Tegan

I'm keeping this as spoiler free as possible. I'd love to be able to rate this more than 5 stars but we gotta work with what we've got. As of this review, this book comes out in 2 days so I highly recommend you pick it up!

This is exactly the type of horror that I love. It's like The Descent (2005) in an ancient forest with a sprinkling of historical drama and murder mysteries (and red herrings) about loggers.

I almost put this book down to due to content warnings on the first page and I'm so glad I didn't. To clarify, there's no SA on page, only the mention of it. The rest of the CWs are accurate.

The prologue blew me away (I literally made a note that said "oh hell yeah, that fxcking ROCKED" at the end of that chapter) and hooked me so deep. I read 99% of this book in one day and it felt like 5 minutes. I didn't just read it, I devoured it. I fell into the story like I was there with the characters.

Speaking of, the characters were *chefs kiss* perfection. They were so very human; flawed but trying their best in the circumstances. I obviously loved Jasmine the most and I also enjoyed Henry.

The plot was excellent and I particularly liked the red herrings that are dropped early on. I kept changing my mind about things and I love that we, the readers, are on par with the characters as they discover what's going on. Towards the end I was getting adrenaline spikes, I was that into it.

The ending was everything I could ask for. All ties are closed, 99% of questions answered. None of the flashbacks were boring or felt like filler. The plot is written so tightly, there were no words wasted. This book reminded me of House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland in that way. That book is also a eco-horror and was my most recent paperback purchase (2021) just so I can read it again and again. This book will be the same for me. I need to have a physical copy asap.

You ever reach the end of a book and wish the ending had been more grandiose, all encompassing, reached further or affected more? The ending was exactly what I craved for this book. I was slightly worried because horror books have the tendency to not stick the landing at the end but Allison Mick crushed it.

I have so many feelings about this book that's it's difficult to put them all into words, in a good way. I'm absolutely thrilled to have been given the opportunity to read this ARC so a big thank you needs to go to Allison Mick, Kensington Publishing, and Netgalley for providing this to me.

I really liked this! It gets a bit wobbly towards the end but overall it was as ensnaring as I hoped it would be.

As someone with depression I really related to the metaphors of highs and lows experienced and the circular shame spirals the MC dealt with. I also liked and related to the metaphor of sloughing off the expectations of others to reveal your true self.

The body horror in this reminded me a bit of 'Sister, Maiden, Monster' by Lucy A Snyder. The seductiveness of a bed is something I relate to as well.

(Side note: I personally don't call it bed rotting because it's just rest, don't let capitalism fool you into thinking rest is bad)

I wish the book had been a tad longer. The writing is very engaging and I ended up starting and finishing this in one night.

I'm curious about three things at the end that I'll use spoiler tags for.

ADD SPOILERS LATER

It's like midnight here as I write this so brain isn't braining but TLDR if you want a light-hearted(ish) horror with 2000s nostalgia and great plot and characters, pick this up.

Thank you to Wendy Dalrymple, Netgalley, and Quill & Crow Publishing House for supplying this book in exchange for my review. I have leaving this review voluntarily.

I'm so disappointed with this book. Heads up, this review will be filled with spoilers and my anger.

I went in blind (which I do recommend IF you decide to read this) and the first half was great! One of the spookiest books I had read in a long time and I have read a LOT of them. Then the second half came around and killed all of that. You should see all my notes where I'm yelling at the main character (spoiler - there's a LOT of them). I'll try to keep this review as short as I can.

A lot of nonsensical events happened, my fave character Rose was reduced to a damsel in distress and her character building screeched to a halt, and they didn't explain how the enemy was killed! The girl clearly didn't die (or die and was revived) so saying 'death was the answer' doesn't make any sense.

The MC should of died from his wounds within minutes but I guess Rose threw her plot armour on him. They don't say anything about their friend that was killed (and apparently the detective doesn't know about that??) or the fact that the girl, who was non verbal, is suddenly able to speak. I guess being possessed by a demon and stabbed by her uncle cured her of that? Somehow??

I *really* didn't like how the MC decided to be a white knight in the second half. It came out of nowhere too. One second he's so resentful of her despite her trying to save his life and the next second he's basically in love with her and she's reduced to a nodding, compliant, and unquestioning piece of furniture.

The MC was a raging asshole throughout the whole book, including when he was dying, and didn't deserve that redemption ending. It's implied that he married Rose within a few months after having his femoral artery slashed open (which is a 6 - 8 week recover time btw) and has a new show that he's already filming??

Number one - Rose, you can do so much better! I know she's naught but an agreeable husk of her former character but still, she can do better. Secondly, how he managed to pitch a new show, have it picked up, signed the contracts, organised the team to film, researched the locations, flew to location, and THEN start filming in the same time span as he was recovering and getting married is beyond me. It clearly isn't with his previous manager as they dumped the show for having the exact same content. Ugh!

I have more issues with the book but I'll save them for my screaming pillow. This review is already long enough.

I'm so mad at everything that undid the first half. It really feels like it was rushed and not edited properly (I found NUMEROUS errors and nonsensical sentences) which is really disappointing.

If you do still want to read it, read up until he burns the box and close the book immediately. Pretend that was the ending because what follows is just awful writing and characterisation.

I did enjoy this book despite the handful of spelling and grammatical errors as well as the couple of plot inconsistencies I found. I contacted the author to find out if I received a unedited/beta copy of the book from Booksprout instead of the actual ARC. I haven't heard back yet so I'll ignore those issues for now.

The world building in this book was very good and I was hooked from the first chapter. I love a story that weaves words like music. I was immediately invested.

I liked the MC a lot and her adversarial relationship with her old friend/investigating partner. I did guess part of the twist about half way through the book but I didn't guess all of it. I was still shocked (literally gasped out loud) when it dawned on me.

The tropes that are present aren't handled poorly or cringey. One of my favourite parts of fantasy is when the world is grounded enough that it isn't overly fantastical and confusing. The tropes used benefit from the grounded plot. Nothing overly spicy included except for a few forced proximity scenes that weren't cringey but were still hot. The author definitely knows how to write tension!

The plot never felt rushed or too slow for me. It was crammed with content that I kind of forgot the initial incident that started all the mysteries but that was a nice tied-together moment once it wrapped back around.

The ending doesn't answer all the mysteries encountered and I would assume there's going to be a sequel or series going forward. It's a little bit of a cliffhanger but most things are wrapped up. I have a few questions about the end, one nagging question in particular, but I'll let my thoughts settle a bit before I decide how I feel about it. It's kind of a plot hole but I don't want to get spoilery. Let's say... it's concerning the end of the battle and one person who is guarded at the end.

I would LOVE to see fan art or sketches of the creatures. They have such unique and specific descriptions that I feel like they would make awesome designs. I thought this book would go a different way re: the creatures and from their first appearance I was like 'I wanna pet them' 😂 if I lived in that world I definitely would have died trying to pet something I shouldn't have.

I would recommend this to New Adult fantasy lovers that enjoy a new magic system. The main characters aren't teenagers, thankfully. I get burned out on reading about teenagers and people in their early 20s in fantasy so this was a refreshing perspective.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

This was so cute! I'm a sucker for an amnesia plot line when handled properly (Marry My Husband is my fave of those types of mystery premises and what got me rolling on manga/webtoons in general) and this manga definitely does that. I kept imagining what this would look like as an anime as I was reading. I could almost hear the character voices in my head! I need to read the rest of this manga, I'm so invested. Five stars!

Thank you to Narumi Hasegaki, Kodansha Comics, and Netgalley for the ARC! This review was posted voluntarily.

I did enjoy this book despite the handful of spelling and grammatical errors as well as the couple of plot inconsistencies I found. I contacted the author to find out if I received a unedited/beta copy of the book from Booksprout instead of the actual ARC. I haven't heard back yet so I'll ignore those issues for now.

The world building in this book was very good and I was hooked from the first chapter. I love a story that weaves words like music. I was immediately invested.

I liked the MC a lot and her adversarial relationship with her old friend/investigating partner. I did guess part of the twist about half way through the book but I didn't guess all of it. I was still shocked (literally gasped out loud) when it dawned on me.

The tropes that are present aren't handled poorly or cringey. One of my favourite parts of fantasy is when the world is grounded enough that it isn't overly fantastical and confusing. The tropes used benefit from the grounded plot. Nothing overly spicy included except for a few forced proximity scenes that weren't cringey but were still hot. The author definitely knows how to write tension!

The plot never felt rushed or too slow for me. It was crammed with content that I kind of forgot the initial incident that started all the mysteries but that was a nice tied-together moment once it wrapped back around.

The ending doesn't answer all the mysteries encountered and I would assume there's going to be a sequel or series going forward. It's a little bit of a cliffhanger but most things are wrapped up. I have a few questions about the end, one nagging question in particular, but I'll let my thoughts settle a bit before I decide how I feel about it. It's kind of a plot hole but I don't want to get spoilery. Let's say... it's concerning the end of the battle and one person who is guarded at the end.

I would LOVE to see fan art or sketches of the creatures. They have such unique and specific descriptions that I feel like they would make awesome designs. I thought this book would go a different way re: the creatures and from their first appearance I was like 'I wanna pet them' 😂 if I lived in that world I definitely would have died trying to pet something I shouldn't have.

I would recommend this to New Adult fantasy lovers that enjoy a new magic system. The main characters aren't teenagers, thankfully. I get burned out on reading about teenagers and people in their early 20s in fantasy so this was a refreshing perspective.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I did enjoy this book despite the handful of spelling and grammatical errors as well as the couple of plot inconsistencies I found. I contacted the author to find out if I received a unedited/beta copy of the book from Booksprout instead of the actual ARC. I haven't heard back yet so I'll ignore those issues for now.

The world building in this book was very good and I was hooked from the first chapter. I love a story that weaves words like music. I was immediately invested.

I liked the MC a lot and her adversarial relationship with her old friend/investigating partner. I did guess part of the twist about half way through the book but I didn't guess all of it. I was still shocked (literally gasped out loud) when it dawned on me.

The tropes that are present aren't handled poorly or cringey. One of my favourite parts of fantasy is when the world is grounded enough that it isn't overly fantastical and confusing. The tropes used benefit from the grounded plot. Nothing overly spicy included except for a few forced proximity scenes that weren't cringey but were still hot. The author definitely knows how to write tension!

The plot never felt rushed or too slow for me. It was crammed with content that I kind of forgot the initial incident that started all the mysteries but that was a nice tied-together moment once it wrapped back around.

The ending doesn't answer all the mysteries encountered and I would assume there's going to be a sequel or series going forward. It's a little bit of a cliffhanger but most things are wrapped up. I have a few questions about the end, one nagging question in particular, but I'll let my thoughts settle a bit before I decide how I feel about it. It's kind of a plot hole but I don't want to get spoilery. Let's say... it's concerning the end of the battle and one person who is guarded at the end.

I would LOVE to see fan art or sketches of the creatures. They have such unique and specific descriptions that I feel like they would make awesome designs. I thought this book would go a different way re: the creatures and from their first appearance I was like 'I wanna pet them' 😂 if I lived in that world I definitely would have died trying to pet something I shouldn't have.

I would recommend this to New Adult fantasy lovers that enjoy a new magic system. The main characters aren't teenagers, thankfully. I get burned out on reading about teenagers and people in their early 20s in fantasy so this was a refreshing perspective.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Beautiful, sweet romance about second chances and missed opportunities. Go in without knowing the plot of possible. It's better to experience the journey with the characters.

I DNF'd this after the line "He remained her only male friend since high school who had never made an advance on her, a fact that filled her both with pride and a hint of irritation at him".

No woman has ever wanted a platonic male friend to hit on her. Acquaintance, different story. Friend? Absolutely not. Why would you *want* to implode a friendship and discover the friendship was all a ruse to get in your pants? It especially doesn't make sense given she's a lesbian and he just got married.

The writing is terrible as well 😬