Reviews with content warning for Animal cruelty - Together We Rot

The world-building could've been more thorough, but I loved the vibe and atmosphere! The two protagonists were everything – I felt so sorry for Elwood but loved his soft nature and really liked Wil's feistyness and strength. The ending was heartbreaking, but very fitting.

(It's very YA, but that's okay.)

Content Warnings

sarah_shelf's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.75

“He might not love me, but maybe he’ll praise my bones after he’s burned them too” Elwood

–Skyla Arndt, Together We Rot

I absolutely loved this book and I have so many thoughts to share! To start off, the audio is phenomenal. I always get excited when dual pov novels have a narrator for each pov, but these actors were next level. Wil’s narrator has a great northeastern accent and really changes up her voice for the other speaking characters. But her voice is also so emotional and varied, with a lot of attitude. She doesn’t just read the book, she truly acts like an audio drama. The first person narrative definitely helps with the acting because we get a very clear inner dialogue and connection to the characters’ thoughts and emotions. It took me longer to warm up to Elwood’s narrator, not because he was bad in any way, but Elwood is much more earnest and calm compared to Wil’s scathing insults and boiling rage. But as the story progresses, we get a lot more dynamic acting, especially as he tackles more characters and Elwood’s situation grows more horrifying.

Aside from the phenomenal acting, I was drawn to all of the characters. Finally some authentic & complex high schoolers! Ronnie seems to have been the stereotypical, pretty popular girl, but she bonded with social outcast Wil over the serious & traumatic things in their lives (Ronnie’s breakup with Lucas & her dad’s suicide; Wil’s mother’s disappearance) We also get to see different sides of their personalities. To Wil, Elwood is a traitor who chose his murderous family over her, but he is so confused and even more in the dark than she is. We also see how Lucas is an anxious mess who really cares about Ronnie but keeps messing up (I don’t fully know the girls’ perspectives on this, but it humanizes the guys). I also really enjoyed the relationship growth between Wil and Lucas. The two keep butting heads over their best friends, but are eventually able to acknowledge their shared friendships and jealousies. Once they get past the animosity, the two actually make a great team, being more similar than they realized. Kevin is the final character to round out the Scooby Gang (and I love that Wil uses that name). He doesn't have quite as much development or time among the other relationship dynamics, but he’s a steady presence with knowledge of old books and a love for conspiracies. He really rounds out the whole group.

Speaking of relationships, Arndt was able to sell me on the romance so much better in a matter of paragraphs than most writers do in a whole novel (unlike Caraval). Elwood’s descriptions of how much he loves Wil and his dreams for their day-to-day lives are so sweet! It’s obvious how much the two care for each other, even when Wil tries to deny it. It’s incredibly refreshing after too many YA romance subplots where the characters just seem to lust after each other.

Plot-wise the first half or so is fantastic. We get really great introductions to all of the characters and their dynamics as well as our main characters’ motivations: Wil’s missing mother and Elwood’s complicated relationship with his family. Everything builds fantastically as we run through Lucas’ party, Elwood’s discovery of the church’s cult aspects, running into Wil, and investigating the library with the rest of the cast. However, I felt like the pacing for the investigation was off. The town has gone ages without the younger generation discovering the sacrifices they make to the Morgue Wood. And yet, in a matter of days, the kids discover the entire backstory, dating back to the town’s founding. The supernatural aspects were also rather vague until the climax of the story when the book goes full cryptid. I think all of this could’ve been drawn out more to really sit in the tension and creepy vibes of the town.

Aside from some of the pacing issues, I loved the rest of the novel. I got very emotional at the end, especially after the forest fight and Wil’s reconciliation with her emotionally absent father. I would’ve accepted if the novel had ended differently, but I’m really glad everyone got a happy ending. Except for Elwood’s father, the chief of police, and the entire cult. There’s always a special vindication when evil organizations are publicly exposed and taken care of.

Content Warnings

darquedreamer's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.5

I loved the premise, and the cover, of this one. Both felt unique, and gave all the right vibes. And, the writing was certainly atmospheric, but as a whole, the book fell a little flat for me.

The bits of horror that I got were outstanding. I really loved the ending, and still keep thinking about it, but there wasn't enough horror, and the romance just didn't have the chemistry I wanted. The characters also could have been a little more fleshed out.

It was an easy read. It was a worthwhile read. It just wasn't the great read I had expected. It just needed more. More horror. More feeling. More sparks. More character building.

I did enjoy that the main characters were not stereotypical to their genders, or societal roles. I enjoyed the Goosebumps feel that I got from the story, and I enjoyed the nostalgia found within the pages, and the references, along with the fact that the story didn't bring up all the modern bs with new technology and social media. It was a decent debut, and I would be willing to read more from this author.

Content Warnings

kayceeisbookish's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Loved it! It is beautifully horrific, like twirling throny vines growing up a trellis. This book's vines had a CHOKEHOLD on me. I read it in one sitting. The mystery, grotesque body horror, the beauty in the main characters' development and growth, this book truly has it all.

Content Warnings

fairytalefootnotes's review against another edition

Go to review page

Literally every other sentence is a metaphor (and some of the metaphors have other metaphors within them!) It’s just so clear to me that the author was trying to sound smart & make it longer without adding anything of substance. Also there’s a lot of animal death which I’m not into.

Content Warnings

legalplanner's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

Thank you Netgalley, Penguin Teen, and the Author for letting me read an advanced copy in exchange for my honest thoughts on this one.

I thought the premise of this book sounded great from the beginning. I was not prepared at all for how quickly I would be wrapped up in the story of Will and Elwood. The writing was well paced, the twists and turns unexpected, and let's be honest a cult in the town always makes the book more interesting.

Wil and Elwoods lives are more intertwined than I expected them to be but honestly, I was here for it. We were given the chance to see who they were a part but then together a lot and that made the story telling very intriguing and made it worthwhile to get to the end. However, going beyond that with their involvement is hard to share without giving anything away.

I found the supporting cast to be very good in who they were, how they were brought into things by Will and Elwood and how fiercely they cared for their friends. Normally, the side characters in tales like these are just there to advance the plot but here it gave you a glance at the characters as a whole as well as moving the plot along.

This really drew me in and then made me go WTF and HH and all the other things that I'm not going to post in my review. At the end I was just kind of like wow that was sooo good. I wish I could read that for the first time again.

Content Warnings

hobbithopeful's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Thank you Penguin for this ARC
As breathtakingly beautiful as it is horrifyingly creepy, Together We Rotis now my favorite horror romance of all time.
Wil is fruitlessly searching for her missing Mother, much to the chagrin of the small town she lives in. She is convinced the local pastor is involved, but the local police would rather stuff their face with donuts then listen to her. Elwood is her ex-best friend and the pastor's son, forced to play a role he doesn't want. When Elwood realizes he isn't being groomed to take over for his Father, but instead is going to be sacrificed on his 18th birthday, he flees. Straight into Wil.
My favorite part of the story is the imagery, and just the way that Arndt writes. In just one sentence the mood shifts from light-hearted, to creepy. A few well placed words have you scratching at your skin, and making sure the light is on. Her ability to choose the most chilling words is just incredibly impressive. The tonal shifts she conveys within a page are some of the best I've ever seen in a book.
Horror romance as a genre is so difficult to nail down, books tend to favor one or other and it's rare that I see it done this well. The relationship between Wil and Elwood doesn't feel rushed, or fast-paced. It feels incredibly natural and in a way, aching. There are several characters in this but I never felt lost or confused. I know there are people who probably don't like the characters, but I think it's important to remember people don't act level headed when they are grieving. I personally love Wil's fiery personality, and her stubbornness.
If I truly had to nitpick and find something I didn't enjoy, I do wish it is a bit longer. I would have liked to have learned more about the town and the history. I will say I might have had a different opinion about the book had I not been warned by a mutual of mine about some of the content.
Be kind to yourself when you read this there are a lot of triggers. I read this as an arc so I hope the finished publication has content warnings because there are a lot of heavy topics. Some of them include: child abuse, body horror, INSECTS. (No really, all the insects!) I strongly encourage anyone who is wanting to read this to check out story graph for the full list. I didn't go into a book slump or found it on the level that books like Ever Since are trigger wise.
You know when you read a debut novel for the first time, and you're just like...woah. That is the feeling Together We Rot gives me. Skyla Arndt is a name to watch out for. I just know she is going to be big.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book, and I need Skyla Arndt to write another book IMMEDIATELY please! (Y'all she is one of my new favorite authors now!)
This is 100% my new favorite book cover for the year. I just where do I even start! The vines that are embedded under the skin like veins, the moths circling around, the SYMBOLISM! This is truly a work of art. Marcela Bolivar always kills it and I continue to be in awe of her talent. The cover not only captures the horror and creepiness of the book, but also the romance.

Content Warnings

readingella's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

More...