Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Come Closer

Amanda easily accepts that she’s being possessed and doesn’t really try to get rid of Naamah until it’s beyond too late. She didn’t think any of the warning signs (that she was VERY aware of) were weird and is just passively aware that her body is now being used for theft, adulterous sex, murder. Just shrugs that shit off. The scariest aspect of this is slowly losing yourself and all control of your life. Which is terrifying!!! But for a demonic possession story, you just expect more. That being said, her last thoughts before unknowingly killing Ed— so sad.

There really was no other way this little book could have ended though. But Amanda’s reason thrown in on the very last page felt so last minute, it didn’t match the entirety of the story for me.

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elizabethandhermonsters's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I really enjoyed Come Closer, but I took a star off for the ending being completely predictable. I don't know if it's my pattern recognition, or maybe I possess some clairvoyance that I was unaware up to now, but Come Closer follows a long line of 2024 reads that I just "knew" before I read them. I think I was annoyed because the protagonist was so infuriatingly stubborn about her choices, and that contributed to the later events.

Make no mistake. Come Closer is a smart and forward-thinking novel that is tragic, thrilling, and surprisingly feminist, and I enjoyed the ride. Even with references to things that were common in 2003 that seem anachronistic now, I liked the pacing, the worldbuilding, and the complicated nature of Amanda, the woman who is either possessed or rapidly losing her grip on reality. Each of the main characters is complex and imperfect, and that's a nice change from the idealized characters a lot of the horror novels I've read this year tend to feature. Amanda felt relatable despite her frustrating decision-making process. She could be someone that you grab a beer with on a Friday night, or

The "big bad" is hard to hate, because she brings a new vitality to Amanda's comfortable-yet-one-dimensional existence that she otherwise would have experienced. This is good in some ways, but catastrophic in others, especially when Amanda absolutely refuses to communicate about what's happening to her.

If you like strong female leads, examinations of mental health, imperfect characters, and an antagonist who may have a point, then Come Closer is definitely for you.

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danimacuk's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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torismazarine's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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mcrespo's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

i thought this novella was a really fun, quick read. gran incorporated some of my favorite demon possession horror tropes in this novella, and in doing so, she also probes the topic of love and how far one woman can derail her life in the pursuit of a never-leaving love. i loved the way gran toyed with formatting in this novella, and i thought it was brilliant to have centered this story around an "are you possessed by a demon?" quiz. it was such a strong story with only very minor setbacks, which is that amanda, the main character, uses homophobic language, and has this very weird sexual tension with a german shepherd. the dog storyline in the novella was perhaps the hardest to follow and deduce any meaning from. i found it ill-fitting, underdeveloped, and overall just super weird. the most redeeming aspects of this novella, that make it still a high star book for me, are the poignant final sentences from amanda and the postscript note from the editors. confusing relationship with a dog aside, this book is fantastic for a rainy day where you want to spend 2-3 hours reading a bite sized, captivating horror story.

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