Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Together We Rot

This was a fantastically bad experience.
Every loose thread wrapped up suddenly within the last couple chapters, and all of it ended up in a knotted mess. Nothing made any sense and we never got any context to make it make sense.

Every resolution felt like it was thrown at the reader with a "take what you get" tone. I shouldn't have more questions at the end of a standalone than I did at the beginning.

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zikeyag's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

Interesting with a paranormal twist. It was funny and kept me entertained. The MCs were lovable and there was good character development there. It was a good plot, but felt more details about the cult and some other interesting elements could have been added to make that portion of the story a tad bit exciting. It was like as soon as that was discovered the book quickly ended.

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chris_reads's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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kagehime's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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sarah_shelf's review against another edition

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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.

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darquedreamer's review against another edition

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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.

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kayceeisbookish's review against another edition

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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.

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