If I could describe this book with one word,that would be "Unique".For me this was one of the most interesting contemporary-fantasy books I have ever read.Despite the book being created on folklore,fairy-tales and legends I can confirm that The Hollow Gods is far more complicated than a standard fairy-tale based book.The characters became more and more interesting as the story progressed and the little romance included was a very nice touch(this is coming from someone who isn't a huge fan of romance overall).The world building was decent although sometimes it got confusing.which is something natural in multi-realm worlds in my opinion.The whole "Dreamwalker" thing is explained very vaguely at first(which I think the author did on purpose) but gets sorted out in a very beautiful way.One thing that annoyed me from time to time was the continuous use of curse-words and odd depictions,usually found in Kai.'s POV.While it was ok and understandable at times,sometimes it wasn't necessary at all.The writing was also beautiful and rich.At last,I appreciated the name of the character we would be following during a chapter typed on top of the chapter;it really helped and made things less confusing,
Overall this was a very good book,.with a rather okayish to weak start and a very nice ending.I'd recommend it to most fantasy readers,especially to ones who love fairy-tales and legends!

Copied from my Goodreads:

1.5/5 rounded up to 2.

I received an e-ARC from the publisher through Netgalley.

I'd like to start out by saying that I feel this was labelled as horror and sci-fi/fantasy. I would like to add that this read like a YA urban fantasy mystery, and would probably find a much better audience if it was marketed as such. Yes, all the main characters are adults (in their 20s, I think?), but the story elements follow a YA formula far more than an adult fantasy mystery.

The things I really enjoyed were the folkloric and fairy tale elements, as well as Mason's very relatable struggles with grief and self-doubt. The cover is gorgeous, as well, and I think most of us appreciate a handsome cover.

But. I wanted to like this book, but it's been a while since I was so irritated with a novel; probably because a lot of the plot was solved with a deus ex machina. The language attempts to be poetic, but often ends up feeling forced. Some of the dialogue didn't really read as actual people talking, which pulled me out of immersion. The relationship that happens felt unnecessary and as though it was added to fill out specific plot-points. The ending worked with the build-up, but I'm not sure what the next book will cover, and I'm fairly certain I won't be picking it up.

Unfortunately, I felt a little misled by the short description. If my store decides to stock this title, I might recommend it to readers looking for a YA mystery story set in a modern setting with some fantasy/fairy tale vibes.

eARC provided by NetGalley , thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial. All opinions are my own.

Want something different? Check out this contemporary wicked fairy-tale/ horror smash up.

The Hollow Gods by A.J. Vrana (spoiler free reviews)
Book 1 in a Duology
Publish Date: July 28th 2020
Cover Rating: 5/10
Adult - Fantasy –Fiction –Fairy Tale Twist - Horror

EXPLAIN THE BOOK IN ONE ACCURATE SENTENCE:
Three people come together to fight an ancient evil in a town called Black Hollow

WHAT WAS RIGHT AND WHAT WAS WRONG?
Well there are a lot of sides to this novel. Told from Mia, Mason and Kai’s point of view it was slightly difficult for me to form a close bond to either of them, I felt like every time I started to get into the characters mind, the point of view was abruptly changed.
I loved that there were several different things going on story wise but I did not really enjoy the “wicked fairy-tale” aspect which felt very juvenile at times, especially the first 20 %.

I think that would have worked better as a YA novel (if you take out the swearing) but I just could not get invested into the story and believe it. It was very childlike its description of the “evil legend of Black Hollow” and that for me that just didn’t work. If I want a fairy-tale I will pick up YA, this I thought would be more adult but again, just my opinion. I know a lot of people that love this troupe.

IT’S SOMEONES CUP OF TEA

One thing you need to know, if this is your cup of tea. The writing, tone, atmosphere – IT’S FUGGIN PERFECTION. Flawless transitions and descriptions (and all the different story lines) kept me interested throughout and that is why I finished this novel.

WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR:
It wasn’t really for me, it could be for you. I think if you like fairy-tale/fable and folklore and some horror with a touch of romance– this is your perfect cup of tea.
Rating: 2.9

<b>4 stars</b>

Not what I expected yet what I expected at the same time.

Admittedly, it was a little slow at the beginning but then the pace did get better.

However, there were some issues. As there were three main characters, I expected all of them to play an equal role in the plot. But like with another book with three main characters, the female main character ended up being the main and there was an aspect of the "special snowflake" trope which I hated.
I'm also very confused as from one POV, it seemed there would be a sequel and from another, it seemed to be a closed ending?

Title: The Hollow Gods
Author: A.J. Varna
Pub. Date: July 28, 2020
Rating: 3

This will be a spoiler free review. Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been sitting on writing the review for this book for days, because honestly, I don’t know how I feel.

This book was just…I must be missing something.

I don’t understand how it has over a 4.0 rating on Goodreads. I don’t get what people see in this book. Between the weirdly formal, trying to be intelligent, stiff writing, the unlikable characters, and feeling like this was like 5 different story ideas rolled into one, it just didn’t do it for me.

Like, at all.

I thought that maybe sitting on it for a couple days, my opinion would change, but honestly, I’m still just like,

I found that as I was reading, I was barely retaining any information from prior chapters. I just kept reading – an upside to this book is that it’s a quick read, despite the weird formal AF writing. It felt really Purple Prose-y, with big words, big adjectives, but what I don’t understand is the lack of atmosphere. For all these descriptors, the world felt plain, and the town felt spooky because we’re told it’s spooky, not because the image created lends towards actually spookiness – does that make sense?

My brain can’t make sense of this book. I’m actually a bit frustrated because wtf, it shouldn’t be this hard to write a review for this book.

This book tried to combine wolf shifters, reincarnation, dream realities, alternate realities and God/Godlike beings and evil spirit possessions, but that’s a lot. And all while being this weird mix of contemporary, fantasy and paranormal, and I don’t think it really worked. It’s just so much to pack into a 400-page story, where plot elements introduced in the beginning, play no large roll to the story at hand. All while trying to sound intelligent, formal and stiff, where we’re told everything and shown very little. This book felt like it was written, as if the author was being paid more for each convoluted adjective used in this book.

I don’t think the author executed this as well as it could have been, and it just leaves you confused.

Don’t even get my started on the cast of characters. Other than the freaking crazy ass town people, you have the 3 main POV’s, Miya, Kai and Mason, and none are incredibly likeable. Their feelings, fears and other emotions might be grounded in a real exploration of emotions, but I just couldn’t connect.

Miya is pretty annoying. I didn’t really care for her POV. She felt like a child pretending to be a grown up, but not willing to accept responsibility, or even try to be a contributing member of society. Her whole personality felt like a teenager rebelling against her parents and it grated. A lot of the information we’re given about her in the beginning of the book plays like no part to the overall story, so what’s the point in including it? Also, I have a hard time believing that no one was willing to help out Miya as she was struggling, except for her landlady, who was there for her, but also vaguely threatening to kick her out? Miya spends so much time alone, left with her thoughts and her fears and her perceived failings, and no one offers to help her.

As much as I didn’t like her, Mason was by far the worst of the POVs.

Like, holy hell.

He was a pretentious know it all who was condescending and demeaning towards people. He thought himself elevated because “I’m a Doctor”. The way he thought and viewed the world bordered on obnoxious and a little sexist. I think you’re supposed to feel sorry for him, because he wanted to try and save a terminal cancer patient, and he ultimately killed her, but in reality, I didn’t. I’m also assuming this guy is maybe in his late 20’s early 30’s, it’s never really specified – he’s however (on average) you have to be to be in your last year of an Oncology Fellowship – but the way he talks, and his internal monologue feels decades older? But physically, he’s supposed to look young and handsome, which makes me think he’s supposed to be a young adult. I just don’t know.

The medical terminology used in this book felt like it came right out of an episode of Grey’s Anatomy – a lot of big, pretty, official words that felt like they had no meaning. It just felt like a reiteration of medical jargon being used to sound professional, without feeling professional.

And then we have Kai, a wolf shifter – which I’ll come back to in a moment – and his crass, dangerous, leave me alone attitude. I didn’t hate Kai’s POVs, and he’s probably my favorite in this book, but the bar’s pretty low. He’s legit a Lone Wolf – figuratively and literally. He does whatever he can to survive, and that often means hurting others. Then there’s the relationship between Kai and Miya and it was cringe – lots of awkward dialogue and insta-love connection bs. I mean, I get it with the overarching plot of the story, why they have such a connection, but half of their interactions felt like dialogue from those fake porn movies you see in movies. It just left you with secondhand embarrassment and so much cringe.

Usually I’m all for moody, bad boy types, and if they’re in Paranormal books, throw in a shifter ability that turns them into the Protective Alpha, but shit, every time Kai did that, it felt awkward as hell, and the growling…yeah, no.

But let’s touch on the wolf-shifter element of the story. In a world that seems to be plagued by a Dreamwalker, who apparently steals young women over the course of this town’s history, how do we get wolf-shifters?

I’m going to apologize for this one spoiler, but there’s a moment where Kai is telling Miya about his past, and how he comes from Scandinavia or something, and he says something like, “we’re not accepted there”…so are wolf shifter’s like public, common knowledge? And if they are, then how the fuck does he stay secret? I don’t understand!

Honestly, I don’t know what else to say, because I’m still so fucking confused about this book. I want to understand what I’m missing, but on the other hand, I’m ready to put this in my review as a book that just wasn’t for me. If you think you might like it, feel free to check it out, but I’m not outright recommending this. So, I’m ending this here, and maybe I’ll read book 2, just to see how it ends (even though I don’t know how there can be a second one with the way this ended), but I’m not holding my breath or anxiously anticipating it or anything.

Every once in a while, I encounter a book everyone seems to love, while I cannot, for the life of me, manage to muster any excitement for. This is one of those instances.

I think one of my biggest issues with it, was that it didn’t seem to stick to any genre. At times it was too mundane, and the next chapter there was a guy transforming into a wolf, and I was left reeling and confused. It was Contemporary, Fantasy and Paranormal, but the blending between the three wasn’t all the way there.

Even now, I’m still not sure I actually understood the plot. Werepeople, past lives, reincarnation, alternate realities, dreamworlds, evil spirits or gods(?), possession. It was just too much. The execution wasn’t on par with the level of ambition of the author. That’s not to say the writing was bad. It wasn’t. It’s just the flow was all wrong and the plot was too convoluted. And to me, it’s still unclear how it all happened and the reason for the resentment, and hate that led to the legend in the first place.

I could not get into the story. For me, the first half dragged a lot, and when I was, maybe, getting a little bit interested, we switched characters. The change in pacing was very jarring.

Of the three main characters, I’m still not sure what the point of giving Mason, the doctor, such a huge role really was. Most of the time, he was just there, being annoying and breaking up the main story. If Miya had been born in Black Hollow, left as a kid, forgotten everything, and then come back, we could, perhaps, have fused her and Mason into the same character and achieved a much smoother flow of the story. A more consistent pacing.

Also, this story is categorized as new adult and horror. I disagree with both. Maybe mature YA and mystery would be more appropriate. There’s some violence, but there’s nothing scary about this story at all. Sadly, I don't think I'll be reading any more books from this saga. This just wasn't the story for me,.

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**

I think I was really unsure about how I felt while reading this book. Overall, I loved the idea of it. A small town completely revoked around this fairy tale and believing that the dreamwalker was responsible for all the disappearing girls. This is the kind of stuff I love to read about.

Right off the bat the writing was great. I loved reading the chapters from Kai and Miya. I loved their characters and the relationship they were building. I also loved how completely different their points of view were, but then we got to our third main character, Mason. He just didn’t hold my attention as much as the other two. I liked the fact that it was a point of view who didn’t grow up in this town. Mason completely thinks the town folk are a little crazy and odd for believing in such things. It got to the point where I was just wishing Mason's part would go by faster so I could get to Miya and Kai.

Overall, it's a great story, I just wished I would have enjoyed Mason's part a little more. Then this probably would have been a five star book for me.

The Hollow Gods is about a folklore gone crazy. A small town has a kind of boogeyman story to keep everyone out of the woods. You'd think in the 21st century they'd dismiss it for what it is, just a story, but not this town. They still hold on to the myth that was started when the town was new. A visiting doctor is determined to prove them right, but can he in time to save them? This was an interesting story. It has folklore, romance, mystery, suspense and a bit of horror thrown in for good measure. The characters are fully fleshed, including flaws, which add to the realism. I enjoyed the story and the descriptions allowed me to see the story play out in my head like a movie. There was symbolism peppered throughout the story that makes the reader think.

The Hollow Gods is a dark dream like story of small town secrets playing out on a grand scale. The world building was excellent, Weaving folk tales with a gritty realism, the multiple points of view of the three main characters was well done and they sat well within the world. The pacing of the plot was good and has mystery and twists that has me eager to read the next book

So to be honest this book did not go the way I thought it would. I was expecting a "Little Red Riding Hood" type story but you get so much more in this book. The plot lines were a little hard to follow and I had to go back a few times to get back on the right plot line, but it was not horrible to go back. I normally found something I missed when I went back and that was why it was not making senses.

For this story you need to have an open mind about what nature can and will do. You will also find the issue of human mob mentality a cause in this book. It showcases the, sometimes, horrible aspect of human mob mentality. The villagers are a prime example of the bad side of mob mentality, in my opinion. The way they decide to do the things they do and all of it out of sheer terror without taking the time to determine what the actual cause was or is.

I am interested to see what the next book in the series is going to be about. The author left enough open to continue the story line yet at the same time closed the important ones to this book. I am curious to find out more back story to the main and secondary characters. I feel their stories need to be known and I hope we find them out.

This ARC book was granted to me by NetGalley for an honest opinion and review.

This sure wasn't what I thought it was going to be. It turned out to be a YA dark fantasy......which I hate reading. This book deals with the town of Black Hollow, and the supposedly real Dreamwalker who steals then kills girls and leaves them in the town. Kai, the lead Male finds himself waking in weird places next to the dead girls. So what. This has the wanna be creepy woods, the shape shifting werewolf, the ghostly or was she supposed to be witchy woman who swings on the eerie swing......blah,, blah, blah,.
It wasn't that this book was poorly written, it wasn't, it just wasn't anything new or scary at all, let alone even suspenseful to me. The characters were shallow and I really could not connect with or even care about what happened to them. It read like a re telling of Little Red Riding Hood, but just more convoluted and boringly stiff. And the fact it's the first in a series? Nope, not for me.

Black Hollow ist nicht, was es scheint. Das verschlafene Dörfchen im kanadischen British Columbia wirkt auf den ersten Blick wie der perfekte Ort, um alle Sorgen hinter sich zu lassen: ruhige Landbewohner, ein Markt am Rand des Waldes, der Wald selbst ... Doch was im Wald angeblich lauert, das ist eine ganz andere Geschichte.

The Hollow Gods ist der erste Teil der Chaos Cycle Duologie von A.J. Vrana und versetzt uns in die Fußstapfen nicht eines, sondern gleich von drei Hauptcharakteren: Da wäre zum einen Miya, eine junge College-Studentin, die nach einigen Rückschlägen eigentlich bloß versucht, ihr Leben wieder auf die Reihe zu bekommen – wäre da nicht auch die Erinnerung an ihr Kindheitstreffen mit einem Wolf am Rande des Waldes von Black Hollow und die Geschichten rund um die Dreamwalkerin, die Wölfe nutzt, um junge Mädchen in den Wald zu locken.

Kai muss sich indessen nicht erst fragen, ob es so etwas wie übersinnliche Geschöpfe tatsächlich gibt – immerhin ist er selbst eines. Der Halbwolf hat andere Probleme: einen Dämon, der seinen Geist heimsucht, und eine Serie an unliebsamen Erwachen im Wald neben den Leichen junger Frauen – ohne Erinnerung daran, wie genau es dazu kam.

Und dann wäre da noch Arzt Mason, dessen fatale Fehlentscheidung über die Therapie seiner Patientin ihr Leben frühzeitig beendete, und der in Black Hollow eigentlich bloß eine Auszeit plant – nur um dann doch in die verworrenen Mythen und Legenden der Stadt gezogen zu werden. Umso mehr, da die Bewohner des Ortes bloß äußerst wenig Interesse daran zu hegen scheinen, ihre Sagen offen zu teilen – selbst dann, wenn diese zu einem schier unglaublichen Mord von einem ehemals liebenden Vater an seiner aus dem Wald zurückgekehrten Tochter führt.

The Hollow Gods spielt auf der einen Seite mit der Frage, wie sehr Mythen und Legenden unser Dasein prägen bzw. wie viel Wahrheit in ihnen tatsächlich steckt, wirft aber auf der anderen Seite auch jene Frage in den Raum, ob wir unserem eigenen Geist wirklich immer trauen können. Ist die Dreamwalkerin real? Oder vielleicht doch nur die Ausrede eines hysterischen Dorfes, ihren dunkelsten Seiten freien Lauf zu lassen? Kann man seinen eigenen Gedanken trauen, wenn diese von der Stimme eines Dämons heimgesucht werden? Sind Träume Portale in andere Realitäten oder doch nur ein Symptom des eigenen Wahnsinns? Und warum scheint ein ganzer Ort regelrecht darauf zu warten, vom Unheil heimgesucht zu werden?

Auch wenn die Story, die in The Hollow Gods erzählt wird, durchaus Essenz hat und vor allem gegen Ende hin so manche offene Frage beantwortet, liegt ihre größte Stärke dennoch darin, um die von der Autorin geschickt gesponnenen Mythen und Legenden eher herumzutanzen und nur hie und da handfeste Fakten zu liefern. Als Leser folgt man abwechselnd drei Charaktere mit drei vollkommen unterschiedlichen Blickwinkeln auf das Geschehen und weiß so stets mehr als diese selbst – und kennt dennoch nur einen Teil des gesamten Mysteriums. Das Spannende an der Geschichte ist somit vor allem, genau wie Miya, Kai und Mason selbst, mehr über die Dreamwalkerin und die Sagen von Black Hollow zu erfahren, um nach und nach herauszufinden, was real ist und was nicht bzw. wie alles miteinander verbunden ist. Der flotte Stil, den die Autorin A.J. Vrana dabei an den Tag legt, hält das gesamte Buch über bei Trab und sorgt dafür, dass man The Hollow Gods so schnell nicht weglegen möchte. Schön ist auch, dass sich der Stil mit jedem Charakter entsprechend ändert und man so nicht nur unterschiedliche Blickwinkel erhält, sondern auch die unterschiedlichen Persönlichkeiten der drei durchwegs gut geschriebenen Protagonisten beim Lesen wunderbar fühlen kann.

Der einzige kleine Wermutstropfen an The Hollow Gods ist, dass einem gegen Ende hin ein riesiger Berg an losen (aber doch durchaus spannenden) Infos geboten wird, die einen zwar näher an die Lösung von allem bringen, aber dennoch etliche Fragen offenlassen und letztendlich vor allem verwirren – aber auch das ist in Ordnung, handelt es sich schließlich um den ersten Band einer Duologie, die in Teil zwei hoffentlich noch weitere Antworten liefern wird.

Zwischen Mystik und Wahnsinn
The Hollow Gods hat eine ungewöhnliche und genau deshalb so spannende Erzählweise: Zum einen lässt das Buch von Minute eins an keinen Zweifel daran, dass Übersinnliches in der Story tatsächlich existiert, auf der anderen Seite wirft es aber durch die gesamte Geschichte hindurch immer wieder die Frage auf, wie viel von dem, was Übersinnlich ist, tatsächlich auch das ist, was die zugehörigen Sagen und Legenden vermuten lassen. A.J. Vranas Werk liefert dabei eher Indizien als handfeste Fakten und lässt die Leser somit in einem befriedigenden Limbo aus Erkenntnis und Neugier zurück – der im zweiten Teil der Duologie wohl noch seine tatsächliche Auflösung finden wird. Für alle Fans von Dark Fantasy bekommt The Hollow Gods von uns eine eindeutige Empfehlung.

Review published in Unaltered Magazine: https://unaltered.at/2020/06/02/review-the-hollow-gods/

Rich in myth, a wonderful tapestry of solid characters, great storylines and just overall amazing. This is, so far, my book of the year. I'll be writing more about it later on my blog, so will update the blog and this review as I go through it at https://reviewimiss.com

Thank you to Netgalley for connecting me with the publisher and giving me the chance to review the book.

The Hollow Gods by AJ Vrana is my first ARC read. What drew me to this book is the promise of something dark and sinister lurking between the pages. Since this is the author’s debut novel and I didn’t read others’ reviews before starting this book, I was perfectly prepared to not like it that much. I have no idea what I expected but I definitely did not expect it to be this good!

The story was told through the eyes of three narrators: Miya, Kai, and Mason. I am usually wary of multiple POVs because I tend to pick a favorite and lose the connection with the other characters along the way. Fortunately, AJ Vrana was able to establish and maintain a unique voice for each character. Miya, Kai, and Mason noticed and cared about completely different things and it’s those little things that sold the switching POVs to me.

Nestled in a rural area, just at the edge of the forest, Black Hollow serves as the border between reality and fantasy, madness and sanity. I loved the idea of centuries-old lore holding the town and its people captive in its razor-sharp talons; and how the townspeople, subsequently, become the very thing they most fear.

One of the themes tackled in this story is facing and accepting mortality. I have never lost a loved one but this book made me feel the grief that Mason and Anabelle felt. It also made me wonder if the people who had lost loved ones would resent the existence of immortality if they discovered it was real.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Hollow Gods. However, there are a lot of questions left unanswered, or maybe it’s just me not realizing the answers were already given. I can’t wait to read the next installment and get the answers I desperately need!

This was a well written, good read! I had not read anything by this author so I'm glad I took a chance!

I wanted to like this book, but unfortunately it did not grab me. I think the main problem that I had with it was the dialogue. It just did not seem to flow.

Obviously, the author has talent and did introduce an interesting story, but the main flaws of the book just put me off.. However, I look forward to seeing what she produces next as there are some good ideas in there.

The Hollow Gods is an original story that has an engaging start and a strong foundation. My favorite aspect was the writing and how realistic it made the story feel. I love when writing style and world building mesh so well that I feel like I'm a character in the story.

Parts were too rushed however, creating an unsteady pace. It would have been nice to sense a deeper connection between Miya and Kai as there was a touch of instalove there, but I do understand that it was necessary for the plot. I'm not a fan of alternating POVs and would have liked the book more if it had stuck with Miya's perspective.

Overall 3.5 stars. I'll keep an eye out for new work by this author.

I recieved this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

OK. I saw this book in goodreads last week and I have an unpopular opinion. Sorry.

First of all I feel very confused because I couldn't understand what the book was about, it was hard for me to connect with the story and the characters and I had to go to goodreads to find out what the book was about.

I have to admit that I ordered the book because I found the cover to be beautiful, and honestly I imagined something totally different when I asked for it, I thought it would be full fantasy with magic worlds and castles, warriors, princes and princesses, but no.

This book was very boring and stressful, I just wanted to finish reading it so I could give an opinion on what they were telling me. I think it is a story with a very good idea but in my opinion poorly executed.

I was not interested in any character and if something happened to them it did not matter to me, I could not connect with them or with the story. I know people like this book a lot, if they like urban fantasy (the kind of fantasy that I like least and maybe that's why I didn't like it), try reading it, probably you can enjoy it more.

This is one of those moments wherein I was blinded by the cover. But after a few days of reading I was left with the feeling that I think the writing was decent but the story lacked something and it didn't quite satisfy me. The flow of the story was actually interesting during the first few chapters, but then it started to become very distorted and dull. I was specifically not happy that the main characters has the instant connection that I was not very fond of.

Thank you Netgalley for this awesome ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Horror: 5/5
Fantasy: 4/5
Contemporary: 4/5

Overall: 4.5/5

“Only two reasons why people go looking for monsters,” Miya mimicked his didactics, and not without a touch of mockery. “Either they’re bored, or they want something from the monster.”


Blurb: This shifting perspective contemporary Horror-fantasy fiction cum Fairy Tale is a novel for ages with its ghastly setting, cryptic plot which all the protagonists are trying to solve, not knowing how deep this rabbit hole goes LITERALLY. Meet Kai, the big bad; Miya the damsel-not-so-much-in-distress and Mason the doctor who has a detective bug up his brain. They will keep meeting each other, but also not? What is happening? No one knows. Or no one who is from this realm knows. By the end, you will be gasping for air, which is ironical to say in the least.

Ease of language: written in very beautiful, to the point language, with NO WORDS WASTED. Kudos to Author who is also a fellow literature PhD scholar....Cheers!

Strength: Shifting perspective makes it interesting. This formula is although used by many, but its always a hit and miss. And here it was a hit. Also everyone gets equal screentime. Witty writing is topnotch as well. Take a look at this quote below
August was a bitch even the devil wouldn’t want to fuck.

Weakness: somewhat predictable end if you know this genre and is familiar with tropes. But even then the ending doesn't matter. Its the journey that counted.

Why to Read: Right amount of Horror, with enough spices to make a Lasagna. Not too sweet, not too salty and many layers.

Why not to Read: if Horror gives you creeps, and shifting perspectives make your head spin.