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kait_sixcrowsbooks's review
dark
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
3.0
I wish I could rate this higher, I really do. The thing is, Horseman had the potential to be good. There was some really good passages, some pretty interesting pieces. But in the end, while I still enjoyed it as a quick read, it fell a bit flat for me.
Part of it was because of the first person POV. This is entirely a personal preference, I’m just not a huge fan of it. There are very few 1st person POV books that I love or even actively enjoy. Especially because, in the case of Horseman, it seemed like it made assumptions that shouldn’t’ve been made, that there was a lot of telling that just seemed annoying.
The writing kinda melded into that, where it just seemed choppy and sometimes just…not well thought out? Not to say that the author just slapped this together real quick, but some of it did seem sloppy. There were plot points that, when the reader is given the reasoning for them, I wasn’t able to suspend my disbelief and they fell flat. And that ending just seemed…rushed? Like the author wasn't sure how to end the story.
Tied to that, there was also two or three monologues throughout the book given by various characters, and while one of them was actually pretty interesting regarding the woods and what lived there, the other two? I was completely bored out of my noggin. I ended up just skimming them till the plot started to pick back up again, tbh.
Along with that, the characters were…meh. Brim seemed like this larger than life character that could do wrong, and I know part of that was because we’re looking at everything through Ben’s eyes, but damn, even when he’s an adult, I feel like the reader is still being fed with “Brom did no wrong!” when that’s…questionable. It just got to be annoying and tedious when you go to the twentieth “Brom is so amazing!” passage in a book that truly isn’t that long.
And when it came to Ben? Ugh. His personality aggravated me, even though I know it’s supposed to (at least somewhat) because he’s a kid for most of the book. But yeesh, the self-righteousness was annoying — and even as an adult he still tried to explain it away! Like nah dude, you were a dick, the least you could do is own up to that, lol.
Katrina was just there as a “men fought to have her >:(“ plot point and as an antagonist for Ben until ope, nvm not anymore, which was also frustrating. She was just incredibly flat and the reader literally only knows her through the relationships she has with the men around her.
All the other characters? Flat, no personality outside of drab descriptions we’re given through Ben’s 14-year-old perception. The only character that was actually interesting was the Horseman, and he had the least amount of screen (page?) time! The passages about him were written so well (relatively, yes, but still), and I’m so sad we didn’t get to see more of him for a book named after him. Literally the only reason I’m rating this a 3⭐️ and not 2 or 2.5⭐️ is because of him. Out of everything else and everyone in this book, his character was the most intriguing.
But yeah, I…wasn’t a huge fan of this. Which is disappointing because there is some wonderful potential with this! It just fell flat for me, sadly.
Part of it was because of the first person POV. This is entirely a personal preference, I’m just not a huge fan of it. There are very few 1st person POV books that I love or even actively enjoy. Especially because, in the case of Horseman, it seemed like it made assumptions that shouldn’t’ve been made, that there was a lot of telling that just seemed annoying.
The writing kinda melded into that, where it just seemed choppy and sometimes just…not well thought out? Not to say that the author just slapped this together real quick, but some of it did seem sloppy. There were plot points that, when the reader is given the reasoning for them, I wasn’t able to suspend my disbelief and they fell flat. And that ending just seemed…rushed? Like the author wasn't sure how to end the story.
Tied to that, there was also two or three monologues throughout the book given by various characters, and while one of them was actually pretty interesting regarding the woods and what lived there, the other two? I was completely bored out of my noggin. I ended up just skimming them till the plot started to pick back up again, tbh.
Along with that, the characters were…meh. Brim seemed like this larger than life character that could do wrong, and I know part of that was because we’re looking at everything through Ben’s eyes, but damn, even when he’s an adult, I feel like the reader is still being fed with “Brom did no wrong!” when that’s…questionable. It just got to be annoying and tedious when you go to the twentieth “Brom is so amazing!” passage in a book that truly isn’t that long.
And when it came to Ben? Ugh. His personality aggravated me, even though I know it’s supposed to (at least somewhat) because he’s a kid for most of the book. But yeesh, the self-righteousness was annoying — and even as an adult he still tried to explain it away! Like nah dude, you were a dick, the least you could do is own up to that, lol.
Katrina was just there as a “men fought to have her >:(“ plot point and as an antagonist for Ben until ope, nvm not anymore, which was also frustrating. She was just incredibly flat and the reader literally only knows her through the relationships she has with the men around her.
All the other characters? Flat, no personality outside of drab descriptions we’re given through Ben’s 14-year-old perception. The only character that was actually interesting was the Horseman, and he had the least amount of screen (page?) time! The passages about him were written so well (relatively, yes, but still), and I’m so sad we didn’t get to see more of him for a book named after him. Literally the only reason I’m rating this a 3⭐️ and not 2 or 2.5⭐️ is because of him. Out of everything else and everyone in this book, his character was the most intriguing.
But yeah, I…wasn’t a huge fan of this. Which is disappointing because there is some wonderful potential with this! It just fell flat for me, sadly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Child death, and Body horror
Moderate: Death of parent, Transphobia, and Death
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
kris_t97's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Interesting range of characters with a different take on the Sleepy Hollow/ Headless Horseman tale. A decent balance of human and supernatural horror as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Stalking, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder
Minor: Deadnaming and Animal death
keenanmaree's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Sexism, and Transphobia
Moderate: Animal death, Dementia, Sexual assault, and Kidnapping
Minor: Child abuse and Domestic abuse
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