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sci_mom's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars - I received this book as a Goodreads Giveaway. I was intrigued by the concept for this story when I first read the synopsis. It is a clever and creative idea and I had high hopes for the finished product. While I wasn't totally disappointed, the story didn't quite live up to my expectations. Don't get me wrong, it is well-written and there is sufficient character development...all of the functional stuff is there. For me, the bigger issue is that it lacked a real hook, a reason to go on reading, and there wasn't enough tension to keep me invested. I knew where it was going almost immediately and the horror part of the story, where the author could have upped the ante and made it super scary, faded away before it was even given a chance to develop. I mean, you have this whole secret society and they should be doing everything in their power to stop Clare, but, other than putting feathers above their doors, they do nothing? They don't chase her, they don't try to stop her, they don't threaten her family...nothing. So much potential there and it was completely dropped. Overall, great idea, good writing, sub-par storytelling.
lucymarie146346's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
4.5
bibliojesi0947's review against another edition
4.0
This book was slow to start for me but once it picked up I couldn't put it down and finished it more quickly than I thought I would. I'm a sucker for small towns with strange things going on and this was no different. I fell in love with the main character and admired her growth once she realized what was really going on with her Demon. It was just really really good, and I'm so glad I got to read this.
browneyesblue84's review against another edition
3.0
I picked up this book while I was traveling up and down the aisles at Book Expo. A woman saw me and made a comment about not messing with demons. As if a fictional character has that much power to create chaos in your life. Fat chance. Honestly, I had no idea what to expect when I started reading. What I wanted to know was what was the good demon? Now that I know the answer, it all makes perfect sense.
Clarabella is a troubled teenage girl who at one point was possessed by a demon. A demon who she thought of as her best friend. She spends the whole book trying to find her friend after she endured a exorcism that separated them. There is no easy way to do this. She meets a very shady woman who offers to pay her money to retrieve a box. From that point, she finds herself in some very sticky situations and comes across someone called The Wishman. The scariest character in the book in my opinion.
I really liked this book. I’m glad that I did not listen to those women. This is the first book by author Jimmy Cajoleas that I read. An author who I was unfamiliar with before reading this book. I think that this novel could be categorized as a hybrid of fiction, Young adult fantasy and horror. The type of reader who would like this story is one that is a fan or horror, Stephen King and other horror authors. I also, think that fans of fantasy and supernatural stories would like the book as well. Out of five stars, I rate this story four out of five. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of his stories.
Clarabella is a troubled teenage girl who at one point was possessed by a demon. A demon who she thought of as her best friend. She spends the whole book trying to find her friend after she endured a exorcism that separated them. There is no easy way to do this. She meets a very shady woman who offers to pay her money to retrieve a box. From that point, she finds herself in some very sticky situations and comes across someone called The Wishman. The scariest character in the book in my opinion.
I really liked this book. I’m glad that I did not listen to those women. This is the first book by author Jimmy Cajoleas that I read. An author who I was unfamiliar with before reading this book. I think that this novel could be categorized as a hybrid of fiction, Young adult fantasy and horror. The type of reader who would like this story is one that is a fan or horror, Stephen King and other horror authors. I also, think that fans of fantasy and supernatural stories would like the book as well. Out of five stars, I rate this story four out of five. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of his stories.
dream_master's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
staticdisplay's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't "really like" most of this book, but I'm still giving it 4 stars because I did really like the ending. I'm not sure exactly what I didn't like; maybe another case of not relating well to YA literature? (sometimes YA is a nice change-up from whatever else I'm reading, and sometimes it just feels like I'm not the right audience.)
scorpiobookfairy's review against another edition
4.0
Trigger warnings for parental drug use and child neglect.
Obviously this is about demonic possession so if you’re very religious and that bothers you, I wouldn’t recommend you read this one.
So I went into this not knowing much about it, I hadn’t seen a single person talk about this in the community yet.
I think it would be good to know going in that the author mentioned in his acknowledgments that this was originally a short story that he was encouraged to expand. It definitely reads like a short story, there isn’t a lot of character development.
However, I found the story to be really engaging and interesting. The main character went through a lot of emotions and questioned herself in all the right moments without it feeling too unrealistic.
I felt like the author tied up his story really well, all the weird moments came together in the end. Some of the scary moments were pretty creepy to read and very descriptive.
I read one review of someone who didn’t like this say they would suggest this to people who like weird stories and I agree, it’s a very odd story but that is definitely my thing and I ended up enjoying this one.
It wasn’t perfect but it was still a good Halloween read 👍🏻
Obviously this is about demonic possession so if you’re very religious and that bothers you, I wouldn’t recommend you read this one.
So I went into this not knowing much about it, I hadn’t seen a single person talk about this in the community yet.
I think it would be good to know going in that the author mentioned in his acknowledgments that this was originally a short story that he was encouraged to expand. It definitely reads like a short story, there isn’t a lot of character development.
However, I found the story to be really engaging and interesting. The main character went through a lot of emotions and questioned herself in all the right moments without it feeling too unrealistic.
I felt like the author tied up his story really well, all the weird moments came together in the end. Some of the scary moments were pretty creepy to read and very descriptive.
I read one review of someone who didn’t like this say they would suggest this to people who like weird stories and I agree, it’s a very odd story but that is definitely my thing and I ended up enjoying this one.
It wasn’t perfect but it was still a good Halloween read 👍🏻
cnstamper's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this book. The premise is so good! But eh...it was very eh.
scrubbybubbles's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-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
4.0
booksofgloom's review against another edition
2.0
Book was just alright. I found myself skipping over the description of the imagery a ot because it was redundant. None of the characters stuck with me. The story had a lot of potential.