Ugh what a letdown. So much potential. I feel like nothing happened in this book. It was a lot of alluding to things that never materialized. The flashbacks were more interesting than the present day mystery and I just wanted to take a turn / amazing plot twist to save it but that did not happen.

For me this book managed to be both spooky, and dull. I just didn't like it, and found it surprisingly boring.

Thank you to Penzler Publishers and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Vicious Creatures by Ashton Noone is an atmospheric, woodsy blend of thriller and horror. The story revolves around Ava and alternates timelines from 15 years ago and today. Ava has returned to live with her parents at her childhood home in Wildwood, Oregon. She's bringing her daughter Marjorie with her. But returning home and reuniting with her former friends brings back bad memories from her high school years, including the death of her friend. When someone turns up dead, it seems like the past is haunting the present.

Here is a chilling excerpt from the Prologue:

"The dead boy lay in the glade for three days before somebody said something. Glazed eyes open wide, face tilted toward the sky. Adam Albright was a senior at Reachwood High School, ready to graduate with the rest of us at the beginning of summer. His parents buried him in the suit he was supposed to wear, class ring glittering gold on his finger.
...
We wore black to his funeral mass, gathering as close as shadows in the church pews. Before they left his body in the ground, we tossed flowers across the lid of his casket like some kind of bright shroud.
We never told anybody what we did."

Overall, Vicious Creatures is a creepy thriller about a murder in the woods. It will appeal to fans of Primal Animals or Small Favors. One highlight is the LGBT presentation. I loved seeing characters like this in this book, which was a pleasant surprise. I did take off 1 star, because I felt that the twists fell flat. I didn't really care about any of the characters. I'm sure that other readers will not have that problem with this book though. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of atmospheric thrillers, I recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in July!

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: July 19, 2022

TW: eating disorders, domestic abuse, drug use/abuse

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something in this one just feels off. We are kind of thrown right in and the short dialogue between family members in the early pages just doesn’t seem realistic without more context. Instead of intriguing me into the mystery and hooking me in to read more, I was left confused by the characters choices.. The fact that Ava seemingly wants to keep a distance from her high school friends and hometown in general makes it hard to believe how easily she agreed to attend the town fair, telling her daughter it was “tradition” while simultaneously not seeming to care about tradition. Her choices just don’t make sense. She goes to a party of her high school crush after the weird cult-like town festival and leaves her daughter with her parents—people her daughter has only seen a handful of days in her life. Parents just don’t act this way.

That being said, there is some intrigue here. The premise that kids consistently go into the woods to never come back again (and the weird ritualistic vibes of their deaths) definitely ups the creep-factor. If you’re looking for a spooky story in the woods, then this might be for you.

This is a really creepy story. I loved it. Really descriptive and atmospheric. And scary too! Highly recommended xx

3.75/5 stars--rounded up to 4 stars

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my gifted eARC in exchange for an honest review!


-The cover alone is what grabbed my attention with this one!
-The writing is excellent and engaging.
-There are plenty of secrets, drama, mysteries, and twists.
-If you enjoy a good dark atmospheric read, this one is for you!
-Told from the protagonists POV, but two different time lines.
-Great character building, and I really liked the MC.
-Includes some supernatural aspects.
-It starts off with a bang, but by the middle it seems to slow down some, and then picks back up towards the end.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read and I recommend it for anyone who enjoys a good thriller or suspense book, especially with some supernatural elements weaved in.

Whoa! What a ride. It was very fast-paced. The writing style kept me hooked and I didn't find myself losing any interest. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters and how real the story felt. The author did a great job painting the setting, so it was easy for me to visualize the scene played out before me. I recommend giving this one a chance!

Vicious Creatures is a book that I REALLY thought I would love.
It looked to be an intriguing mystery that could be really creepy.
It WAS creepy. It WAS a mystery......but I was so disappointed.

About halfway through the book I started to get really bored. Like...."Holy moly when is something gonna happen?!" Bored.

There was so much potential here and it fell so flat for me. It was just not a satisfying read.

The premise of this spooky novel - mysterious forest swallows up lost children - is more intriguing than the execution.

I wanted to enjoy Vicious Creatures more than I did. I was excited by the blurb: Ava Montgomery returns to her hometown, rebellious daughter in tow, to escape her abusive ex-husband. But returning means confronting her old friends and what they did in the forest. Did they kill their friend Adam? Did the forest kill him? What’s going to happen to Ava’s daughter Marjorie, who won’t leave the woods alone?

There’s a possible murder, missing kids, romance - but the plot isn’t held up by the strength of its characters. I found the secondary players, with the exception of Marjorie, to be rather one-note. Even Ava’s ex Victoria, who gets a lot of love from Ava’s POV, can be summed up in two words: rich and unhappy. I wish more focus had been given to why she and Ava loved each other, rather than just repeatedly stating that they do.

The mystery is the strong point, and so I’m rounding up to three stars for the reveal at the end - not because I didn’t see it coming, but it because it made sense and I’m glad that’s where the author took the story. But overall I feel Vicious Creatures isn’t missing the plot - it’s missing the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for the ARC.

Great cover and title -- I was drawn to the story when I read that it was a mother who moved back in with her parents to get away from her husband. I love female survivor stories. The book was atmospheric and spooky -- I might recommend more for Y/A readers.. At times, the pace was slow and I skimmed ahead to get to the action. Kudos for this being a debut book. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

#ViciousCreatures #NetGalley
A good solid read. Young adults will enjoy the spooky overall feel of the book while the dark plot will keep them reading.

Loved the cover of the book and signed up to read this ARC as soon as I saw it on #NetGalley. The book itself was good, but there were times I felt I had to push to get through it. I was disappointed that the current day and the past were written in such a way that you almost felt like the characters never really grew up, which felt a little weird. The setting was great and the story concept was good. Definitely worth a read if you like a thriller. #ViciousCreatures #NetGalley

This is a debut novel by Ashton Noone. At first glace the cover is amazing! You never judge a book by it's cover but REALLY we do and this one is nails. Very atmospheric which definitely sets the stage for the rest of the book.

Quick synopsis: Fourteen years ago, Ava left town after a body was found in the forest around her town. But after a bad divorce, she and her daughter move back into town to live with her parents to escape her husband. She quickly settles back into her old crowd when it starts to hit the fan.

Overall this is a spooky and creepy book. As mentioned above the mood is dark and very atmospheric. The pace is great and the scares come out at you. It's a very fun book to read. It does have some slow parts in the middle....... There was one part where I thought it was fairly tedious and repetitious. Also, the ending was not as satisfying as I wished it would be.

But overall, I loved reading the book so I can look past a few negatives. The book is so well written and paced that some of the slow parts are easy to overcome. Overall, this book is recommended and I give it 4 stars. Also keep in mind this is a debut book. Ashton Noon's next book is definitely on the TBR list as the next one should even be better.

Welcome to Reachwood Forest where the three founding gold mining families essentially rule over their little part of suburbia in the forest. After graduation, Ava ran far away from Reachwood Forest and the secrets it held… until she had no choice but to return with her daughter.

The story follows Ava and her daughter as they escape from Ava’s abusive relationship with her soon-to-be ex-husband. Ava’s assets are tied up in the divorce so they have no choice but to accept her parent’s offer to live with them in her childhood home to help them move out. Returning to Reachwood brings up a lot of memories for Ava that start affecting her daughter, Marjorie.

The opening line had me hooked. Then, as I continued reading, I was still hooked! The book switches between “today” and “fifteen years earlier”. The back-and-forth storyline is done well for the most part, there was one time where I had a hard time remembering where the previous “fifteen years earlier” chapter ended by the time I got back around to the next. It didn’t take away from the story for me, though!

As for the characters…
Ava is mostly likable. Marjorie is a moody 14-year-old girl, so… no more needs to be said about her character. Ava’s mom, who is only referred to as “Mother”, is terrible. The childhood friends that Ava visits when she returns are the same.

Vicious Creatures has a mostly tidy ending with a couple of things left unexplained. Overall, I truly enjoyed this debut novel from Ashton Noone!

trigger warning: eating disorder, domestic abuse, unhealthy mother-child relationship (Ava and her mom)

Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC of this book!

I’m just going to come right out and say it: I did struggle to get through this book. That being said, there were some enjoyable parts that gave me the suspense I wanted with a title like Vicious Creatures. However, I do believe there is a lot that could have been done to make the story a little more engaging. For example, some of the little clues and things that happened didn’t really add anything to story or get explained later on which was a little bit frustrating. And I was disappointed with the lack of answers given at the end of the story. Now, the vibes were pretty great though, in the setting. It was like Pretty Little Liars meets fairytale woods with less fairytale and more woods, If that makes any sense. Like the town was described really well and I was intrigued that it was set in the middle of this expansive forest. And it was fully functioning based around a gold mine which I’ve never read before. Pretty cool! Overall, this book had its moments and it was ultimately mostly enjoyable, just a littler frustrating. I’m looking forward to seeing what this author writes next!

I’ve been trying to be very selective with these sorts of thrillers, trying to introduce (self-made) quality control into a genre that seems to have none, due to its ubiquitous popularity.
And guess what? it paid off. This one was a very good read, even though it featured all of the genre presets.
Past secret – check. Present drama -check. Split time narrative – check.
But so, what? The Vicious Creatures owns it anyway. In its on way. Primarily due to the solidly engaging writing. The book draws you in almost immediately and doesn’t let go. Its charms are atmospheric and dark, much like the woods which surround the small town the story takes place in and feature so heavily as the setting in the novel.
Th woods hold secrets. The woods bestow favors. Once upon a time, an entire population of early settlers has gone into the woods and vanished. But then again, gold was found. And that gold has shaped the town by the woods. A town where three families have the most money and hold the most power in a sort of almost medieval way.
Is there something supernatural lurking in those woods? Or have the locals simply created their own mythology to go with their narratives?
It is as claustrophobic as any small town, though. Fifteen years ago, when the main protagonist, Ava, and all her friends were high school kids they did…well, lots of things most high school kids do. One died. One left. Now, Ava is back following a dissolution of a terrible marriage, with a teenage daughter in tow.
And just like that all the drama from fifteen years ago resurfaces. The kids may have become adults, they may have gotten all they wanted, albeit in that be careful what you wish for sort of way, but beneath the initial wealth and comfort, there is a strong undercurrent of trauma, discontent, and conflict. It was stewing and simmering for a while until Ava’s arrival unlocked the gates, lit the fires, etc.
So, now Ava is both stuck and torn between the past and the present. Someone is desperate for her to leave. Someone is determined not to let her go.
There’s a past romance that never quite sizzled out. Past resentments too. And so many variations of the truth, it’s difficult to know what to believe.
Taut, engaging, and profoundly entertaining, this thriller is a most auspicious debut. Positively vicious at times, with very well-done supernatural undertones. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

I read this afternoon. I loved it. What I enjoyed

• The flow was the right place
• Usually I can't stick stories that go back and forth between the past and the present but I enjoyed this
• The characters were so well written with depth. An example Ava, she fled her childhood home after Adam death and never wanted to return but ultimately fear of abusive ex made her. I found that realistic because only fear can make you run back to a place you'd rather not be
• the dynamic between Ava and Victoria
• The mystery and secrets.

Ava Montgomery is fleeing an abusive ex with her teenage daughter and has nowhere to go but home to her parents in Reachwood. She left town 15 years ago after the death of a fellow teenager. Creepy woods at the edge of town play a large part in the story and have led to the deaths/disappearances of teenagers over the years. There is a gothic feel to this suspensful, well-written story. It alternates between the mystery of the crime 15 years ago and the present one and I was drawn into both timelines.

Vicious Creatures by Ashton Noone is one of the eeriest and suspenseful books I’ve read so far this year. The alternating timelines keep you constantly guessing and allows you a deeper glimpse into the lives of these characters. I felt sympathy for Ava and the burdens she struggled with. Seeing the other characters through her eyes made me feel more invested in her story. By the time, I reached the satisfying conclusion, I was scared and anxious but in the best way possible. I can’t believe that Vicious Creatures is a debut. I can’t wait to see what Ashton Noone writes about next.

This was a debut and so good!

Ava has escaped her abusive marriage and returned to her parent's house with her teenage daughter Marjorie. It isn’t a place that she ever wanted to come back to, but it is the only place she believes they will be safe from her violent ex. Fifteen years ago, Ava fled Reachwood under a cloud of suspicion and it seems her return may have woken old ghosts and resentments.

If you think Ava left all her issues behind, think again. She is damaged: physically, mentally, emotionally, and more than once, I questioned whether or not she was a reliable narrator. Her mother is a piece of work and the similarities to my mother gave me chills. I also wondered if Marjorie was better off with her, and almost every time, the author would provide a little more background about the ex. Then I would be like, yep, not perfect, but certainly the better choice.
Anyway, back to the main story which is told in the present and fifteen years ago when Ava was a senior in high school. Three wealthy families have controlled this town for generations and they might have made a deal with the devil or something that lives in the forbidden woods. Each generation has benefitted, but everyone who lives here knows that people who wander off the path in the forest disappear, and these families may have something to do with it.
So much I want to say leads to spoiler territory, but I will say I just kept reading because I had to know what was going on. Almost everything and nothing was wrapped up in a neat little package and you will find out what I mean when you read this book.
Just who exactly are the vicious creatures of this town? And have they had their last bite from Ava yet? A very engaging plot that I think people will interpret in different ways. I loved it! 4.5 stars.