wisteriariaa's review against another edition
fast-paced
2.25
Eh. It was kinda boring and a bit poorly written. Thats all
mentat_stem's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
Lots of fun nostalgia. Captures well the joys of hiking. Ramps up to an intense gore fest. Enjoyed the "present" PoV more, but the detective's PoV offered the comfort of your standard police procedural.
Love the cover and hope the author continues their writing journey.
Spoiler
very interesting argument for the dangers of a truly toxic personalityLove the cover and hope the author continues their writing journey.
holley_cornetto's review against another edition
This novella reads rather quickly. I was able to finish it in two sittings.
The situation:
A group of young women set off to “the mountain” on a hiking trail where the main character’s fiancé, Simon, went missing one year ago. Although she’s moved on romantically, she still seeks some sort of peace and closure surrounding Simon’s disappearance.
While the girls are out on their trek, things begin to go horribly wrong (as things tend to do in horror stories) and the girls find themselves in a fight for survival against an unknown assailant. I won’t say more, because I don’t want to give away any spoilers.
The vibe of this story was well done. There were enough 90s references to please those of us who like nostalgia. In the acknowledgements, the author cites Christopher Pike as an influence. Having devoured many of his novels as a teenager, I can see that.
Verdict:
A short and thrilling read that will be easy to blow through. Come for the 90s nostalgia, and stay for the creepy mystery.
The situation:
A group of young women set off to “the mountain” on a hiking trail where the main character’s fiancé, Simon, went missing one year ago. Although she’s moved on romantically, she still seeks some sort of peace and closure surrounding Simon’s disappearance.
While the girls are out on their trek, things begin to go horribly wrong (as things tend to do in horror stories) and the girls find themselves in a fight for survival against an unknown assailant. I won’t say more, because I don’t want to give away any spoilers.
The vibe of this story was well done. There were enough 90s references to please those of us who like nostalgia. In the acknowledgements, the author cites Christopher Pike as an influence. Having devoured many of his novels as a teenager, I can see that.
Verdict:
A short and thrilling read that will be easy to blow through. Come for the 90s nostalgia, and stay for the creepy mystery.
januaryapril's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
4.0
A fun little book. I have read other "girls lost in woods" novellas and this was definitely better. Overall the tension was written well and the dual timeline was a nice touch that helped the story move well. The underlying story and character motivations felt a little off to me. I think everything background wise would have made more sense if they were college aged instead of high school. But overall I felt like the climax and ending were paced well and I was satisfied with how the story went. (book bought on etsy)
mfrisk's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
3.5
I enjoyed this read - it was a fast paced novella which touched on relationships - both romantic in nature and friendship while also getting us right into the action too. I liked the characters and the build up to the reveal but ultimately felt more could have been done to get there even in the context of a novella. I wish there was more of a why to the reveal as well instead of the unclear/random explanation. It ended up feeling too rushed when I felt they could have gone a bit further there. That being said, I hope to read from this author again as I enjoyed their writing style and think I’ll enjoy what they write next.
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Cannibalism, Violence, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Domestic abuse, Sexism, and Infidelity
nikneedsnovels's review against another edition
5.0
Great story! YA horror set in the 90s with a feel of Fear Street and Christopher Pike books!
inkylabyrinth's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Toxic relationship