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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've read a few Chuck Wendig books and I always have the same complaint, they're all too long. It didn't negatively impact my enjoyment as much as it has in the past but I did reach a point were I was like "what? There's still 200 pages left?" The concept of this story was very interesting, a "magical" apple that lowkey brainwashes people? Shortly after finishing this post I saw a post about a fake apple that only grows in this one specific place that apparently is the most delicious apple in the world and my first thought was "DON'T EAT THAT" and I thought that was a lot of fun. This book has overtaken my brain and I can't stop thinking about it, but at the same time it's not all good things. I didn't enjoy a majority of the POVs that you follow and thought most of the characters were annoying. Overall though, I had a fun time reading this and read it a lot quicker than I thought it would. Despite thinking his books are too long, I would be interested in reading more by this author. I think he does a good job flushing out the world, and in this case, the magic, and the overall plots are very interesting and like nothing I've read before.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey, and NetGalley for providing me with an eBook copy to review.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey, and NetGalley for providing me with an eBook copy to review.
My brain will never unsee what it read in this book. It is horrific, intense, graphic, gory. Set in a small town with an apple orchard, this is a perfect fall read. I think it absolutely delivered on the premise, but it was a bit long and overall just wasn’t really the story for me. To be clear, this is not a knock on the story itself…because other reviewers are raving over this book. I recognize that this book is extremely well done, I personally just didn’t love it.
This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year because The Book of Accidents was my favorite book of 2021. I think that book had an impact on me in a way that this did not, in a large part because BOA wove its scary and suspenseful elements with themes of family, friendship, trauma, pain and empathy, ghosts and demons. Black River Orchard certainly touches upon family and friendship, but I think the more predominant themes are the corruption of power and selfishness. And even these themes took a backseat to the plot itself.
Chuck Wendig remains, without a doubt an auto-read author for me! Can’t wait to see what he writes next, it’s guaranteed to be a wild ride!
Black River Orchard will be out 9/26. Thank you so much to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC.
Now off I go to buy apples for Rosh Hashanah this weekend…
This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year because The Book of Accidents was my favorite book of 2021. I think that book had an impact on me in a way that this did not, in a large part because BOA wove its scary and suspenseful elements with themes of family, friendship, trauma, pain and empathy, ghosts and demons. Black River Orchard certainly touches upon family and friendship, but I think the more predominant themes are the corruption of power and selfishness. And even these themes took a backseat to the plot itself.
Chuck Wendig remains, without a doubt an auto-read author for me! Can’t wait to see what he writes next, it’s guaranteed to be a wild ride!
Black River Orchard will be out 9/26. Thank you so much to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC.
Now off I go to buy apples for Rosh Hashanah this weekend…
3.5 enjoyable writing as always from Wendig but I felt this one was drawn out in places that dragged on the storyline and kept the creepiness at a distance.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
This is a book I had to psych myself up for. This is just one of those authors where it’s like, I know I’m going to like the book… but I also know it’s going to be a long-ass epic. Why do I fear long books? ADD? Fear of commitment? Impatience? All of the above?
This is a horror novel about… I shit you not… apples. But otherwise it has the hallmarks of this author - large, diverse cast and conservatives doing awful things. It’s great body horror and great apple horror.
There are 4,534 ways to describe an apple, and this novel hit all of them. Are the apples a stand-in for drugs (and a cult)? Sure - you could have made this book about drugs. But drugs aren’t as crisp and tasty.
The book was especially meant for me, as I both live in the area it’s set in AND I enjoy a good farmers’ market apple. I learned a lot about how apples are grown, and it was fascinating, honestly. And I’m 100% going to be keeping my eye on the dudes at the farmers’ market now….
This is a horror novel about… I shit you not… apples. But otherwise it has the hallmarks of this author - large, diverse cast and conservatives doing awful things. It’s great body horror and great apple horror.
There are 4,534 ways to describe an apple, and this novel hit all of them. Are the apples a stand-in for drugs (and a cult)? Sure - you could have made this book about drugs. But drugs aren’t as crisp and tasty.
The book was especially meant for me, as I both live in the area it’s set in AND I enjoy a good farmers’ market apple. I learned a lot about how apples are grown, and it was fascinating, honestly. And I’m 100% going to be keeping my eye on the dudes at the farmers’ market now….
Okay, so this was a weird one for me. I started it in October, and have struggled to get through it. Picked it up and put it back down again 3-4 times. Now it came highly suggested by a friend, starts off so good and grabbed me right away! Good characters, unique story, nice creepy edge. But at 300 pages in I felt my self getting very bored as it felt as if it just started pumping the pages full of back story and info dumping that I personally felt didn't add much to the story. Sadly ended up skipping chunks to get to the end and it had a great ending! Just a bummer that the 200 some pages in the middle of the book fell flat for me. Not a bad horror book or story just not for me in the way that is was a very slow burn.
REALLY enjoyed this one. Never have I considered the insidious potential evil in an apple before reading this novel. The way Dan became something—but really became himself—along the way to the finale was so well done. He was likeable even while I cringed reading his arc, and I both hate and pity the man. I loved Joanie and Calla, their relationship. The duality of Marco. John and Emily were so great.
Just when I thought this book couldn’t get any darker, the moon went behind a cloud and I realized was darkness truly was. Masterful storytelling.
Just when I thought this book couldn’t get any darker, the moon went behind a cloud and I realized was darkness truly was. Masterful storytelling.
This is one of my favorite reads this year! It's creative, fun and entertaining! Even though this is a long book, it didn't feel like it because the author draws you right in and doesn't let you go until the end. I would HIGHLY recommend this! Special Thank You to Chuck Wendig, Random House Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.