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4.29 AVERAGE
4.29 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Pam Godwin wrote a masterpiece! I read this back in 2024 and just got the audiobooks, which by the way are also 10/10
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
“Reality and nightmare are so tightly meshed I can no longer distinguish where one begins and the other ends. It’s as if I’ve been thrust into a twisted realm, where the boundaries of horror have been pushed beyond their limits.”
I don't say this lightly, this is by far the the darkest story I think I've read. For the first half of the book I was racking my brain trying to uncover the mystery of the devil's bargain and how the family dynamics all fit together. Now, I wish I could return to my ignorance. But I was already hooked and I could not put this story down. We enter this story with Frankie being captured by a man named Denver who brings her to a remote and completely isolated cabin in the Alaskan wilderness where his three sons live. Cutoff from the outside world, Frankie is thrust into an world she doesn't understand, an environment that is harsh and unforgiving, and a family where she does not understand the role she is expected to play. Frankie is everything I enjoy and adore in a heroine - she is feisty, snarky, and relentless. She will do anything to return to her husband, and life, that she was taken from.
“We're always brave in our imaginings, but now that I'm in it, facing the most horrific reality possible, I don't feel brave. I'm terrified.”
Wolfson
“He's the epitome of a fallen angel, all dark shadows and misunderstood emo vibes with pouty lips and hooded eyes caked in black makeup.”
Let's begin with Wolfson because he is an incredibly poetic character. His banter is endearing, the creativity of his mind he expresses through body art is spectacular, and his off kilter ramblings demonstrate a young man who is incredibly talented and intelligent but suffocated by the world around him. I am a sucker, always, for the emo boy and Wolfson captured my heart immediately...and tore it right out at the end. True to his cliché.
Leonid
“Leonid is perfect in the way Mother Nature chisels a master piece - with violence and chaos.”
Leonid is rash, fiercely protective of what is his, and drowning in so much anger for what he has had to endure. Leo will be a fan favorite - from the antagonistic relationship he and Frankie have at the start to the way they eventually use each other to take back control that was ripped away from them to the fierce love and loyalty they develop towards the end.
Kodiak
“Tanned complexion, black hair, even blacker eyes - he conjures images of a dark Lycan prince in the underworld. Mysterious. Cold-blooded. Deadly.”
Oh Kodiak, where do I start. He is everything I expect out of a mountain man - broody, aggressive, and seemingly uncaring. Pure alpha combined with loner syndrome and you have me hooked. A stony face that hides the tumultuous emotions that course through his body, he has learned to channel those emotions into surviving in the environment around him. Kody delivered and kept delivering. Please never change.
Denver
“That's the dichotomy of Denver Strakh. He appreciates gentility and etiquette and still orchestrates heinous acts.”
And last but not least is Denver. At the beginning he comes across as a complex character as you are trying to unravel his intentions. But as you unravel his motivations, you realize with sickening clarity that he's not complex at all. I'll leave it at that.
“You're a masterpiece Denver Strakh. A hideous work of horror.”
The Hills of Shivers and Shadows will have you going through every emotion in the dictionary as you unravel the mystery and watch these characters build and break relationships. It will leave you vulnerable, uncomfortable and in desperate need of a glass of bourbon. But in between the horrors are moments of survival, loyalty, and finding peace in those slither of moments with each other. A wilderness atmosphere paired with unsettling encounters and buried secrets, I have yet to determine if this is a romance or a horror show.
“A bond born of cruelty and hardship. Our loyalty to each other is our religion. Our credence. We can't touch it or smell it, but it's there, in our blood, in our shared past, linking us forever.”
I don't say this lightly, this is by far the the darkest story I think I've read. For the first half of the book I was racking my brain trying to uncover the mystery of the devil's bargain and how the family dynamics all fit together. Now, I wish I could return to my ignorance. But I was already hooked and I could not put this story down. We enter this story with Frankie being captured by a man named Denver who brings her to a remote and completely isolated cabin in the Alaskan wilderness where his three sons live. Cutoff from the outside world, Frankie is thrust into an world she doesn't understand, an environment that is harsh and unforgiving, and a family where she does not understand the role she is expected to play. Frankie is everything I enjoy and adore in a heroine - she is feisty, snarky, and relentless. She will do anything to return to her husband, and life, that she was taken from.
“We're always brave in our imaginings, but now that I'm in it, facing the most horrific reality possible, I don't feel brave. I'm terrified.”
Wolfson
“He's the epitome of a fallen angel, all dark shadows and misunderstood emo vibes with pouty lips and hooded eyes caked in black makeup.”
Let's begin with Wolfson because he is an incredibly poetic character. His banter is endearing, the creativity of his mind he expresses through body art is spectacular, and his off kilter ramblings demonstrate a young man who is incredibly talented and intelligent but suffocated by the world around him. I am a sucker, always, for the emo boy and Wolfson captured my heart immediately...and tore it right out at the end. True to his cliché.
Leonid
“Leonid is perfect in the way Mother Nature chisels a master piece - with violence and chaos.”
Leonid is rash, fiercely protective of what is his, and drowning in so much anger for what he has had to endure. Leo will be a fan favorite - from the antagonistic relationship he and Frankie have at the start to the way they eventually use each other to take back control that was ripped away from them to the fierce love and loyalty they develop towards the end.
Kodiak
“Tanned complexion, black hair, even blacker eyes - he conjures images of a dark Lycan prince in the underworld. Mysterious. Cold-blooded. Deadly.”
Oh Kodiak, where do I start. He is everything I expect out of a mountain man - broody, aggressive, and seemingly uncaring. Pure alpha combined with loner syndrome and you have me hooked. A stony face that hides the tumultuous emotions that course through his body, he has learned to channel those emotions into surviving in the environment around him. Kody delivered and kept delivering. Please never change.
Denver
“That's the dichotomy of Denver Strakh. He appreciates gentility and etiquette and still orchestrates heinous acts.”
And last but not least is Denver. At the beginning he comes across as a complex character as you are trying to unravel his intentions. But as you unravel his motivations, you realize with sickening clarity that he's not complex at all. I'll leave it at that.
“You're a masterpiece Denver Strakh. A hideous work of horror.”
The Hills of Shivers and Shadows will have you going through every emotion in the dictionary as you unravel the mystery and watch these characters build and break relationships. It will leave you vulnerable, uncomfortable and in desperate need of a glass of bourbon. But in between the horrors are moments of survival, loyalty, and finding peace in those slither of moments with each other. A wilderness atmosphere paired with unsettling encounters and buried secrets, I have yet to determine if this is a romance or a horror show.
“A bond born of cruelty and hardship. Our loyalty to each other is our religion. Our credence. We can't touch it or smell it, but it's there, in our blood, in our shared past, linking us forever.”
Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ of Hills of Shivers & Shadows by Pam Godwin
⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5
⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes