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netslummer's review
2.0
The premise of this book really intrigued me along with the author coined phrase of "Montana Gothic" to describe it. Some early parts about the deaders really got me good and made me eager for the rest of the book. Somewhere along the way (around 40% or so) Nathan stopped being a person I cared to read about. He is insufferable and not in an enjoyable way. I honestly had to force myself to finish this book. I am not glad to leave a less than shining review most of the time but I wanted to voice my opinion.
I think this book 100% has AN audience for sure. I think a better synopsis ought to be compiled to better understand what you're getting to ensue the book is worth its while for the reader who picks it up.
Thank you to NetGalley and Inkworks for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I think this book 100% has AN audience for sure. I think a better synopsis ought to be compiled to better understand what you're getting to ensue the book is worth its while for the reader who picks it up.
Thank you to NetGalley and Inkworks for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
lb_ferguson's review
2.0
This story was more like a mindless read. You read it, but there really isn't any substance or value to the story to make it all that memorable. There is a lot going on, yet they just smush everything together and make it muddy to the reader.
Normally, I wouldn't read the description of a book. I find that if I do, I often end up talking myself out of reading the book or find it less interesting than it might be. In this instance, I did read the description. I thought a story about a boy who could see ghosts and monsters and solving a mystery would be interesting. It didn't live up to its promise.
On top of that, there were other problems with the story. The timeline was confusing to follow. I had a hard time with all the jumping around. Also, the teen viewpoint in this book did not help. Sometimes it helps tie everything together. In this one, not so much. The best it does is make you really annoyed with the protagonist. I was waiting for him to grow up. Which he really didn't do as much as I would have liked.
I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.
Normally, I wouldn't read the description of a book. I find that if I do, I often end up talking myself out of reading the book or find it less interesting than it might be. In this instance, I did read the description. I thought a story about a boy who could see ghosts and monsters and solving a mystery would be interesting. It didn't live up to its promise.
On top of that, there were other problems with the story. The timeline was confusing to follow. I had a hard time with all the jumping around. Also, the teen viewpoint in this book did not help. Sometimes it helps tie everything together. In this one, not so much. The best it does is make you really annoyed with the protagonist. I was waiting for him to grow up. Which he really didn't do as much as I would have liked.
I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.
guarinous's review
3.0
Nathan sees dead people. He's also terminally alone, confused, and wandering through life in high school and eventually college in fear of ending up that way forever. When a seance to contact the "deaders" goes awry, Nathan's life quickly deteriorates into a nightmarish haze which may or may not actually be happening.
Pros:
- Writing style is interesting and gets notable tighter as the book goes on.
- Emotional take on queer characters in a coming-of-age tale in high school and college.
Cons:
- Forgettable characters, dropped subplots, and confusing time jumps abound.
- Horror aspect isn't consistent enough to scare throughout the long run time of the book.
Three stars. I almost gave it two, but the writing style was quite good. Ultimately however, this is a book that doesn't quite know what it wants to be with a main character who is insufferable at best and infuriating at worst. It's not quite horror, not quite unreliable narrator, not quite thriller. It just is, and at its length, it becomes hard to justify at times.
FFO: confusion, the Sixth Sense, psychedelia.
**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Inkshares and Netgalley*
Pros:
- Writing style is interesting and gets notable tighter as the book goes on.
- Emotional take on queer characters in a coming-of-age tale in high school and college.
Cons:
- Forgettable characters, dropped subplots, and confusing time jumps abound.
- Horror aspect isn't consistent enough to scare throughout the long run time of the book.
Three stars. I almost gave it two, but the writing style was quite good. Ultimately however, this is a book that doesn't quite know what it wants to be with a main character who is insufferable at best and infuriating at worst. It's not quite horror, not quite unreliable narrator, not quite thriller. It just is, and at its length, it becomes hard to justify at times.
FFO: confusion, the Sixth Sense, psychedelia.
**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Inkshares and Netgalley*
amandadinga's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
rally_reviews's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
3.5
lilibetbombshell's review
4.0
I gotta be honest with you: I didn’t expect to like this book as much as I did, and I definitely didn’t expect it to be as freaky as it was. Maybe it’s because all the books people swear are scary aren’t scary to me or because I just have a very skewed perspective on the word “scary”, but this book is a trip and a half. It’s poetic, sad, angry, neurotic, tragic, disorienting, darkly romantic, fanciful (but not overly so), and deeply steeped in the darkest of fairy tales and American folklore. I guarantee you’ll spend most of this book wondering what the heck is truly going on, and that feeling only grows as the book goes on. In the end, you have to make a choice as to what you think really happened, and I don’t think there’s a wrong answer.
I’ll be frank with you in that there is a lot of homophobic language and behavior in this book, along with a lot of internalized homophobia. This appears both literally and metaphorically. If this behavior and the language surrounding it is a huge trigger for you, then be very aware that you will come across it multiple times in this book.
I found this book to be charming, in a way. Sounds unusual, I know, for a horror novel to be somewhat charming, but it sometimes was, with its bursts of Great Gatsby-like dialogue, small talk about mythology, ruminations on the original versions of fairy tales versus what Disney made of them, and shudder-inducing mentions of creatures from American folklore and Native American mythology that give even me the heebie-jeebees. It’s the kind of horror mixed with wonder that always makes me smile because it’s simultaneously exciting and terrifying all at once.
I will admit the story arc could be more solid. It’s not quite as well-plotted as it could be, but this isn’t a plot-driven novel. It’s a character-driven novel that could have been better supported with a more stable plot, but it didn’t need it to be a terrific amount of shivery fun. It’s not all fun and games either, let me tell you. There is a great deal of anger, sadness, and tragedy in this book too. And there’s also the eternal question when it comes to a novel like this (where our protagonist can see supernatural/paranormal beings): is it all in his head or not? Maybe it could even be both?
This book is a long, sad, horrible, freakish spiral into madness and desperation propelled by events that occurred before the book began and only perpetuated and/or accelerated by the protagonist’s mind or by events that happen during the book. It’s tragic, but the tragedy is a beautiful and angry mess. Well worth the read.
Thanks to NetGalley and InkShares for granting me access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review.
File Under: Genre Mashup/Ghost Story/Horror/LGBTQ Fiction/LGBTQ Romance/Occult Horror/Psychological Thriller/Thriller
I’ll be frank with you in that there is a lot of homophobic language and behavior in this book, along with a lot of internalized homophobia. This appears both literally and metaphorically. If this behavior and the language surrounding it is a huge trigger for you, then be very aware that you will come across it multiple times in this book.
I found this book to be charming, in a way. Sounds unusual, I know, for a horror novel to be somewhat charming, but it sometimes was, with its bursts of Great Gatsby-like dialogue, small talk about mythology, ruminations on the original versions of fairy tales versus what Disney made of them, and shudder-inducing mentions of creatures from American folklore and Native American mythology that give even me the heebie-jeebees. It’s the kind of horror mixed with wonder that always makes me smile because it’s simultaneously exciting and terrifying all at once.
I will admit the story arc could be more solid. It’s not quite as well-plotted as it could be, but this isn’t a plot-driven novel. It’s a character-driven novel that could have been better supported with a more stable plot, but it didn’t need it to be a terrific amount of shivery fun. It’s not all fun and games either, let me tell you. There is a great deal of anger, sadness, and tragedy in this book too. And there’s also the eternal question when it comes to a novel like this (where our protagonist can see supernatural/paranormal beings): is it all in his head or not? Maybe it could even be both?
This book is a long, sad, horrible, freakish spiral into madness and desperation propelled by events that occurred before the book began and only perpetuated and/or accelerated by the protagonist’s mind or by events that happen during the book. It’s tragic, but the tragedy is a beautiful and angry mess. Well worth the read.
Thanks to NetGalley and InkShares for granting me access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review.
File Under: Genre Mashup/Ghost Story/Horror/LGBTQ Fiction/LGBTQ Romance/Occult Horror/Psychological Thriller/Thriller
ahobbitsreadinglist's review
The book was actually really interesting, and fairly well written. However, it was bringing up a lot of triggering thoughts for me, so for my mental health, I’ve decided to stop reading
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Body horror, and Bullying
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