Take a photo of a barcode or cover
jnaeraeshele's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Blood, and Murder
mo0nsugar's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
She could have gone a little deeper with a lot of the concepts, but it was a good, fairly spooky read.
Wish we'd gotten a little more of an investigation to flesh out the cult stuff.
Wish we'd gotten a little more of an investigation to flesh out the cult stuff.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Infidelity
kumquats87's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting
hauntedantiqueshop's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I wanted to throw myself out of my window with this ending. Cue Kurt’s Turn (yes, it does have to be the Glee version) to play full blast because truly, all that work and what did it get me?! Ugh.
1. Echo was so insanely obvious and it made me want to bonk Lucas on the head with one of his own books. You’re a true crime writer, come on. And btw, fuck her mom. Whatabitch.
2. What was the significance of the deadline??? Guy was straight up like “yes this is the deadline DON’T ASK ABOUT IT”. Like, was it just “oh that’s the day he’s coming back but shh, it’s a secret he’ll never tell Lucas 🤫”?!
3. Why did Halcomb want to impregnate someone just to kill the baby?? What was the point of going through all that just to kill the baby if there wasn’t a purpose? Was it a secret ceremony that the readers were supposed to make up a scene for? I don’t need everything spelled out for me but the significance of The Sacrament isn’t even typed. Genuinely felt like the reasoning was just miraculously left out of the book.
4. I love when someone talks about cult leaders as being handsome and charismatic and then we see them and they’re just NormalBob RoundPants. It’s always that way, they’re never anything special. And I’m to believe this guy is a a young Johnny Depp lookalike with magical powers without ever reading about it? Like you can say it all day long but that don’t make it true. We really aren’t shown the how and why of anything. It just happens. I can understand when it’s ghostly stuff because well, ghosts. But there was nothing in the flashbacks to allude to this man’s magical powers.
5. Fuck that ending. For multiple reasons. But mostly what was the point of Vee dying? It didn’t accomplish anything. I think it would have been better for Lucas to kill Echo and sacrifice himself to save Vee, Audra’s ghost (why was she missing?!) magically gets rid of Halcomb’s ghost, Vee mends her relationship with her mom, and eventually finishes her dad’s book for him when she grows up. Dedicating it to Lucas and Audra. Like that cheesy ending would have been better than what we got.
1. Echo was so insanely obvious and it made me want to bonk Lucas on the head with one of his own books. You’re a true crime writer, come on. And btw, fuck her mom. Whatabitch.
2. What was the significance of the deadline??? Guy was straight up like “yes this is the deadline DON’T ASK ABOUT IT”. Like, was it just “oh that’s the day he’s coming back but shh, it’s a secret he’ll never tell Lucas 🤫”?!
3. Why did Halcomb want to impregnate someone just to kill the baby?? What was the point of going through all that just to kill the baby if there wasn’t a purpose? Was it a secret ceremony that the readers were supposed to make up a scene for? I don’t need everything spelled out for me but the significance of The Sacrament isn’t even typed. Genuinely felt like the reasoning was just miraculously left out of the book.
4. I love when someone talks about cult leaders as being handsome and charismatic and then we see them and they’re just NormalBob RoundPants. It’s always that way, they’re never anything special. And I’m to believe this guy is a a young Johnny Depp lookalike with magical powers without ever reading about it? Like you can say it all day long but that don’t make it true. We really aren’t shown the how and why of anything. It just happens. I can understand when it’s ghostly stuff because well, ghosts. But there was nothing in the flashbacks to allude to this man’s magical powers.
5. Fuck that ending. For multiple reasons. But mostly what was the point of Vee dying? It didn’t accomplish anything. I think it would have been better for Lucas to kill Echo and sacrifice himself to save Vee, Audra’s ghost (why was she missing?!) magically gets rid of Halcomb’s ghost, Vee mends her relationship with her mom, and eventually finishes her dad’s book for him when she grows up. Dedicating it to Lucas and Audra. Like that cheesy ending would have been better than what we got.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicide, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Infidelity, Misogyny, and Sexual assault
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Blood
aubzilla's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
killmoore_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
We've got cults. Weve got heartbreak. Weve got moody ass teenagers. We've got murder. We've got possession. We've got an almost 5 star book.
Ania did an amazing job capturing the world through the different perspectives of this book. Lucas, the brooding, troubled father who is lost in his attempt to resurrect himself in the eyes of his family. Vee, a tragic tween desperate for connection, and Audra - a textbook case of depression and isolation, urgently seeking validation and a family to call her own.
The characters were rich. The story telling was chilling. The ending was abrupt and left you wanting more. I loved this book.
Ania did an amazing job capturing the world through the different perspectives of this book. Lucas, the brooding, troubled father who is lost in his attempt to resurrect himself in the eyes of his family. Vee, a tragic tween desperate for connection, and Audra - a textbook case of depression and isolation, urgently seeking validation and a family to call her own.
The characters were rich. The story telling was chilling. The ending was abrupt and left you wanting more. I loved this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
daria_morgendorffer's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.75
Wow. My head is still spinning. I really enjoyed this book. While I had a hard time getting engaged at first, the slow burn paid off as the story progressed. I didn’t love Lucas’ character and found him irritating, but a good book is supposed to evoke strong emotion, right? The book leaves some unanswered questions, but I like a book that makes you think about it long after you read the last page. This is my first Ania Ahlborn book and I can’t wait to read more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
hyperashley's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Oh. My. God. This book was so incredibly good! I don't usually go for the horror genre but if they are all like this then I found a new favorite genre! This had so much that I love in a horror genre, I mean it gave me nightmares, and I loved every second of it –not the nightmares the book. I couldn't stop myself from reading it, when I wasn't reading I was constantly wondering about it. It reminded me of the movie Sinister at first, a true crime writer moves his family into the house where a horrible crime happened only for things to start happening to his family.
Lucas is a true crime book writer, one that was on the verge of throwing in the towel and excepting defeat. When out of nowhere he gets a letter from the most mysterious cult leader of them all, Jeffery Halcomb. Jeff promised him the first ever interview and all Lucas had to do was live in the house that the murder took place. So without a second thought he packs up his belongings and his twelve year old daughter Virginia (aka Jeanine, Vee and Vivi). It doesn't take long for things to start happening especially to his daughter. When Jeff retracts his offer for the interview Lucas is forced to take matters into his own hands but can he solve the mystery before his daughter pays the price?
First of all I solved the mystery way before Lucas did, how could he not know who Echo was? I really liked how the book was split up between, Lucas and Vee's POV (Point of view), the police reports, and Audra/Avis. I thought it was going to be confusing or parts would get boring but I ended up liking all the different sides of the story. It really helped me as a reader figure out what the heck was going on.
All the name changes were hard to follow at first. I guess it was just a lot of names being thrown at me and then taken away and replaced be a new name. After a little while I started to learn their names and their nick names and then it got easier to follow.
I'd have to say this is one of the darkest books I've ever read. That ending really made me just sit there with my mouth hanging open for a few minutes. It was brilliantly written and I can't think of any way it could be better. I know a lot of people might not agree with me about the ending making the book but it does!
For more of my reviews visit http://www.hyperashley.com/
Lucas is a true crime book writer, one that was on the verge of throwing in the towel and excepting defeat. When out of nowhere he gets a letter from the most mysterious cult leader of them all, Jeffery Halcomb. Jeff promised him the first ever interview and all Lucas had to do was live in the house that the murder took place. So without a second thought he packs up his belongings and his twelve year old daughter Virginia (aka Jeanine, Vee and Vivi). It doesn't take long for things to start happening especially to his daughter. When Jeff retracts his offer for the interview Lucas is forced to take matters into his own hands but can he solve the mystery before his daughter pays the price?
First of all I solved the mystery way before Lucas did, how could he not know who Echo was? I really liked how the book was split up between, Lucas and Vee's POV (Point of view), the police reports, and Audra/Avis. I thought it was going to be confusing or parts would get boring but I ended up liking all the different sides of the story. It really helped me as a reader figure out what the heck was going on.
All the name changes were hard to follow at first. I guess it was just a lot of names being thrown at me and then taken away and replaced be a new name. After a little while I started to learn their names and their nick names and then it got easier to follow.
I'd have to say this is one of the darkest books I've ever read. That ending really made me just sit there with my mouth hanging open for a few minutes. It was brilliantly written and I can't think of any way it could be better. I know a lot of people might not agree with me about the ending making the book but it does!
For more of my reviews visit http://www.hyperashley.com/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Murder
patchworkwitch's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Pregnancy
_bxllxe_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This was an extremely boring haunted house/cult/ghost tale. The length didn’t make sense, seeing as almost nothing happened. The ending was predictable, cliche, YAWN. I’m afraid this is the straw that broke the camel’s back; I wish Ania Ahlborn success, but I won’t be picking up any more of her books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Suicide, and Murder
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship