A review by elleisa
The Black Farm by Elias Witherow

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This was not what I expected at all. I had no clue that this would be such a dynamic story with emotional characters. Right off the bat, the first chapter leaves you feeling helpless and ridiculously sad, only to then plummet you into a wild realm of pretty much all the worst things you could think of. 

Witherow writes in his author bio that he hopes to breathe new life into horror. I think he’s done just that. I’ve never really read anything like this before - almost horror fantasy. The world building was done well and not hard to get into or enjoy. The creatures were interesting and the premise of the story hooked me. 

I’m glad there’s a sequel to this one because I feel like it could have ended on a way more unsettling note. I have a feeling this will be done in the next book. I otherwise really enjoy this authors work - the prose and cohesiveness allows the reader to really immerse themselves in The Black Farm.

Sad, tense, gory, & unique. Really enjoyed and definitely recommend to more seasoned horror readers!