Reviews

Winterset Hollow by Jonathan Edward Durham

babs_reviews's review against another edition

5.0

Uniquely horrifying and captivating at the same time. This dark fantasy is riveting and full of metaphors.

This book is wild! I absolutely love the writing, the way the words bleed together and bend your heart is just a warm fuzzing feeling all over.

Imagine an adventure where the characters of your favorite book were alive, sounds absolutely wonderful, and in some cases I suppose it depends on the book! For Eamon, Mark and Caroline an adventure to the location of their favorite book felt right. Once there, they discover the book was based on true stories and their beloved animal characters are in fact real. With shock and an abundance of questions they get to know their hosts...until things take a dark and twisted turn.

The weave and flow of this story was light and uplifting at first and like a storm rolling in, the dark descended and the horrors unfolded. Each and every word pulls at you and challenges you to defend your own moral compass as you decide just which side you agree with OR how you disagree with both.

There isn't much more I can say about this without giving away major spoilers but I will say this; sometimes things aren't always what they seem and then again sometimes they are.

Welcome to Barley Day!

alyshaminor's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.0

jennifer26's review

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

ajblewett's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

shaniahm's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

4.0

poppysadler's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

lleamunro's review against another edition

Too much focus on "the hunt".

spellanddagger's review against another edition

5.0

Absolutely incredible read. Dark, violent, and so complex this book starts out as a nostalgic wonderland and then shifts into a gripping horror. The writing style with the organically shifting perspectives gives so much dimension to the events and keeps the action moving.

ginger_curmudgeon's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense

• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.75

I don’t quite know how I feel about this book. I had a hard time getting into it and it was a very slow go for me. It’s not that it’s a bad story, but I just didn’t get as invested as I hoped. I don’t know what kept me from enjoying it as much as I expected. Maybe it just wasn’t the right time for me to read it? 

I do enjoy Durham’s writing style. It’s a bit more literary than I expected. 

I cared about Caroline and Mark, but Eamon was the only character I really felt invested in. That said, the revelation about him was not a surprise for me. There were signs. 

For a while I sort of cared about Runny and Flackwell, but that didn’t last. 

One of the things I enjoyed the most is how Durham created the lore about the book, the author, the island . . . all of it. 

22divinem's review against another edition

4.0

The ending went on for a little too long but the concept kept me going