faulklore's review
dark
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.0
triggerย
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Violence, Racism, Drug use, Alcoholism, Murder, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Death of parent, and Suicide
sssmoser's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ญ: Jamie Warren has been avoiding his hometown for years, after dealing with a lot of childhood abuse and trauma and suffering through years of alcoholism. The death of his mother and need to care for his brother, bring him back to Black Mouth on a collision course with ghosts of his past. Joining him are two former friends who come together to finally deal with their past demons, both literally and figuratively.
๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ซ: Ronald Malfi
๐๐๐ ๐๐ฌ: 436
๐๐๐ง๐ซ๐: Horror
๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ก ๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐:... Eh ๐คทโโ๏ธ
๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ฅ ๐ญ๐๐ฌ๐ญ: Yes, but by the thinnest of hairs
๐๐ข๐ฆ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ข๐จ๐: Contemporary
๐๐ฉ๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ฒ ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ :๐ป๐ป
๐๐๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ฐ: โญโญโญ
This is the fourth or fifth book I've read by Malfi, and I'm a big fan. Unfortunately this is my least favorite of his, as I never felt it got off the ground and went somewhere.
The book had a very similar vibe to two of my favorite Stephen King novels - It and Revival, but sadly the plot faltered. Jaimie is the main character and protagonist, but I found him to be the least interesting of the main four.
The friends are brought together after one of them witnesses a mysterious magician who had preyed on them as children, but besides them trying to solve that mystery, I felt like the book just kept adding more and more childhood trauma on these characters, with very little moving the plot along. Somewhere in the middle, an additional villain is added, and it just didn't work for me.
Despite it not living up to expectations and having quite a few pacing problems, there are still moments of lovely writing in here and I did really enjoy about half of it.
โญโญโญ
๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ซ: Ronald Malfi
๐๐๐ ๐๐ฌ: 436
๐๐๐ง๐ซ๐: Horror
๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ก ๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐:... Eh ๐คทโโ๏ธ
๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ฅ ๐ญ๐๐ฌ๐ญ: Yes, but by the thinnest of hairs
๐๐ข๐ฆ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ข๐จ๐: Contemporary
๐๐ฉ๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ฒ ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ :๐ป๐ป
๐๐๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ฐ: โญโญโญ
This is the fourth or fifth book I've read by Malfi, and I'm a big fan. Unfortunately this is my least favorite of his, as I never felt it got off the ground and went somewhere.
The book had a very similar vibe to two of my favorite Stephen King novels - It and Revival, but sadly the plot faltered. Jaimie is the main character and protagonist, but I found him to be the least interesting of the main four.
The friends are brought together after one of them witnesses a mysterious magician who had preyed on them as children, but besides them trying to solve that mystery, I felt like the book just kept adding more and more childhood trauma on these characters, with very little moving the plot along. Somewhere in the middle, an additional villain is added, and it just didn't work for me.
Despite it not living up to expectations and having quite a few pacing problems, there are still moments of lovely writing in here and I did really enjoy about half of it.
โญโญโญ
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, and Addiction
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Animal death, Domestic abuse, and Animal cruelty
bookworm4tea's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
own. I like how the timeline would switch between their time as children when everything started to get crazy and when they were adults and everything was still messed up. I think the author did a great job with creating such unique and flawed characters within the gang that was made up of Jamie, Dennis, Mia, and Clay. This was an extremely creepy, dark and often times difficult book to read as it touches on triggering topics. I really enjoyed the friends group and how they came back together to deal with the horrible problem that happened 20 years ago when they were only children. This book was amazingly well written and the atmosphere was so eerie an unnerving that it had me tensing up at some parts and the audiobook made it ten times creepier which is a definite plus. I would recommend this to horror lover who enjoy a story with spine-chilling atmosphere, well thought out characters and terrifying storyline that has your attention from start to finish. I loved the plot and thought the storyline flowed perfectly as I flew through the book in just a day. I think it would be easy to adapt this into a movie or show.
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Suicide, Child death, and Animal death
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