Review by toastrats - The Shuddering

toastrats 's review for:

The Shuddering by Ania Ahlborn

2.5

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Ania Ahlborn has beautiful, vivid writing and knows how to turn your stomach in the gore moments. It's a fun creature feature that is very reminiscent of Until Dawn (although I realize the book predates the release of the game), so if you want something a little mindless with a high death toll and scary monsters, this is the book.

I think the characters were very unlikable and the way April's story and writing were handled was disappointing. The ending wasn't particularly satisfying and had me feeling frustrated with the decisions of the cast. The emotional weight of some of the big moments failed to land because I just didn't really care about these characters.

Also, you can tell the author really likes the phrase "set his teeth on edge".

Content Warnings