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alibrareads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Erin does it again!! I’ve been saving this for just the right moment, and I decided early spring was it. This was an unsettling, slow-paced, small town horror that took me by surprise with its mature tone and deliciously ominous build-up.
I would describe this as historical horror with supernatural fantasy elements, but those elements take such a backseat for much of the book. The plot is heavily focused on the relationships and dynamics of the people of Amity Falls and what happens when an isolated, close-knit community starts becoming suspicious of their own neighbors.
I was hooked from the start, even though this has a very slow pace. It takes its time introducing these situations and growing tensions between people, making you wonder who is responsible for these strange things that are happening around town and what is lurking in the pines. And you just know things are going to culminate in disaster somehow. There were some very spooky moments that gave me the shivers!
Definitely recommend if you enjoy small town horror, and I think this could appeal to both fantasy and non-fantasy readers.
YouTube review: https://youtu.be/o13yWtFNQ9k
I would describe this as historical horror with supernatural fantasy elements, but those elements take such a backseat for much of the book. The plot is heavily focused on the relationships and dynamics of the people of Amity Falls and what happens when an isolated, close-knit community starts becoming suspicious of their own neighbors.
I was hooked from the start, even though this has a very slow pace. It takes its time introducing these situations and growing tensions between people, making you wonder who is responsible for these strange things that are happening around town and what is lurking in the pines. And you just know things are going to culminate in disaster somehow. There were some very spooky moments that gave me the shivers!
Definitely recommend if you enjoy small town horror, and I think this could appeal to both fantasy and non-fantasy readers.
YouTube review: https://youtu.be/o13yWtFNQ9k
actuallycandy's review against another edition
5.0
This book is the best I have read in a while. A well deserved 5 stars and a contender for being one of the best books I've read in 2022.
Chilling, captivating and twists at every turn. Erin A Craig has a way to spin a story where nothing is as it seems. Ellerie Downing and her family was so thoughtfully orchestrated and fleshed out that I hung onto every word. I had genuine feelings about all of them and their outcomes. I shivered at the creepiness and mystery Amity Falls brought.
A frontier America mixed with paranormal/fantasy elements was not particularly a genre I would gravitate to but I sincerely am glad I did.
I won't spoil the plot, it's actually best you know nothing at all. Just dive into this novel and marvel at the masterpiece Erin A Craig has created and enjoy. A book I would be glad to re-read again and again!
Chilling, captivating and twists at every turn. Erin A Craig has a way to spin a story where nothing is as it seems. Ellerie Downing and her family was so thoughtfully orchestrated and fleshed out that I hung onto every word. I had genuine feelings about all of them and their outcomes. I shivered at the creepiness and mystery Amity Falls brought.
A frontier America mixed with paranormal/fantasy elements was not particularly a genre I would gravitate to but I sincerely am glad I did.
I won't spoil the plot, it's actually best you know nothing at all. Just dive into this novel and marvel at the masterpiece Erin A Craig has created and enjoy. A book I would be glad to re-read again and again!
livsparks01's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
snacksandstacks's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. I really liked the premise, the spooky creepy vibes, most of the story but didn't like the rushed ending, some of the unanswered plotlines, and the relationship was kinda mid.
priya_amrev's review against another edition
3.0
Wow. The slow suspense. The creeping dread. I think this would make an amazing horror movie. Which of course I would never watch because I hate horror movies. But ykwim.
zayele's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book overall! The setting and unorthodox finale were very well done, and the overall motif of a sleepy town with monsters in the wilderness resonates with me strongly. I also liked how the romantic subplot existed, but didn’t suffocate the overall narrative like what often happens in fantasy. As others have said, there’s a “spooky” vibe here and it’s really done well overall.
There were a couple of problems, though. One big one is that a line in the description (“They point to a tribe of devilish and mystical creatures who promise to fulfill the residents' deepest desires, however grand and impossible, for just a small favor”) is actually a large spoiler and makes a lot of threads in the plot easy to guess - it’s also not explored much until over halfway through the book, so I can’t understand why it had to be included as a point in the overview. Another issue (although more personal to me) is that a lot of animals are killed throughout the book; I really hate this and while this is more of a TW, I do feel like it was unnecessary overall.
4 stars!
There were a couple of problems, though. One big one is that a line in the description (“They point to a tribe of devilish and mystical creatures who promise to fulfill the residents' deepest desires, however grand and impossible, for just a small favor”) is actually a large spoiler and makes a lot of threads in the plot easy to guess - it’s also not explored much until over halfway through the book, so I can’t understand why it had to be included as a point in the overview. Another issue (although more personal to me) is that a lot of animals are killed throughout the book; I really hate this and while this is more of a TW, I do feel like it was unnecessary overall.
4 stars!
shadeslayer327's review against another edition
5.0
Small Favors has small town, creepy, monster in the woods vibes and I loved every second of it. I kept racing through the pages (well, audiobook) to figure out what in the world was going on. I will say it’s borderline criminal that this book doesn’t have an epilogue—I looked down at the progress bar and said “there’s no way there’s only eight minutes left”. But there were, in fact, only eight minutes left. So I am totally down for a delayed epilogue or, you know, a companion novel or novella in the future
dana_yamaguchi's review against another edition
3.0
“You’ll make mistakes—we all do—but you care enough to keep fighting.
That’s the truly important part.
You care too much to quit.”
-Erin A. Craig, Small Favors