#BookReview
ʙᴏᴏᴋ: 𝘈 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘚𝘬𝘺
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ: Matthew Lyons
ᴘᴜʙʟɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴅᴀᴛᴇ: March 15, 2022

Estranged siblings Jonah and Nell Talbot are going through tough times. In an effort to heal their relationship (and leave their problems behind), they go on a road trip. But you can’t run away from the demons that live under your skin 😳😳

Y’all seriously… This book is phenomenal! I would compare the character development to the styles of Stephen King and Joe Hill (so in other words amazing). And the web of evil that slowly ebbs and weaves through the tale is reminiscent of the mind of Ania Ahlborn. Basically, this book reminded me of all my favorites, thus making it an instant favorite as well! 🤩🤩

Snag a copy this coming Tuesday from Amazon, B&N, or your local bookstore! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️

ᴄʜɪᴄᴋᴇɴ ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ: 🐔🐔🐔
(𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘻𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 “𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘦” 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳)

This is a horror/action-packed thriller with supernatural elements and a road trip thrown in that had me on the edge of my seat. The fight scenes were awesome and there was plenty of body horror, which I love.

I thought the pacing of the action was great. There was just the right amount of tension building up to the end that had me listening to this every chance I could get.

I felt like the character development was a bit lacking, but I still cared about what happened to them. I really wanted more back story on the entity and Anna though. That would have definitely bumped up my rating on this.

This is a multiple POV book, and the audio includes different narrators for each character. The narrators did a great job and made this audiobook enjoyable for me.

Thank you to @netgalley and dreams cape media for the ALC in exchange for an honest review!

An incredible, thrilling ride. This is a violent masterpiece. I think Lyons has really stepped up his game since THE NIGHT WILL FIND US. Good characters with believable flaws. A non-traditional possession story with a constant shift on who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. The readers were EXCELLENT! Tight story, fast-paced, and full of some beautiful prose and even better dialogue.

Sigh. Let me sum this book up for you. Nell and Jonah, siblings, take a road trip after Jonah’s divorce. For absolutely no logical reason, they stop at a bar and beat the shit out of a biker gang. Biker gang angry, pursues them. Nell gets possessed. Chuck a demon exorciser named Anna into the mix. Lots more violence and gore. The end.

The author really went for straight violence here. There are some tiny dashes of horror that I really wanted fleshed out a bit more, but not enough for me to really consider this a horror novel. The main character, Nell, is completely and wildly unlikeable (quite frankly, all of the characters are), but even that didn’t make it satisfying for me that they got exactly what they deserved. What could have made this book better: way more background info into Anna and the demon/creature, waaaaayy more time spent in the area where Nell picks up the demon, way less time spent in the car, way less ridiculous constant fight scenes. I did give one star back because I actually slightly liked the ending.

Audiobook wise, all of the narrators were very good (I think there were four different?), except for one female narrator who I don’t feel captured Anna’s essence very well.

Thank you to Netgalley and Keylight books for the advanced audiobook!

I really wanted to like this one. I don’t know if it was because it was an audiobook and the narrator didn’t do it for me or the story itself, but I thought the whole narrative about a car ride dragged so long I was constantly wondering are we there yet? Are getting to the part that it’s going to pick up? Sadly for me it never happened.

Brother and sister Jonah and Nell used to be incredibly close as children until Jonah left. As an adult Jonah has returned and him and Nell embark on a road trip across the country to Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Somewhere along the way in the desert Nell has an accident at an abandoned construction site and begins to see horrific visions as well as other strange symptoms. To add fuel to the fire, the pair are being followed by someone who knows a lot about what is happening to Nell. Will they be able to make it out of the desert alive?

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I DNF'd at 45%.
It was rather a slow start and I really tried to push through expecting it to start picking up. Although a few things had happened close to the half way mark it was not enough to keep me engaged. I think part is I really had not connected or felt concerned for any of the characters and for a horror book how can you feel horrified when you don't care at all for the characters involved.

This is not to say this was at all a bad story or concept. It was well written and I think many other people could enjoy this, it just did not work for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an advanced audiobook for review.

This was a very good read. The human relationships felt like some of the most authentic that I have ever read. The beginning of the story reels you right in and you feel for Jonah. The relationship between him and Nell was very well done I was intrigued before anything supernatural even occurred. This was a great mashup of family drama, road trip, crime fiction and supernatural thriller. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media who sent me an ARC audiobook of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Road trips are a common theme in literature, and one of my favorite variations is the road trip that goes wrong.In A Black and Endless Sky, it doesn’t just go wrong, it goes remarkably awry.

Nell and Jonah, each unlikable, are estranged siblings who decide to take a road trip to reconnect after Jonah’s divorce. Nell decides to pull off and stop at what turns out to be a biker bar, where they end up in a major brawl with consequences. They get away, but the enraged bikers decide to pursue them. Then, for some inexplicable reason, Nell pulls off the road somewhere in the desert, and ends up being possessed by what turns out to be a demon. Add in a sin eater named Anna, who wants to exorcise the demon from Nell, and the trip truly becomes bad.

The audio version of A Black and Endless Sky is excellent, one of the best I’ve ever listened to. The multiple points of view are read by multiple narrators, who are all tremendous. They really brought the scary moments to life, and made the time fly by.

My thanks to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for providing an ALC of this excellent novel.

"Road trips can be hell."

Going on a road trip with your sibling can go either way. It is either a great bonding experience or an exercise in terror. This road trip is the later.

I'm an outlier here but I just couldn't get into this book. Both characters, but especially Nell, were beyond annoying. I would have dumped Nell on the side of the road if I was Jonah. But he doesn't dump her on the side of the road, and their road trip to med their relationship back to their hometown, goes off the rails when Nell has an accident and well...things begin to hit the fan.

Others are enjoying this book more than I did but I struggled to get into this book, struggled with giving a hoot, and struggled to enjoy it. I listened to the audio book and can't say I enjoyed the narrators either.

We can't love them all and I encourage you to read the reviews of those who enjoyed this book and decide for yourself. This one just didn't work for me.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would. I mean, I thought that I would enjoy it; don't get me wrong. I love horror, but sometimes, horror books are terrible. It takes a special kind of author to write good horror, and although I'd never heard of him before this book, it appears as though Matthew Lyons is one of those special kinds of authors.

The pacing of the story was excellent; he got you invested in the narrative early on and gave you just enough action to keep you interested without revealing anything too soon. That seems to be where horror authors have the most trouble. They either drag the story out far too long or reveal all the "surprises" much too soon.

Lyons found the perfect balance. Not once throughout the story was I bored or thinking, "Okay.... let's get on it with it." But by the same token, I never felt cheated on the twists and turns. The story unfolded perfectly, with everything happening in just the right time.

I also liked the multiple narrators. Sometimes, I don't enjoy that, as when it isn't well done, it can take away from the story. But these narrators did a great job, and even though there were numerous people telling the story, I never got pulled out of the action in the shifts. Each of them did an excellent job.

So, why do I say that I enjoyed it more than I thought I would? Because even though I thought I'd like it, I didn't expect to REALLY like it. There are different levels of enjoyment. Some books I actually really like but not well enough that I'd recommend them to others without being asked. This one, though, I would recommend to other people without having to be asked. It was a great story with interesting and relatable characters, and although it's not the most original plot (possession), the author presented it in an original way.

Overall, I was a fan. I'd be interested in reading more of this author's work in the future to see if he can maintain this level of excellence.

Thank you NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review. This is the road trip from hell. I really enjoyed it.

Jonah Talbot was once very close to his sister, Nell, but they have not really connected in years. When Jonah's divorce forces hi to move back home, he sets off on a cross-country road trip with Nell. When Nell has a strange encounter in the desert, she begins to change. As Nell finds that she cannot deny what is happening, she and Jonah find themselves running for their lives.

Matthew Lyons has written a blockbuster! With the help of fantastic narration from Hillary Huber; Neil Hellegers; Amara Jasper; Pat Grimes; Qarie Marshall, Lyons has written a book that will take you on a wild ride. As I read the book, it played out in mind like a film. An excellent read.

The beginning of this book hooked me.

The middle felt a bit slow, taking time to build the tension.

But the ending of the book totally made up for it!

This book isn’t constant horror, but I will be thinking about the razor blade scene for a long time.

If you like slow to mid-paced horror/thriller with body horror and a strong brother/sister relationship between the main characters, you NEED to read this book.

I also enjoyed the multiple narrators who voiced Nell and Jonah.

Thanks Dreamscape media for allowing me to listen to this arc!

Book • Review
A Black and Endless Sky
Matthew Alton’s
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Out March 15th!

A Black and Endless Sky is a horror/thriller/road-trip mashup story that was a lot of fun to read. In this novel, we follow Nel and Jonas, siblings on a road trip to their hometown after Jonas has just finalized his divorce. Should be pleasant right?

The only problem is that they get in a bar fight with a bunch of bikers who are now out for blood, and one of the siblings may or may not have accidentally stumbled upon the resting place of an evil spirit that may or may not have possessed them. That is the basic gist of this book.

Like I said, this book was fun to read. I thought that the pacing was well done and kept me on my toes wondering what was going to happen next. The characters were extremely frustrating most of the time, and I honestly didn’t like them very much most of the book. The sibling relationship that they have is very toxic at the start of the novel, and it was interesting to see the ways that transformed throughout the book. There was also some pretty well done horror in this novel, and I found myself feeling quite unsettled multiple times.

I did have a few issues with this book, though. First, I felt that the resolution of the novel was a bit too convenient for my taste. It felt like we were headed towards one unavoidable ending, and then that is kind of brushed under the rug in exchange for something else. That was definitely frustrating. Also, I never quite understood the motivations or limitations of the “evil spirit” in the book, and while that added a certain level of unpredictability to the story, I just needed a little bit more of a firm definition.

That being said, if you are looking for a quick read that will thrill you, scare you, and warm your heart at surprising moments, this might be the book for you!

Thank you @netgalley, Keylight Books, and Lyon for an early audio copy of this book.

I gave this book 4 stars. I went into this book thinking it was going to be an invasion of the body snatchers type book. I had no idea it was about possession. I really enjoyed the relationship between Jonah and Nell. I felt it was really believable and relatable. The “you’re a real pain in the ass, but you’re my pain in the ass” type off relationship.
I really didn’t care for the bike story line. I did enjoy the rest of the book so much though that out off still 4 stars. Prologue of this book grabs you and sucks you in and it doesn’t let go of you.

Wow-that was a wild ride! I am still recovering from this road trip gone wrong.


This read like a Stephen King novel, in this moment I cannot pinpoint why exactly, but maybe in time once I process more of my reading experience I’ll be able to articulate the reasons why it read like a King novel ( I just finished this book an hour ago). This is a fast paced, action packed, well-paced book-it really kept me absorbed in the story and I was very invested in these characters.

Synopsis:
In this story we follow Nell and Jonah, a bad ass brother and sister duo on a road trip back to their childhood home to Albuquerque, NM. During their journey the two encounter some pretty unusual circumstances and otherworldly entities and thus chaos ensues. This is a bare bones synopsis, this book is so much more-but I would suggest going in with as little info as possible, I definitely think this will enhance the reading experience.

What I enjoyed most about this book was the setting-a road trip through the desert, the story was atmospheric and I could visualize the seedy bars, hotels, and restaurants. I also really enjoyed the exploration of the brother and sister relationship, it was very heartfelt and complex. I could relate in many ways to their relationship, it’s a familial dynamic we don’t have enough of in books and I was here for it. There is also some cosmic horror in this story, but it was pretty light in my opinion. As someone who is not a fan of cosmic horror in my books, this story was not really saturated with it, which is probably why it didn’t bother me as much.

Something that stuck out to me was the fact that we never really got an explanation of the “entity” in the story. We get this brief intro at the start of the book, but that’s pretty much it. I am not sure if I missed something along the way, but I kind of felt like there was no deep dive/origin story. Which I didn’t so much mind, because again I am not a fan of cosmic horror, but I think if you are this may be bother you. Also I felt like the “Anna” character in the story and her purpose didn’t really serve much purpose to the story line or move the story along, but her parts were pretty entertaining.

Overall I would recommend this book-after reading this I can’t say I am sold on cosmic horror-but I will definitely pick up more from this author, his writing is really good.

Thanks to #netgalley and #Dreamscape Media for an advanced listener copy in exchange for my honest review.

It's hard for me to come up with a longer review instead of just saying "I had a fun time!" but here we go.
A Black and Endless Sky was on my radar this year because I'm always looking for a good demon possession book. What I wasn't expecting was a great sibling road trip with a dash of morally grey characters.
My only hiccup was that the first few chapters were very different from how contained the rest of the story was.
If you like a horror/thriller I would definitely check out the audiobook as I did.

I did have an audio issue at "Nell Elbert UT" ~0:30 in. But it picked back up a few minutes later

Please picture me slow clapping with tears in my eyes, thank you.

I am just stunned right now. After finishing the audiobook, I asked myself, how do you feel about this? A part of me said, four stars, another part said, no, four point five but then I sat there and gave it some thought and I didn't see anything wrong with this book. A slow realization crept over me that this felt like the most-true horror book I have read in a very long time.

We have a full band of characters and none of them are good people. They are messy and dark. Screwed up in so many different ways. These are my people. I can relate to Jonah so much, he is trying so hard to be a good person but deep down inside he knows that it only takes one thing, and he snaps back to his wicked ways.

This was beautiful. The grotesque body horror had me shuddering. It was disgusting and so wonderful at the same time. The detail of the otherworld descriptions was horrifically beautiful.

I loved the desert setting, the driving, the chase, the discovery. I don't know how to write a coherent review for this book. All I want to keep saying is, every part of this felt like the definition of a horror book.

The black shadow seeped into every single page and left me feeling uneasy, unsettled, disturbed, and speechless.

I can be kind of judgey about possession stories, but this one, amazing.

Even with an unrealistic man of steel who is unstoppable - I loved it. I loved that part of it to. I called it since the very beginning of the book, he was super cool. I don't care how unrealistic that was, it was perfect.

Read this book, you will not regret it.

Everyone in this is wild.

Oh and the ending? Beautiful. Freakin beautiful. I love that type of ending. That is the best ending.

While it took me a bit to get into the story after the prologue, the plot had me hooked soon enough. I love some good road trip horror, and this was definitely that.

None of the characters are great people. They're complex and deeply flawed, and Lyons did an excellent job bringing them all to life. Who I was rooting for changed multiple times throughout the book as motivations were explained and more information about each character was revealed, which is something I always enjoy.

There was a lot of body horror in this. A couple of times when things were amping up, I had to put the book down for the night earlier than planned. One scene even made me gag. Thinking about it now has got me cringing again. Two thumbs up for that.

I listened to the audiobook, and loved the multiple narrators. Each one had a very distinct voice, and embodied the characters well. One small complaint about the audiobook would be that it got a bit garbled when I bumped the speed up to 1.25x. It was still comprehendible, but that was a little disappointing since I don't usually run into that issue until the playback is at 2x. Overall though, the story worked very well as an audiobook.

Really intense sci-fi/horror hybrid. I enjoyed the sibling relationship between the protagonists, which led to some different scenarios and ideas than what you would find in a romantic couple relationship. Worth the read.