📚 Book Review

📚 Devil in Ohio by Daria Polatin

📚 I started watching the Netflix version before realising it was the book on my @netgalley shelf. So I stopped watching and started reading! As always the book was pretty different and I felt better in so many ways. The show didn't capture the atmosphere of the book in anyway.

📚 I enjoyed Jules and I kind of identified with her from when I was in school. Mae was a character I couldn't like, she was just someone I knew I wouldn't like in reality. A well done character, she had good substance.

📚 I thoroughly enjoyed the book, until the very last chapter. I felt that there was no explanation about what had just happened, there was a great scene with lots of tension and angst. Turn the page the epilogue and everything was happy days. I felt that I was missing an entire chapter at least.

📚 I will likely now finish the TV show just to see if it ends better. I don't mind a cliffhanger but this didn't feel like one but felt like a rushed ending.

Quick and easy read with some excellent examples of realistic teens and an intense and dark cult. Hooked from the first page where a young girl is admitted to hospital with a pentagram carved into her back after being found by the side of the road. The ending felt a little rushed and empty, I expected more from the cult and the repercussions they would experience from finally being caught, that plus the oddness of the new foster parents which went unexplained is the reason it’s not a five stars read for me.

Wow…. It had me hooked from the start, it’s not a normal thing for me to devour a book in two days! It’s well written and a great read. Just started watching it on Netflix…. Not a patch on the book, but isn’t that the great thing about books!? 😊😊😊😊😊

I hadn’t realised this was a YA book and have changed my view based on knowing that.

This is a creepy novel, it’s not a horror novel and so i was not really shocked by it as I thought I may be.

It’s a good book but I feel it would have been better to focus on Mae at times rather than the people around her.

The premise for this title is outstanding, I had high hopes going in.

However for me, it fell a little flat. The tale itself is haunting, gives the reader pause, makes you think. However I found the writing style a little stiff and the dialogue felt young compared to the rest of the title.

That being said, I can see how this book will be popular with crime-fiction and psychological thriller readers

When fifteen-year-old Jules Mathis comes home from school to find a strange girl sitting in her kitchen, her psychiatrist mother reveals that Mae is one of her patients at the hospital and will be staying with their family for a few days. But soon Mae is wearing Jules's clothes, sleeping in her bedroom, edging her out of her position on the school paper, and flirting with Jules's crush.

We soon find out that Mae is a member of a near-by cult who was abandoned on the roadside to be taught a lesson - but the cult members want her back and to keep their secret lifestyle to themselves.

This book is a ride - I struggled to put it down and stayed up far too long one night to finish it. It is captivating, page turning and really lets the reader sink their teeth into the different forms of social dynamics that exist. I felt that Jules' character could have been more developed, and the mother's backstory brought to the front earlier rather than being hinted at - there was no real logic to keep that as one of the secrets we find out.

One of the best YA thrillers I've read.

Thank you for NetGalley for providing me with this book for review. So I read this book with an open mind and I have to say that I enjoyed it immensely. But I will give warning that this isn't a book to read alone late at night.

This is a gripping read that is dark and creepy and has a hauntig atmosphere running right through it. Well written, riveting and well developed characters that really helped shape the atmosphere of the book. I loved it and can't wait to watch it on netflix.

This was a great book, there was definitely a lot of mystery in it, Mae is such a creepy character but you can’t help but feel for her at the same time. Jules was slightly annoying but I can also understand how frustrating it must have been for her. The writing was really good, I love a book that keeps me guessing all the way through and this book definitely did that.

Daria Polatin's "Devil in Ohio" is a gripping, immersive and haunting debut novel. This book had my entire attention from page one. Inspired by true events, this book explores the power of cults, social dynamics, and relationships. Jules Mathis' life is "normal", a social wallpaper whose life is turned upside down when her psychiatrist mother, Suzannah, invites Mae to live with her family. Similar in stature, Mae wears Jules' clothes and slowly seeps her way into Jules' family and school life. As Mae and Jules bond, the latter realises that she's a cult survivor with physical and mental scars. Mae's decisions have a far-reaching impact on the Mathis family and become a target. The cult will not stop at anything to get its young member back. Jules Mathis is a well-crafted character whose observations, thoughts and feelings shine throughout the book. Daria has not only presented an intriguing plot but has balanced this with incredible pacing. I couldn't predict the ending and devoted this book in one go. I highly recommend this read if you enjoy suspense and teenage dynamics. A 5-star read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Swift Books for an ARC. This honest review is left voluntarily.

#DevilinOhio #NetGalley

When fifteen-year-old Jules Mathis comes home from school to find a strange girl sitting in her kitchen, her psychiatrist mother reveals that Mae is one of her patients at the hospital and will be staying with their family for a few days. But soon Mae is wearing Jules's clothes, sleeping in her bedroom, edging her out of her position on the school paper, and flirting with Jules's crush. And Mae has no intention of leaving.
Then things get weird.
Jules walks in on a half-dressed Mae, startled to see: a pentagram carved into Mae's back. Jules pieces together clues and discovers that Mae is a survivor of the strange cult that's embedded in a nearby town.
And the cult will stop at nothing to get Mae back.
Couldn’t put it down really enjoyed this book totally recommend
Thank You NetGalley and Swift Press
I just reviewed Devil in Ohio by Daria Polatin. #DevilinOhio #NetGalley