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A review by alexblackreads
These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall
5.0
I am not a horror lover, especially when it comes to supernatural horror. It's a genre I've always struggled with and I've been trying to branch out a little more, see if there's any I like. And I'm so glad I did because this book was unbelievably gorgeous.
I really enjoyed every aspect. Like I have no negatives here. From start to finish, it was great. Great characters, great dialogue, great setting (that house was stunning), great narrative. It was all impeccably done.
But that ending was something else. To be honest, I was ready to give this book four stars for being all around great until I got to the final third and it blew me away. Absolutely mesmerizing. I'm not sure if I breathed for the last hundred pages, but I definitely cried. I cannot explain exactly why it was so wonderful on account of spoilers, but you'll have to take my word for it. There's a pretty major plot twist, but it's not necessarily just the fact of the plot twist. Marshall spends so much time exploring the twist and what it means and the emotions of these people. It's so meaningful and I adored it.
One thing I also enjoyed was how this book felt almost kind of happy. Like it's for sure horror with gruesome descriptions and a good bit of tragedy, but it felt so hopeful and positive without glossing over the negative too. It felt good to read and it hit me perfectly.
I wasn't expecting a horror novel to be one of my favorite books of the year, but I guarantee you come next January this will be pretty high on my list. I can't recommend this enough to anyone who likes horror or would like to try branching out into the genre. It was fantastically done and I really want to read more from Marshall in the future.
I really enjoyed every aspect. Like I have no negatives here. From start to finish, it was great. Great characters, great dialogue, great setting (that house was stunning), great narrative. It was all impeccably done.
But that ending was something else. To be honest, I was ready to give this book four stars for being all around great until I got to the final third and it blew me away. Absolutely mesmerizing. I'm not sure if I breathed for the last hundred pages, but I definitely cried. I cannot explain exactly why it was so wonderful on account of spoilers, but you'll have to take my word for it. There's a pretty major plot twist, but it's not necessarily just the fact of the plot twist. Marshall spends so much time exploring the twist and what it means and the emotions of these people. It's so meaningful and I adored it.
One thing I also enjoyed was how this book felt almost kind of happy. Like it's for sure horror with gruesome descriptions and a good bit of tragedy, but it felt so hopeful and positive without glossing over the negative too. It felt good to read and it hit me perfectly.
I wasn't expecting a horror novel to be one of my favorite books of the year, but I guarantee you come next January this will be pretty high on my list. I can't recommend this enough to anyone who likes horror or would like to try branching out into the genre. It was fantastically done and I really want to read more from Marshall in the future.