Reviews

The Gathering by C.J. Tudor

mxmaxreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is my new favorite Tudor book! I am shocked because I am very particular about vampire books (in this case, “vampyr”), but this was one of the most original concepts for a thriller/horror novel, and it was executed so creatively! I love the way Tudor weaves in cultural and societal issues as a result of there being colonies of vampyrs. The parallels to racist historical events are prominent, and I love that there is so much nuance explored with the way this is addressed. I found the characters to be compelling and multi-dimensional. And the ending blew my mind and made me hope that the way it was written is implying a sequel in the future! Hoping for that so much! 

This reminded me of Salem’s Lot meets the crime fiction of Robert Bryndza, both of which I enjoy very much. 

kdmiddlebrooks's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

2.5

youraveragedave's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This book sits at the crossroads of horror and crime/detective genres.  In this world vampyrs are real and live around humans.  They need protection from the government or humans would wipe them out given the opportunity. 

When a child is murdered by what appears to be a vampyrs, Det Barbara Atkins is called into a small town in Alaska to investigate.  There are many layers and nefarious things going on in Deadheart AK.

The tension builds throughout the story and the conclusion comes quick and satisfying.  

readinggod33's review

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5.0

Wow what a book that is definitely up there as book of 2024 just wow and I thought the Drift was bloody good but this beats that hands down. A MUST READ

smoores415's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This was another book where the premise was better than the outcome in my opinion. I'm not the biggest vampire fan, but the idea of vampires living alongside humans in their own colonies with a treaty in place was interesting to me.

I thought that having the vampires being comparable to indigenous people was also an interesting viewpoint, but it got old fast. The story takes place in a very small, very narrow-minded Alaskan town. The author compared anti-vampire tattoos to swastika tattoos. After a while, the comparisons became too repetitive and I was bored with all the hate in the book. I feel like it's easy to write a small town that's just full of racist bigots and it's not compelling to me.

I thought it was going to be more 30 Days of Night and they mentioned that the main character might be stuck there, which would add to the drama and sense of urgency, but it didn't really feel like she was in real danger or had to worry about that. I'm fine with that, but I just find it weird that they repeatedly brought it up but it wasn't really an issue in the end.


The ending also fell super flat for me. I feel like it was a lot of build-up and red herrings with no payoff. Then the resolution after the climax was pretty nonexistent.
Like I said, I liked the concept and the universe that was built. The book sets up a possibility for a sequel and I would be interested in that because I liked the main character and I think another story in a different setting could work.

lmskikun's review

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

evilmaxreads's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

gaulien's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

brittneygrace's review against another edition

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4.0

This book was a bit intense. I definitely did not see several of the twists and turns coming. The intersection of storylines didn’t come together until the epilogue which was a bit odd. I see this opening into a whole series. 

pemberly_reads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25