1.15k reviews for:

The Shuddering

Ania Ahlborn

3.62 AVERAGE

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

5 friends. A gorgeous cabin..m

Would could be better for the snowboarding fanatics? A week spent together in a cabin they have ventured to since they were children. A long awaitied reunition of old friends.

But soon, pools of blood stain the pearly white snow, shadows lurk behind the trees, and the once blissful quiet of the cabin is now haunted by low groans. Something is watching them, waiting….

and whatever they are, they’re hungry.

- - - - - - - - - - -

I really REALLY enjoyed this! I was hooked from the start and the ending had my jaw touching the floor

It's a pretty fun book with classic horror set ups. Fans of Cabin in the Woods, The Thing, and Scooby Doo will love it. Plenty of suspense and action here, though there are several leaps of logic. So while it's not a deep story, it's a fun one. If you can fun with a quick horror story, then this is definitely the book to check out.
adventurous dark medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

2 thirds of the book are a solid 4 stars, the last third is comically bad. All the main girl does is cry hysterically and stay indoors whilst the boys are heroic. Always a disappointing trope especially when the author is female.

My god the ending is utter shit.

Probably a 3.75/4. This book gives off similar vibes to the game Until Dawn, although unfortunately less action packed. I was hoping there would be some more backstory, even praying that the random victim interludes would result in a flamethrower wielding local coming to save the day, but unfortunately a lot of the story / dialogue resulted in high school romances being relived in their mid to late twenties and reality tv style drama. There is a good amount of bloodshed and detail, but the story did unfortunately lack a bit for me. I enjoyed the read for 90% of it, definitely a good winter read, but I was craving more than I got.

I wanted to feel sorry for April but ultimately I hated her and was slightly relieved by her disappearance, but gutted by Lauren’s. I expected some survivors at the end but that’s the enjoyable part about horror novels - there isn’t always a saving grace or a happy ending, and I wasn’t disappointed by the ending.

jeninpa76's review

5.0

So good! I have loved every Ania Ahlborn book so far! This was the second audiobook of theirs and the narrator was once again excellent! So scary and creepy! And the overall story was very good!

2.5 - Skippable cabin in the woods thriller with a generic monster and fairly unlikable characters.

One of the best I've read this year, this book is so good. It is scary, the characters and their drama had me in a chokehold, I seriously loved every second of reading this book. It is top notch horror. If you liked the video game Until Dawn, I feel like you'd like this. Go read it, shoo!
adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced