unwrappingwords's review
5.0
Follow Him is a dark, twisted novel with the sort of imagery that would be hard to shake off in a hurry. It’s told through different perspectives, mainly focusing on Jacob and Nina, a young couple, who have very contrasting views about The Shared Heart. After a slight breakdown of their relationship, Jacob seeks comfort in the cult and falls completely for what he’s told. Nina, desperate to locate her missing boyfriend, tracks him down, kidnaps him and takes him back home, where she discovers just how far she’s willing to go to keep him from the clutches of The Great Collector and The First.
And the beauty – and horror – in this book lies in discovery. In the discovery of what, exactly, The Great Collector has been doing to the cult members. In finding out why Jacob really left, and the slow revelations scattered throughout the book.
The gore is really amped up towards the end, as the Harvest approaches and the plans of The Shared Heart start to be revealed. This is not a novel for the faint of heart, with uncomfortable moments scattered throughout the book, and scenes that might just turn a reader’s stomach.
Characters
I don’t always have a section dedicated to characters in a review, but I wanted to have one here, because I feel it’s important. The two main characters of the novel are Jacob and Nina, and both conceal things from the reader and those around them. Nothing that feels forced when revealed, but information that deepens our understanding of both of them.
For Nina, we begin to understand her desperation in getting her boyfriend back, her close relationship with her brother, her fears about what is and isn’t out there, and it all combines to form a strong woman who may not always act in the best way, but who definitely has us, as readers, rooting for her, as she’s lured towards The Shared Heart but constantly pushes herself away from the cliffedge.
Jacob, on the other hand…
I started off rooting for Jacob, not necessarily wanting him to achieve what he wanted, but wanting to see him, in some way, succeed, anyway. That changed – Jacob is not the hero of the story, and by the mid-way point, I was almost wishing for his death. He’s just not a good guy, at all, as much as he pretends otherwise. He’s selfish, and cruel, even before he joined The Shared Heart.
But the way these two characters are put together, then apart, then opposite each other, it works really well, and carried me throughout the novel.
All in all, Follow Him is a twisted, creepy, gory novel, with plenty of tense and stomach-twisting moments, with a fantastic ending. Definitely gets a recommendation from me.
(Review originally appeared on elleturpitt.com)
And the beauty – and horror – in this book lies in discovery. In the discovery of what, exactly, The Great Collector has been doing to the cult members. In finding out why Jacob really left, and the slow revelations scattered throughout the book.
The gore is really amped up towards the end, as the Harvest approaches and the plans of The Shared Heart start to be revealed. This is not a novel for the faint of heart, with uncomfortable moments scattered throughout the book, and scenes that might just turn a reader’s stomach.
Characters
I don’t always have a section dedicated to characters in a review, but I wanted to have one here, because I feel it’s important. The two main characters of the novel are Jacob and Nina, and both conceal things from the reader and those around them. Nothing that feels forced when revealed, but information that deepens our understanding of both of them.
For Nina, we begin to understand her desperation in getting her boyfriend back, her close relationship with her brother, her fears about what is and isn’t out there, and it all combines to form a strong woman who may not always act in the best way, but who definitely has us, as readers, rooting for her, as she’s lured towards The Shared Heart but constantly pushes herself away from the cliffedge.
Jacob, on the other hand…
I started off rooting for Jacob, not necessarily wanting him to achieve what he wanted, but wanting to see him, in some way, succeed, anyway. That changed – Jacob is not the hero of the story, and by the mid-way point, I was almost wishing for his death. He’s just not a good guy, at all, as much as he pretends otherwise. He’s selfish, and cruel, even before he joined The Shared Heart.
But the way these two characters are put together, then apart, then opposite each other, it works really well, and carried me throughout the novel.
All in all, Follow Him is a twisted, creepy, gory novel, with plenty of tense and stomach-twisting moments, with a fantastic ending. Definitely gets a recommendation from me.
(Review originally appeared on elleturpitt.com)
sreddous's review
4.25
This is an engaging concept! I liked seeing the cult from the lens of someone who at least to a degree likes/appreciates it -- I felt uncomfortable (in a good way) the entire time. The writing style is gorgeous. The descriptions and flow are truly wonderful. As a not-spoilery example I liked lines like: “Jacob’s mother used to make pancakes in the shape of continents, which Jacob would then have to name before sinking them in an ocean of syrup” -- the entire narrative is full of stuff like this. Dialogue is natural too. I like the different ways/voices people talk.
The plot isn’t insanely “fast”, but this definitely suits this story. We need a lot of buildup to the danger, and I personally as a reader like a "slower" plot because it makes me believe in the danger more. I feel like I’m getting a really good idea of what motivates characters like Jacob especially of course, but also Nina, Zelda, the neighbors, etc. I love how this plot makes you question what you think you know about the cult -- whose perspective is 'right', Jacob's or Nina's? Truly dizzying, therefore, engaging. The ending and climax's pacing is also great.
Without spoiling too much, the following things took me out of the experience enough that this is overall a 4 out of 5 for me personally instead of a full 5 out of 5: I think the middle parts of the book sometimes lose track of the overall tone and flow. I personally don’t like the “old lady and animal death” stuff. I know this book is supposed to be dark and unnerving (and most of the time it is in a good way), but I came here prepared for human suffering -- animal suffering is different, and it took me out of the experience.
Also, I personally also don’t like how often sex scenes are framed as a trauma thing -- I think we’re building up to that many of the characters have trauma related to sex, but I also don’t like the overall trope that's present in a lot of literature: “sexual assault is kind of romanticized and is the catalyst for a woman getting involved in a man’s problems.” This isn't exactly how it's done here but I do feel like the way it's done here toes that line. I don't feel like the assault scenes always help push the plot or the overall tone here and I found myself thinking during them, "we could portray this same message through other means, this feels unnecessary" -- while most of the violent acts definitely fit, assault scenes (even in dreams/etc.) have different implications than other kinds of violence and I don't think it's always handled carefully or are necessary in general.
Overall, though, this book is poetic and unnerving and has a very unique viewpoint. The beginning is fantastic and the ending is fantastic, and even my issues listed above with some stuff in the middle don't overshadow what I took away from this overall. I've never seen anything like this. Definitely recommend for anyone who loves elegant, dark suspense.
The plot isn’t insanely “fast”, but this definitely suits this story. We need a lot of buildup to the danger, and I personally as a reader like a "slower" plot because it makes me believe in the danger more. I feel like I’m getting a really good idea of what motivates characters like Jacob especially of course, but also Nina, Zelda, the neighbors, etc. I love how this plot makes you question what you think you know about the cult -- whose perspective is 'right', Jacob's or Nina's? Truly dizzying, therefore, engaging. The ending and climax's pacing is also great.
Without spoiling too much, the following things took me out of the experience enough that this is overall a 4 out of 5 for me personally instead of a full 5 out of 5: I think the middle parts of the book sometimes lose track of the overall tone and flow. I personally don’t like the “old lady and animal death” stuff. I know this book is supposed to be dark and unnerving (and most of the time it is in a good way), but I came here prepared for human suffering -- animal suffering is different, and it took me out of the experience.
Also, I personally also don’t like how often sex scenes are framed as a trauma thing -- I think we’re building up to that many of the characters have trauma related to sex, but I also don’t like the overall trope that's present in a lot of literature: “sexual assault is kind of romanticized and is the catalyst for a woman getting involved in a man’s problems.” This isn't exactly how it's done here but I do feel like the way it's done here toes that line. I don't feel like the assault scenes always help push the plot or the overall tone here and I found myself thinking during them, "we could portray this same message through other means, this feels unnecessary" -- while most of the violent acts definitely fit, assault scenes (even in dreams/etc.) have different implications than other kinds of violence and I don't think it's always handled carefully or are necessary in general.
Overall, though, this book is poetic and unnerving and has a very unique viewpoint. The beginning is fantastic and the ending is fantastic, and even my issues listed above with some stuff in the middle don't overshadow what I took away from this overall. I've never seen anything like this. Definitely recommend for anyone who loves elegant, dark suspense.
moonlit_shelves's review
2.0
Having read [b:Worship Me|35964638|Worship Me|Craig Stewart|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1502212603l/35964638._SY75_.jpg|57523780], I wish I had liked [b:Follow Him|48387328|Follow Him|Craig Stewart|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1570494993l/48387328._SY75_.jpg|73676886] more. The actions of the members of the cult known as The Shared Heart are quite disturbing and there are plenty of gory moments throughout the book. I liked that there is a connection in this book to Worship Me, but I did not find this story as engaging or enjoyable. I initially felt compassion for Nina and her quest to get Jacob away from the cult. As the story progresses she seems just as fanatical as Jacob is, but for different reasons, and I wished she just would have let him go. There were some spelling mistakes and punctuation errors that I noticed throughout the book.
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