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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
I’ve always been hesitant about horror books, especially when there’s a supernatural element but this was fun !!
I was able to obtain a physical copy of Burn the Negative from my library and wow, what a fun ride. Burn the Negative is perfect for fans of horror movies, Riley Saga, and multi media format books.
Laura is an ex child actress, who was once the star of a slasher movie. This movie is known as one of the most cursed films of all time, and Laura left acting because of it. When she's called back to LA to write a journalistic piece on it, the body count begins to increase, leaving Laura to wonder if the curse was ever broken. As people begin to die in manners that match the death's in the movie, Laura delves into her past to hopefully break the curse.
Listen, is this high brow literary horror? Absolutely not, but is it a wild ride, a lot of fun to read and the perfect fall horror to read? Absolutely. It was just creepy enough I couldn't read it after 7pm but I loved it and had a blast while reading.
Laura is an ex child actress, who was once the star of a slasher movie. This movie is known as one of the most cursed films of all time, and Laura left acting because of it. When she's called back to LA to write a journalistic piece on it, the body count begins to increase, leaving Laura to wonder if the curse was ever broken. As people begin to die in manners that match the death's in the movie, Laura delves into her past to hopefully break the curse.
Listen, is this high brow literary horror? Absolutely not, but is it a wild ride, a lot of fun to read and the perfect fall horror to read? Absolutely. It was just creepy enough I couldn't read it after 7pm but I loved it and had a blast while reading.
dark
emotional
medium-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
dark
mysterious
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood
Minor: Child abuse
2.75 After reading Heads Will Roll, I was hyped for another Josh Winning book, hoping for a fun, classic slasher. But Burn the Negative didn’t hit the mark for me. It felt indecisive, which sadly, made it fall flat.
The story follows Laura, a former child actor who’s now a journalist in the UK. She gets unknowingly sent to cover the remake of The Guesthouse, the horror film she acted in as a kid—a “cursed” movie where nine people died during or after filming, all in ways that mimicked the film’s plot. Against her better judgment (and mostly out of job fear), Laura agrees to stay on the assignment, despite this being exactly what her parents were trying to get her away from years ago. But once she’s there, strange things start happening, and Laura’s pulled into the dark history of The Guesthouse.
The problem with this book is it doesn’t know what it wants to be. It sets up this supernatural, cursed-movie mystery but then veers into some kind of "me against the world" villain origin story. We spend most of the book watching Laura make one dumb decision after another, refusing to communicate and holding back information that could actually help. By the time we get to the ending, it feels like it’s trying to make Laura’s choices seem meaningful, but it’s just too little, too late. Her decisions are so obviously bad that there’s no way she’s not “in on it” or strategically navigating this. Caring about her becomes pointless when all her choices seem designed to frustrate us.
Honestly, this book would’ve been way more compelling if it focused on Laura’s emotional trauma and how she was treated as a child actor in a ruthless industry. Instead, that angle feels like a rushed afterthought, shoved in to salvage the last chunk of the book. Burn the Negative had potential, but it needed a clearer direction and a deeper exploration of its main character’s psyche.
The story follows Laura, a former child actor who’s now a journalist in the UK. She gets unknowingly sent to cover the remake of The Guesthouse, the horror film she acted in as a kid—a “cursed” movie where nine people died during or after filming, all in ways that mimicked the film’s plot. Against her better judgment (and mostly out of job fear), Laura agrees to stay on the assignment, despite this being exactly what her parents were trying to get her away from years ago. But once she’s there, strange things start happening, and Laura’s pulled into the dark history of The Guesthouse.
The problem with this book is it doesn’t know what it wants to be. It sets up this supernatural, cursed-movie mystery but then veers into some kind of "me against the world" villain origin story. We spend most of the book watching Laura make one dumb decision after another, refusing to communicate and holding back information that could actually help. By the time we get to the ending, it feels like it’s trying to make Laura’s choices seem meaningful, but it’s just too little, too late. Her decisions are so obviously bad that there’s no way she’s not “in on it” or strategically navigating this. Caring about her becomes pointless when all her choices seem designed to frustrate us.
Honestly, this book would’ve been way more compelling if it focused on Laura’s emotional trauma and how she was treated as a child actor in a ruthless industry. Instead, that angle feels like a rushed afterthought, shoved in to salvage the last chunk of the book. Burn the Negative had potential, but it needed a clearer direction and a deeper exploration of its main character’s psyche.
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
medium-paced
This book was okay. It started to feel really long about halfway through and at that point, I wasn’t getting excited about picking it up. There were a couple points where the writing felt like it was trying hard to be “deep” and missed the mark. The ending felt disjointed from the beginning, and it felt like everything was just kind of thrown together. I enjoyed the formatting; I liked the extra details and context from the excerpts between every chapter. If you’re looking for a thriller with an HEA, this isn’t it.
dark
mildly confusing and the story really dragged on in the first half but the ending was twisty and depressing in a fun way
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-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