Review by lilalhreads - Breathe In, Bleed Out

lilalhreads 's review for:

Breathe In, Bleed Out by Brian McAuley

4.0

dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Hannah is still grieving and struggling with the death of her boyfriend, Ben, and is haunted by his memory. When her friend comes to her with a plan to take her on a retreat in the middle of nowhere in hopes to help Hannah move past her trauma, Hannah reluctantly agrees. It is on this retreat where everything goes wrong. One by one, members of their friend group start to disappear.

Breathe In, Bleed Out is a fast paced thriller with an unreliable narrator and a mix of lovable and extremely annoying characters. I really enjoyed this slasher! I thought Hannah was an excellent unreliable narrator. I could never really tell if something was truly happening or if she was just imagining it. The whole plot gave me subtle Midsommar vibes

I will admit I was a little disappointed in the reveal of who the killer was. I just thought it could have made the story more interesting if the author had gone in a different direction. I felt as though the actual killer was a little cliche.

Huge thank you to NetGalley & Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Content Warnings