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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
The two was generous. I wanted to DNF. I actually hated it. The two star was for the IDEA IT COULD HAVE BEEN. This book wanted to be too “scholarly” like others have said. There is too much going on. Took way way too long to get to the point for something and by the time they did I forgot what I was waiting on. The death and “horror” wasn’t anything to me, but I could see it bothering someone. Focused a lot with parent abandonment and a lot of hope your dad is proud fox or whatever. I couldn’t even care or feel sorry for them because it was so drug out! Hate it hate it hate it. I made sure to finish it so I could say I did and I hated it.
This book popped up in a Facebook ad and I loved the cover. When I looked up the reviews and saw the mostly favorable reviews, I took the plunge and bought it. And... it was OK.
The main issues I had with this book is that it feels overwritten; the author writes very flowery. The human characters were middling and their dialogue felt contrived. And finally there were too many, "And it was over then but suddenly...!" moments. Like, a lot of those.
But on the positive side, the premise for the book was interesting, I enjoyed the animal characters, and as I said above, I love the cover art.
The main issues I had with this book is that it feels overwritten; the author writes very flowery. The human characters were middling and their dialogue felt contrived. And finally there were too many, "And it was over then but suddenly...!" moments. Like, a lot of those.
But on the positive side, the premise for the book was interesting, I enjoyed the animal characters, and as I said above, I love the cover art.
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Very different book. I would say Dr. Doolittle meets hunger games.
Wow, I absolutely loved this book, despite how much it scared me and put me on edge! I just could not put it down! Eamon, the main character had an unusual upbringing, brought up in a cabin in the woods with his strange/crazy father. When his dad went out and never came back, Eamon was eventually rescued and placed into foster care. While in care, he received a copy of a book called Winterset Hollow by an author called Edward Addington. He grew to love the book which relayed the adventures of a group of talking animals living in a place called Winterset Hollow. Years later, his best friend Caroline, who is also a huge fan of the book, and her boyfriend Mark are about to board a ferry to visit the island where the author lived in a mansion until his death. There is a whole group of excited fans on the boat, looking forward to taking photos and capturing the atmosphere of the book that means so much to them. However, once they arrive, strange things start happening. Its hard to write a review without giving too much away, but lets just say, the trio find themselves inside the mansion being entertained by the very characters they have grown up reading about. It seems like a dream come true. But they do say you should never meet your heroes, and it turns out, these particular animals are enraged and traumatised, and hellbent on revenge... This really is a case of the tables being turned on mankind, who have systematically hunted, chased and tortured animals for fun for many decades. There are some simply brilliant twists towards the end, and the author does a fantastic job of evoking sympathy and empathy for the murderous animals, as well as for the trio of friends who have found themselves in a truly nightmarish situation. This story will stay with me for a very long time. It's haunting, thought-provoking, eerie and actually quite terrifying. It's also very fast-paced when it gets going and I found it hard to take a break from. An excellent read for anyone who likes unusual horror stories!
Wow! Just Wow! This book is a fairytale turned nightmare, in every essence.
This story started off slow. Giving us a glimpse of the lives of our main characters. Then the story begins picking up speed, as it turns into a story that could have came straight out of “Alice in Wonderland”, with its strange happenings. Then BAM!!! The nightmare begins and the story takes on the speed of a locomotive.
This author carefully crafted a very unusual yet unique horror! It starts with beautiful wonderment only to end in death and destruction. The characters are odd and strange in their own right. With Eamon slowly discovering who he is and why his father was the way he was.
Overall this book starts as a slow burn, then burns out of control. Page by page as the horrors take place, readers are left feeling shocked at the turn of events. But in the end solace is found.
I have never read anything quite like this before. Yet I could not put this book down. I was drawn in by its odd nature. It had me on the edge of my seat throughout, begging for a victory for Eamon and his friends.
This book is not for anyone who doesn’t like blood and guts. It is a horror story of epic proportions and is a tad disturbing. You will never look at Beatrix Potter books the same again. They will take on a whole new meaning after reading this.
I highly recommend this book to those who like twisted horror stories with a touch of childhood storytelling.
This story started off slow. Giving us a glimpse of the lives of our main characters. Then the story begins picking up speed, as it turns into a story that could have came straight out of “Alice in Wonderland”, with its strange happenings. Then BAM!!! The nightmare begins and the story takes on the speed of a locomotive.
This author carefully crafted a very unusual yet unique horror! It starts with beautiful wonderment only to end in death and destruction. The characters are odd and strange in their own right. With Eamon slowly discovering who he is and why his father was the way he was.
Overall this book starts as a slow burn, then burns out of control. Page by page as the horrors take place, readers are left feeling shocked at the turn of events. But in the end solace is found.
I have never read anything quite like this before. Yet I could not put this book down. I was drawn in by its odd nature. It had me on the edge of my seat throughout, begging for a victory for Eamon and his friends.
This book is not for anyone who doesn’t like blood and guts. It is a horror story of epic proportions and is a tad disturbing. You will never look at Beatrix Potter books the same again. They will take on a whole new meaning after reading this.
I highly recommend this book to those who like twisted horror stories with a touch of childhood storytelling.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Did Not Finish
A group of friends travels to the location of their favorite book and characters to celebrate the book's holiday, Barley Day. Nobody is more surprised than them when their favorites come to life, but Barley Day doesn't turn out to be the celebration readers think it to be.
I am dismayed that this title didn't work for me. I follow Durham on social media and really enjoy his interactions there. The book summary seems right up my alley. However, Durham's writing style didn't engage me as I had hoped. It was too weighty in its language and content. It didn't move along as I expected, given the kind of book it was advertised to be. I didn't connect with the characters and was not curious or drawn in by the story and its characters that came to life for the human characters. It didn't work for me as a reader and my reading tastes.
A group of friends travels to the location of their favorite book and characters to celebrate the book's holiday, Barley Day. Nobody is more surprised than them when their favorites come to life, but Barley Day doesn't turn out to be the celebration readers think it to be.
I am dismayed that this title didn't work for me. I follow Durham on social media and really enjoy his interactions there. The book summary seems right up my alley. However, Durham's writing style didn't engage me as I had hoped. It was too weighty in its language and content. It didn't move along as I expected, given the kind of book it was advertised to be. I didn't connect with the characters and was not curious or drawn in by the story and its characters that came to life for the human characters. It didn't work for me as a reader and my reading tastes.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
The story is really good, a wonderfully dark fable, just maybe needed a wee bit more polish.