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theromantasynerd's Reviews (82)
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was SO excited for Sloane and Suit Daddy's book from the very beginning of the Knockemout series and it did not disappoint.
I think 2023 has been a year for second chance romances because we got to see so many new releases from this trope. Sloane and Lucian's story dates back to being childhood friends turned enemies and then finally lovers. The progress of their relationship was so unique and something I don't see often.
Every interaction between them was filled with humorous banter. Sloane is a fellow book nerd and I loved her character. Lucian, on the other hand, is just perfect and my heart broke for him.
Lucy Score's books are a bit long but I enjoyed seeing how she re-built the broken trust between the characters and revealed different aspects of their back stories which added an emotional depth to the book. The slow burn and the subsequent spice was incredible as well.
I adore the entire Knockemout family - Knox, Naomi, Lina, Nash, Stef, and Jeremiah - and I'm sad that this series has come to an end. But getting to see all these quirky characters come together in TWLB was an unforgettable experience.
*please check trigger warnings*
tropes:
♡ small town
♡ enemies to lovers
♡ childhood friends
♡ second chance
♡ found family
♡ billionaire
♡ possessive MMC
♡ dual pov
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
🌒 “𝑷𝒆𝒓𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅.”
🌒 For me, ‘The Host’ by Stephenie Meyer was so much better than what I’d expected!
🌒 It is a sci-fi romance novel set in a dystopian world which has been invaded by an alien race of parasitic “souls” that occupy the bodies of humans and erase their memories.
🌒 After Earth was attacked by this alien race, most humans fell prey to the souls that occupied their body and mind, while very few managed to go in hiding.
🌒 When such a soul invades Melanie’s body, it tries to coerce information from her, but Melanie must fight back. She must prevent the soul from gaining control of her mind and finding information of where her loved ones are hidden, to protect them.
🌒 This turmoil between Melanie and the soul that was trying to dominate her brain, the way the soul tries to dig up her memories and Melanie tries to fight it by preventing herself from thinking about her loved ones…. I probably can’t even explain it. It was just something that was so incredibly unique to read! I have seen this kind of concept in sci-fi movies, but translating that into a book, depicting that sort of internal strife and conflict in writing… it’s nothing like I’ve ever read before!
🌒 The plot might not be entirely original, but the execution 🙌. I have absolutely no idea why this book isn’t popular. It is honestly one of the rarest of the rare books I’ve read. Although written by Stephenie Meyer, I couldn’t see any hint of ‘Twilight’ in this book. It’s hard to believe it’s been written by the same author. I’ve been anticipating writing the review of this because I don’t think I can stress it enough that this book is indeed a masterpiece and totally worthy of your attention.
🌒 For me, ‘The Host’ by Stephenie Meyer was so much better than what I’d expected!
🌒 It is a sci-fi romance novel set in a dystopian world which has been invaded by an alien race of parasitic “souls” that occupy the bodies of humans and erase their memories.
🌒 After Earth was attacked by this alien race, most humans fell prey to the souls that occupied their body and mind, while very few managed to go in hiding.
🌒 When such a soul invades Melanie’s body, it tries to coerce information from her, but Melanie must fight back. She must prevent the soul from gaining control of her mind and finding information of where her loved ones are hidden, to protect them.
🌒 This turmoil between Melanie and the soul that was trying to dominate her brain, the way the soul tries to dig up her memories and Melanie tries to fight it by preventing herself from thinking about her loved ones…. I probably can’t even explain it. It was just something that was so incredibly unique to read! I have seen this kind of concept in sci-fi movies, but translating that into a book, depicting that sort of internal strife and conflict in writing… it’s nothing like I’ve ever read before!
🌒 The plot might not be entirely original, but the execution 🙌. I have absolutely no idea why this book isn’t popular. It is honestly one of the rarest of the rare books I’ve read. Although written by Stephenie Meyer, I couldn’t see any hint of ‘Twilight’ in this book. It’s hard to believe it’s been written by the same author. I’ve been anticipating writing the review of this because I don’t think I can stress it enough that this book is indeed a masterpiece and totally worthy of your attention.
adventurous
medium-paced
🔥 “𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙞𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚. 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙧, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙞𝙩.”
🔥 ‘Divergent’ by Veronica Roth
🔥 Now this book has very mixed feelings about it, mostly because it is very similar to ‘The Hunger Games’ trilogy. It’s not quite as brutal as ‘The Hunger Games’ and I do see where the similarities are, but I actually really enjoyed this series.
🔥 The story is set in a dystopian world that is divided into different factions where the people are known by their characteristics. Abnegation is known for its selflessness, Erudite is known for its knowledge, Candor is known for its honesty and Dauntless is known for its bravery. The book follows this girl, Beatrice (‘Tris’), who is being sorted into those factions to find where she fits in or if she fits in at all.
🔥 I did also enjoy ‘Allegiant’ which is the third book in the series. A lot of people aren’t big fans of it, but personally, I kind of liked it. It was a bold risk that the author took and I think that’s why I enjoyed it so much. The series starts off being quite similar to ‘The Hunger Games’ and honestly pretty predictable and I think ‘Allegiant’ just set it apart because it was something that you don’t want and you’re clearly not expecting.
🔥 ‘Divergent’ by Veronica Roth
🔥 Now this book has very mixed feelings about it, mostly because it is very similar to ‘The Hunger Games’ trilogy. It’s not quite as brutal as ‘The Hunger Games’ and I do see where the similarities are, but I actually really enjoyed this series.
🔥 The story is set in a dystopian world that is divided into different factions where the people are known by their characteristics. Abnegation is known for its selflessness, Erudite is known for its knowledge, Candor is known for its honesty and Dauntless is known for its bravery. The book follows this girl, Beatrice (‘Tris’), who is being sorted into those factions to find where she fits in or if she fits in at all.
🔥 I did also enjoy ‘Allegiant’ which is the third book in the series. A lot of people aren’t big fans of it, but personally, I kind of liked it. It was a bold risk that the author took and I think that’s why I enjoyed it so much. The series starts off being quite similar to ‘The Hunger Games’ and honestly pretty predictable and I think ‘Allegiant’ just set it apart because it was something that you don’t want and you’re clearly not expecting.
adventurous
medium-paced
🌈 “𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠'𝐬 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭.”
🌈 ‘Warcross’ by Marie Lu is a futuristic story set in a world that has this amazing VR game called ‘Warcross’ that everyone is playing and the game is honestly so cool 🤍🤍.
🌈 Emika Chen is a tattooed, rainbow haired, skateboarding bounty hunteress who hacks into the opening ceremony of the game. What follows is a 10 million offer, a last-minute player, dark net, illegal auctions, unexpected friendships, and more than anything Emika has ever signed up for.
🌈 The book is action-packed and fast-paced. There are so many twists and turns in the story. The world is so vibrant and fascinating! I love everything about this book.
🌈 The main character, Emika, is smart and funny, but also flawed and a kickass heroine. Her relationship with Hideo… aaahh 💕! The setting of this book is exploding with radness - the conversations, the technology, and all of its intricacies. I love the way Marie Lu writes action scenes. They’re sooo good and realistic 🙌.
🌈 The ending was also quite satisfying. I actually read this book last year, but haven’t really had the chance to pick up the sequel. Looking forward to it! Highly recommend it to anyone who’s into video games, VR, futuristic sci-fi and quality action-packed books.
🌈 ‘Warcross’ by Marie Lu is a futuristic story set in a world that has this amazing VR game called ‘Warcross’ that everyone is playing and the game is honestly so cool 🤍🤍.
🌈 Emika Chen is a tattooed, rainbow haired, skateboarding bounty hunteress who hacks into the opening ceremony of the game. What follows is a 10 million offer, a last-minute player, dark net, illegal auctions, unexpected friendships, and more than anything Emika has ever signed up for.
🌈 The book is action-packed and fast-paced. There are so many twists and turns in the story. The world is so vibrant and fascinating! I love everything about this book.
🌈 The main character, Emika, is smart and funny, but also flawed and a kickass heroine. Her relationship with Hideo… aaahh 💕! The setting of this book is exploding with radness - the conversations, the technology, and all of its intricacies. I love the way Marie Lu writes action scenes. They’re sooo good and realistic 🙌.
🌈 The ending was also quite satisfying. I actually read this book last year, but haven’t really had the chance to pick up the sequel. Looking forward to it! Highly recommend it to anyone who’s into video games, VR, futuristic sci-fi and quality action-packed books.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
When I read ‘Verity’ by Colleen Hoover, I was positively mind-blown!! It is probably the best psychological thriller I’ve ever read (I haven't read many though) and I devoured this book in one sitting.
I don't completely support the author BUT her writing is something that ALWAYS gets me. It's simple and easy to read. You literally fly through the pages. Some call it Wattpad-y style of writing, but I personally like that. Since this is a thriller, the writing style fits even more perfectly because before I knew it, I was 50 pages deep into this mess and couldn't get the hell out.
What started as a casual evening read turned into an unputdownable spine-chilling experience, and I’m obsessed with this book.
I obviously rated it 5 stars ⭐️!! Also, don’t forget to check out the content warnings of this book before you start reading it because it does have some disturbing content. It is definitely an 18+ read. I loved every sick and twisted moment of the book. The plot, the atmosphere, the writing style, the way CoHo creates this foreshadowing so you know that there’s a twist coming and you’re waiting for it but also dreading the inevitability of it!! Aahh! I don’t think I’ll read anything like it ever again 🙌.
---------------
UPDATE:
I recently found out that Verity is actually a rip-off of 'Rebecca' by Daphne Du Maurier. I read that book too and I can definitely see the similarities between Rebecca and Verity as characters and stories. But since 'Rebecca' is a classic, it has a different writing style that I personally find harder to read and it failed to grasp my attention and keep me on the edge of my seat, the way 'Verity' did. 'Rebecca' lacks those jaw-dropping twists and even if 'Verity' is a "modern-day version" of 'Rebecca', I'd still prefer it over the classic.
I don't completely support the author BUT her writing is something that ALWAYS gets me. It's simple and easy to read. You literally fly through the pages. Some call it Wattpad-y style of writing, but I personally like that. Since this is a thriller, the writing style fits even more perfectly because before I knew it, I was 50 pages deep into this mess and couldn't get the hell out.
What started as a casual evening read turned into an unputdownable spine-chilling experience, and I’m obsessed with this book.
I obviously rated it 5 stars ⭐️!! Also, don’t forget to check out the content warnings of this book before you start reading it because it does have some disturbing content. It is definitely an 18+ read. I loved every sick and twisted moment of the book. The plot, the atmosphere, the writing style, the way CoHo creates this foreshadowing so you know that there’s a twist coming and you’re waiting for it but also dreading the inevitability of it!! Aahh! I don’t think I’ll read anything like it ever again 🙌.
---------------
UPDATE:
I recently found out that Verity is actually a rip-off of 'Rebecca' by Daphne Du Maurier. I read that book too and I can definitely see the similarities between Rebecca and Verity as characters and stories. But since 'Rebecca' is a classic, it has a different writing style that I personally find harder to read and it failed to grasp my attention and keep me on the edge of my seat, the way 'Verity' did. 'Rebecca' lacks those jaw-dropping twists and even if 'Verity' is a "modern-day version" of 'Rebecca', I'd still prefer it over the classic.
‘The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner’ is the story of Bree and basically all the newborn vampires created by Victoria at the time of Eclipse, to avenge James’ death. It is a book you don’t need to read, but it is an enjoyable insight into the vampire world created by Meyer. Like I’ve mentioned before, I loved the fantasy element of Twilight much more than the romance, and I feel it had much more potential. I’m glad that this book attempts to fulfil at least some of that potential.
medium-paced
𝐗 "𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰."
𝐗 ‘The Devotion of Suspect X’ by Kiego Higashino
𝐗 Wow! This was most definitely one of the most captivating and intriguing thrillers I’ve read.
𝐗 This book is the English translation of the original Japanese novel. It’s basically a “coverup mystery thriller”, where a crime is committed and then a plan is formed to cover-up the crime.
𝐗 Imagine what would happen if the investigation is being done by a genius and the cover-up by a mastermind?! The entire book was like an intense chess match and after each move from one end there was another counter-move from the other end.
𝐗 Higashino has done a phenomenal job with the story. The reader is left in a unique position of knowing more than the police about where the investigation should end, but discovering clues with the police as they work backwards.
𝐗 The twists in the last few chapters had my mind reeling and the ending 🤯 was like a punch in the gut! It made me sit back and think about everything that happened in the book.
𝐗 This book is a must-read for anyone who appreciates police procedurals, mysteries, math, Japan, and cover-up thrillers. I’m really excited to read more books from the author.
𝐗 ‘The Devotion of Suspect X’ by Kiego Higashino
𝐗 Wow! This was most definitely one of the most captivating and intriguing thrillers I’ve read.
𝐗 This book is the English translation of the original Japanese novel. It’s basically a “coverup mystery thriller”, where a crime is committed and then a plan is formed to cover-up the crime.
𝐗 Imagine what would happen if the investigation is being done by a genius and the cover-up by a mastermind?! The entire book was like an intense chess match and after each move from one end there was another counter-move from the other end.
𝐗 Higashino has done a phenomenal job with the story. The reader is left in a unique position of knowing more than the police about where the investigation should end, but discovering clues with the police as they work backwards.
𝐗 The twists in the last few chapters had my mind reeling and the ending 🤯 was like a punch in the gut! It made me sit back and think about everything that happened in the book.
𝐗 This book is a must-read for anyone who appreciates police procedurals, mysteries, math, Japan, and cover-up thrillers. I’m really excited to read more books from the author.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
🗡 “𝕹𝖆𝖒𝖊𝖘 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖓𝖔𝖙 𝖎𝖒𝖕𝖔𝖗𝖙𝖆𝖓𝖙. 𝕴𝖙'𝖘 𝖜𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖑𝖎𝖊𝖘 𝖎𝖓𝖘𝖎𝖉𝖊 𝖔𝖋 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖒𝖆𝖙𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘.”
🗡 ‘Throne of Glass’ by Sarah J Maas
🗡 I just finished my first SJM book and now I can fairly well understand the hype!
🗡 Review:
I really enjoyed the book but it had some predictable parts to it. However, they felt unique because of the setting, mood, and character interactions. The pacing was a little slow for my liking, but I didn’t mind it, because there was so much of vivid descriptive writing throughout. I could actually see every immaculate detail in the scenes before my eyes which was lovely.
As for Celaena, she is one of the most badass, strong-willed, and powerful female heroines that I’ve ever come across and I loved her character. The love triangle between Celaena, the Crown Prince, Dorian, and the Captain of the Guard, Chaol, didn’t seem forced in any way, which is very rare. I personally liked Chaol more (but *SPOILER* that doesn’t matter because Celaena isn’t gonna end up with either of them, which I already know thanks to all the booksta hype 😬).
One thing’s for sure, this was a pretty decent romantasy read. Classic old-school YA Fantasy about an assassins competition. I love SJM’s writing and can’t wait to read more books from her.
🗡 ‘Throne of Glass’ by Sarah J Maas
🗡 I just finished my first SJM book and now I can fairly well understand the hype!
🗡 Review:
I really enjoyed the book but it had some predictable parts to it. However, they felt unique because of the setting, mood, and character interactions. The pacing was a little slow for my liking, but I didn’t mind it, because there was so much of vivid descriptive writing throughout. I could actually see every immaculate detail in the scenes before my eyes which was lovely.
As for Celaena, she is one of the most badass, strong-willed, and powerful female heroines that I’ve ever come across and I loved her character. The love triangle between Celaena, the Crown Prince, Dorian, and the Captain of the Guard, Chaol, didn’t seem forced in any way, which is very rare. I personally liked Chaol more (but *SPOILER* that doesn’t matter because Celaena isn’t gonna end up with either of them, which I already know thanks to all the booksta hype 😬).
One thing’s for sure, this was a pretty decent romantasy read. Classic old-school YA Fantasy about an assassins competition. I love SJM’s writing and can’t wait to read more books from her.
dark
fast-paced
🧤 “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕 𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆: 𝒂 𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓.”
🧤 ‘My Sister, the Serial Killer’ by Oyinkan Braithwaite
🧤 An incredibly dark, smart, sarcastic and sardonic super-quick debut thriller.
🧤 Summary:
The book follows Korede, a Nigerian nurse, who cleans up after her sister, Ayoola, murders her boyfriends, apparently out of self-defence. Ayoola is the beautiful serial killer, and Korede, the resentful, yearning enabler. Korede never turns her sister into the police in fear of what it might do to her family… until Ayoola starts dating a doctor Korede works with. Korede is infatuated with him, and doesn’t want to see him end up dead.
🧤 Review:
The book jumps straight into the plot, which was great and also why it’s only under 250 pages. It was a provocative, unique, mind-bending and hilarious crime story with some remarkable character-building.
I loved the riveting, fast pace and the dark sense of sarcastic humor. The book makes us question so many important things in our lives such as family, sisterhood and also social media.
There’s just about enough information for the readers to draw their own opinions about the characters and to form their own ideas about how the story might end—which, for me, wasn’t how I expected!
🧤 ‘My Sister, the Serial Killer’ by Oyinkan Braithwaite
🧤 An incredibly dark, smart, sarcastic and sardonic super-quick debut thriller.
🧤 Summary:
The book follows Korede, a Nigerian nurse, who cleans up after her sister, Ayoola, murders her boyfriends, apparently out of self-defence. Ayoola is the beautiful serial killer, and Korede, the resentful, yearning enabler. Korede never turns her sister into the police in fear of what it might do to her family… until Ayoola starts dating a doctor Korede works with. Korede is infatuated with him, and doesn’t want to see him end up dead.
🧤 Review:
The book jumps straight into the plot, which was great and also why it’s only under 250 pages. It was a provocative, unique, mind-bending and hilarious crime story with some remarkable character-building.
I loved the riveting, fast pace and the dark sense of sarcastic humor. The book makes us question so many important things in our lives such as family, sisterhood and also social media.
There’s just about enough information for the readers to draw their own opinions about the characters and to form their own ideas about how the story might end—which, for me, wasn’t how I expected!
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
🌲 “𝙸 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚎𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚊𝚗, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚋𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚒𝚝 𝙸 𝚍𝚘. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚋𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚒𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚏𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐.“
🌲 ‘Local Woman Missing’ by Mary Kubica
🌲 A thrilling and carefully plotted domestic mystery in which the secrets of the chilling events from many years ago must be unraveled.
🌲 Summary:
Local Woman Missing opens with a girl, Delilah, who disappeared 11 years ago finally being found again. Her return reopens questions about what happened the day she and her mother went missing and another woman, Shelby Tebow, who had disappeared soon before that.
🌲 Review:
The story gives us several timelines and they aren't in any specific order. We go from present to various past dates while changing points of views of Delilah, Leo, Meredith, and Kate. The narrators are resentful, unreliable, hurt, scared and confused.
The alternating timelines - one in which you get to know the actual incidents that took place years ago and the other in which you get a distorted version of the truth which everyone knows - breaks your chain of thought which prevents you from guessing the culprit. The atmosphere is often terrifying and I felt the fears of the characters, caught in situations that were inescapable. This book was so chilling and foreboding. I was transfixed by what was happening and devoured the book almost in one day!
🌲 ‘Local Woman Missing’ by Mary Kubica
🌲 A thrilling and carefully plotted domestic mystery in which the secrets of the chilling events from many years ago must be unraveled.
🌲 Summary:
Local Woman Missing opens with a girl, Delilah, who disappeared 11 years ago finally being found again. Her return reopens questions about what happened the day she and her mother went missing and another woman, Shelby Tebow, who had disappeared soon before that.
🌲 Review:
The story gives us several timelines and they aren't in any specific order. We go from present to various past dates while changing points of views of Delilah, Leo, Meredith, and Kate. The narrators are resentful, unreliable, hurt, scared and confused.
The alternating timelines - one in which you get to know the actual incidents that took place years ago and the other in which you get a distorted version of the truth which everyone knows - breaks your chain of thought which prevents you from guessing the culprit. The atmosphere is often terrifying and I felt the fears of the characters, caught in situations that were inescapable. This book was so chilling and foreboding. I was transfixed by what was happening and devoured the book almost in one day!