim of attempted murder by the villagers hundreds of times throughout the centuries so maybe those two try to take things 'into their own hands.' Pet also comes into contact with an old acquaintance and she wants to help her and meet Sophie but never gets the opportunity. So that could be a possible story arc.

Anyways, maybe this review will help you see why I had a hard time rating this book. Rough beginning, too much Sam, all throughout the book really not just the beginning, Pet is annoying and forgettable, but Sophie is one of the best characters I have come across in a really long time. And I need Ralph in my life.