This felt like being the nosy neighbor, but with all the information and no way to help the cast of characters.

Small town Tennessee. 1955. Set during a "100-year flood" a group of people find themselves stranded in the local general store. One of them is not what at all what they seem to be. The stranger, in fact, feeds on guilt and shame. A thing which you can imagine is available in droves.

The story is told through multiple POVs, with the switches happening at chapter changes, so it's not terribly jarring. Chapter one is a bit wild. It is worth it if you aren't used to that type of setting. (very cosmic horror vibes) It sets the background of the protagonist and helps you understand what's happening.

Each person has a full backstory and is well fleshed out which is what satiated my inner Gladys Kravitz. A claustrophobic horror that shows sometimes the humans are just as scary as the monsters. If you like isolation horror, this is for you.

I will say that his writing and descriptions are beautiful. Often, I will lose interest when a book is this descriptive and to find it didn't take me out of the story was a pleasant surprise. I'll definitely be checking out Thone's other work.

Being trapped in a store with crazy people, nope get me out. This was a fun read and kept me guessing all the way through. Sexuality's are in question and then the mysterious women that turns up. All in all I give it 5 + stars. Incrediably written and well thought out.

This was such an unique read that has left me wanting to read more by this author. It was dark, twisty and creepy. The writing was superb with a cast of extremely well developed characters and perfect pacing. I was compltely gripped

Hell Spring by Isaac Thorne.
In the twilight of March 21, 1955, eight people take cover in their local general store while a thundering torrent and flash flooding threatens life and livelihood alike. None of the eight are everything they claim to be. But only one of them hungers for human souls, flesh, and blood. An overflowing waterway destroys their only path of escape. The tiny band of survivors is forced to confront themselves and each other when a peculiar stranger with a famous face tries to pick them off one by one. Can the neighbors survive the predator in their midst as well as the 100-year flood that drowns the small town of Lost Hollow?Or will they become victims of the night the townsfolk all remember as Hell Spring?
A dark and twisted read. Absolutely loved it. 5*.

This book started of so strangely, like a fever dream, that I almost put it down before the story really got started. I'm really glad I stuck with it. The writing and editing was good, and the story was very creative, which I loved.

There were several themes here - time and aging, lots of religious abuse and confusion as well as some positive religious references, the conflict between sin and secrets and being trapped by those, superficial perfection. It was actually pretty deep if you step outside of the story and look at the meaning.

The story takes place in the 1950s. Six people and an infant are trapped by a flash flood in the small-town grocery store. Most of them are dealing with the guilt of their very recent sins. As these thoughts are swimming through their heads, a naked stranger shows up who looks exactly like Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn hides the deepest secret of them all, that she's a demon from hell who feeds on the negative emotion and sins of others. Time seems to stand still over the next 72 hours that the strangers are trapped in the store by the rising creek that surrounds them, and they all experience drastic experiences during that time - both mentally and physically. I don't want to give it away, but this book is a hell of a ride!

Okay so I am really riding the fence on this one. While not a bad story, at all, I just don't feel like it was what I was thinking it would be or that I am the target audience for it but that is my fault alone and not the authors!

Lets just start with that gorgeous cover! That deserves a star all in itself. Absolutely gorgeous! Next, high fives on the writing! It flowed easily and was simply beautiful writing or I may not have made it thru that first section of the story! I actually thought I had downloaded the wrong book because I couldn't for the life of me understand what "that" had to do with the synopsis I had read. I'm not saying what "that" is because it's just something you need to experience on your own! Enough said.

Even with those great things I would have enjoyed it more had it been shorter...it was way to chatty and overly explanatory at times and sadly it just wasn't scary and that was what I had been anticipating.

Thanks to Netgalley and Lost Hollow Books for providing me with this copy for my honest review!

You can have good story and premise. You can have 0 grammar and spelling mistakes. However, if your story becomes wordy and bogged down with paragraph descriptions your story will suffer. It pains me to say this as I genuinely wanted to enjoy this. I found the descriptions to drag on as well as the plot. When I had thought this must be the end the story continued for another 5 chapters. I’m not saying it was a terrible story though. This was my first novel from this author. While I prefer one style of writing you the reader may actually enjoy this. It just wasn’t for me at the end of the day.

I’d like to thank Net Galley for sending me this as an advanced digital copy.

When a book begins with a phallic controlled hell scape, spewing it's...well, let's just say spewing stuff...all over the little dog demons, impregnating them and splitting them into tiny demon dogs....yeah, it's hard to imagine where the story will go from there. Or if I was even going to read past the throbbing glandular volcano. For better or worse, I continued.

From there, I found the concept of a demon sin eater of sorts in the created body of Marilyn Monroe to be very interesting. All of these town's people had their guilt and sin, some condemned to it by others and some created by their own actions, are trapped in a store together during a flood. At the same time a demon in the shape of Marilyn comes inside to feed off that negativity and guilt. I found that made a very unique, creative storyline.

That being said, I found this book to be extremely wordy, not unintelligible, just overdone. I think this would've been a much better novella. There was too much extra, unnecessary info. If the story was more crisp and concise, I think it would've been a lot more enjoyable.

This is my first time reading this author's work. I have nothing to compare this to. I see a lot of talent in his writing (even if I didn't vibe with all of it). I would most definitely read more of his work. I gave this book 3⭐️.

It’s very exciting to discover new authors and Hell Spring was my first Isaac Thorne novel. It’s a different take on that classic concept of a small group of people trapped in a confined space together. I was drawn in by the characters within this group, with their background stories and internalised struggles. The author does a great job of bringing these people to life (oh sweet irony). I was happy to discover two strong female characters and it was nice to see the usual final girl/hero stereotype turned on it’s head. There are some amusing moments from the characters and some not so amusing moments….at one point I even made ugly yuck face. You’ll need to read it to figure out why!

I do wish the villain had been more menacing. However, I’m not a huge fan of demonic horror as I don’t find it very threatening so perhaps that played a part in how I viewed her. The scariest monsters of this story are definitely the humans! There was also a bit too much verbal religious warfare for me. In general some parts I felt were a little too drawn out but again, I think this is due to the type of horror this is mixed with the authors writing style as it’s VERY descriptive.

If you love a wee demon to yourself, you’re going to enjoy this book. If you like a dash of humour with your horror, you’re going to enjoy this book!

I give it 3.5 stars.

Initially this was an author request via an email. I received it as a PDF download, but it was too hard to read on my tablet. So, when looking through NetGalley shortly after, I came across it and requested it. I was granted the request and dove in pretty much immediately.

I have to admit this story starts off really weird. I almost stopped reading it. But I really like to concept of the book and was hoping it would get better after the weirdness of the first chapter. And it did. The concept is definitely interesting. A small town in 1955 is overtaken by a devastating rainstorm that washes out a bridge near a local general store. Eight people are caught in the storm and take refuge in the store. What they don't know is that there is one among them that is not what they seem. They have a hunger, a hunger for sin and human souls. Can the townsfolk survive not only the storm outside but the one also brewing inside the store?

While I really enjoyed the concept of this story it was a tough read. The book long and very detailed. Now, I realize that I am not a writer and maybe some people enjoy the deep details and that's fine, but I feel this could have been a novella. The author is very talented and as I've already said, I really like the concept of this story. Overall, I was happy to have been contacted and happy to have read it. The horror aspect is definitely there, and, in the end, the story is rather interesting. I received this book free from NetGalley for an honest review.

Great writing but a little too descriptive for me as far as the more gross things go. Definitely more for fans of the extreme side of things.

Well that definitely started off different. I wasn't expecting that and was a little thrown.

I am sure lots of people will find this interesting and like it. However, it just wasn't for me.

I have been struggling to write this review because I’m honestly not sure where to start.
This is my first read by Thorne. I heard a lot of good about his debut novel so I figured I would jump on this one.

I don’t think I can write a full review without making it sound like I hated this book, which I didn’t. I want to say all I’m all I think this was a good read. Just a few little things I wasn’t a big fan of.


I enjoyed the premise of this book, it gives off pretty heavy The Mist vibes. Instead of there being a storm w fog that occurs there’s a flood, bringing everyone to the main place the story takes place, the general store & in horror fashion, there’s something Lurking in the flood water. Waiting. But, with me making the connections to The Mist, I believe there was a reason that king made it a Novella & not a full Novel.


I want to thank NetGalley & Lost Hollow Books for The opportunity to read & review this book.

Cosmic horror is quickly becoming one of my most favorite things to read and this one is a perfect addition to any cosmic horror lovers bookshelves!
You’ve got a 100-year flood (I appreciated the eco horror addition and afterword focusing on climate change), close proximity/stranded people, demons and a whole lot of weirdness.
The characters in this story are so well developed that I began to feel like I knew them personally! (Yes, even Marilyn.)
This book gets added points for being set in Tennessee without portraying the residents as total dumb hicks. As an Tennessean, I am grateful to that.
Hell Spring is tense and unique. I think it will be real treat for all lovers of fine horror stories!

This was my first Isaac Thorne novel and let me just say this, it will not be my last! I’m about to go buy all his other works. I fell deeply into this dark, twisted story from the very beginning and devoured it.
I liked that we got to know each and every character and their story individually. It helped me feel connected to each and every one of them.
The story and plot was unique and horrific. I had to keep reading to find out what happened next! Isaac Thorne’s descriptive writing style left little to the imagination and painted a perfect picture with words.
I truly enjoyed this novel and author. I can’t wait to recommend it to others.

Where to even begin? The book starts amidst a torrent of phallic and sexually disgusting imagery, which makes me wonder, what came first? The Penis or the Volcano?

Creepy. Horrific. Scary read. I like this book!! Had to read with the lights on to finish. I completed the book in one sitting. After suspending your initial thoughts, I was able to sit back and enjoy the story. The characters were bonkers (in a good way), the situation was totally unrealistic. The fun was watching how the author was going to wrap things up and end it. Can't wait to read something else by this author!

#HellSpring #NetGalley#

This was . . . odd. The writing was good, yet . . . odd. The characters were good, but . . . odd. The horror elements were good, but . . . odd. I think the only way to understand is to read it. And it wasn't really a good or bad odd.

Otherwise, the story was entertaining. The characters not who they portrayed themselves to be which was interesting. And it's a quite gory book, so beware.

Hell Spring by Isaac Thorne Is bloody, gruesome, graphic and gory. Weak hearts should not read this. If this was a movie, I would have covered my eyes during a few scenes. Beyond the graphic horror of this book is a fascinating story about guilt and morality. The beautiful Marilyn Monroe on the cover is not what she seems and it takes a while for all the plot points to come together. But once they do, things move wild and fast. It's very bleak but has a charming ending. Thanks to NetGalley, Isaac Thorne and Lost Hollow books for the arc.

3.5/5

Some reviews are tougher to write, I find, the longer I’ve been reading and leaving reviews.

I really enjoyed Thorne’s debut – ‘The Gordon Place,’ and loved the location. So much so, that when Isaac reached out to see if I’d be up for reading this one, also set in the same place, I was all over it. There’s something about that singular connectivity that really works to draw a reader in – look at King and more recently, Malerman and Baxter.

I was also really, really intrigued with the setup. Almost a reverse or flipped ‘Mist’ idea – instead of a heavy storm/fog rolling in, the characters are stuff in a General Store in 1955 when a flood occurs. Of course, this is a horror novel and there’s something out there that comes in and this is the main aspect of the entire novel. The discovery of the truth within the confines of the store.

Thorne did a solid job on a number of aspects, but I lament the missed opportunities.

What I liked: As I said, the story takes place predominantly within Beard’s General Store, those lucky enough to escape the deluge and flood waters take stock in their surroundings, but also with the other folks present.

Thorne does a fantastic job of creating a wide cross-section of society, and we see how the residents of this small town are God-fearing people, worried that anything they do will prevent them from eternal bliss in the afterlife. It’s this aspect that really dominates the story and becomes the be-all end-all for survival.

There’s a lot that goes on inside the pages, but at the same time, not a lot. It’s hard to describe and I’ll attempt to dig deeper in a moment, but Thorne does a great job of showing the rapid decay of acceptable behavior in a cramped space between the people.

What I didn’t like: I think this would’ve worked significantly better if this was a novella instead of a novel. There’s sections that have a lot of extreme ‘fluff’ in parts that seemed to take away from the flow of the story as well as the tension and the acceleration.

Additionally, the form that the entity takes (Marilyn Monroe) really drove me crazy. I’m not a big fan of moments like these, as it takes away some of the imaginative aspects of it for me as a reader.

Why you should buy this: Overall, I did enjoy this one, I just didn’t love it. It felt good to return to this place that Thorne is creating and the cross-section of characters was a bonus.

Thorne did a great job of creating some chaotic moments and for that, I was able to get past the extra ‘fluff.’

I think this one will be a love it or leave it book for many people. The meat is there, solidly on the bone, I just wish it had less gristle.

** This review is posted at https://stevestredauthor.wordpress.com/2022/08/04/book-review-hell-spring-by-isaac-thorne/ **