Scan barcode
i_blamebookit's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
mypantsaretight's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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
3.5
words_on_paper_official's review against another edition
4.0
What a great book and amazing story! I can clearly see why Jonathan Janz is one of the names that always gets brought up when you ask who your favorite horror author is. This guy has an ability to make a scene so tense and nerve racking and yet leaves the reader vulnerable and emotional.
crashlyn666's review against another edition
2.0
I really enjoyed the last third of this book. However it took me a long time to get into it. The writing style wasn’t anything special.
pbanditp's review against another edition
5.0
Every nice persons worst nightmare come true. No good deed goes unpunished raised to the nth degree.
Jim won’t sit by when he sees a woman beating on her son but when he intervenes, he becomes the target. Things go from bad to worse after Angie has everything taken away and she has nothing else to lose.
Jonathan Janz creeped me out with this one. He got under my skin and had me jumping at shadows. He created great characters with Jim, his wife Michelle, and Dale the sheriff. He also made some pretty horrid characters that live in the cult and I don’t want to think about them again.
I found the ending to be ambiguous and I can tell you I do NOT feel safe.
Jim won’t sit by when he sees a woman beating on her son but when he intervenes, he becomes the target. Things go from bad to worse after Angie has everything taken away and she has nothing else to lose.
Jonathan Janz creeped me out with this one. He got under my skin and had me jumping at shadows. He created great characters with Jim, his wife Michelle, and Dale the sheriff. He also made some pretty horrid characters that live in the cult and I don’t want to think about them again.
I found the ending to be ambiguous and I can tell you I do NOT feel safe.
radicalrachelreads's review against another edition
4.0
The action starts right away in The Nightmare Girl with a scene that stirs up feelings. For a couple of years in the past, I was a case manager for New Jersey’s child protection agency so the beginning hit me hard. Even before I got that job I’d always been the type of person to insert myself into situations if I saw something bad happening. It’s just my nature and in some cases I’ve ended up sticking my nose in and paying for it some way or another but never as bad as it turned out for Joe. If I knew things would turn out so badly would I still insert myself? Probably because I just can’t help it. I hate seeing human children and animals being hurt. I just can’t look the other way as hard as I try.
Anyway, I really liked the premise of the story and most of the execution but I did find Joe’s sexy time with his wife cringe worthy and some of their joking around got on my last nerve. I’m not sure if I was bothered because of the narrator; it’s possible it would have been different had I read it on my own. I feel that I didn’t get as close to the characters as I could have had I related to them a bit more. Besides the fact that I thought Joe was cool for stepping in at the gas station, I could not see myself hanging out with him or his family.
I’m more of a solitary cat lady and don’t want to play choo choo train with toddlers.
Thank goodness for the fire cult information and scenes with the cult members because that’s where it’s at. Those parts definitely make me forget the parts I wasn’t as fond of in the book. I’m ready to try another from Jonathan Janz!
Anyway, I really liked the premise of the story and most of the execution but I did find Joe’s sexy time with his wife cringe worthy and some of their joking around got on my last nerve. I’m not sure if I was bothered because of the narrator; it’s possible it would have been different had I read it on my own. I feel that I didn’t get as close to the characters as I could have had I related to them a bit more. Besides the fact that I thought Joe was cool for stepping in at the gas station, I could not see myself hanging out with him or his family.
I’m more of a solitary cat lady and don’t want to play choo choo train with toddlers.
Thank goodness for the fire cult information and scenes with the cult members because that’s where it’s at. Those parts definitely make me forget the parts I wasn’t as fond of in the book. I’m ready to try another from Jonathan Janz!
heatheray's review against another edition
5.0
I will tell you right off the bat that the cover is what drew me to this book. The readers of my blog know me for reviewing lots of romance, the reader who reads daily might have picked up on the fact that while I love my romances, horror is another favorite genre. I just am asked to review more romances than I am asked to review horror.
I love books that freak me out, make me check the locks 4 times before heading to bed, and then have me jumping and imagining the worst possible scenarios every time the dogs bark at something. I want a “get out the salt and stand in the circle” kind of freaky read. Some people don’t like having the pants scared off of them, I think it’s fun. The more likely it is it could happen, the better.
The Nightmare Girl was perfectly creepy, awesomely freaky, and gory enough to have me squirming a bit.
No good deed goes unpunished is what I think when I think of words to describe this book. As the blurb says Joe stops a mother from abusing her toddler. Just the description in that first scene had me cringing. Things went from 0 – 60 right in those first few pages and I was completely in.
We go on this journey that Joe was entangled in just from helping that little boy. Things were really extreme at the end but it worked within the context of the story, with the back stories that were given from various characters that Joe was involved with. I loved that Joe never gave up, he never rolled over and said I’m done, I can’t do this anymore. He just kept going, kept fighting, kept protecting his family.
I also really liked that on top of the cult that there was a supernatural element here.
I just added Jonathan Janz to my favorite author list. He and Scott Nicholson would be my responses if asked who my favorite horror authors are.
I also just grabbed 2 more books from Jonathan on Amazon. I bought the Savage Species set and Dust Devils. I cannot wait to get started on them. They both look equally freaky. I just want to grab everything he has written and have a Jonathan Janz marathon.
Thank you so much to NetGalley for my copy of The Nightmare Girl! 5 stars from me!
I love books that freak me out, make me check the locks 4 times before heading to bed, and then have me jumping and imagining the worst possible scenarios every time the dogs bark at something. I want a “get out the salt and stand in the circle” kind of freaky read. Some people don’t like having the pants scared off of them, I think it’s fun. The more likely it is it could happen, the better.
The Nightmare Girl was perfectly creepy, awesomely freaky, and gory enough to have me squirming a bit.
No good deed goes unpunished is what I think when I think of words to describe this book. As the blurb says Joe stops a mother from abusing her toddler. Just the description in that first scene had me cringing. Things went from 0 – 60 right in those first few pages and I was completely in.
We go on this journey that Joe was entangled in just from helping that little boy. Things were really extreme at the end but it worked within the context of the story, with the back stories that were given from various characters that Joe was involved with. I loved that Joe never gave up, he never rolled over and said I’m done, I can’t do this anymore. He just kept going, kept fighting, kept protecting his family.
I also really liked that on top of the cult that there was a supernatural element here.
I just added Jonathan Janz to my favorite author list. He and Scott Nicholson would be my responses if asked who my favorite horror authors are.
I also just grabbed 2 more books from Jonathan on Amazon. I bought the Savage Species set and Dust Devils. I cannot wait to get started on them. They both look equally freaky. I just want to grab everything he has written and have a Jonathan Janz marathon.
Thank you so much to NetGalley for my copy of The Nightmare Girl! 5 stars from me!
aly36's review against another edition
2.0
I did not enjoy this book. I was sad because I wanted to like it. But it could not keep my attention and I did not finish it. I was disappointed.
rock_n_reads's review against another edition
5.0
The "Year of Janz" is truly in full swing. THE NIGHTMARE GIRL is my third read from Janz, and I can't say enough about how much I enjoy his work. His skill presents itself not only during heart-pounding, savage moments of terror, but also within plot, pacing, and character development.
In each Janz book I've read so far, I've immediately been able to connect with one or multiple characters; I've found myself rooting for the protagonists, and hating on the sinister villains. In this particular story, I really loved the character of Joe and enjoyed the development of his friendship with Copeland.
There were parts of this story that literally had my heart racing, and I couldn't stop turning pages to see what was next. The horrific moments are also blended with bits of humor and heartwarming interactions between Joe and his family.
Horror fans, don't delay- get your hands on a copy of this book, and join me in eager anticipation of the amazing Janz titles to come this year!
***Thank you to Flame Tree Press, for sending me this title in exchange for an honest review.***
In each Janz book I've read so far, I've immediately been able to connect with one or multiple characters; I've found myself rooting for the protagonists, and hating on the sinister villains. In this particular story, I really loved the character of Joe and enjoyed the development of his friendship with Copeland.
There were parts of this story that literally had my heart racing, and I couldn't stop turning pages to see what was next. The horrific moments are also blended with bits of humor and heartwarming interactions between Joe and his family.
Horror fans, don't delay- get your hands on a copy of this book, and join me in eager anticipation of the amazing Janz titles to come this year!
***Thank you to Flame Tree Press, for sending me this title in exchange for an honest review.***
readingvicariously's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, this is only my second favorite book by Janz and I can already tell he’s going to be one of my favorites. He has such a clear, vivid, and easy writing style. Plenty of tension, scares, gruesome violence, and humor. If there were any deficits I blew right past them because I was having so much fun!!
The story immediately throws you immediately into the inciting incident and the craziness just continues to build from there. Basically our protagonist Joe stops a lady from beating her small child at a gas station. Said lady stalks him and eventually commits an act of self-immolation. Unfortunately for Joe she was tied up in a deadly fire cult, and now they have their sights on Joe and his family for their next “ceremony”.
The story is perfectly paced, with plenty of tense and creepy moments. The scene in the Black Chapel had me biting my nails. And it all leads up to an explosively violent and terrifying climax. Like seriously violent. Dismembering, maiming, bloody mayhem. Does it fit the tone of the rest of the book? I don’t really care, because it’s AWESOME.
Also the characters are fabulous. Joe is the father and husband I aspire to be, and his playful banter/budding friendship with the police chief is great. His wife Michelle is pretty awesome as well. And the rest of the cast sucks because pretty much everyone is a part of this freaky cult
The story immediately throws you immediately into the inciting incident and the craziness just continues to build from there. Basically our protagonist Joe stops a lady from beating her small child at a gas station. Said lady stalks him and eventually commits an act of self-immolation. Unfortunately for Joe she was tied up in a deadly fire cult, and now they have their sights on Joe and his family for their next “ceremony”.
The story is perfectly paced, with plenty of tense and creepy moments. The scene in the Black Chapel had me biting my nails. And it all leads up to an explosively violent and terrifying climax. Like seriously violent. Dismembering, maiming, bloody mayhem. Does it fit the tone of the rest of the book? I don’t really care, because it’s AWESOME.
Also the characters are fabulous. Joe is the father and husband I aspire to be, and his playful banter/budding friendship with the police chief is great. His wife Michelle is pretty awesome as well. And the rest of the cast sucks because pretty much everyone is a part of this freaky cult