constant_reader_19's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty creepy at times...the end wasn't as good as I was hoping for. Overall a good read.
helenkat's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing! Great thrilling, well paced, book. Interesting characters, and setting (college dorm during Thanksgiving).
erincolleen's review against another edition
3.0
Classic & neat
All in all a standard ghost story. Teen characters are the usual suspects you'd expect in a horror story. Not a bad thing; a classic, straightforward, fairly simple tale. Although the supposedly Kabbalistic ritual is rather unbelievable; "magic words" that work despite no ritual cleansing, separation of genders, or deeper understanding. Would've been better to have Martin expose the ritual stuff. The monster is defeated by a ritual with a brief interlude into "our love/friendship will save him." Would've preferred commitment either way--either dump the ritual & go with friendship, or stick to the ritual.
All in all a standard ghost story. Teen characters are the usual suspects you'd expect in a horror story. Not a bad thing; a classic, straightforward, fairly simple tale. Although the supposedly Kabbalistic ritual is rather unbelievable; "magic words" that work despite no ritual cleansing, separation of genders, or deeper understanding. Would've been better to have Martin expose the ritual stuff. The monster is defeated by a ritual with a brief interlude into "our love/friendship will save him." Would've preferred commitment either way--either dump the ritual & go with friendship, or stick to the ritual.
lexessoribooks's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.25
epilieaspiechick's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
The core story is good, but it's nothing unique. Plus, it gets unnecessarily offensive at points, which just ruined it for me.
autocorrecttodemons's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
iamastraythought's review
5.0
Read in two days, I devoured this is book like I haven't in a while. Better review soon hopefully
icameheretoread's review
4.0
I'm not sure I get the bad reviews on this one. The Harrowing showed up on a list of awesome horror you may have missed list (Bookriot, most likely, but don't quote me). I threw it on the TBR list. I'm kind of a sucker for isolated tales of horror. I was also in the mood for something that did not, a la most Scooby Doo, turn out to have a human Big Bad.
What I loved about this is the mid-90's/early 2000's setting (clear from the lack of smartphones and the sheer shock of one character's "idea" of looking stuff up on the world wide web. Lol. We have a pretty decent character in Robin- she is clearly depressed, suffering from imposter syndrome, and dealing with a hell of a home life. The setting was pretty damned gothic, the historical details about the ouija board were awesome, and I thought this was pretty fast-paced. I, like other readers, thought the characters were going to be isolated for the whole book and was surprised to find out that wasn't the case, but small potatoes.
This description: "Waverly Todd was beautiful. Apart from that, she had no redeeming qualities." pg 12. Bwah! Excellent!
I mean, it was exactly what I was in the mood for: demon-summoning seances, a gothic setting, characters who actually take the time to research their situation, and who do not run from a fight. They could have taken off but they ran BACK into the action to try and reset what had begun. We are talking about trying to study for finals while also dealing with demonic rape and possessions all over the place.
This was a solid, 4-star horror read.
What I loved about this is the mid-90's/early 2000's setting (clear from the lack of smartphones and the sheer shock of one character's "idea" of looking stuff up on the world wide web. Lol. We have a pretty decent character in Robin- she is clearly depressed, suffering from imposter syndrome, and dealing with a hell of a home life. The setting was pretty damned gothic, the historical details about the ouija board were awesome, and I thought this was pretty fast-paced. I, like other readers, thought the characters were going to be isolated for the whole book and was surprised to find out that wasn't the case, but small potatoes.
This description: "Waverly Todd was beautiful. Apart from that, she had no redeeming qualities." pg 12. Bwah! Excellent!
I mean, it was exactly what I was in the mood for: demon-summoning seances, a gothic setting, characters who actually take the time to research their situation, and who do not run from a fight. They could have taken off but they ran BACK into the action to try and reset what had begun. We are talking about trying to study for finals while also dealing with demonic rape and possessions all over the place.
This was a solid, 4-star horror read.
jmbz38's review
5.0
Really enjoyed this book. This horror novel is like a combination of 'The Breakfast Club" with a haunting/possession story. It takes the best elements of those two things and mixes them into a great piece of horror fiction.
Read my full review on Center Field of Gravity: http://www.centerfieldofgravity.com/the-harrowing/
Read my full review on Center Field of Gravity: http://www.centerfieldofgravity.com/the-harrowing/