As I was reading this book, I kind of wonder, is this author a psychic? We are in the middle of a pandemic, and at times, I felt like she was writing about how are our world is now. The only difference was some children were doing violent things. Things that they were being told to do they seem not to be the same as they were before.
The world as these characters know it is not the same, and it seems a lot of people are living very close to poverty. Rachel loves her family and knows what means to live paycheck to paycheck (I think a lot of us can relate) when her son gets super sick from this virus that just came from nowhere, it seems. She is by his bedside at home. I really liked the idea that she could set up her house or room like a quartine, so Billy did not have to be in a hospital. Everyone believes it to be the end, well, that is until he magically gets better. What they do not know is there is a reason behind it. How did he get better so fast? What do other kids around the world have to do with it all? In comes Nina, Billy's sister; she super smart and part of a space program, but as time goes on, it seems that she will uncover something that will bring answers to what is happening to the children. It seems certain people want to cover things up. Kind of like the government does now. So much going on, but it all comes together. I can honestly say at the end, I was really not expecting that part to come out. I am not sure why I did not think of it as it was right there in front of me. Fascinating read!
Some things had me scratching my head, such as the first time Nina sees her Gran being strangled. She runs out of the flat but reminisces about the food and smells her Gran cooks? That just did not seem to be a reaction I thought I would have had. Another thing that I wondered about is why a grown woman would think she would live in an orphanage? I mean, just because you lost your mom, umm, you would still be living on your own.

I had such high hopes for this book; I thought it was going to be creepy and maybe a little scary, but, nope. It's sci-fi, which isn't really my jam, and it didn't take a genius to figure out the connections or the twist at the end (which wasn't much of a surprise, so not really a twist), so it wasn't even very mysterious, or whatever. I was going to give it 3 stars, but after some reflection, am going with 2 stars.

This is the story of Rachel's family. Her young son Billy is 6 years old and sick with a pandemic flu that is killing most of the kids and old people who contract it. Billy is at the brink of death when Rachel prays that he will get better...and he does. But now he has an imaginary friend who talks to him. He asks lots of questions that Delfy, the voice in his head, wants the answers to. He does things Delfy makes him do, even if they are against his will.

Meanwhile, Rachel and her partner are struggling to make ends meet, lose their apartment, and have to work for an all-encompassing company that seems to be controlling a lot of the city and maybe more? Her oldest daughter, Nina, begins to date a boy from Space Camp who turns out to be the son of the head of the company.

There's a lot about economic inequality and private companies' control over so many facets of society. There's the mysterious pandemic and the voices in the heads of survivors. But at the end, I felt just so-so about it and wasn't wowed in any way. I did like the main characters, so there was that.

My thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. A young boy named Billy is stricken with an unknown sickness that is affecting the whole country. Though he recovers, he now has a harmless imaginary friend named Delfy who at the beginning seems to be a just that. But as time goes on it seems that Delfy is anything but harmless and has Billy doing bad things. He is anet away to an underground hospital where he other kids like him also live. The ending was kind of out there. But still enjoyable. The appreciate Netgalley for the advance copy of this book.

Fast moving and twisty plot Highly recommended. Twisty plot that goes in some unexpected directions.

I was, as many might be at this time, hesitant to read a book that featured a flu-like virus, but this book engaged me immediately. Because it takes place largely after the flu has passed, and because the mystery around the children is so interesting, I didn't feel as if I was reading anything parallel to what is happening today.
I think that following different characters in each chapter made this book much more interesting than if it only followed the mother, or the doctor. Nina and her story arc was especially great.
Bonus points for a great ending!

This book was interesting. When I started it, I wasn't sure what to think. Was it a thriller? Not really. Sci-fi? Kind of.

To be honest, it had a little bit of everything. I ended up really enjoying the book.

Because of the pandemic, reading a book about kids dying from a strange flu hit a little close to home, but as I read further, the flu became less and less important, and what became important was the result of the "flu."

When I first started this book, I wasn't sure what to think. I wasn't even sure I wanted to like it. Especially during a time of pandemic, I wasn't sure I wanted to read a book about kids dying from the flu. I think it just hit a little too close to home. But because the flu part ended up being a small part of the story, I ended up really liking the book. It was different than anything I've read before.

I had an emotional reaction to this book that I wasn't expecting. I noticed I said "those poor children" several times during this book. I love kids, and have a rule about not hurting them, EVER, so reading about what these children were going through, even knowing it was fiction, was heartbreaking to me.

I think a book should give a reader "all the feels," and that's one way I determine a great book from a good book. I've read many good books, and I've read a few great books. This one, is a great book. The beginning starts off kind of slow, and it's told through multiple points of view, which gives sides to the story that a reader might not normally get.

One point of view is from Rachel, Billy's mom. I didn't have much of a connection to her, even though she was obviously trying to do whatever she could for her family. Rachel accepted Delfy in the beginning, because Delfy seemed to be such a huge part of her child's recovery, that she saw Delfy as a positive thing. Delfy is Billy's imaginary friend, but she ends up being much more than that. Many children who have survived the flu end up with these "voices" in their heads. These voices eventually turn violent, and these children become victims of much more than a simple flu.

Even after Billy started to change, and become more violent, Rachel didn't want to admit that anything was wrong. She threw herself firmly in the land of Denial, and didn't do anything she could to help her son. After a while, she did, but only after things had gotten so bad she couldn't lie to herself anymore.

The other point of view was Nina, Billy's sister. Nina is in high school, and training to go to space. The government, along with a few civilians, have plans to travel to a distant planet, with qualities close to Earth. They plan to colonize this planet, and create a new civilization. Even with everything going on in her personal life, Nina pays attention to her family, and she sees much more than anyone gives her credit for. So when Delfy begins to exert control, Nina does what she can to alleviate the stress for everyone. I liked the Nina character more than I liked the Rachel one. Nina is very smart, and very mature for her age. 

I've decided not to post star ratings on my blog anymore, because one book that may be a 1 star for me, would be a 5 star for you. I will do my best to give you as much information as I can, so you can make an informed choice. I will definitely let you know the books that I think everyone should read. This is one of those books. It was really good, even for someone like me who doesn't enjoy Multiple POV books.

I will say, I'll be rating this book 5 stars on GoodReads, and I hope you get the chance to check it out. If you're interested in purchasing, you can click either of these links, for Amazon US or Amazon UK. These are affiliate links, so I'll get a small commission through your purchase. I hope you consider buying this book, because it was really good! Have a wonderful day, and until next time, bookworms!

This was a great read! It was creepy throughout the book, with a huge bang at the end. You really don't know that's going on, but you have suspicions. There is a bit of a mystery unraveling throughout.. what are these voices; are they demonic possessions or psychotic after effects from the flu? There are some sub plots going on that tie in well to the story; teenage romance, commericalism, and space colonization. While the time period is never revealed, it's implied that it's sometime in the near future and has some interesting ideas on technology. The ending really did it for me and made it a five star read. I was shocked by the reveals and twists and definitely ended this one with a gasp.

TW: Spiders. if you don't like spiders, you may have to skip some parts.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

WOW. This book was really hard to put down. I love the format - short chapters, scenes that are constantly building to an ending that was a teensy bit predictable but also oh so twisty. The book had lots of good reveals, and it really built and built.

It wasn't really horror, though it had quite a bit of horror-element to it. It was more like a sci-fi techno thriller with some horror thrown in. There were so many possibilities as to what could be going on that it left you wondering, and the reveals over time were fantastic.

I also cared for most of the characters, which is a big feat for an author to do. So many times I love the story and feel the characters fall flat.

Definitely recommend this one as a fun read, especially if you're looking to escape the pandemic into, well, a different pandemic. ;)

A pandemic is sweeping the world with a mysterious flu without a cure. After Rachel's young son Billy recovers after coming close to death, he has a strange imaginary friend named Delfy. Billy begins acting odd, watching his family sleep in the middle of the night and searching for strange facts on the internet. When Billy's actions begin becoming more weird and then violent, the family turns to a doctor for help. The doctor is aware of other children who have recovered from the flu with voices that compel them to do violent things as well. This was an unsettling book since we are in the middle of our own pandemic. Another central issue in the book is socialism and a cashless society. The answer for the children's voices was startling.

The world is in pandemic as well being trashed by human kind so let’s just leave it behind, find a new earth and trash it too. Oh yeah and leave the virus on Earth.
Nina Is the teen daughter of Rachel who is big sister to six year old Billy and toddler Beth. She is a candidate for this space mission to new a Earth, and is rigorously training, but in the mean time the pandemic on 'Earth has taken a sinister turn.
This is a well written debut novel by Evie Green and I fell quite privileged to have been granted access to the ARC by Netgally and Berkley Publishing Group.
If you like reading novels about that are creepy and eerie, this will satisfy that need. The story is about an innocent little boy named Billy. Billy has been to the brink of death from the mysterious virus but then miraculously recovers. Great, but not without a huge price. An imaginary friend seems to have manifested into Billy imagination. Seems sort of normal because kids have imaginary friends. This friend who Billy calls a Delfy, instructs Billy to do bad things, violent acts.
It seems this “Friend” is not isolated to Billy, there are other children who have recovered who also hear voices making the children do tragic acts to their loved ones. What to do? The children are placed in a sort of hospital seven floors underground run by a Graham.
All the while there are other subplots going on all related to the dystopian future that will keep the reader glued to the pages.
Just when you think there may be a cure and a happy ending to the pandemic...

The premise of this novel is the stuff of dreams for me. Slightly dystopian, with supernatural elements revolving around a kid’s creepy imaginary friend?! Sign me up!

Unfortunately, I could not finish reading this. I gave up at 45%, and the percentage I did finish was a struggle. Biggest book disappointment in a long while. My issues were with the writing. Everything felt stilted, especially the dialogue. There wasn’t a lot of actual action, and way too much of the characters disjointed thoughts. It almost feels as if there was no editing done, except perhaps for spelling and grammar. I would be interested to read this again once a skilled editor finished with it.

I love a good creepy child trope! And let me tell you, this has got that box checked. <I>More like, check check check.</I>

First off, the least favorite- not bad- just not MY favorite.. the sci-if aspect of this story. Okay, there’s a virus, cool. I was expecting that. And people are recovering and trying to survive. Got it. But then all of a sudden there’s talk of the kids going to space school, which I’m still okay with. But then they throw in the idea of going to live there and that just made me a bit... funky.

Meanwhile, back to the good, the children that get the virus I mentioned, seem to hear voices after they recover. I really enjoyed all the creepy descriptions and imaginary friend talk. I think I’d have rather enjoyed this more if there was more of that and less space. Or no space at all. It’s a minor thing, really, and I know that’s a lot of people’s cup of tea. Just not mine.

There were also some things that I found myself side eyeing. In what world would THAT happen in, but then again these other kids are trying to go live in space so I guess anything is possible.

I have mixed feelings, if you couldn’t tell. I liked it but I didn’t. I would recommend it to my sci-fi junkies but that’s probably about it.

This was overall a good read- it took me a bit to read the first 20% but then I was very engrossed and stayed up late to finish it. Some of the plot seemed a bit predictable and rushed at times but I was genuinely pretty surprised by the ending. I'd recommend to anyone interested in pandemic horror.

Imaginary friends will never not be spooky. But, it's just a question of if they're done right... and I can say with confidence that We Hear Voices had a new and great take on them!

I am definitely predicting a big hit release for this book, especially nearby Halloween. But, for all of the people reading this who may think they're not into "scary" books, I wouldn't worry. It's not that We Hear Voices isn't scary, but I think that almost all readers will be able to take this on even if they're just semi-interested. It's one of those half thriller half horror books, in which I can't really separate into one genre.

Anyways, this was a super fun read. There was always a rising level of suspense whilst reading, and the characters were very interesting. There were probably three subplots, which all revolve around this mysterious flu that comes with some sinister (real or not) best friends.

The only thing taking this away from a five-star review is the atmosphere. Not as much as a criticism, but I think there was a lot of missed potential. There was supposed to be an apocalyptic setting, and I didn't see the author leaning into it very much. Would've really amped things up, but if I were to be reading a random chapter there is no way I would be able to tell they were in the middle of a virus.

Definitely check We Hear Voices out, even though I didn't receive a hard copy I still gotta respect the great cover.

What would have been a science fiction tale just a few months ago now comes across as frighteningly realistic. An good story with an unexpected twist to the ending, but does drag on a bit.

This book was a whole lot of fun. A mysterious pandemic is circulating, infecting, and killing children. Billy recovers and suddenly has an imaginary friend who seems to be controlling more and more of his actions. There were a lot of things I really enjoyed about this book, and a few things I was slightly disappointed in.

The good: The plot is incredibly gripping. I wanted explanations for what was going on! Rachel, Billy's mom, was an extremely real and relatable character. We see her struggle to keep her head above water, managing finances, her daughter's first boyfriend, going back to work after maternity leave - all while watching her son spiral out of control. Little things that happen through the book end up having big payoff at the ending, which was very satisfying and also left me wanting more. Seriously, will there be a second book? I want a second book!

The disappointing: The pacing of this story felt off. Things moved too quickly or too slowly, but hardly ever just right. While some of the characters felt real and developed, there were many where this was lacking. I wanted more from Al (Rachel's partner). He was always there but felt like a placeholder more than anything else.

Overall, this is a fun little SciFi/horror book! Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was pretty excited for a horror story. I love me some dark and twisty, juicy stories. However i wouldn't count this one as horror. I tried to love it. I did like it, but I didn't love it. It was a fast read and I do enjoy that.
Thank you Netgalley for the advance ebook.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishing house, and the author for allowing me an electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.
So here's the cool thing about reading this book during the Coronavirus pandemic. This book takes place in a future London when our planet is close to trashed and people are looking to move off into space and colonize first an asteroid and then a possibly-earth-like other planet. I know! It Sounds sci-fi and if that's a turn off (as it usually is for me) hang in there. Because simultaneously there is a J5X flu that is ravaging the human population. However, the kids that have come close to the edge of life from the flu, but whom recover, now have this voice in their head. Talking to them, asking questions, wanting them to do things. It gets more sinister and I really liked it. Keeping in mind that currently there is some side effect syndrome happening to the kids who seem to recover from Coronavirus. (Adds to the creep out factor.)
So all told, I enjoyed this book. I needed something in a different vein from what I had been reading and this kept my interest.

Many thanks to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for providing me an ARC of this book!

Wow! Reading this book was a trip! It was unique and unlike anything I had read ever. It is part dystopian, part futuristic, part science fiction, part space travel, part horror and part YA, which made the story unpredictable. I had no idea where the story was going, and I loved that aspect!

Also, I loved the main characters. Nina is smart and amazing and wants to get to the bottom of what’s happening. Rachel is a mess and wants a normal life, but her luck keeps running out. Also, I loved Graham and his love for Imogen and his commitment towards helping others. And of course, Billy and his imaginary friend Delfy are creepy and make the entire story extremely memorable. Moreover, the setting of the story is very eerier as well. The story takes place in a near futuristic landscape that seems gloomy yet relatable. Not to mention the pandemic flu that spreads with the children, similar to what our world is facing now. I hope our future does not go in the same direction as what Ben Alford had in mind.

However, the only reason I did not give this book 5 stars is because I felt like the story shifted focus in the second half. The first half mainly focused on Billy’s condition, and his family (and Graham) trying to figure out what is happening. However, the second half shifted the focus to Nina and her quest. Although all the story-lines are interconnected towards the end, I wished the story had revolved around Billy throughout.

Overall, “We Hear Voices” is definitely worth reading because it is just so different and wonderfully weird!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting premise with so much more going on than the blurb lets on--set in near future London with the world fighting a pandemic that seems to hit children the hardest. Majority of people are struggling financially. Add some space colonization. Six year old Billy recovers from the flu but with an imaginary friend who starts to be more aggressive. Weird to be reading a book about a deadly flu while living thru a pandemic. I just hope we all don’t start hearing voices. Book has an excellent creepiness to it.

There were some repetitive bits and a few times the writing jumped and I had to back track a page to make sure I didn't miss something. That said, I stayed up almost two hours past my bedtime to finish the book. Solid twist at the end. Highly recommend.