Ultra-Brief goodreads blurb: A group of friends reunite after one of them has returned from a mysterious two-year disappearance in this edgy and haunting debut.
Obviously, the below are my opinions.
**Pros:** Harrison sets amazing Ambiance and mood. She crafted a unique setting for her book that felt just fantastical enough without losing verisimilitude. She is excellent at the Jaws-esque “holding back the monster” in a way that really adds tension without feeling like a let down. She has interesting primary characters and secondary characters with enough personality to stick out and stay memorable.
Despite the (listed later) flaws, and the fact that it honestly wasn’t super scary to read, this is the first book in a long while that had me actually spooked when I walked through my dark house later 😂
Her writing of Women friendships is amazing. While everything is a bit “more” in a way that feels a little soapy, she still manages to capture an undercurrent of what feels like real love, strife, fights, and friendships in the end.
**Cons**: Absolute dogshite pacing. lol sorry! The characters seem almost stuck in a loop of the same fight/struggle over and over, which is ok the first few times but pushed past OK flew through annoying and got well into reprehensible by the end.
Some of her characters are a little “too much” to feel like they could be real people. But the whole book is about 20% “more” than reality so they don’t stick out a ton. It’s like the horror version of a sitcom full of character tropes.
Overall I’d say this is **not a monster/horror/mystery book.** This is a book that **uses horror as a tool to tell a story about relationships.** If I were looking for a good time reading about monsters, or a good spooky mystery, I would be fundamentally disappointed. But if you know it’s a book about relationships that uses monsters and are looking for that, I’d say it’s a good option!
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by Otherwise-Public-959