Reviews

The first New Leaf apartment is a state of the art living space. During a violent storm Oliva wakes up on the floor of her bedroom in a pool of her own vomit, not sure what has happened, light headed and stumbling around her blacked out apartment she searches for her husband Liam. Once outside in the corridor she faces a deadlier threat than the storm, a parasite has invaded the building, possessing the residents turning them into killing machines. She has to face her fears to find her husband and find out who has released the Infested.

This starts at full speed and never lets up, if you do not like bugs it will make your skin crawl. It is a closed circle mystery wrapped around a gory nightmare creature feature. The entire story takes place in a very modern, state of the art apartment block, the first one to be built by the New Leaf Company in a beautiful but isolated location.

The endless corridors, staircases, open and closed doors give the story a very claustrophobic feel. The feeling of being trapped, confined and being hunted is very well done here. The lack of power and therefore light gives the effect of shrinking what in reality are huge spaces within the building. The Infested are repulsive and the way that they infect their hosts is disturbing and gruesome.

This was a great horror read with a real nostalgic feel to it, very much in the vein of 70’s and 80’s invasion movies, you’re not really sure if the infested are of this world or another and it gives the story an underlying science fiction horror feel. There is elements of Invasion of the Bodysnatchers with the brutalism of David Cronenburg’s Rabid, I loved it and found it hard to put down.

As with most horror check the triggers if you need to but if you like your horror biological and visceral you will love

Content Warnings

shellycampbellauthor's review

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4.0

Fun twist on classic creature horror

This was a quick, riveting read. C.M. Forest does a great job of laying on atmosphere so thick, I felt like I was sweating and navigating an infested high rise alongside Olivia. Loved her character arc. Recommend for fans of creature horror. Well done.

htrimer's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

chankewich's review

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

irawnic's review

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dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This book is exactly what you think is it going in. A bug horror story.

stefanie_duncan's review

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5.0

Great Story, fun read and fast paced!

If you are creeped out by crawlers and insects this book is perfect for you! Plus, are you freaked out by the thought they could infect you and control you?

Olivia wakes up in the dark of her apartment. A thunderstorm is roaring outside and her husband is nowhere to be found. She has a hangover and a splitting headache. She is trying to figure out what happened the night before. And then the building shakes. This is just the beginning for Olivia. During the rest of the night she fights for her life, tries to find her husband, tries to find out what exactly happened while she was sleeping, and what in the world are these creatures?

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