Reviews

Clever Creatures of the Night by Samantha Mabry

tierraskye's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

sem300's review against another edition

4.0

4 stars for receiving an arc but the book was a 2.5 maaaybe a 3. just wasn’t that good.

fictionlostandfound's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.75

Clever Creatures of the Night does a great job at setting the tone for a general feeling of unease throughout the book. The main character is fleshed out rather well, but I wanted more from the additional characters that live in the house. I kept waiting for something big to happen and then the book ended. I didn't hate this book, but I can't help feeling like it needed something more. 

Thank you to Algonquin Young Readers for the gifted copy of this book. 

sdeeim's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

ashesnkal's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

jasarahines's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

lever Creatures of the Night by @samantha_mabry_tx is a weird, propelling novel. The reader often is not quite sure what is going on, and even until the end, there is much left unsaid. I really liked this novel, and its allegorical exploration of human nature in the face of wordly destruction. This is not *really* a post-apocalyptic novel, however, it is definitely a mystery (where is Drea?) and moreso it is a character-driven novel where the main character is very much on a quest to find herself. @algonquinbooks @algonquinyr

larisa_reads's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

I was so intrigued in the beginning. The story had potential but the ending was so flat. And left me really confused and disappointed. I like Case, she was a good character with flaws that made her interesting but the rest of the characters weren’t really drawn out so I was bored with them.

sydnec'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? No

2.5

ephemeralnat's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

3.0

It was just fine. Like that’s something I read. It said literary horror and I was expecting a lot more horror. There was just creepy vibes to it. It’s pretty fast paced everything happens in the course of 24 hours. My favorite thing about it was the letters from the friend. 

savvyrosereads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Out now! [Thank you to the publisher for the free copy!]    

Rating: 3/5 stars

Case arrives in rural Texas to visit her friend…but gets sucked into a mystery when her friend is nowhere to be found.

I was super intrigued when I read the synopsis for this one, and it was a really interesting read. It was a relatively fast read, although I will admit that part of me wanted it to be longer because I wanted the characters to be developed a bit more. That said, I think the best part about horror is when it creates a creeping feeling of dread as you wonder what will happen next, and this book definitely had that in spades!

As a bonus, one of my all-time favorite mysteries is THE LIKENESS by Tana French, and this had some similar vibes, which was also super fun!

CW: Violence/blood/injury; fire/burns; animal cruelty/death

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Violence, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail