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doctorbradford's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
elishasbookreview's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
bubblescotch's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Rape
greyhart's review against another edition
2.0
It's... Short and well-acted. I do not NOT recommend it.
n0rmann's review
4.0
I just always find Hunter Shea's novels fun. Good violence, great monsters, strong characters. That's all I want from a monster book!
claudia_is_reading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
What can I say? Soooooooooo many characters and not even one of them was really developed, so I didn't care one bit about them or their ultimate fate. And the whole rape thing? Ugh!
The written equivalent of a B-movie, without jump-scares; not my thing, sorry.
The written equivalent of a B-movie, without jump-scares; not my thing, sorry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
bookdeviant's review against another edition
3.0
See more of my reviews on my blog the Book Deviant
I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Jersey Devil by Hunter Shea was not what I was expecting. I was hoping for the classic Jersey Devil legend, with a little spin, mainly because I'm from Jersey myself. While I did get the little spin on the legend I was hoping for, the rest of the book was surprisingly...lacking.
Confusing characters that don't match up with their description
The main characters in this book are mainly from the Willet family, some upstate New York farmers that apparently have some type of grudge on the Devil. Having there be three generations (yes, only three despite the four that the summary promises) made things confusing, especially because Shea introduces them one at a time, usually not mentioning how they're related or who their parents are. Not only that, but each one has a 'secret' little problem they are all 'secretly' dealing with. However, those secrets somehow never become more important despite constantly returning to them time and time again.
And then there was the cryptozoologist with anxiety problems but is apparently has a really good aim with a rifle despite not having shot it in years. This character was just hypocritical at all times. First he was a cryptozoologist, but he discounted even the most obvious sightings down to bear attacks. Second, he was only there to discover the 'new species', but then the next thing I knew, he was shooting the Devils left and right without a care. He was also an unnecessary addition to the already confusing clan of Willets.
Reading like a SyFy movie is not good
You know those SyFy movies, right? Octoshark vs Pteracuda? Sharknado? This book reads like that.
The characters use an unholy amount of firepower, cussing to the sky, and to each other and to the Devils like there's no tomorrow. For them, I guess, there might not be a tomorrow, but it was still uncomfortable reading the f-bomb every other page despite using it often myself.
The writing and characters were cheap, melodramatic, and unrealistic. The only reason why I kept reading this book was because it was so hilariously bad that I was laughing when things went south.
However, when things started to go south, the gore skyrocketed. Throughout the book, there are things like people getting their heads cut off, getting devoured, and the like, but at the end of the book it gets out of hand. I, one who can normally read gore without being fazed, had to look away and pause my reading quite a few times to make sure I didn't puke. There was a literal bloodbath, and no one was safe. The only mercy the author put on you was that as someone was torn to pieces by the Devils he was protected a kid he didn't know underneath him.
Overall?
This book was cheap, gory, and, honestly, hilarious. After a while, you get the hang of the Willet clan, and figure out who's who. The ending was cut off, there was no resolution or anything, but a short, cute scene that didn't really leave me satisfied. I was thinking of giving it two stars, but I enjoyed it too much to do so, but that was mainly because I found the book hilarious when it was supposed to be horrifying.
Would I Recommend?
If you can handle a lot of gore, and are looking for an amusing read instead of a actually horrifying book, try this one. If you can't handle gore, or are looking for something to keep you up at night...continue your search. Just as I am.
I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Jersey Devil by Hunter Shea was not what I was expecting. I was hoping for the classic Jersey Devil legend, with a little spin, mainly because I'm from Jersey myself. While I did get the little spin on the legend I was hoping for, the rest of the book was surprisingly...lacking.
Confusing characters that don't match up with their description
The main characters in this book are mainly from the Willet family, some upstate New York farmers that apparently have some type of grudge on the Devil. Having there be three generations (yes, only three despite the four that the summary promises) made things confusing, especially because Shea introduces them one at a time, usually not mentioning how they're related or who their parents are. Not only that, but each one has a 'secret' little problem they are all 'secretly' dealing with. However, those secrets somehow never become more important despite constantly returning to them time and time again.
And then there was the cryptozoologist with anxiety problems but is apparently has a really good aim with a rifle despite not having shot it in years. This character was just hypocritical at all times. First he was a cryptozoologist, but he discounted even the most obvious sightings down to bear attacks. Second, he was only there to discover the 'new species', but then the next thing I knew, he was shooting the Devils left and right without a care. He was also an unnecessary addition to the already confusing clan of Willets.
Reading like a SyFy movie is not good
You know those SyFy movies, right? Octoshark vs Pteracuda? Sharknado? This book reads like that.
The characters use an unholy amount of firepower, cussing to the sky, and to each other and to the Devils like there's no tomorrow. For them, I guess, there might not be a tomorrow, but it was still uncomfortable reading the f-bomb every other page despite using it often myself.
The writing and characters were cheap, melodramatic, and unrealistic. The only reason why I kept reading this book was because it was so hilariously bad that I was laughing when things went south.
However, when things started to go south, the gore skyrocketed. Throughout the book, there are things like people getting their heads cut off, getting devoured, and the like, but at the end of the book it gets out of hand. I, one who can normally read gore without being fazed, had to look away and pause my reading quite a few times to make sure I didn't puke. There was a literal bloodbath, and no one was safe. The only mercy the author put on you was that as someone was torn to pieces by the Devils he was protected a kid he didn't know underneath him.
Overall?
This book was cheap, gory, and, honestly, hilarious. After a while, you get the hang of the Willet clan, and figure out who's who. The ending was cut off, there was no resolution or anything, but a short, cute scene that didn't really leave me satisfied. I was thinking of giving it two stars, but I enjoyed it too much to do so, but that was mainly because I found the book hilarious when it was supposed to be horrifying.
Would I Recommend?
If you can handle a lot of gore, and are looking for an amusing read instead of a actually horrifying book, try this one. If you can't handle gore, or are looking for something to keep you up at night...continue your search. Just as I am.
ethanz's review
2.0
It was ok. Some parts were fun, but awful long. I had ten pages left and said to myself “idk if I can take another 10 pages of this.” Thats never a good sign when you’re reading a book. If he kept it short and sweet like 200 pages I probably wouldn’t complain so much, but 378 pages of repeated thoughts such as, “Guns are no match for them”. If I had to read another page about how the family was there for revenge I would have screamed. We get it. The Jersey Devil screwed you. I don’t need another 5 pages of boompa explaining why he is so hell bent on revenge. This is my first book with this author, I plan on giving the The Dover Demon a shot. Cheers.
b3ll3's review
4.0
Please read the kittens review on Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CCeZ5oag3Js/?igshid=1evr7p9fa2g3k
https://www.instagram.com/p/CCeZ5oag3Js/?igshid=1evr7p9fa2g3k
norma_cenva's review
5.0
Outstanding job by "GraphicAudio" of bringing all of these stories to life!