I was going to wait until my hardcover of this arrived for pretty photography before posting this review, but I’ve become impatient and it seems it’s going to take a while to come as it’s on backorder.
What it’s about:
The residents of a commune in the Ozarks are terrorized by something coming from the forest at night to mutilate both animals and people.
What I thought:
First of all, I have to say that this book has a BEAUTIFUL cover, which is what initially drew me to it. I thought it would be a creepy mystery, but it actually had more of a horror vibe to it, and I do love my horror, so that was a bonus. I read this book in less than 24 hours. Once I started I was pretty hooked.
Although I really enjoyed this book, it was, in my opinion missing something in that, while it was very readable, it didn’t really make me feel anything. I didn’t really care for any of the characters, as they were all pretty two dimensional and I don’t feel like I really knew them at all. I think this book would have benefited from being a bit longer (which is something that I very rarely say), as I would have liked more history on the community, the significance of the different name groups (flowers, birds, etc), and get to know the characters better. I would also have lived for the secrets to be spread out a bit more throughout the book, rather than all being revealed at the end.
I also felt that the ending was completely overdone. There was sort of the perfect ending in there, but then there was an extra twist in there that pretty much ruined it. It was unnecessary, and the book would have made a lot more sense without it. Like if you just took that chapter out of the book it would have been a much stronger book, with a few less plot holes.
The real strength of this book is the writing, which is quite beautiful. The near-perfect prose creates this perfect dark atmosphere of the book. It’s moody and gothic and perfect for that there’s-something-hiding-in-the-forest mystery. I loved all the little superstitions and omens mentioned throughout the book which gave it a bit of a ghostly, magical feel.
Despite some flaws, I did really enjoy this book, and would definitely read any future books this author releases.
I rate it 3.5/5 stars
Find it here:
Goodreads. Amazon. The Book Depository. Kobo.
Read the Bloody Book 
I don’t really read thrillers, but the cover of this one is really pretty! Plus the synopsis sounds interesting. I’m sorry this one was a let down for you though! I also like book that spread the secret bit by bit throughout the book. It just made you on the edge of your seat and constantly curious about what actually happened 😀
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