A review by kawooreads
Brother by Ania Ahlborn

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is maybe the most treacherous book I have ever read! The whiplash from all the things that happen within this story... I know I will be left thinking about this one for a long time. A family with a dark, horrific passion, a young man torn between who he wants to be and who he has become, and a plot line that left me gasping at every turn. It's like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, meets The Devil's Rejects, meets a complex Netflix true crime docuseries taking place in the backwoods of Appalachia. I'm not a huge horror fan, but the shock value of the gore and violence felt elevated due to the author's ability to write characters as helpless children who grow into monsters. The sister, Misty Dawn, is maybe the most tragic character of the book.  It's wild to me that I am rating this story five stars, but I feel compelled to rate so well because the story rocked me from beginning to end. There were parts where I was tearing up and parts that had me flinching in disgust.  I felt almost the gamut of emotions with this one, except maybe joy. You will find little joy in this tale. Content warnings: all of them....all graphic content warnings you can think of are probably in here....
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