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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thank you to NetGalley for providing a review copy.
I'm always down for a good "deal with the devil" book, especially one with a gorgeous cover. The first 3/4 of the book had me questioning if it could really be called horror. It seemed to be more of a mystery with a supernatural slant. But then the last few chapters popped off, and it is definitely a horror book. This book has a lot of moving parts, and the fact that this book is a debut is very impressive. It's all handled very well, and the characters are people you care about. 4.5 stars
I'm always down for a good "deal with the devil" book, especially one with a gorgeous cover. The first 3/4 of the book had me questioning if it could really be called horror. It seemed to be more of a mystery with a supernatural slant. But then the last few chapters popped off, and it is definitely a horror book. This book has a lot of moving parts, and the fact that this book is a debut is very impressive. It's all handled very well, and the characters are people you care about. 4.5 stars
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Classism
Minor: Alcoholism, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury
The plot intrigued me, but the ending fell really flat. Everything ended so quickly, and the epilogue left a lot of questions.
3.5/5 stars
A small Georgia town of Carrion holds secrets that are bound to come out this summer. Following a group of recent high school graduates during the Fourth of July week. They band together to investigate a local teen's disappearance. Town secrets get revealed, southern traditions turn dark, and a twisted history is discovered. Does the devil come to Georgia?
I was intrigued by this book being a YA southern gothic horror book. I don't see many Southern Gothic books in the YA genre. This really was a love letter to small southern towns twisted into a dark horror story. The setting was the best part of this book. I can tell the author grew up in the south and poured their heart into this book.
The story takes place over a few days, maybe even a week, with multiple characters' POVs. This takes a bit to really get rolling. There are things happening in the beginning that are slowly getting connected throughout the book, but nothing really gripping. Nothing really spooky happens until the end, when the pace picks up substantially. The ending was the best part, but it is kind of left on a cliffhanger. The story wraps up, but there is still a big plot not totally resolved at the end.
The characters are a unique, almost found family, but since their relationships develop over a few days, there isn't too much of a bond/connection. It is a switch pov, but the story focuses on one character more than the others, so if you are not a big fan of her, it might take a bit to get through.
This is a good spooky read for the summer that has a nice mystery to it.
Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, for the ARC.
A small Georgia town of Carrion holds secrets that are bound to come out this summer. Following a group of recent high school graduates during the Fourth of July week. They band together to investigate a local teen's disappearance. Town secrets get revealed, southern traditions turn dark, and a twisted history is discovered. Does the devil come to Georgia?
I was intrigued by this book being a YA southern gothic horror book. I don't see many Southern Gothic books in the YA genre. This really was a love letter to small southern towns twisted into a dark horror story. The setting was the best part of this book. I can tell the author grew up in the south and poured their heart into this book.
The story takes place over a few days, maybe even a week, with multiple characters' POVs. This takes a bit to really get rolling. There are things happening in the beginning that are slowly getting connected throughout the book, but nothing really gripping. Nothing really spooky happens until the end, when the pace picks up substantially. The ending was the best part, but it is kind of left on a cliffhanger. The story wraps up, but there is still a big plot not totally resolved at the end.
The characters are a unique, almost found family, but since their relationships develop over a few days, there isn't too much of a bond/connection. It is a switch pov, but the story focuses on one character more than the others, so if you are not a big fan of her, it might take a bit to get through.
This is a good spooky read for the summer that has a nice mystery to it.
Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, for the ARC.
dark
tense
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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
Gothic YA Horror Thriller of your dreams
When books get compared to The Raven Cycle, I'm immediately skeptical. BUT I think this book lives up to those big claims really well!
We follow the interconnected messy lives of a few teens in distress in small town Appalachia. They each make a deal with their own devil for life or fame outside this small town. I found the characters to be relatable and rooted for them throughout the book, despite their flaws.
I was genuinely creeped out and the atmosphere and vibes of When Devils Sing really sucked me in
When books get compared to The Raven Cycle, I'm immediately skeptical. BUT I think this book lives up to those big claims really well!
We follow the interconnected messy lives of a few teens in distress in small town Appalachia. They each make a deal with their own devil for life or fame outside this small town. I found the characters to be relatable and rooted for them throughout the book, despite their flaws.
I was genuinely creeped out and the atmosphere and vibes of When Devils Sing really sucked me in
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC audiobook!
This one was a bit hit or miss for me, with some aspects really intriguing me, and others letting me down.
Hits: listen, I have a personal interest in cicada broods, so that element to this story was truly what sold me on reading this! The immersive Southern setting was great. The local folklore elements and community secrets aspects were really interesting. Also, the deals with the devils really grabbed me as well! I wish we could have seen more of this!
Misses: the pacing was too slow for my liking. It felt almost like the 4 different POVs kept the pacing bogged down a bit with going over almost the same events but from a different POV at times. In the beginning, I also had a bit of a hard time keeping the characters straight. I wish we could have had a POV from one of the devils. To me, that would have been a lot more intriguing!
Along those lines, I wish we had a bit more exploration of the deals with the devil and impending cicada brood as those were part of what drew me in to this book to begin with! I feel like these elements really could have intensified the stakes a lot more than they did. It seemed like there were almost too many different plot points going on, so we didn’t get to delve deeper into any one in particular.
Overall, the writing was really well done and I enjoyed the main plot. A lot of what I didn’t like as much were mostly just personal preference things, so I’m sure this will be a hit for others!
This one was a bit hit or miss for me, with some aspects really intriguing me, and others letting me down.
Hits: listen, I have a personal interest in cicada broods, so that element to this story was truly what sold me on reading this! The immersive Southern setting was great. The local folklore elements and community secrets aspects were really interesting. Also, the deals with the devils really grabbed me as well! I wish we could have seen more of this!
Misses: the pacing was too slow for my liking. It felt almost like the 4 different POVs kept the pacing bogged down a bit with going over almost the same events but from a different POV at times. In the beginning, I also had a bit of a hard time keeping the characters straight. I wish we could have had a POV from one of the devils. To me, that would have been a lot more intriguing!
Along those lines, I wish we had a bit more exploration of the deals with the devil and impending cicada brood as those were part of what drew me in to this book to begin with! I feel like these elements really could have intensified the stakes a lot more than they did. It seemed like there were almost too many different plot points going on, so we didn’t get to delve deeper into any one in particular.
Overall, the writing was really well done and I enjoyed the main plot. A lot of what I didn’t like as much were mostly just personal preference things, so I’m sure this will be a hit for others!
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes