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jennifersuzette's review
4.0
I received this book as an Arc from the author for no cost
Starting out I really enjoyed this book, it has good world building and characters, the story is very suspenseful and gripping. Once I learned of the "monster" I kind of rolled my eyes.. the further I got it just wasn't quite my jam of story. The writing is very solid though!
Starting out I really enjoyed this book, it has good world building and characters, the story is very suspenseful and gripping. Once I learned of the "monster" I kind of rolled my eyes.. the further I got it just wasn't quite my jam of story. The writing is very solid though!
beastreader's review
4.0
Talk about starting a story out what a punch. That is exactly what author, Josh Roberts did with this book. After the first scene, I was hooked. From there, the story did stay on pace without dipping.
I grew instantly connected with Lissy. She was a very relatable character. Beware the things that go bump in the night. They are a killer...literally. While, there is not a lot of gory details on the murders, they are enough to still give you nightmares.
This book is a trip in a good way. There were several times where I thought I knew where the story was leading only to be thrown a twist. Readers looking for a scary/paranormal with a touch of horror book should give this one a try. I look forward to seeing what author, Josh Roberts comes out with next.
I grew instantly connected with Lissy. She was a very relatable character. Beware the things that go bump in the night. They are a killer...literally. While, there is not a lot of gory details on the murders, they are enough to still give you nightmares.
This book is a trip in a good way. There were several times where I thought I knew where the story was leading only to be thrown a twist. Readers looking for a scary/paranormal with a touch of horror book should give this one a try. I look forward to seeing what author, Josh Roberts comes out with next.
redhead_haze's review against another edition
5.0
“You attempt to better understand that which you can’t explain. As to whether you can control it, that’s still an unknown. But the closer you come to knowing a thing, the less likely you are to let it control you.”
First of all, I want to thank Josh Roberts for this ARC; it was the book I didn't know I needed and proved to be exactly the right experience at the right time.
The story follows the events from a small town from Colorado, where the only thing out of the ordinary is the monster that is said to reside in the Diamond Lake. After the mysterious death of Mia and her friends, 11 years prior, Lissy lives a solitary life, mourning her sister and isolating herself as much as possible from the people around her. But when she discovers a new body, with the same claw marks her sister's body had presented and weird dark visions start messing with her head, she needs to face the reality and ask herself if there might be more to the rumors and legends than she originally thought.
“Why couldn’t there be something out there that you wouldn’t find in a textbook? There’ve been new creatures found before. We know for a fact that the ocean is full of animals that are yet to be cataloged. Heck, until a couple of years ago, giant squid were considered myth. That is, until they started washing up on beaches.” He stared hard into her eyes. “Now go ahead, tell me why there can’t be something out there we haven’t seen yet?”
I've spent the first half of the book trying to place it into a genre: horror, mystery, paranormal, thriller? But then I understood that it was never about any of that: it's a reminder for each and every one of us that we have a choice in our daily life. We can embrace the good, the love and fight for our happiness, or we can succumb to our fears, letting our worries and grief devour us. It's about hope, about finding the light inside us. It's a very interesting and unique portrait of the battle between evil and goodness.
“Life’s got a way of amplifying the bad and forcing out the good, sis. And I won’t lie; it’s hard to stop the process sometimes. We tend to remember tough experiences more than easy ones. We see flaws before we recognize beauty. We’re quicker to remember someone’s hate than their love. But life’s so much better when we fight with everything in us to hold on to what’s good."
A nice touch was the shy romance between Neil and Lissy and, as a girl that has exclusively read books with males written by women this year, let me tell you that I was shocked of how much I adored Neil. I mean, honestly, where can I get one? They don't make them like that where I'm from...
“You okay?” He was watching her now.
“Yeah. Just thinking.”
“About?”
“Mortality, spirituality, murderous dragons . . . you.”
He smirked. “I’ve never been lumped into a list like that before."
It was a very good book and it's definitely the best standalone I've read this year. I enjoyed it more than I was expecting and I've read it in a go, unable to put it down before reaching the end. It kept me hooked, from beginning to the final chapter.
‘Love always wins. You might feel afraid sometimes, or angry, or hurt—but if you respond with love, the bullies can’t win.’
First of all, I want to thank Josh Roberts for this ARC; it was the book I didn't know I needed and proved to be exactly the right experience at the right time.
The story follows the events from a small town from Colorado, where the only thing out of the ordinary is the monster that is said to reside in the Diamond Lake. After the mysterious death of Mia and her friends, 11 years prior, Lissy lives a solitary life, mourning her sister and isolating herself as much as possible from the people around her. But when she discovers a new body, with the same claw marks her sister's body had presented and weird dark visions start messing with her head, she needs to face the reality and ask herself if there might be more to the rumors and legends than she originally thought.
“Why couldn’t there be something out there that you wouldn’t find in a textbook? There’ve been new creatures found before. We know for a fact that the ocean is full of animals that are yet to be cataloged. Heck, until a couple of years ago, giant squid were considered myth. That is, until they started washing up on beaches.” He stared hard into her eyes. “Now go ahead, tell me why there can’t be something out there we haven’t seen yet?”
I've spent the first half of the book trying to place it into a genre: horror, mystery, paranormal, thriller? But then I understood that it was never about any of that: it's a reminder for each and every one of us that we have a choice in our daily life. We can embrace the good, the love and fight for our happiness, or we can succumb to our fears, letting our worries and grief devour us. It's about hope, about finding the light inside us. It's a very interesting and unique portrait of the battle between evil and goodness.
“Life’s got a way of amplifying the bad and forcing out the good, sis. And I won’t lie; it’s hard to stop the process sometimes. We tend to remember tough experiences more than easy ones. We see flaws before we recognize beauty. We’re quicker to remember someone’s hate than their love. But life’s so much better when we fight with everything in us to hold on to what’s good."
A nice touch was the shy romance between Neil and Lissy and, as a girl that has exclusively read books with males written by women this year, let me tell you that I was shocked of how much I adored Neil. I mean, honestly, where can I get one? They don't make them like that where I'm from...
“You okay?” He was watching her now.
“Yeah. Just thinking.”
“About?”
“Mortality, spirituality, murderous dragons . . . you.”
He smirked. “I’ve never been lumped into a list like that before."
It was a very good book and it's definitely the best standalone I've read this year. I enjoyed it more than I was expecting and I've read it in a go, unable to put it down before reaching the end. It kept me hooked, from beginning to the final chapter.
‘Love always wins. You might feel afraid sometimes, or angry, or hurt—but if you respond with love, the bullies can’t win.’
debrakelsey's review against another edition
4.0
I love thrillers and supernatural stories! I was impressed with this story as a debut novel. Bonus points for the folklore tied in being one I hadn’t ever heard of and enjoyed learning about. Had I not had a busy few days mapped out, this would’ve been a quick read for sure. It’s suspenseful enough that I didn’t want to put it down. I had my guesses for what was going on, but ended up being way off.
Though some of what happens is certainly morbid (in the way you want aspects of horror to be) other parts of the book feel a bit more YA than strictly adult. I couldn’t pinpoint if it was the writing style or specific nuance. Not that that’s a bad thing, but it feels worth mentioning. It’s a good story with a solid plot and it was interesting throughout its entirety. Not wanting to spoil it - the subject matter pushed me to research the Korean myths portrayed.
I appreciate how both Lissy and Neil were written. Their relationship was a formative undertone that held firm throughout the story. There were a few really important themes regarding love and loss that I think were well done also.
I don’t care to critique too harshly on grammatical or syntactical things when it comes to a debut. At certain points I was left wanting a bit more background or depth, but overall I’d say the book is well done.
I’d rate this 3.5/5⭐️ but for the purpose of this app, marked it as 4 because I feel like it deserves the round-up. Thank you to the author for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Though some of what happens is certainly morbid (in the way you want aspects of horror to be) other parts of the book feel a bit more YA than strictly adult. I couldn’t pinpoint if it was the writing style or specific nuance. Not that that’s a bad thing, but it feels worth mentioning. It’s a good story with a solid plot and it was interesting throughout its entirety. Not wanting to spoil it - the subject matter pushed me to research the Korean myths portrayed.
I appreciate how both Lissy and Neil were written. Their relationship was a formative undertone that held firm throughout the story. There were a few really important themes regarding love and loss that I think were well done also.
I don’t care to critique too harshly on grammatical or syntactical things when it comes to a debut. At certain points I was left wanting a bit more background or depth, but overall I’d say the book is well done.
I’d rate this 3.5/5⭐️ but for the purpose of this app, marked it as 4 because I feel like it deserves the round-up. Thank you to the author for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
ctiner7's review against another edition
4.0
Good
I won this book on Goodreads First Reads. It was good. The only complaint is that it was a bit predictable. Otherwise we’ll written and I enjoyed it.
I won this book on Goodreads First Reads. It was good. The only complaint is that it was a bit predictable. Otherwise we’ll written and I enjoyed it.
cidkid's review against another edition
4.0
An excellent debut novel! Thrilling, exciting, and emotional. I really enjoyed this story as well as the main character. It was hard for me to put down, I almost considered staying up all night to finish it when I first started! Overall, a good fun read with a great message at the end. Thank you for the arc I received!
vj2411's review against another edition
4.0
When another murder occurs in the same place and the same way as Mia died 11 years prior, Lissy is determined to find out exactly what is happening and who.. or what is killing these people. With the help of the people around her she uncovers a dark truth and has to fight against it to protect the people she loves and the entire town she lives in.
I hadn't realised that this was a supernatural book when I picked it up which was honestly very exciting as I went into it thinking it was just a regular crime thriller (which I also love) and the shift from "who is the killer?" to "what is the killer?" was done very well. Thinking back on the first part of the book I now see how we were being set up and given small hints as to the supernatural aspect of the story but I am only realising that in hindsight which I believe is indicative of a great setup and good writing to follow through. I thought that the concept itself was really interesting and I liked how the monster was introduced and portrayed. The climax scene I thought was good but did end up being a little bit cliche for me.
4/5 stars, thank you to Josh Roberts for this copy to review.
I hadn't realised that this was a supernatural book when I picked it up which was honestly very exciting as I went into it thinking it was just a regular crime thriller (which I also love) and the shift from "who is the killer?" to "what is the killer?" was done very well. Thinking back on the first part of the book I now see how we were being set up and given small hints as to the supernatural aspect of the story but I am only realising that in hindsight which I believe is indicative of a great setup and good writing to follow through. I thought that the concept itself was really interesting and I liked how the monster was introduced and portrayed. The climax scene I thought was good but did end up being a little bit cliche for me.
4/5 stars, thank you to Josh Roberts for this copy to review.
vallevia's review
dark
mysterious
medium-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? Yes
3.0
I'd first like to thank Josh Roberts for having kindly sent me a digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
I have no strong feelings, good or bad, about this book. The characters were ok and the plot was a bit surface-level in my opinion. That said, the writing was very good and the spooky small town vibes were quite on point, especially in the beginning.
The second half of the book is where it fizzled out a bit for me. I don't want to give anything away but I felt like the explanation and reasons for why all the weird things were happening was really random and didn't make sense. The 'why' doesn't really get answered.
I think there would've been room for more. More context about the nature of the thing responsible for the attacks. More fleshing out of the characters. More background about the town, etc. It's a relatively short novel, and the author can clearly write very well, so adding a bit more details I feel would've been beneficial.
Overall an ok read. I'd probably recommend this to a younger young adult/teenage audience, or for those who don't ask too many questions.
fizreads's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you to the author for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book definitely keeps you hooked from start to finish. The starting was really well written and exactly what a thriller should be like...I forgot that it included monsters so when I came to that part it did really surprise me. I really liked the relationship between Lissy and Neil too.
I really enjoyed this book definitely keeps you hooked from start to finish. The starting was really well written and exactly what a thriller should be like...I forgot that it included monsters so when I came to that part it did really surprise me. I really liked the relationship between Lissy and Neil too.