This one was not for me.
Thank you NetGalley for providing a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

Unfortunately, all the other reviews about this book are right on. I hate leaving bad reviews, I really do. I know that a LOT of work and time goes into writing a book, so it feels bad to leave not great reviews. BUT i have to be honest.

The writing style is... rough. It felt like there were a LOT of unfinished thoughts going on in the book. The character development needs some major work, as does the worldbuilding. Don't get me wrong. The concept / storyline of the book is definitely unique. There's potential there. The writing is just lacking unfortunately.

I didn't realise this was a sequel and unfortunately having not read the first book it left me fairly confused. I DNF'd at around 60% so I can't give a full review but I think I may have enjoyed this if I had read the first, it did have some interesting elements. I don't think it mentioned that it was a sequel when I requested it, but I will be more careful when checking this information in the future.

This is the second book following the events from the first book, Whiteland. I don't think it's marketed very well as a series (duology?) but I'm happy I read the first book as this seems to pick up from where that book ended. The synopsis does kind of elude to this being a sequel but it just doesn't appear to come out and say it's a sequel. Having that backstory and understanding of what the characters went through in the first book certainly helped. I felt like a lot of the events that happened in this book were just more of what happened in the first book and I didn't see a lot of the character growth that I was hoping for. With that said, I still think there were some creepy atmospheric vibes and I do love the POV of the huldra. I honestly wish there was more of that. Got to love a good villain!

Thank you to NetGalley and BHC Press for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I read this and was mostly confused, however I realized about half way through that it was a sequel. I believe that this would be an enjoyable read, if I read the first book. The characters were strong and the world building was immersive.

I’m going to read the first installment and then loop back around to this one again.

Lovely cover and artwork as well. I’m very into folk-lore horror and fantasy horror. This series seems right up my ally!

I did not finish this book. I started it and got too scared to finish it. If you like spooky, this might be the one for you.

Karliquai reintroduces the reader back into the horror fairy tale of Whiteland. It picks up with one year after Kira and Romy escaped Whiteland. The sisters have moved on with their lives when suddenly they are pulled back into a world of monsters and witches.
As with the first book of this series, Whiteland, this world still feels like a horror version of Narnia written for adults, which is pretty fun! This should have been amazing, but there is still something missing that would make it great. I still felt that sense of confusion at times like I did when I read book 1. Perhaps that is intentional so that the reader will feel like the characters; however, I prefer something more clear. It could also be that the mythical beings are less familiar to me, so it’s hard to pictures exactly what a Kyo or a huldra is when reading. That means that it is less immersive. Overall, I enjoyed the book and will continue reading the series. I just wish there were more explanations about the different worlds and the inhabitants of those worlds.

The concept of this book sounded so interesting, I had really high hopes for it! Unfortunately, I found it plodding and difficult to follow. It felt like everything interesting was given a one-sentence or one-phrase reference, while boring minutiae went on for several pages. I also felt that the writing was stylistically strange and initially thought I was reading a translation, but now I'm not sure that is the case. If not, why was it so awkward to read??

After remaining confused about who any of the characters were, I did some additional research only to find out this was the second book in a series (something that was not clear when I initially requested). While I do think additional context might have allowed me to better understand the plot, I still feel that this book was not for me.

DNF at 35%.

I wasn't a fan of the previous book but decided to try this one.
I think it's matter it's-me-not-the-book as I couldn't connect to the story and it fell flat.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The premise of this book was really interesting and I was excited to give it a try. It’s rare to see this kind of mythology featured in fiction and I thought it was a cool change from the usual horror fare. Unfortunately, like many of the other reviewers, the book didn’t work for me. The characters were hard to connect with and many of the scary/horror elements fell flat or were predictable. I gave the book a solid try, but it ultimately wasn’t for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and BHC Press for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Strange, grotesque, and haunting. This story will stay with you for a long time. You’ll find yourself checking dark corners and empty streets for the horrors Karliquai gorgeously weaves into your mind. Karliquai transforms from a horror story into a beautiful monster that sinks it’s claws under your skin, seeking your quick-beating heart.

I don't even know where to start. This was one of the most confusing books I've ever read. That being said, I had no idea it was book two of a series. It wasn't marketed as a sequel. I found that out by looking Karliqui up on Amazon to see if other readers were as confused as me. That's when I noticed there was another book. I did push through and finish, but I found my mind wandering because I didn't understand what was going on. I don't want to spend money on the first book, as I really didn't like this one, but if I come across it for free, I will read it to see if I can make sense of the story. It wasn't well written either. I just wasn't really fond of the story. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

These stories were amazing. I loved them all. A few tales I had heard of the legends, some new ones I learned. Great collection.

The Whiteland series is one I wish I loved more than I do. I love dark fantasy, and particularly Cranie-Higgs' brand of malicious, encroaching portal fantasy. The problem, for me, lies in the fact that she focuses too much on the wrong elements. So much of the book is built on setup that once the action does get moving (and get moving it does, to its credit), we've had to slog through at least a solid third to half of the book. I also personally always found it hard to connect with these characters, always feeling an emotional disconnect (though admittedly how much of that stems from what I like in a character, and how much is the writing, is debatable).

To Cranie-Higgs credit, she's grown by leaps and bounds from the first Whiteland book. Though nothing quite matches the stellar quality of the first chapter of Whiteland (which will probably stand as my favorite first chapter of a novel ever), there were stretches that kept me actively tense. Unfortunately, these occur fewer times than I would have liked. Much like with Whiteland, the bones of a wonderful book are here, and for that, I can't give this below a three-star, I just wish the book was tighter and sharper.

The concept of this was a haunting idea, and I wish that the lack of character development and writing didn’t get in the way of that.

The writing was choppy and a bit hard to follow, it would take me out of the story because I was just trying to comprehend what I was reading. The characters were not particularly interesting and I did not care too much about what happened to them. There were some parts that were genuinely scary but those were peppered throughout the story.

*thank you to Netgalley, BHC Press and Rosie Cranie-Higgs for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*


1 star.

I didn't have high hopes for this based on reviews I read but I did want to give it a fair go and get my own opinion.

Unfortunately this was worse than I expected.

The part I had the most trouble with is the writing style. It felt so disjointed and had no flow to it. Just like driving over a really bad road thats full of pot holes and bumps of rock and other materials. I had hoped it would improve but it didn't and I just couldn't get past that.

Also, the way the story started was that the reader is thrown in the deep end right away and we are ment to have been able to fill in the gaps, but I just couldn't and this also made me not like it because it was rather confusing to read and a bit stressful which is a major no no because reading is ment to be like a meditation. You are ment to be completed absorbed into a story. In my opinion anyway.

Would I recommend this? I think not. It's unfortunate because the idea was fantastic.

Karliquai

[Blurb Goes Here]

Here's an original novel. One that introduces the reader into a brand new world full of possibilities.

Reading other reviews I fail to comprehend what was not to like. It may seem a bit complicated, but that's about it.

Our main characters are being forced inside the realm of Whiteland by a dangerous foe. A foe that has killed the people closest to them. A foe that will stop at nothing until all become trapped, and not for the first time—this is the second book of the series-, in a realm that plays with your mind, that awakens the horrors that belong in your nightmares, to control you and ultimately defeat you.

I liked this book, a lot, it's fast paced, scary and full of imagination. Kudos to the author, I'll be waiting for the next installment on the series.

Thank you for the advanced copy!

Extremely disappointed in this. Based on the description, I was really eager to start reading. I have a stack of over 200 books to read currently and I frog-hopped this one to the top. What a mistake. There's a couple of reviews on Goodreads and all of the complaints are the same as my own. This was over-written and it was hard to figure out what was going on.

Thank you to Rosie Cranie-Higgs, BHC Press, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All reviews are my own unbiased opinions.

Unfortunately, this one is ending up on my DNF list. When I was approved for the book and found out it was a sequel, I decided to read the first book (Whitelands) before jumping into this one. I found myself thinking a lot of the same things while reading Karliquai; the characters and plot were a little flat, and honestly I was bored. I really hoped this book could have changed my opinion a little bit, but was not able to.

Unfortunately this book wasn't for me, while the writing style itself was good, I didn't enjoy the story.


TW:
Parent death, murder (on page)