A review by ravensandlace
The Hungry Deep by J.L. Murray

4.0

Title: The Hungry Deep

Author: J.L Murray

Genre: Gothic Horror

Format: ebook

Series: Gothic Folk Book 1

Star Rating: 4 stars

tw: misogyny, death, suicide, alcohol, illness, parental death, infidelity, gun violence, blood, child loss, abusive relationships, PTSD, car accident

I saw this book floating around on Threads and one of my goals is to read more horror books since I’m such a huge horror girly. I figured that this was a perfect horror book to dip my toes into and I was correct. It had just the right amount of spook and unsettling vibes and I was immediately hooked right from the beginning. 

As I was writing this review, I realized I hardly wrote any notes, which is a good thing. It means I was so sucked into the book that I didn’t stop to take many notes minus who the characters were. I found that I simply couldn’t read fast enough. The pacing was perfect. It wasn’t too fast or too slow. I was truly enjoying every single moment I had with this book. 

All the characters were done so well. The main character Rachel, was done to absolute perfection. She came off as an innocent naive woman but she was one smart cookie. There were times that I bought into her naivety and I truly thought there was no way that she could be this obtuse about what was going on but she proved me wrong over and over. She was so much smarter than anyone realized. I could just sing her praises all day but alas, I have other reviews to get to. But needless to say, I was so in love with her.

Overall, this was such a great book and the perfect gothic horror book. The atmosphere was done well. I felt so much dread all the time and I was living for every moment of it. There was an element of the supernatural and there was a feeling of dread. The main character and all the characters were so well done, even the villains. I found that I couldn’t dislike the villains because they were done so well. The writing and pacing was great. This is the perfect book for someone interested in starting the horror book journey.