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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was spooky. I started reading this at night and it had me creeped out. The atmosphere is fantastic. I was completely immersed and intrigued to find out what was going on throughout this story.
Rachel and her husband Finn are still grieving from the loss of their son when Rachel gets called out to a crime scene in the woods. There is a very mysterious death and children start to go missing.
Later on, Rachel and Finn’s daughter is missing and returns acting strange but we aren’t sure what exactly is wrong with her. There is a lot of mystery behind all of the disappearances and tensions rise as everyone starts to become uneasy.
The characters are extremely unlikable but it doesn’t make the story any less good. In fact, I think it might make the story better. I appreciated the glimpses of real life drama within this story. The characters were incredibly cruel to each other and it made me see how marriage really might be for some.
I was engaged in this story till the very end, and this certainly is not a story where you will have any sort of happy ending. If you love dark, mysterious, scary reads then you will probably love this one.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.
This book releases on March 25.
Rachel and her husband Finn are still grieving from the loss of their son when Rachel gets called out to a crime scene in the woods. There is a very mysterious death and children start to go missing.
The characters are extremely unlikable but it doesn’t make the story any less good. In fact, I think it might make the story better. I appreciated the glimpses of real life drama within this story. The characters were incredibly cruel to each other and it made me see how marriage really might be for some.
I was engaged in this story till the very end, and this certainly is not a story where you will have any sort of happy ending. If you love dark, mysterious, scary reads then you will probably love this one.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.
This book releases on March 25.
Small-town folk horror featuring a cop mom doing her best (probs could be doing better tbh) to keep her family together. after the death of her son, her life, along with her husband and two daughters' lives sort of never recovered. When a body shows up in the woods, everything really starts to get creepy and weird.
This novel brings folk town lore and family drama to deliver one pretty scary story. I really enjoyed this book, the kids were so creepy and it gave me the same vibes as the movie Smile. The characters weren't perfect but I think they were likable enough and you could easily see yourself falling into the same mistakes they did. Overall, I really loved this story and thought it was executed really well and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to dive into a horror story that will literally give you chills.
This novel brings folk town lore and family drama to deliver one pretty scary story. I really enjoyed this book, the kids were so creepy and it gave me the same vibes as the movie Smile. The characters weren't perfect but I think they were likable enough and you could easily see yourself falling into the same mistakes they did. Overall, I really loved this story and thought it was executed really well and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to dive into a horror story that will literally give you chills.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Rereading the published version now that it's finally out. This book is everything a good horror is to me. It's chilling, full of complex characters, has excellent creepy world building, and has something interesting to say about the darker sides of human nature.
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Original review from Aug 2024:
Thank you to the publisher for providing me an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was such a fun read the whole way through. The author did an incredible job creating a creepy atmosphere and building tension. I was genuinely shaken up by many of the scenes - that forest scene with Charlie is still lingering in my mind.
The horror was multi-layered and masterfully put together. There was the horror of the unnamed threat in the forest, but also the horror of being a hated outsider in a small community, the horror of family trauma, the horror of denying your authentic self. All these themes played off each other perfectly, building dread in the reader in multiple ways.
--
Original review from Aug 2024:
Thank you to the publisher for providing me an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was such a fun read the whole way through. The author did an incredible job creating a creepy atmosphere and building tension. I was genuinely shaken up by many of the scenes - that forest scene with Charlie is still lingering in my mind.
The horror was multi-layered and masterfully put together. There was the horror of the unnamed threat in the forest, but also the horror of being a hated outsider in a small community, the horror of family trauma, the horror of denying your authentic self. All these themes played off each other perfectly, building dread in the reader in multiple ways.