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alyram4's review against another edition
3.0
3.25/5
I don't have too much to say about this one, but it was a pretty alright read. I haven't read any of the author's previous work, but this one sounded pretty interesting. I've been getting back into reading these types of thriller-murder-mystery novels, so this seemed up my alley.
Honestly, I thought it was enjoyable, but a lot of things were just bugging me throughout. I guess the main problem is that I just didn't really care about any of the characters. Tessa I just didn't really care about and found her to be a bit annoying, and Derrick was alright and more tolerable for me. I feel that if maybe I had gotten attached to them more, then this whole review would probably be a different story. Since I didn't like the characters, any shocking factors or sentimental scenes throughout this mystery/thriller just didn't hit me the way they should have. It also didn't help that there was a crazy amount of character dialogue that I didn't care about. Obviously just my own personal opinions on it, but that's really how I felt.
I also preferred the ending before the epilogue, as it was a really bold move and I felt fit it perfectly. The epilogue just throws all the sentiments away, and whatever sadness and remorse I felt, and just turned it into a happy ending. While it's not my fave, I can understand why it was put in, and most importantly how it was executed. There's a rule mentioned earlier on, and it gets brought back in the last scene, so it does make sense. Just not my preferred ending.
Anyways, it was alright and I may pick it up again, but the characters really just kept me from not enjoying it as much as I though I could have.
ARC provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I don't have too much to say about this one, but it was a pretty alright read. I haven't read any of the author's previous work, but this one sounded pretty interesting. I've been getting back into reading these types of thriller-murder-mystery novels, so this seemed up my alley.
Honestly, I thought it was enjoyable, but a lot of things were just bugging me throughout. I guess the main problem is that I just didn't really care about any of the characters. Tessa I just didn't really care about and found her to be a bit annoying, and Derrick was alright and more tolerable for me. I feel that if maybe I had gotten attached to them more, then this whole review would probably be a different story. Since I didn't like the characters, any shocking factors or sentimental scenes throughout this mystery/thriller just didn't hit me the way they should have. It also didn't help that there was a crazy amount of character dialogue that I didn't care about. Obviously just my own personal opinions on it, but that's really how I felt.
I also preferred the ending before the epilogue, as it was a really bold move and I felt fit it perfectly. The epilogue just throws all the sentiments away, and whatever sadness and remorse I felt, and just turned it into a happy ending. While it's not my fave, I can understand why it was put in, and most importantly how it was executed. There's a rule mentioned earlier on, and it gets brought back in the last scene, so it does make sense. Just not my preferred ending.
Anyways, it was alright and I may pick it up again, but the characters really just kept me from not enjoying it as much as I though I could have.
ARC provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
kookie9200's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.
This book left me with a lot of questions, and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I haven't been able to get it out of my head since I finished it. It's one of those books that hooks you and keeps you in the narrative.
I will say some of the transitions within the chapters were a little abrupt, but I still thought the overall story was strong enough that I stayed in the book the whole time.
When Tess shows up at Derrick's door covered in blood, life as they know it is changed forever. At the bonfire where Tess had been, there is nothing but carnage. Only 7 survive, but something is slowly picking them off. What happened that night in the woods? The answer is one that will change all their lives forever.
This book left me with a lot of questions, and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I haven't been able to get it out of my head since I finished it. It's one of those books that hooks you and keeps you in the narrative.
I will say some of the transitions within the chapters were a little abrupt, but I still thought the overall story was strong enough that I stayed in the book the whole time.
When Tess shows up at Derrick's door covered in blood, life as they know it is changed forever. At the bonfire where Tess had been, there is nothing but carnage. Only 7 survive, but something is slowly picking them off. What happened that night in the woods? The answer is one that will change all their lives forever.
thewoollygeek's review against another edition
3.0
This was not my usual type of book, it was interesting and the author was skilled at keeping you guessing with what was going on and what had happened. Good characterisation, nice little bit of romance but not too much, an interesting read
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion
spookshow's review against another edition
3.0
You can find this review and all of my others over at www.readbookrepeat.wordpress.com
I received a copy of this book from the publisher, ImaJinn Books, and the author via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Find me over at| Facebook |
Actual rating of 3.5
Tess and her best friend Derrick are outcasts, they used to be friends with the "cool" kids, but I guess things change as you grow up. Friendships that used to mean the world, no longer exist. So when an old friend of theirs, Josh, asks Tess to come to the football team's bonfire tradition that night, Derrick finds it more than odd, even more so when Tess actually accepts the invitation. Deciding to sleep off his aggravation, Derrick wakes to find he had almost missed the eclipse that he was planning to watch, when he hears a knock at the door. When he opens it, what he sees shocks him. Tess, covered in so much blood and gore, babbling nonsense. Derrick does what any friend would, he pulls her inside and cleans her up, checking her for any wounds and trying to get the story of what happened out of her. The next morning when she is more coherent, she can't remember a single thing. When trying to find out what exactly happened that night, the pair learn that Tess, along with seven members of the football team, were the only ones to make it back from the bonfire alive. When those remaining members begin to drop dead of strange circumstances, they realise that there is something else at play and they have to find out what it is, before Tess becomes the next head on the chopping block.
I've had this one sitting in my TBR list for a while, and decided I was in the mood for a horror story with mysterious circumstances and amnesia involved, and it did not disappoint. I found this book felt like a mix between Jennifer's Body (if it had have been made into what it should have been) and Ginger Snaps. Not because of stuff that happened perse, just because that's the feeling I got from this story. I will admit though,
This book isn't a long one, but it longer than it really is. I'm not too sure why...I feel like it could have been the sort of repetition that began to happen with the deaths, not that the characters were being picked off one by one in the same fashion, because they really weren't, more that the story developed a pattern of Tess freaking out because she's remembered some stuff, Derrick trying to be the noble friend and get to the bottom of everything, oh look! A dead guy! rinse, and repeat. I think this could have affected the pacing a little bit and made the story feel a bit monotonous at times. It didn't mean that the story was not enjoyable, because it was.
The synopsis was full of mystery, but as soon as the book started, I knew what was going to happen, I thought there may have been a twist near the end, but to be honest, there wasn't. So it was a little frustrating going through virtually the whole story waiting for Tess and Derrick to get it, but it sadly took the whole time for them to work it out. Granted, the first thing isn't going to be the situation they found themselves in, but still, I feel like teenagers would have seen enough horror movies to have a brief idea of what the hell was going on.
I feel like the legend talked about in the story could have been explored more. The opening of the story we hear about this local legend, and it's alluded to in the story, and there's some half hearted connections made in the latter part of the book, but it didn't really flesh out into it's full potential. I just feel that so much more could have been done with the plot and the legend in the plot because both were super solid ideas, I just felt that they fell a little bit short, and made me, more than once, reminisce about movies and such with similar plot lines, when I really believe this story could have stood out on it's own and been an absolute gem. I won't lie though, if this was made into a movie, I'd so watch the hell out of it.
The characters were well written, but once again, kind of left to float in the ether without things having points? The issues with Tess's mum, I was waiting for it to connect to the story somehow, but in the end it was just a plot driver with no real purpose. I'm not sure if it was supposed to give Tess a bit more dimension or background, but for me it really didn't. We didn't get to know Derrick that well, other than he has grown to love Tess over their seventeen year friendship and that his Dad died when he was young. We don't really find out much more, and I think that it took away from the story and the depth and growth these characters could have had.
The horror side of it was good, I sometimes felt like it was relying more on shock factor than anything else, but you know what, it worked for the story, especially because it was a young adult horror story and some of this real life instances of horror were not sugar coated. The creature was written well, and had major creep factor going on, I have a thing about too wide smiles, they just give me the heebie jeebies.
I was a little confused with the ending. I get what happened, but some stuff was alluded to that was mentioned earlier in the story, but I feel like I didn't quite get where Bevis was going with it...is it real? or is it Round 2? Those who have read the story will understand what I mean. I'll admit, I did get an almost tear up near the ending, a little more character connection for me, and I think it would have happened.
All in all, this is a good young adult horror story, it's not polished and perfect, but it doesn't really need to be. If you like a dark, gritty easy to read horror story, give it a crack. And if you work out the ending...can you hit me up? I have questions...
I received a copy of this book from the publisher, ImaJinn Books, and the author via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Find me over at| Facebook |
Actual rating of 3.5
Tess and her best friend Derrick are outcasts, they used to be friends with the "cool" kids, but I guess things change as you grow up. Friendships that used to mean the world, no longer exist. So when an old friend of theirs, Josh, asks Tess to come to the football team's bonfire tradition that night, Derrick finds it more than odd, even more so when Tess actually accepts the invitation. Deciding to sleep off his aggravation, Derrick wakes to find he had almost missed the eclipse that he was planning to watch, when he hears a knock at the door. When he opens it, what he sees shocks him. Tess, covered in so much blood and gore, babbling nonsense. Derrick does what any friend would, he pulls her inside and cleans her up, checking her for any wounds and trying to get the story of what happened out of her. The next morning when she is more coherent, she can't remember a single thing. When trying to find out what exactly happened that night, the pair learn that Tess, along with seven members of the football team, were the only ones to make it back from the bonfire alive. When those remaining members begin to drop dead of strange circumstances, they realise that there is something else at play and they have to find out what it is, before Tess becomes the next head on the chopping block.
I've had this one sitting in my TBR list for a while, and decided I was in the mood for a horror story with mysterious circumstances and amnesia involved, and it did not disappoint. I found this book felt like a mix between Jennifer's Body (if it had have been made into what it should have been) and Ginger Snaps. Not because of stuff that happened perse, just because that's the feeling I got from this story. I will admit though,
Spoiler
there are some similarities to Jennifer's Body here.This book isn't a long one, but it longer than it really is. I'm not too sure why...I feel like it could have been the sort of repetition that began to happen with the deaths, not that the characters were being picked off one by one in the same fashion, because they really weren't, more that the story developed a pattern of Tess freaking out because she's remembered some stuff, Derrick trying to be the noble friend and get to the bottom of everything, oh look! A dead guy! rinse, and repeat. I think this could have affected the pacing a little bit and made the story feel a bit monotonous at times. It didn't mean that the story was not enjoyable, because it was.
The synopsis was full of mystery, but as soon as the book started, I knew what was going to happen, I thought there may have been a twist near the end, but to be honest, there wasn't. So it was a little frustrating going through virtually the whole story waiting for Tess and Derrick to get it, but it sadly took the whole time for them to work it out. Granted, the first thing isn't going to be the situation they found themselves in, but still, I feel like teenagers would have seen enough horror movies to have a brief idea of what the hell was going on.
I feel like the legend talked about in the story could have been explored more. The opening of the story we hear about this local legend, and it's alluded to in the story, and there's some half hearted connections made in the latter part of the book, but it didn't really flesh out into it's full potential. I just feel that so much more could have been done with the plot and the legend in the plot because both were super solid ideas, I just felt that they fell a little bit short, and made me, more than once, reminisce about movies and such with similar plot lines, when I really believe this story could have stood out on it's own and been an absolute gem. I won't lie though, if this was made into a movie, I'd so watch the hell out of it.
The characters were well written, but once again, kind of left to float in the ether without things having points? The issues with Tess's mum, I was waiting for it to connect to the story somehow, but in the end it was just a plot driver with no real purpose. I'm not sure if it was supposed to give Tess a bit more dimension or background, but for me it really didn't. We didn't get to know Derrick that well, other than he has grown to love Tess over their seventeen year friendship and that his Dad died when he was young. We don't really find out much more, and I think that it took away from the story and the depth and growth these characters could have had.
The horror side of it was good, I sometimes felt like it was relying more on shock factor than anything else, but you know what, it worked for the story, especially because it was a young adult horror story and some of this real life instances of horror were not sugar coated. The creature was written well, and had major creep factor going on, I have a thing about too wide smiles, they just give me the heebie jeebies.
I was a little confused with the ending. I get what happened, but some stuff was alluded to that was mentioned earlier in the story, but I feel like I didn't quite get where Bevis was going with it...is it real? or is it Round 2? Those who have read the story will understand what I mean. I'll admit, I did get an almost tear up near the ending, a little more character connection for me, and I think it would have happened.
All in all, this is a good young adult horror story, it's not polished and perfect, but it doesn't really need to be. If you like a dark, gritty easy to read horror story, give it a crack. And if you work out the ending...can you hit me up? I have questions...
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