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challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
I haven't read a horror book that has truly creeped me out in a while. The sense of dread, the emotional wear on the characters, and the absolute "holy shit" moments were expertly crafted. I was hooked right from the prologue.
The depictions of Faye in her sleep state and the Hollow One made my damn skin prickle.
The only reason it's not a full five stars is the mystery of the cellar at the cabin is never revealed, I can handle the other mysteries being a bit ambiguous but that one felt like it should've been at least acknowledged considering it was mentioned at least three times.
Besides that this book filled a horror void I've been looking to fill for a while! Excellent!
The depictions of Faye in her sleep state and the Hollow One made my damn skin prickle.
The only reason it's not a full five stars is the mystery of the cellar at the cabin is never revealed, I can handle the other mysteries being a bit ambiguous but that one felt like it should've been at least acknowledged considering it was mentioned at least three times.
Besides that this book filled a horror void I've been looking to fill for a while! Excellent!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Miscarriage, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer, Racism, Religious bigotry, War
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Super creepy concept, but just meh for me. I think I would have liked it even less if I had read the physical copy versus listening to the audiobook. The narrator for the audiobook was amazing. I loved the start of the book with the flashback of his friend’s parrot. But it felt like a basic plot with a lot of creepy atmosphere.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
There was a lot of hype around this book, so I’m kind of disappointed. It just didn’t really work for me. I feel like it probably could have been 50-100 pages shorter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The prologue of Stolen Tongues is nothing short of perfection. It’s chilling, gripping, and packed with the kind of terror that raises the hairs on the back of your neck. If the book had ended there as a short story, it would have been an easy 5/5 stars for me. But as I kept reading, my enthusiasm began to wane.
The dark, snowy atmosphere of the cabin felt wonderfully immersive at first, setting the perfect stage for creeping dread. Unfortunately, once Felix and Faye left the cabin, the story lost much of its spark. What started as a gripping horror tale turned repetitive, and the scares that had me hooked in the beginning eventually wore off.
Felix and Faye’s characterization left much to be desired. While there were glimpses of depth, such as Faye’s protective instincts, the constant focus on the creature exploiting her supposed motherly nature felt forced and overdone. They don’t have children, and Faye mentions wanting a child maybe once, making this recurring theme feel unearned and disconnected. By the third or fourth mention, I was ready to give up entirely.
I listened to this on audiobook through Libby, narrated by J.S. Arquin. While I can imagine their voice working well for lighter genres like sci-fi or comedy, it didn’t quite match the eerie, atmospheric tone needed for horror. Combined with the story’s repetitiveness, the narration made this a less enjoyable experience overall.
Then there’s the ending. After all the buildup, I was hoping for a climactic, spine-tingling resolution, but it fell flat and left me unsatisfied.
It’s disappointing to go from expecting a 5-star read to settling on 3/5, but Stolen Tongues still has its moments. Fans of atmospheric horror with a slow-burn pace may find more to love here than I did, but for me, the incredible prologue only highlighted the missed opportunities in the rest of the book.
The dark, snowy atmosphere of the cabin felt wonderfully immersive at first, setting the perfect stage for creeping dread. Unfortunately, once Felix and Faye left the cabin, the story lost much of its spark. What started as a gripping horror tale turned repetitive, and the scares that had me hooked in the beginning eventually wore off.
Felix and Faye’s characterization left much to be desired. While there were glimpses of depth, such as Faye’s protective instincts, the constant focus on the creature exploiting her supposed motherly nature felt forced and overdone. They don’t have children, and Faye mentions wanting a child maybe once, making this recurring theme feel unearned and disconnected. By the third or fourth mention, I was ready to give up entirely.
I listened to this on audiobook through Libby, narrated by J.S. Arquin. While I can imagine their voice working well for lighter genres like sci-fi or comedy, it didn’t quite match the eerie, atmospheric tone needed for horror. Combined with the story’s repetitiveness, the narration made this a less enjoyable experience overall.
Then there’s the ending. After all the buildup, I was hoping for a climactic, spine-tingling resolution, but it fell flat and left me unsatisfied.
It’s disappointing to go from expecting a 5-star read to settling on 3/5, but Stolen Tongues still has its moments. Fans of atmospheric horror with a slow-burn pace may find more to love here than I did, but for me, the incredible prologue only highlighted the missed opportunities in the rest of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Vomit, Stalking, Death of parent
Moderate: Child death, Miscarriage, Grief
Minor: Torture, Violence
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Vomit, Stalking
Moderate: Child death, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Vomit, Death of parent
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I had a lot of hope for Stolen Tongues starting out, and I really do think the first 20% of the book was super strong and had some genuinely scary moments sprinkled throughout. I haven’t often had books legitimately scare me but the first bit was very freaky.
My few problems with this novel where the repetition near the home stretch, lack of communication between characters (tbh neither of our main characters where likable at all in my opinion and Felix really came off as a pseudo intellectual), as well as a pretty low impact ending considering the huge build up. Generally this book could of really benefited from an editor because it was just way too long to be saying the same things over and over.
I will say, however, there was some very scary and unnerving moments that made the read worth it for me. I think that the common remark I’m seeing is “this is a really good creepy pasta but just an okay novel” and again, I think an editor could’ve really taken this to another level.
Fun read, and worth the time spent even though I did finish slightly underwhelmed.
My few problems with this novel where the repetition near the home stretch, lack of communication between characters (tbh neither of our main characters where likable at all in my opinion and Felix really came off as a pseudo intellectual), as well as a pretty low impact ending considering the huge build up. Generally this book could of really benefited from an editor because it was just way too long to be saying the same things over and over.
I will say, however, there was some very scary and unnerving moments that made the read worth it for me. I think that the common remark I’m seeing is “this is a really good creepy pasta but just an okay novel” and again, I think an editor could’ve really taken this to another level.
Fun read, and worth the time spent even though I did finish slightly underwhelmed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Death of parent