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visceralreads 's review for:
Together We Rot
by Skyla Arndt
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Group, and Viking Books for this ARC!
Firstly I want to say that that cover is absolutely ethereal. I'm just in awe like, that's so metal. I love it so much
The story starts pretty slow, giving background information on Wil, her missing mom, Elwood, and his father's cult. I loved the prose and descriptions, especially about the weird hallucinations Elwood had and,,, yeah it's just so good! There are some really funny moments with the ragtag bunch (wil, ronnie, lucas and kevin) and of course, a lot of epic hard diabolical paragraphs that feel so out of this world like the forest cryptid at the end. Here are some lines I really loved (in no particular order):
"He's Waldo hidden in the middle of a battlefield, giving a little smile while surrounded by fallen soldiers."
"Ezekiel has the right idea to demolish us. As it stands, we're not a graveyard but a neglected shrine for a single, forgotten woman.//But I remember."
"Other people know to draw back when they touch a flame. I only know how to walk through the coals."
"Mercy isn't the idle moments between rage. It isn't just the absence of pain."
"I'm splintered pieces held together by fragile hope. One more death and I will blow away with the wind."
However, everything was squeezed into that last third of the book to the point that it was dizzying and hard to process. But I think that ending makes up for everything (no lie, that's the sweetest ending ever.) The whole forest creature man-eating rampage was written so interestingly from his point of view, but I felt that it resolved too quickly and it was quite underwhelming. I still enjoyed this atmospheric mystery book, and I think it's a very strong effort for a debut author :)
An amazing read full of:
- cults
- rituals
- mild? gore
- forest horror
- cryptids and moth imagery
- a boy who cries
- a stubborn but fiercely loving girl
- sort-of Christmas tragedy
- a ragtag bunch of kids + a crossbow
- family issues (yes, a lot of those)
- a small strange town with a dark secret beneath its roots
- childhood friends to enemies to lovers
- dual POVs
Firstly I want to say that that cover is absolutely ethereal. I'm just in awe like, that's so metal. I love it so much
The story starts pretty slow, giving background information on Wil, her missing mom, Elwood, and his father's cult. I loved the prose and descriptions, especially about the weird hallucinations Elwood had and,,, yeah it's just so good! There are some really funny moments with the ragtag bunch (wil, ronnie, lucas and kevin) and of course, a lot of epic hard diabolical paragraphs that feel so out of this world like the forest cryptid at the end. Here are some lines I really loved (in no particular order):
"He's Waldo hidden in the middle of a battlefield, giving a little smile while surrounded by fallen soldiers."
"Ezekiel has the right idea to demolish us. As it stands, we're not a graveyard but a neglected shrine for a single, forgotten woman.//But I remember."
"Other people know to draw back when they touch a flame. I only know how to walk through the coals."
"Mercy isn't the idle moments between rage. It isn't just the absence of pain."
"I'm splintered pieces held together by fragile hope. One more death and I will blow away with the wind."
However, everything was squeezed into that last third of the book to the point that it was dizzying and hard to process. But I think that ending makes up for everything (no lie, that's the sweetest ending ever.) The whole forest creature man-eating rampage was written so interestingly from his point of view, but I felt that it resolved too quickly and it was quite underwhelming. I still enjoyed this atmospheric mystery book, and I think it's a very strong effort for a debut author :)
An amazing read full of:
- cults
- rituals
- mild? gore
- forest horror
- cryptids and moth imagery
- a boy who cries
- a stubborn but fiercely loving girl
- sort-of Christmas tragedy
- a ragtag bunch of kids + a crossbow
- family issues (yes, a lot of those)
- a small strange town with a dark secret beneath its roots
- childhood friends to enemies to lovers
- dual POVs