rachelsreadsandreviews1 's review for:

The Deading by Nicholas Belardes

2.75

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Oh, this one was tricky. I nearly put The Deading down permanently, but I decided to trust the process and see where it led. 

 

The creepy aspects provided a hook that kept me invested. I kept waiting for the big reveal, as there seemed to be a lot of twisty options, but they didn’t really amount to much. 

 

The diversity of the characters, especially in their ages, was impressively done and believable. I appreciated experiencing the town's tailspin from different generational perspectives, which was definitely my favorite aspect. 

 

I wish some of the more burdensome areas, like the bird watching, had been edited down. If the time spent on those sections had been devoted to the storyline and spooky elements, this could have been epic. As it stands, I’m not sure I’d recommend it. 

 

Thank you Nicholas Benares, RBmedia, and NetGalley for my advanced review audio copy! 

 

Plot - 2 

Writing and Editing - 2 

Character Development - 4 

Narration - 4 

Personal Bias - 2 

Final Score - 2.8