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sarahbrowell's review
2.0
Strong 2.5⭐️
Less a horror novel and more a series of violent confrontations between the same characters.
The first and last chapters were defiantly the strongest and were super atmospheric. Would have absolutely loved a deeper exploration of the origins of the caves, and of Anna’s character. The two protagonists did not have enough intrigue to anchor the story so their constant interior monologue, interspersed with aggressive interactions with Terry and Anna, became repetitive.
Super interested in Murmur and Anna though!
Less a horror novel and more a series of violent confrontations between the same characters.
The first and last chapters were defiantly the strongest and were super atmospheric. Would have absolutely loved a deeper exploration of the origins of the caves, and of Anna’s character. The two protagonists did not have enough intrigue to anchor the story so their constant interior monologue, interspersed with aggressive interactions with Terry and Anna, became repetitive.
Super interested in Murmur and Anna though!
andyblakey's review
2.0
2.5 Some of the writing is incredibly well done, setting a scene or creating a tense atmosphere but some of it ain’t it
ianthereader0's review
3.0
Book • Review
A Black and Endless Sky
Matthew Alton’s
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Out March 15th!
A Black and Endless Sky is a horror/thriller/road-trip mashup story that was a lot of fun to read. In this novel, we follow Nel and Jonas, siblings on a road trip to their hometown after Jonas has just finalized his divorce. Should be pleasant right?
The only problem is that they get in a bar fight with a bunch of bikers who are now out for blood, and one of the siblings may or may not have accidentally stumbled upon the resting place of an evil spirit that may or may not have possessed them. That is the basic gist of this book.
Like I said, this book was fun to read. I thought that the pacing was well done and kept me on my toes wondering what was going to happen next. The characters were extremely frustrating most of the time, and I honestly didn’t like them very much most of the book. The sibling relationship that they have is very toxic at the start of the novel, and it was interesting to see the ways that transformed throughout the book. There was also some pretty well done horror in this novel, and I found myself feeling quite unsettled multiple times.
I did have a few issues with this book, though. First, I felt that the resolution of the novel was a bit too convenient for my taste. It felt like we were headed towards one unavoidable ending, and then that is kind of brushed under the rug in exchange for something else. That was definitely frustrating. Also, I never quite understood the motivations or limitations of the “evil spirit” in the book, and while that added a certain level of unpredictability to the story, I just needed a little bit more of a firm definition.
That being said, if you are looking for a quick read that will thrill you, scare you, and warm your heart at surprising moments, this might be the book for you!
Thank you @netgalley, Keylight Books, and Lyon for an early audio copy of this book.
A Black and Endless Sky
Matthew Alton’s
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Out March 15th!
A Black and Endless Sky is a horror/thriller/road-trip mashup story that was a lot of fun to read. In this novel, we follow Nel and Jonas, siblings on a road trip to their hometown after Jonas has just finalized his divorce. Should be pleasant right?
The only problem is that they get in a bar fight with a bunch of bikers who are now out for blood, and one of the siblings may or may not have accidentally stumbled upon the resting place of an evil spirit that may or may not have possessed them. That is the basic gist of this book.
Like I said, this book was fun to read. I thought that the pacing was well done and kept me on my toes wondering what was going to happen next. The characters were extremely frustrating most of the time, and I honestly didn’t like them very much most of the book. The sibling relationship that they have is very toxic at the start of the novel, and it was interesting to see the ways that transformed throughout the book. There was also some pretty well done horror in this novel, and I found myself feeling quite unsettled multiple times.
I did have a few issues with this book, though. First, I felt that the resolution of the novel was a bit too convenient for my taste. It felt like we were headed towards one unavoidable ending, and then that is kind of brushed under the rug in exchange for something else. That was definitely frustrating. Also, I never quite understood the motivations or limitations of the “evil spirit” in the book, and while that added a certain level of unpredictability to the story, I just needed a little bit more of a firm definition.
That being said, if you are looking for a quick read that will thrill you, scare you, and warm your heart at surprising moments, this might be the book for you!
Thank you @netgalley, Keylight Books, and Lyon for an early audio copy of this book.
the_old_gray_cat's review
4.0
Depressed and newly divorced, a man prepares to leave San Francisco and go home to Albuquerque to lick his wounds in his childhood home. Stupidly Jonah has arranged to do this as a roadtrip with his erratic sister, Nell. They get into a barfight along the way, and all hell breaks loose.
It took some time for this book to grow on me. I was irritated at first with page after page of repetitive dialogue. Then I got sucked in to the point where I stayed up late reading, nodding off but not ready to stop. There is some truly excellent writing towards the end, and I appreciated how flawed all the characters were. Recommended for fans of cosmic horror in particular.
It took some time for this book to grow on me. I was irritated at first with page after page of repetitive dialogue. Then I got sucked in to the point where I stayed up late reading, nodding off but not ready to stop. There is some truly excellent writing towards the end, and I appreciated how flawed all the characters were. Recommended for fans of cosmic horror in particular.
heatheradoresbooks's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 ⭐
Horror is not a genre I read too often, not because I don't like it, I just seem to flock to other ones. I am glad I gave this one a whirl because I thought it was well written and it kept me engaged.
The story follows estranged siblings, Jonah and Nell, as they travel across country back to their hometown. There are quite a few bumps they encounter along the way, to put it mildly. It is very violent at times with excessive amounts of fighting .
I liked that each new chapter gave us an update on how far away they are from their destination. I am doing an around the world challenge this year and I wanted to put this for New Mexico, but I am not sure if I can, since it did take them a long time to get there
I tend to enjoy my audiobooks a slight bit more when the narration is good and these 4 narrators did not disappoint.
This was my first time with this author and I would read their work again.
*Thanks to Netgally, [a:Dreamscape Media LLC|19425262|Dreamscape Media LLC|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and [a:Matthew Lyons|5750909|Matthew Lyons|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1591526454p2/5750909.jpg] for the advance audiobook. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*
Horror is not a genre I read too often, not because I don't like it, I just seem to flock to other ones. I am glad I gave this one a whirl because I thought it was well written and it kept me engaged.
The story follows estranged siblings, Jonah and Nell, as they travel across country back to their hometown. There are quite a few bumps they encounter along the way, to put it mildly. It is very violent at times with excessive amounts of fighting .
I liked that each new chapter gave us an update on how far away they are from their destination. I am doing an around the world challenge this year and I wanted to put this for New Mexico, but I am not sure if I can, since it did take them a long time to get there
I tend to enjoy my audiobooks a slight bit more when the narration is good and these 4 narrators did not disappoint.
This was my first time with this author and I would read their work again.
*Thanks to Netgally, [a:Dreamscape Media LLC|19425262|Dreamscape Media LLC|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and [a:Matthew Lyons|5750909|Matthew Lyons|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1591526454p2/5750909.jpg] for the advance audiobook. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*
mleemargaret's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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
2.75
mostlyreadinghorror's review
4.0
Wow-that was a wild ride! I am still recovering from this road trip gone wrong.
This read like a Stephen King novel, in this moment I cannot pinpoint why exactly, but maybe in time once I process more of my reading experience I’ll be able to articulate the reasons why it read like a King novel ( I just finished this book an hour ago). This is a fast paced, action packed, well-paced book-it really kept me absorbed in the story and I was very invested in these characters.
Synopsis:
In this story we follow Nell and Jonah, a bad ass brother and sister duo on a road trip back to their childhood home to Albuquerque, NM. During their journey the two encounter some pretty unusual circumstances and otherworldly entities and thus chaos ensues. This is a bare bones synopsis, this book is so much more-but I would suggest going in with as little info as possible, I definitely think this will enhance the reading experience.
What I enjoyed most about this book was the setting-a road trip through the desert, the story was atmospheric and I could visualize the seedy bars, hotels, and restaurants. I also really enjoyed the exploration of the brother and sister relationship, it was very heartfelt and complex. I could relate in many ways to their relationship, it’s a familial dynamic we don’t have enough of in books and I was here for it. There is also some cosmic horror in this story, but it was pretty light in my opinion. As someone who is not a fan of cosmic horror in my books, this story was not really saturated with it, which is probably why it didn’t bother me as much.
Something that stuck out to me was the fact that we never really got an explanation of the “entity” in the story. We get this brief intro at the start of the book, but that’s pretty much it. I am not sure if I missed something along the way, but I kind of felt like there was no deep dive/origin story. Which I didn’t so much mind, because again I am not a fan of cosmic horror, but I think if you are this may be bother you. Also I felt like the “Anna” character in the story and her purpose didn’t really serve much purpose to the story line or move the story along, but her parts were pretty entertaining.
Overall I would recommend this book-after reading this I can’t say I am sold on cosmic horror-but I will definitely pick up more from this author, his writing is really good.
Thanks to #netgalley and #Dreamscape Media for an advanced listener copy in exchange for my honest review.
ivyinthepages's review
4.0
Rating: 4 leaves out of 5
Characters: 3.5/5
Cover: 3/5
Story: 4.5/5
Writing: 5/5
Genre: Thriller/Horror/Paranormal
Type: Audiobook
Worth?: Yes!
First want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review! I was excited to see this up for an ARC because I had it on my TBR list. I was so engaged into the story that I got over half way through it on the first day. I didn't like 3 of the 4 characters. Nell, being 35, seemed to act like she was this 16 year old buttface. Her poor brother had just gotten a divorce and instead of being sympathetic she bashed him for "not being himself." She got a little more points for being so determined when it came to her family but at the same time I didn't care for her. Anna was opposite. I liked her at first and she just ended up being a grade A buttface. Terry is well... an idiot. Just going to leave it at that.
I did think it was going to go a route given where it was taken place but it didn't and I don't think I am too mad at it. I wish Matthew would have given more on the situation with Nell but it just felt... a bit flat? I gave it a 4 because despite all that I said the story in WHOLE was really good. I enjoyed following each and every character and to be honest if it was a movie I would freaking watch!
Characters: 3.5/5
Cover: 3/5
Story: 4.5/5
Writing: 5/5
Genre: Thriller/Horror/Paranormal
Type: Audiobook
Worth?: Yes!
First want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review! I was excited to see this up for an ARC because I had it on my TBR list. I was so engaged into the story that I got over half way through it on the first day. I didn't like 3 of the 4 characters. Nell, being 35, seemed to act like she was this 16 year old buttface. Her poor brother had just gotten a divorce and instead of being sympathetic she bashed him for "not being himself." She got a little more points for being so determined when it came to her family but at the same time I didn't care for her. Anna was opposite. I liked her at first and she just ended up being a grade A buttface. Terry is well... an idiot. Just going to leave it at that.
I did think it was going to go a route given where it was taken place but it didn't and I don't think I am too mad at it. I wish Matthew would have given more on the situation with Nell but it just felt... a bit flat? I gave it a 4 because despite all that I said the story in WHOLE was really good. I enjoyed following each and every character and to be honest if it was a movie I would freaking watch!
ruminations_reverie's review
3.0
2.5 rounded up.
This was rather disappointing for me. It started at a high point with the prologue, but once the sibling dynamics came in as a defining feature of the story it really fell flat.
This set of siblings, Nell and Jonah, just don't feel authentic and I couldn't connect with them. That is to say that I just didn't care about them...at all. The two POVs, because they spent a lot of time together, just didn't feel necessary. I think 3rd person omniscient might have worked out better or just one POV as Nell and one POV as Anna could work in its favor, but the perspective from Terry was absolutely worthless. I don't mind him as a character, but it just didn't feel like viewing the story from his perspective made sense.
The story had these intense horror elements, these apocalyptic visions and the descriptions of the body horror, that were fantastic, but they were few and far between. The other pieces of the novel where we are trying to figure out this strange sibling relationship through anger and forgiveness didn't jive with me. Look, I love a deeply emotional sibling story that resolves itself through the shared trauma, but these two didn't fit the mold. They just weren't relatable or emotionally impactful.
Overall the book was ok. The plot setup was great, but the execution could have been better. At the beginning I was getting a lot of "The Library at Mt. Char" vibes, but those quickly disappeared and I was left with a watered down story that lost its appeal after the 1st third and I didn't care for the ending. I think for fans of demon/possession stories there is something to love about the lore here, but just be prepared that the family dynamics could get in the way a little.
This was rather disappointing for me. It started at a high point with the prologue, but once the sibling dynamics came in as a defining feature of the story it really fell flat.
This set of siblings, Nell and Jonah, just don't feel authentic and I couldn't connect with them. That is to say that I just didn't care about them...at all. The two POVs, because they spent a lot of time together, just didn't feel necessary. I think 3rd person omniscient might have worked out better or just one POV as Nell and one POV as Anna could work in its favor, but the perspective from Terry was absolutely worthless. I don't mind him as a character, but it just didn't feel like viewing the story from his perspective made sense.
The story had these intense horror elements, these apocalyptic visions and the descriptions of the body horror, that were fantastic, but they were few and far between. The other pieces of the novel where we are trying to figure out this strange sibling relationship through anger and forgiveness didn't jive with me. Look, I love a deeply emotional sibling story that resolves itself through the shared trauma, but these two didn't fit the mold. They just weren't relatable or emotionally impactful.
Overall the book was ok. The plot setup was great, but the execution could have been better. At the beginning I was getting a lot of "The Library at Mt. Char" vibes, but those quickly disappeared and I was left with a watered down story that lost its appeal after the 1st third and I didn't care for the ending. I think for fans of demon/possession stories there is something to love about the lore here, but just be prepared that the family dynamics could get in the way a little.