Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

This book is tough to review. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I guess I'd say I'm in the middle, neither love nor hate. The concept that was presented was interesting to me, however, I felt like it could have been executed much better. It fell flat and I would not recommend this read.

Unfortunately this book was not for me, it was a bit slower than I would like and it just didn't hold my attention. I am sure other people will love it!

I wanted to like this book! The premise sounded interesting and the warning about not reading the book or else....at the beginning of the book was kinda fun.

But the actual story was a bit messy for me. I didn't connect with characters. I didn't really like the way it was written in short Staccato speech (short, choppy sentences). It was a little all over the place and I was often confused and definitely had a hard time finding a rhythm to the reading.

It wasn't my cup of tea from a horror, character or writing style standpoint.

I found this boring, contrived and unoriginal. I honestly could barely get through the entire book and forced myself to finish. It does admittedly take a lot to scare me, but this was so far off the mark. Nope.

Boring, weird and unnecessary. I like weird but when it's weird for the sake of it with no coherent storyline and just goes completely off the rails with no answers, that's where I draw a line.

This one is tough to review… I was expecting horror and a lot of mystery and a new favorite but, unfortunately, this wasn’t my cup of tea.
I couldn’t quite connect with the story? I never found myself while reading this book to want to keep on reading. It has a mystery, yeah, but it’s not quite as thrilling as I was expecting it to be. And, while the creepy atmosphere and mood is present throughout the whole story, I didn’t find it scary enough. I was kind of disappointed because I expected more horror.
The premise was really good. I love me some metafiction. And, while the story started off really good, then all of the sudden it turned sooo weird. I tend to enjoy weird books that makes the reader go like “what the hell” all the time, but I don’t know why this didn’t work out for me in this novel. I think it was the writing style. It just wasn’t for me. I can never fully enjoy a story when sentences are chopped. Like this. The whole novel. All. The. Time.
On the other hand, like I said before, I LOVE metafiction and novels breaking the fourth wall, but there were so many weird things going on that, in my opinion, the metafiction aspect didn’t stand out as I would’ve liked it.
I think this is that kind of book that some readers may loved it and other readers may not enjoyed at all. I think I would recommend this if you like slow burn psychological horror and the writing style that I’ve described before.
Certainly not my cup of tea but not a bad book either, It’s just… it wasn’t for me.

Thank you so much to Flame Tree Press and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC!

I really enjoyed this book. For me, I need the right amount of suspense and intellect to keep me interested and this did it!

I have to say the blurb for this book intrigued me, so having not read anything else by this author I thought I’d give it a go.

The writing was wonderfully vivid and creepy and the story really drew me in but then the story became something I wasn’t expecting; weird. I mean it got really, head tripping, weird. I know some people like weird horror but I have to admit I’m not a fan.

Overall not my cup of tea but I would still be open to reading something by this author again.

Will Haunt You is a mind-bending horror novel about a book that delivers the readers’ greatest fears upon themselves. What an amazing concept.
At times the writing is convoluted and nonsensical, and I think the writing would have benefited from a little more focus, pinpointing individual fears rather than relying on a strong writing style and sense of dysequilibrium--both in the writing style and in what was happening--to deliver most of the horror to the reader. This was effective at times, but I most enjoyed the parts where Jesse was worried that his awful secrets would rise from the dead like the name of the band he was once a part of.
There were points where the way that Jesse describes the women in the book were almost laughable and pulled me from the horror of it all--any time a man refers to “pert tits”, I can’t help but chuckle. That said, his wife, Cassie, is an interesting character, and I would have liked to have seen more of their relationship and how she has handled the events leading up to what happens in this novel.
Ultimately, this is a compelling and horrifying story of a man that has a lot to atone for. I’m giving it 2 stars because it wasn’t my cup of tea, though others will definitely think differently.

I am very sorry to say that I had to DNF after reading one fourth of the book. I did not enjoy the writing not any of the characters. I got pretty bored. I tried to read on, but was unable to do so.

Does the sudden change of the scenario mean anything? It was too abrupt and the book lost me totally.

I liked to beginning of it, though.

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2020 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2020/01/2020-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

"You don't read the book. It reads you.
Rumors of a deadly book have been floating around the dark corners of the deep web."

-I wanted to love this book, but it was weird and very confusing read. The writing was a bit off, and clunky. It had good parts, but was mostly meh for me.

The title of this book is entirely accurate.

When I began reading, I was unsure I would enjoy the story, it seemed a bit raw for my taste, but determined to make it through, I kept on. The instant it was mentioned that this book was dangerous and I should stop reading, I became paranoid. Not because I’m a paranoid person or out of touch with reality, but the author’s ability to convince you that you’re in danger is incredible. Rationally, I knew I was perfectly safe, but when I visited the website that I was told not to visit, the really was a cold stone in the pit of my stomach. Pure dread. What did I just hear?

Throughout the book I had to continually remind myself that I was going to be okay, despite the frequent mentions that by reading this book I, too, would be forced to encounter the same horrors as the main character. The imagery was described in such vivid detail, creepy and disturbing, scary in its most primal form. To finish it is a relief, not because it’s terribly written, but because it’s so well done that you’re legitimately stressed out the entire time you’re reading.

A very clever premise. Interesting characters and starts off really promising. My issue was that it got slower as it drew on, I would have liked it to pick up a little more if I'm honest. This storyline will definitely make you question what you know and is a bit of a mind tripper. So if you lose focus easily then this won't be the book for you. I still really enjoyed it and look forward to the next read.

4 Stars!

I was excited to read Will Haunt You by Brian Kirk when I received a copy of the novel from Flame Tree Press. I had read Kirk’s first novel, We are Monsters, several years ago and then had not had a chance to pick up another one of his books since in spite of that novel being very dark and entertaining (and due to be published again by Flame Tree Press in January). I hoped to find the same type of scares and chills in Will Haunt You from this promising writer.

Jesse Wheeler is a man who knows what it is like to like with the ghosts of the past. As a guitarist for an up-and-coming metal band, he had lived a fast life of drugs and women. Even when he became a father, he did not slow down. Then came the fateful night when his addictions led to an accident that left his son permanently disabled. Jesse left the rock star life behind and became a family man just trying to scrape by while keeping his addictions at bay. Jesse knew darkness and evil. When he was given a book that was rumored to be haunted, he was undaunted by the book’s legend and dismissed any possibility that the book could have an impact on his life. It was, after all, just words on paper. It was not reality. Jesse thought that he understood the evil that the world holds in its darkest corners. He was wrong.

Jesse agreed to a one-night reunion gig with his band and that is when his world turned upside down. When the night started to get away from him, he at first thought that he had been given a drug without his approval and the events were nothing more than a hallucination. As the night unfolded, he came to realize that the book had him in its unrelenting grasp. He was another victim, trapped within the evil world of the book, and the only way out was to see it through to its end. There are no happily-ever-after's in this story and Jesse was quick to find out that the book was determined to destroy him and everything he loves.

Will Haunt You has many similarities to We are Monsters in that there is a wickedness that permeates the book from the very beginning. The reader instantly knows that things are not going to go well for anyone in the book. This atmosphere is so strong that it is essentially the main character of the novel with the characters making its way through the evil that it holds. This really seems to come through in this novel even more than in We are Monsters as it just fits perfectly with the story revolving around a cursed book. The novel is not a fast-paced story at all and it does take a little work to get through at times largely because heavy atmosphere of the book. There is also a lot going on at different levels that takes time to process. This is a novel that should be read when the reader has solid blocks of time set aside to truly concentrate on the story. I am sure this will turn some readers off.

This novel is a little hard to read at times, there is a lot of unraveling of the plot that is needed at times, and even harder to review. I really was not sure what I thought of the novel while I was reading it. I was sometimes confused and other times thrilled as the story rolled along. Once it got past the halfway mark, however, I finally got a sense as to what was happening and was able to settle in a little. That is not to say that there still were not a lot of twists and turns as it progressed. Rather, I got a sense that I knew what the plot was really about and was able to relax a little and get into the story. This novel is sure to mess with the reader’s mind and is not one that can be picked up for some light reading. There is a lot going on in this book and the reader is kept guessing throughout but it ends as an entertaining read that is worth the effort needed to unravel the frayed strands that Kirk weaves throughout the novel.

I would like to thank Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for this review copy. Will Haunt You is available now.

Fab read. Could not put down. Highly recommended to all. Believable characters. Great author. Will be watching out for more titles.

I tried really hard to like this one. I just couldn't get into it. The writing seemed weird to me and took me out of the story a lot. I don't think that it is essentially a bad book and I may try it again later but for now it just wasn't something for me.

Will Haunt You is the type of book that leaves you puzzled from start to finish. I am not sure I enjoyed reading the book but I did appreciate it. As a fan of strange and unusual horror novels I feel that this one tries too hard to fit in with the likes of House of Falling Leaves and other psychedelic horror stories. I found myself really disliking the main character especially as you find out that he covered up his "accident" with excuses. Overall well written but strange outcome not sure I would read this again.

One thing I will say for Brian Kirk's "Will Haunt You" is that he creates a nightmarish feeling for the reader throughout the whole book. You feel off-kilter and dreamlike, not knowing where you're going or exactly what's happening or why. The characters are interesting and three dimensional and you care what happens to them. Ultimately for me, though, it ended on an unsatisfying note. I kept being concerned as I read it that it wasn't going to wrap up in a satisfying way for me. There were so many pieces of the story dangling throughout I worried that Kirk wasn't going to be able to pull them together. It was a little like my experience with "Lost" on TV. I enjoyed the ride, trusting that the creators were going to wrap up the sprawling story they had set up. For me, they didn't. And I had the same feeling here. The end was anticlimactic.