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somebodys_fool's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Blood
petite_madeline's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
3.5 Stars
Deep in the mountains of West Virginia, Addy finds herself in a dark and horrifying reality.
This novella is not at all what I expected. I went into this book looking for a spooky story steeped in Mothman lore and horror. What I got was a spiraling dark and confusing trip through subterranean terror. I enjoyed it, but it's just not what I expected.
Initially, I was annoyed that all of Addy's internal dialog and advice was coming from the various men in her life. I kept thinking, "Why does she need these men to guide her? Why can't her character be strong on her own." But, without going into to much spoiling detail, by the end I realized that was the point of this story.
We love horror that has a deeper message!
Deep in the mountains of West Virginia, Addy finds herself in a dark and horrifying reality.
This novella is not at all what I expected. I went into this book looking for a spooky story steeped in Mothman lore and horror. What I got was a spiraling dark and confusing trip through subterranean terror. I enjoyed it, but it's just not what I expected.
Initially, I was annoyed that all of Addy's internal dialog and advice was coming from the various men in her life. I kept thinking, "Why does she need these men to guide her? Why can't her character be strong on her own." But, without going into to much spoiling detail, by the end I realized that was the point of this story.
We love horror that has a deeper message!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Death, Body horror, Blood, and Car accident
Moderate: Toxic relationship
stephanieluxton's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
This book is about a woman travelling alone at night who has to make the decision whether or not to help a truckdriver who had helped her earlier after he has an accident the causes him to drive off a bridge. Also there's some supernatural shit going down.
I heard about this book on instagram reels and I picked it up because it was a short. My expectations were that it'd be a mothman type creature feature but it was so different from what I expected. It's not a traditional creature feature in which our characters are plainly stalked by a cryptid - it's more complex than that.
The ambience in this book is excellent. It reminded me a lot of the movie Barbarian in the sense that our protagonist is travelling alone and doesn't know whether or not to trust this man who is being kind and accomodating to her obvious skepticism.
What this book delivers is a wild ride. For sucha short book, it delivered some excellent little twists. Totally subverted my expectations.
Something this book does well is creating characters you care about in a short period of time.
The writing and dialogue was good. There were times where I felt a little confused regarding the characters surroundings but its a dark night so I suppose it's meant to feel disorienting.
I heard about this book on instagram reels and I picked it up because it was a short. My expectations were that it'd be a mothman type creature feature but it was so different from what I expected. It's not a traditional creature feature in which our characters are plainly stalked by a cryptid - it's more complex than that.
The ambience in this book is excellent. It reminded me a lot of the movie Barbarian in the sense that our protagonist is travelling alone and doesn't know whether or not to trust this man who is being kind and accomodating to her obvious skepticism.
What this book delivers is a wild ride. For sucha short book, it delivered some excellent little twists. Totally subverted my expectations.
Something this book does well is creating characters you care about in a short period of time.
The writing and dialogue was good. There were times where I felt a little confused regarding the characters surroundings but its a dark night so I suppose it's meant to feel disorienting.
It is a scary book. I almost finished it in one sitting just because I was nervous to go to sleep part way through. It's also fast paced and exciting and I was investing it what the hell was going on.
The first three quarters of the book are the best. The ending isn't bad. I think in horror it's often best to be left not understanding what happened rather than getting a big exposition dump but also I HAVE QUESTIONS. I WANT TO KNOW MORE.
I want to know the answers to the questions but I also love speculating. The fact that we don't get all the answers ensures that the reasonings for the events of the book aren't stupid, I guess.
I would definitely recommend this book.
I would definitely recommend this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Moderate: Gaslighting
Minor: Vomit
I don't recommend reading the spoilers because it'll take all the excitement out of the book and it's actually way cooler in the book than it sounds when I write it out. This is not an extreme horror novel.waywardskyril's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
3.0
"With her gaze focused on her feet while her mind scrambled for purchase, she was in excellent position to see the hand, bone white and four-fingered, reach from the night and clasp her ankle."
Below by Laurel Hightower was a gratifying read with neverending twists, the interminable thrill melting away the pages. Combined with the skill of the writing making this an incredibly easy read, Below is an enjoyable book that I would recommend to anyone who likes paranormal horror, even though some of the questions are left unanswered and the ending didn't fully make sense.
Below Trigger Warnings at the bottom of the review
Considering this is a novella, there's a ton packed in. You leave the story with a lot of mysteries, but also an experience unlike any other. There are so many twists and developments, it's almost nonstop, making you want to keep flipping pages all the way through the story.
This is especially easy to do with the effortless flow of the writing. This book had an excellent ability to grab its reader and keep them until the final pages closed.
"The snow fell heavy while she climbed, but the inches of accumulation silenced the hillside. Flakes collected in her hair and on her eyelashes, and her feet and hands were soon frigid, her fingers too stiff to grab onto trees and brush on her way up."
The characters, particularly the main character, have some surprising depth, and the MC is actually dynamic, going through some changes by the end of her ordeal.
Overall, she was likeable, but there was something a bit off about her. Her decision making capabilities, logic, and the voices inside her head all made her seem a bit separated from a realistic character, not too far apart, but far enough to take me out of the story briefly from time to time.
In conclusion, this IS a good story, and it exceeded my expectations in writing style and excitement, but fell short in explanation and motivation. On the scale of whether I recommend it, I find it's good enough to weigh decidedly on the side of recommend. It's a thrilling, dark little story that'll entertain any horror buff.
Below Trigger Warnings (POSSIBLE mild SPOILERS AHEAD):
~Past emotionally abusive relationship that is frequently mentioned and heavily on the MCs mind
~Dead bodies, described in detail
~Blood, brains, guts, dismembered limbs (it gets a bit gross a couple of times, but I wouldn't describe it as "excessive")
~Hydrophobia
~Claustrophobia
~Intense; scary; monsters; and near blindness from how dark it is
Below by Laurel Hightower was a gratifying read with neverending twists, the interminable thrill melting away the pages. Combined with the skill of the writing making this an incredibly easy read, Below is an enjoyable book that I would recommend to anyone who likes paranormal horror, even though some of the questions are left unanswered and the ending didn't fully make sense.
Below Trigger Warnings at the bottom of the review
Considering this is a novella, there's a ton packed in. You leave the story with a lot of mysteries, but also an experience unlike any other. There are so many twists and developments, it's almost nonstop, making you want to keep flipping pages all the way through the story.
This is especially easy to do with the effortless flow of the writing. This book had an excellent ability to grab its reader and keep them until the final pages closed.
"The snow fell heavy while she climbed, but the inches of accumulation silenced the hillside. Flakes collected in her hair and on her eyelashes, and her feet and hands were soon frigid, her fingers too stiff to grab onto trees and brush on her way up."
The characters, particularly the main character, have some surprising depth, and the MC is actually dynamic, going through some changes by the end of her ordeal.
Overall, she was likeable, but there was something a bit off about her. Her decision making capabilities, logic, and the voices inside her head all made her seem a bit separated from a realistic character, not too far apart, but far enough to take me out of the story briefly from time to time.
In conclusion, this IS a good story, and it exceeded my expectations in writing style and excitement, but fell short in explanation and motivation. On the scale of whether I recommend it, I find it's good enough to weigh decidedly on the side of recommend. It's a thrilling, dark little story that'll entertain any horror buff.
Below Trigger Warnings (POSSIBLE mild SPOILERS AHEAD):
~Past emotionally abusive relationship that is frequently mentioned and heavily on the MCs mind
~Dead bodies, described in detail
~Blood, brains, guts, dismembered limbs (it gets a bit gross a couple of times, but I wouldn't describe it as "excessive")
~Hydrophobia
~Claustrophobia
~Intense; scary; monsters; and near blindness from how dark it is
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Emotional abuse, Death, and Blood
the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Blood, Vomit, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Misogyny, Violence, and Gore
xwritingstoriesx's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5 stars. I rarely come across horror books with mimicry used as a theme. Something appearing not as it seems/posing as something else is such an interesting and rather untapped concept within horror lit. I really liked that the creature wasn't fully explained and that as the reader, we didn't even know what it was capable of. The imagination can really run wild and that's scarier than being spoon-fed and given all the answers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Trafficking
mermaidsherbet's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Car accident, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Trafficking
Minor: Vomit and Medical content
killing_u95's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Perfect! Short read at just over 100 pages, but was written to feel like a full novel. Immediately you're drawn in to the characters and feel sympathetic for them, rooting everyone on. Lot of twists and mind breaking events. Can't recommend enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Death, Vomit, Violence, Stalking, Body horror, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse
gssll_lpz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Body horror, Gore, and Death
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
howlinglibraries's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
"Came outta nowhere, didn't it?"
There are four things that I love, all of which are present in this book: cryptids, feminist horror, Laurel Hightower's writing, and a story so action-packed I have to devour it in one sitting.
I love cryptid stories in general, and like many cryptid lovers, I have a soft spot for Mothman. (I'm a diehard member of the "Mothman isn't bad, actually, he's just trying to help" club, in case you were wondering.)
When I heard Laurel was writing a story involving him, I was immediately sold, though I did force myself to patiently wait a little while to read this because I knew one of my favorite bookish groups was planning to read it in October. It was so worth the wait!
I loved Addy's character and how angry and full of spite and pain she was over the misogyny she'd faced throughout her life, especially from her ex-husband. When we meet her, she's already jaded and mistrusting of men she meets, and honestly, it was very easy to relate to her concerns and wariness. But that element of the story takes a backseat pretty quickly because let me tell you, shit hits the fan fast in this novella, and once it does, it never lets up until the end.
I was totally captivated and loved every second of this. It would make such a fun horror movie adaptation (*cough cough, side-eyes streaming services*), and I absolutely recommend it to anyone who likes cryptids, creature features, and/or horror with badass, tough feminist heroines. I can't wait to see what Laurel comes out with next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Car accident, Misogyny, and Gore
Minor: Domestic abuse