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itsjustgrumpy's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Mix of three stories all with their own merits and problems. Most fail in the way they end, just a confusing abrupt ending. Stories were fine.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Confinement, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Blood
stephanieanneauthor's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This was a delightful little collection about haunted houses, but "The Ancestors" stole the show. I loved that one so much that the other two stories didn't feel as hard-hitting by comparison.
Adam Nevill is fantastic at omitting just enough detail about the monsters that your brain has to fill in the blanks. Done well - as it was in all three stories in this collection - that makes things so much scarier.
Adam Nevill is fantastic at omitting just enough detail about the monsters that your brain has to fill in the blanks. Done well - as it was in all three stories in this collection - that makes things so much scarier.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Terminal illness
readingonthehorizon's review
dark
mysterious
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? No
4.5
I feel sick but in the best way possible. Delightfully eerie and uncomfortable. Highly suggest reading the second short story in this book, if you read any at all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Death and Gore
Minor: Death of parent
seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Animal death, and Death
Moderate: Torture, Bullying, Medical content, and Death of parent
coryyalva's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
First of all, thank you so much Adam Nevill for putting this stories on Kindle for free. They were such a blast to read! I recommend everyone go download this book!
For those who don't know, "Before You Sleep" is actually a collection of three horror stories written by Adam Nevill: Where Angels Come In, The Ancestors, and Florrie.
The first story, Where Angels Come In, BLEW ME AWAY. It was so unbelievably good. It was easily a 5 star read for me. I would have loved a full length novel about it. The second story, The Ancestors, was a solid 4 star read. It didn't capture my attention as much as the first, but it was still amazing. However, if I am being honest, the concept of the third story, Florrie, was fantastic but the execution was lacking a LOT. That story was probably a 3 star read for me, at best.
All in all, I did enjoy this book, would definitely recommend it to anyone in a reading slump seeing as how the book is under 100 pages, and will definitely be looking more into Adam Nevill's work!
For those who don't know, "Before You Sleep" is actually a collection of three horror stories written by Adam Nevill: Where Angels Come In, The Ancestors, and Florrie.
The first story, Where Angels Come In, BLEW ME AWAY. It was so unbelievably good. It was easily a 5 star read for me. I would have loved a full length novel about it. The second story, The Ancestors, was a solid 4 star read. It didn't capture my attention as much as the first, but it was still amazing. However, if I am being honest, the concept of the third story, Florrie, was fantastic but the execution was lacking a LOT. That story was probably a 3 star read for me, at best.
All in all, I did enjoy this book, would definitely recommend it to anyone in a reading slump seeing as how the book is under 100 pages, and will definitely be looking more into Adam Nevill's work!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Death of parent, Death, and Gore
Minor: Child death, Kidnapping, and Torture
halfass_reviewer's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I had seen this authors name pop up before in relation to the horror genre (as well as his notably creepy book covers) and was delighted when i saw one of his books as an option for “stuff your kindle “ day. I immediately ‘brought’ it and settled in the same night to start reading. The first story was my favorite. Really wish he would’ve just stuck with that one and expanded it by a couple more pages. The second story was also interesting but the ending was a bit predictable (which wasn’t bad was just hoping it had went a different way) and the third had an interesting premise but was a bit boring for my taste. All in all a good collection of stories and a decent introduction into this writers work.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent and Child death
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