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nwreader's review
4.0
✨ Book Review - THE CREEK by Rayne King ✨
This little novella is a coming of age, boy meets girl story that has a tragic twist.
I was sort of expecting some type of crazy horror story since this novella is pretty popular in the indie horror community but actually it's not TOO horror filled. I would put this in a similar category as Betty and Songbirds & Stray Dogs (also popular books in the community)--there are elements of "real life" horrors and emotional with bits of gory moments.
With all that said, I really enjoyed THE CREEK and thought it was a pretty good debut. Rayne is a fantastic writer and beautifully shares descriptions on how the main character is feeling for his love interest. I couldn't help but love the insta-love/infatuation/hope the characters felt for one another. This story tackles elements of religion and "belonging" pretty well. Rayne showed the possible horrors that can come from radical "organized" religion and what freedom really means to some people.
This story also discusses addiction and familial traumas very well. So many times I couldn't help but relate to the main character since I have a similar background as his and it just made me empathize with him even more. The ending was fun and I really enjoyed a pivotal scene a lot.
Also, after THE CREEK there is a short horror story called HUSK that was a lot of fun! It was creepy and fast paced.
Overall, I thought Rayne did a splendid job at writing a heartbreaking novella and a creepy short story. I look forward to reading more from him.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
This little novella is a coming of age, boy meets girl story that has a tragic twist.
I was sort of expecting some type of crazy horror story since this novella is pretty popular in the indie horror community but actually it's not TOO horror filled. I would put this in a similar category as Betty and Songbirds & Stray Dogs (also popular books in the community)--there are elements of "real life" horrors and emotional with bits of gory moments.
With all that said, I really enjoyed THE CREEK and thought it was a pretty good debut. Rayne is a fantastic writer and beautifully shares descriptions on how the main character is feeling for his love interest. I couldn't help but love the insta-love/infatuation/hope the characters felt for one another. This story tackles elements of religion and "belonging" pretty well. Rayne showed the possible horrors that can come from radical "organized" religion and what freedom really means to some people.
This story also discusses addiction and familial traumas very well. So many times I couldn't help but relate to the main character since I have a similar background as his and it just made me empathize with him even more. The ending was fun and I really enjoyed a pivotal scene a lot.
Also, after THE CREEK there is a short horror story called HUSK that was a lot of fun! It was creepy and fast paced.
Overall, I thought Rayne did a splendid job at writing a heartbreaking novella and a creepy short story. I look forward to reading more from him.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
johnlynchbooks's review
4.0
Just finished this book a few days ago. I really enjoyed it. Serving as an introduction to the author, it works well and leaves me anticipating the next book King puts out. I'm a bit of a sucker for coming of age books, and this one fits the bill, but regardless of the magnetic pull that particular sub genre has on me, I think the book was well written and deserving of a read by anyone who fancies themselves a fan of horror books.
usuallydave's review
4.0
I’m not going to talk about the actual plot too much, since this is a real quick read.
But know that this is a cult style horror story, which is both infuriating and heartbreaking. You’ll have an idea what’s going to happen fairly early on, but it doesn’t take away from the story at all. And by the time you get to the end, there you’ll get hit with the heartbreaking and horrifying conclusion… and you’ll love every word of it.
Kings writing style is highly enjoyable. Punchy and to the point while maintaining terrific impact and power to allow the story to hit home hard as you read it.
If I had one issue with The Creek, it’s that because it’s cult horror we can figure out fairly early on the direction the story is going to take. It didn’t ruin the story at all, but it did keep it from being one of those “OMG! I can’t believe that happened!” kind of reads.
I highly recommend this book for any fans of modern cult horror and “people as the monster” style horror. Though Husk does get a bit more supernatural so you get a little variety.
For the full review visit:
https://aicpod.com/category/blog/
But know that this is a cult style horror story, which is both infuriating and heartbreaking. You’ll have an idea what’s going to happen fairly early on, but it doesn’t take away from the story at all. And by the time you get to the end, there you’ll get hit with the heartbreaking and horrifying conclusion… and you’ll love every word of it.
Kings writing style is highly enjoyable. Punchy and to the point while maintaining terrific impact and power to allow the story to hit home hard as you read it.
If I had one issue with The Creek, it’s that because it’s cult horror we can figure out fairly early on the direction the story is going to take. It didn’t ruin the story at all, but it did keep it from being one of those “OMG! I can’t believe that happened!” kind of reads.
I highly recommend this book for any fans of modern cult horror and “people as the monster” style horror. Though Husk does get a bit more supernatural so you get a little variety.
For the full review visit:
https://aicpod.com/category/blog/
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