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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Step one: read in a world-weary, Southern twang of an accent.
Step two: remember this isn't what it seems and enjoy the journey.
Dark Harvest is a very quick read, which had some delightful and unexpected twists. I went into it expecting a hokey horror story, and instead recieved a disturbing coming-of-age story with a much more frightening horror than a pumpkin-headed scarecrow monster. Perfect to read in a single sitting on an October night.
Step two: remember this isn't what it seems and enjoy the journey.
Dark Harvest is a very quick read, which had some delightful and unexpected twists. I went into it expecting a hokey horror story, and instead recieved a disturbing coming-of-age story with a much more frightening horror than a pumpkin-headed scarecrow monster. Perfect to read in a single sitting on an October night.
I wanted to like this book SO BAD but I can't help but be disappointed.
The premise is so interesting. I love that it takes place on Halloween, making it the perfect October read. I actually bought this last year and was so excited to read it after hearing so many recommendations that I decided to wait until next Halloween since it was past October. Unfortunately, Dark Harvest is going down as one of my most disappointing reads.
I feel like the majority of my issues with it are that it's just not my thing. I simply do not like Partridge's style in this book. It is just unbearable. I haven't read anything else by him so I'm not sure if he consistently writes like this, but I'm not about to venture out. He writes too fluidly for me, shifting between persons and POVs sometimes within the same paragraph never mind the same chapter. Some of his sentences and phrase choices had me wondering if I picked up a Colleen Hoover book, they were so cringeworthy. It felt like I was reading a 13 year old boy's attempt at a scary story, full of edginess and experiences they don't understand.
Besides that, even though the characters are the focus, they're very two-dimensional. The most interesting character was the dang cop, weirdly enough even though we spend the majority of the book with the kids and the October Boy. Everyone just seems very one-note.
There were also some gaping plot holes that just didn't seem like they got considered that make the story fall apart. Namely: why doesn't everyone just LEAVE? There's no supernatural force at work! No one seems to want to stay, and nobody likes the tradition so why don't they just NOT DO IT? No one seems to explain what the purpose is. WHY they do the Hunt. Is it good crops? Good fortune? Good luck? What? Because if they just didn't make the Boy that year, what would happen? Because it seems really complicated and doesn't benefit them.
On top of that the one girl that has lines in this book with such strong themes of rage only exists to provide exposition and have a tragic backstory. Having her as the main character would have immensely benefit the story. Instead, it just sort of rolls into these themes of masculinity/coming of age without really exploring that. We ended up getting a book about a teenage boy who thinks he's better than his father and is gone off to the world to prove it, which is the oldest story in the book. It was just so regressive, especially when compared to two other horror novels I read this year that explored it so much better (American Psycho and Handyman Method).
Anyways, I'm pawning this.
The premise is so interesting. I love that it takes place on Halloween, making it the perfect October read. I actually bought this last year and was so excited to read it after hearing so many recommendations that I decided to wait until next Halloween since it was past October. Unfortunately, Dark Harvest is going down as one of my most disappointing reads.
I feel like the majority of my issues with it are that it's just not my thing. I simply do not like Partridge's style in this book. It is just unbearable. I haven't read anything else by him so I'm not sure if he consistently writes like this, but I'm not about to venture out. He writes too fluidly for me, shifting between persons and POVs sometimes within the same paragraph never mind the same chapter. Some of his sentences and phrase choices had me wondering if I picked up a Colleen Hoover book, they were so cringeworthy. It felt like I was reading a 13 year old boy's attempt at a scary story, full of edginess and experiences they don't understand.
Besides that, even though the characters are the focus, they're very two-dimensional. The most interesting character was the dang cop, weirdly enough even though we spend the majority of the book with the kids and the October Boy. Everyone just seems very one-note.
There were also some gaping plot holes that just didn't seem like they got considered that make the story fall apart. Namely: why doesn't everyone just LEAVE? There's no supernatural force at work! No one seems to want to stay, and nobody likes the tradition so why don't they just NOT DO IT? No one seems to explain what the purpose is. WHY they do the Hunt. Is it good crops? Good fortune? Good luck? What? Because if they just didn't make the Boy that year, what would happen? Because it seems really complicated and doesn't benefit them.
On top of that the one girl that has lines in this book with such strong themes of rage only exists to provide exposition and have a tragic backstory. Having her as the main character would have immensely benefit the story. Instead, it just sort of rolls into these themes of masculinity/coming of age without really exploring that. We ended up getting a book about a teenage boy who thinks he's better than his father and is gone off to the world to prove it, which is the oldest story in the book. It was just so regressive, especially when compared to two other horror novels I read this year that explored it so much better (American Psycho and Handyman Method).
Anyways, I'm pawning this.
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wanted to like this more. I liked the story and the horror. Really cool scary story, actually. A bit of a new spin on an overdone trope. 10/10 for that idea.
But the author spent so much time hitting me over the head with philosophical analogies wrapped in character introspection that I got tired of it. So much of this introspection covered the same material that I was bored. I probably won’t read anything else of his.
But the author spent so much time hitting me over the head with philosophical analogies wrapped in character introspection that I got tired of it. So much of this introspection covered the same material that I was bored. I probably won’t read anything else of his.
I come back to this book year after year. It is probably my favorite to kick off the Halloween season. Certainly not the scariest, but well written and compelling in ways draws me in again and again.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was good. Very reminiscent of Stephen King
The cover and the Bram Stoker award got me. The concept of the book is really interesting but the writing style is very distracting. It was as if the writer was going for something very King-esq but it felt very pompous/ boyish. I wanted to like it and folks may enjoy it... but it wasn't me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood
Minor: Cancer, Death of parent