Thank you tl Netgalley and the publisher for approving me for an advanced reader copy of Briardark ahead of publication.

It'a important to understand what you're getting here. This is less genre, more existential horror in the vein of The Darkness Between Trees. That's not really my thing at all. However, if you like psychological horror, nonlinear storytelling, and a LOT of nature, this might be up your alley.

Three stars.

A must read for fellow fans of Yellowjackets, Annihilation, The Forest game, and the recent show Significant Other. S.A. Harian’s Briardark is an excellent psychological thriller with hints of sci-fi, and an interesting gamer/streamer perspective. I was as surprised as anyone to read the words Dead Space pop up in character, but it made me enjoy this cast even more. It’s a bit of a long read that does begin to drag towards the third act, but I cannot wait to continue the exhilarating and often times creepy mystery in the follow up book! This would make for an excellent mini-series or movie.

Ok. Wow. This book took me by complete surprise and I absolutely loved it. I’m not usually one for sci-fi, but S.A. Harian had me hooked from the first page. This is the type of book that has you flipping back to previous pages trying to put all the pieces together only to be thrown for a loop when the answers are finally revealed.

I enjoyed the complexity of the characters and following them as they tried to determine which decisions to make and how to survive.

Briardark will have you questioning which version of reality you are in, and itching to find out how it all ties together. And talk about a cliffhanger ending! I didn’t want this story to end, but I am so excited to know the next book, Waywarden, will be released next year.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Compass and Fern for providing me with a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

This story follows a team of scientists, led by Dr. Siena Dupont, hiking through the Pacific Northwest to study a glacier. Early on in their hike, they find a body resembling a woman who disappeared years ago in the same area. When they try to call for help, their phones are unable to get through to anyone. Suddenly, the body disappears without a trace. After that, things continue to get even stranger: the landscape changes without warning, their maps are no longer accurate, and a shadowy figure appears to be lurking nearby. The story shifts back and forth between the team and a man named Holden, who finds recordings Siena made throughout her journey. Holden feels connected to Siena and works to get to the bottom of what exactly happened in the wilderness.

The woods are one of my favorite settings for horror, so I was eager to request this book after reading the description on NetGalley. Rating Briardark three stars seems a little low; this is one of those times I really wish websites allowed for half-star ratings, because it is much closer to a 3.5-star read. The story immediately pulled me in and never let me go! The comparisons to Lost and Annihilation are spot on; I found the atmosphere chilling, mysterious, and suspenseful. I actually read a chunk of this novel on a flight to San Francisco (which I thought to be a very fitting choice!). The flight was unexpectedly turbulent, and there were a number of times I had to pause, because the sinister atmosphere paired with the rocking of the plane were too much all at once.

The two biggest strengths of this novel are the plot and its atmosphere. The story picks up quickly, and I never felt like it dragged. There are twists and turns around every corner, each one bringing up a new mystery. There is a steady increase in horror as the gravity of the situation gets worse and worse for the characters. I was on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. The author weaves in details about the forest and the spooky scenery. It really helped me to visualize Deadswitch. I could see the terrors as they were happening, and it definitely creeped me out a handful of times.

The writing is fine. It didn't stand out to me as particularly noteworthy, but it was easy to read and engrossing. Harian pulls off the multiple points of view and differing timelines well. I usually am not a fan of shifts in perspective-- particularly along differing timelines-- but it didn't bother me while reading Briardark. I appreciated how there was little fluff, so we got to go straight into the story.

So, where did this go wrong? From about the 20% mark through the 80% mark, I was nearly positive I would be rating this story four stars.

First, I could not bring myself to like most of the characters. They weren't poorly written or bad, but none of them stood out. Everyone felt bland. Siena is okay, but I wasn't a fan of how special everyone found her to be. Isaac and Emmett are important for the plot, but they never get to develop enough for readers to care about them. Holden is fine, but there are too many secrets around his character for you to ever get to know him at a deeper level. The only characters I rooted for were Cam and Angel-- they were the most interesting to me.

The novel is very much driven by its plot and suspense, rather than its characters. So, the lackluster characters didn't pull me out of the story all that much. Like I said, I was still planning on rating this book highly for most of the read. The main issue that knocked it down in my rating was the ending.

I won't spoil anything, but this is the first book in a series (or a duology, at the very least). The novel ends on a cliffhanger, leaving almost nothing resolved. I haven't read a book with so little of a resolution since Hyperion, and if I remember correctly, the author of that series was told to split the original novel into two, so Book 1 was literally just the first half of a story. That's exactly how Briardark felt! If the story had a distinct beginning, middle, and end with a clear direction for Book 2, that would have been great. I don't need all of the questions to be answered or even the overarching plot to be resolved. However, it is really disappointing to read an entire novel and feel no closer to a conclusion than you were when you started. I'll definitely read the sequel, because I care about the story. It's frustrating to have to wait a year to get any answers, though.

I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy cosmic horror, sci fi, and mind-bending stories. If you're a fan of Lost, I do think you would enjoy this book. It's a wild ride. However, you should definitely be aware that you're not going to have many answers until the sequel is released. Does that detract from the reading experience? I'm not sure; I expect that answer is different from reader to reader.

3.5 stars out of 5 stars, rounded down. While I did enjoy the story, I'm not sure I should be expected to read an additional book to get all of my questions answered.

Recently, I've read two books about expeditions who found themselves in surroundings that didn't match their maps, experiencing strange and threatening things. This one worked well (the other didn't) Briardark was creepy and mysterious and held my interested, especially when the timelines started to become clear. What disappointed me was the ending. It's not a stand alone book, which I didn't realize until the last pages.

This was a horror book set in the wilderness that I absolutely loved. The cover gives off creepy vibes that goes perfectly with the aesthetic of this folk horror book. The characters were complex, well written, and were perfectly written for a horror novel. I can't wait for book 2 next year.

Star Rating: —> 5 Stars

Well Briardark. You really got me, you really got me now…

[ A group buddy read with my lovely, basically up for anything, fellow fast af readers, the CSA Buddy Reads group on discord — thank you @Cee & @StateOfFiction for reading this with me! Wouldn’t have rather read it with anyone else! I love how our wild theories somehow always turn out true one way or another 😂 ]

So I went into this with VERY high hopes… the blurb was fascinating, but I came out of this with my expectations BLOWN OUT OF THE WATER! I never expected this to be a life-changing horror novel with so many different aspects that would render me completely & totally HOOKED! I will be recommending to ANY horror lover that I can find lmao! (This book really is THAT good! Seriously, do not hesitate! You are in for a treat !)

This freakin ingenious novel. This. Freaking. Novel. My GOD ! THIS BOOK WAS BRILLIANCE PERSONIFIED (BOOKIFIED?!). I am SHAKING writing this review because holy wow what can I even say? This was the perfect mix of horror & sci-fi… there was not one boring moment! If you want thrills, chills, a very sinister seeming deck of what seems like a form of tarot, and one hell of a mindf*ckaroo… this is the book for you! Also, I never thought I’d want my horror horror to be anything more than a standalone, but with the sense of adventure & sci-fi elements mixed in… it WORKS! I NEED & WANT MORE OF THIS STORY!

Just A Note: There are multiple timelines in this book, and for once… they were actually done TO PERFECTION! AL DENTE! And they’re totally not what you’d think!

I could say so much more here about this book, but I truly feel that it is best to go in blind… so my friends, please add this to your TBR if my review & the blurb entices you! I can promise you, you will NOT be disappointed !! And that is a promise I don’t give out lightly.
This was just absolute lunacy (in all the best ways), and curiouser & curiouser… and erm, perfection, did I mention perfection?! 🤣

Read this one kids, it will not disappoint !

100% recommend! Over & over!

A Huge Thank you to the publisher & Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an Honest Review! This in no way affects my thoughts or opinions.

**Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting addition to the horror genre. A lot of fun. One I would recommend to more seasoned horror readers instead of just casual fans.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ -- Fantastic cover on this one.

What is with cliffhangers lately? I haven't read a book with one in over a year, now I have read two in the span of a week! 🤔

Survival and cosmic horror collide in S.A. Harian's new series, Briardark. The story revolves around Dr. Siena Dupont and her team's Alpenglow glacier expedition that turns into a nightmare when they discover a missing hiker hanging from a tree. The disappearance is just the beginning of the chilling phenomena that follow.

Meanwhile, Holden Sharpe's IT job leads him to a decommissioned hard drive where he stumbles upon an audio file that tells the story of Siena's expedition gone wrong. He becomes entranced by the mystery and searches for answers about her fate.

Overall, Briardark is well-written, well-paced, intriguing and engaging in every sense of the word. With multiple points of view and timelines adding depth and intrigue to the story. And lush and evocative descriptions of the forest that immerse the reader in a world teeming with life and mystery. It will keep you on edge of your seat throughout and leave you wanting more at the end. I can't wait for the next book in this thrilling series!

**ARC Via NetGalley**

Overall

I don’t read a ton of horror, but when a good, spooky horror rears its head, I find it really hard to resist. That’s definitely the case for Briardark. If that cover isn’t enough to convince you this is going to be a spine-tingling romp, that blurb will definitely do it for you. Growing up in the Adirondacks, I’m a sucker for anything that involves creepy woods/forests, so I knew I had to check this one out!

Briardark is horror at its purest, with something ominous lurking just around the corner, things not quite as they seem, plot twists, strange occurrences, and a mystery centuries in the making.

This book is comped to Lost, which is a show that I absolutely loved but didn’t often understand. I feel like that’s a pretty fair comparison for this book. The atmosphere is top-notch, the creeping sense of dread, the feeling of wrongness. It’s all so well done. However, I would caution readers to not expect to necessarily understand what the heck is happening. I hope the next book will clear things up, but I was so confused at the end of this book!

My Thoughts

- This world is dark and not for the feint of heart. Be forewarned. You’ll find no heroes here. I’m not saying everyone in this world is necessarily evil, because they’re not. They’re just . . . humans. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but humans are kind of messy balls of chaos and emotion. Everyone has some sort of secret they’re hiding from the rest. It’s just that some secrets are more deadly than others. If you weren’t keyed in by the fact that this book is, in fact, in the horror genre, let me assure you that plenty of dark things take place. No one enters (or leaves) the Briardark unscathed. No one can be trusted. Not your friends. Not the people you thought you knew. Can’t even trust your mind, sometimes, because the woods can play tricks on you. Briardark will definitely appeal to readers who like a little bit of dark worlds and eldritch horrors. If you’re looking to appreciate how wonderful our messed up world is, Briardark can definitely accomplish that!

- There’s something . . . off . . . about the Deadswitch Wilderness, as Siena and her team are about to learn the hard way. This was by far my favorite part of the book! Harian does such a fantastic job of creating this foreboding atmosphere that develops this sinking dread that something’s wrong. Even if you’re not quite sure yet what it is. Things just aren’t adding up, and you can’t put your finger on it. Let’s be honest, woods are creepy to start with. I don’t care if you love them, you spend lots of time in them, anyone who knows anything will know that woods can be creepy. It’s one of the reasons I love horror books set in forests. There’s just so much unknown that could be lurking in the trees. Harian really capitalizes on this feeling! As much as she tries to deny it, Siena knows something’s up. Partly because they aren’t the first research group to trek to Alpenglow to study the glacier in Deadswitch Wilderness. In fact, her professor, who she looked up to, knew something about Deadswitch that he wasn’t exactly forthright with. All Siena knows for sure is that his last words to her were, “Don’t go.” If only she’d listened to him.

- The story is told from two perspectives: one from Siena and her team as they mount an expedition to the Alpenglow glacier, and one from Holden, who finds a strange recording from a team of scientists exploring the Alpenglow glacier. I’m not always a fan of dual timelines/perspectives like this, especially when Holden’s slows down the story so much, but Harian really makes it work here! It’s so well done, in fact, that I find there’s not a whole ton I can say about Holden and his role in the story because a lot of it is going to be a spoiler. And trust me, you need to discover it yourself while reading. What I can say is that Holden’s perspective is a breath of fresh air. He’s not a scientist, and he has no real interest in Alpenglow or the Deadswitch Wilderness. In fact, he’s dragged into the whole thing purely by accident. He’s surly and sarcastic and teams up with the most unlikely person in his mind, but his connection to Siena’s expedition is undeniable. Even if he doesn’t fully understand it himself.

- Despite the story being extremely dark, Harian balances the atmosphere with a host of characters who are relatable and delightfully sarcastic. I feel it should come as no surprise that my favorite character is Zaid, the scientist who’s a teensy bit too in love with his job and sometimes (oftentimes?) takes unconventional and ill-advised approaches to it. In the best way, of course. While I didn’t necessarily immediately love all the characters, they were all relatable to some extent. There are a lot of characters in this, and it can be hard to keep them straight at times, but as I got to know them better, it became a lot easier. I won’t say I was necessarily invested in most of their stories, but I was curious about them, at least. I definitely want to know how their stories end!

Sticking Points

- The plot feels a little too ambitious in that it’s so twisty and mysterious and confusing that even by the end, I have no idea what the heck happened in the last 25%-ish of the book or what’s going on. Individual events, sure, I get, but overall? I just . . . have no idea. I don’t understand what the Briardark is and what’s going on inside it. Obviously, there are answers to come in the following book, and I get that. However, this one didn’t feel quite complete. It was a little too surreal and hard to follow and stretched my disbelief to the point of just about snapping. That being said, I am super freaking curious to find out how this duology ends, so I’m obviously going to be picking up the next book.

Fast-paced, scary, and addicting as hell. Now this is the good horror I've been craving! And so very rare within this genre; Briardark has lots of varied, complex, and non-stupid characters! 😍

The only bad thing is I gotta wait till 2024 for the sequel. 😩

I might write more upon re-read...

This was fantastic! Scary, funny, twisty - everything you want in horror tbh. I love an author that’s like “why give them something when I could give them EVERYthing” and this author truly delivered lol. If this is what you like… you will *love* this book. Please note the caveat that it ends on a(n excellent) cliffhanger and the sequel is not yet out… and then immediately read this!! So fun!!

A few things I loved:

-This explanation for spooky tech events: “nothing stood out as to how or why the audio was suddenly accessible. Then again, there was a reason he was the IT guy at OSU and not making a quarter of a million at some tech firm.” Thank you!! The perfect amount of handwaving. 😂

-The tone of the eeriness/terror/jump scares - I have a very active imagination in this genre so take this assessment with a grain of that particular salt but I could not *quite* read it at night which is the *perfect* scariness level for me. 🪲☠️🪲☠️

-I gotta say, excellent character differentiation! There were so many characters but I never got them confused which is a true feat.

-I love a toxic relationship in horror!! This book really delivered in a balanced way too: female MC and her toxic male ex, male MC and his toxic female ex, female MC and her toxic lesbian could-have-been-something-if-she-hadn’t-mysteriously-gone-missing-while-hiking-years-ago college friend, I told you this book has it all and it does!! And please note that my head canon is that Isaac is gay but he goes [spoiler], [spoiler]s rapidly, and then is [spoiler]ed so as far as we know from this book he has not had the opportunity to get involved in a toxic relationship… but we don’t know know who he ran into when he was [spoiler]ed in [spoiler]! When you’re trapped in a Wilderness Area where the laws of space and time mean nothing, anything is possible.

-The spooky video game!!!! I hope the sequel has more of this, this is one of my favorite tropes, I love a video game with ulterior motives! Made me want to reread Three Body Problem.

-The *gold* microaggression of a character being depressed and not wanting to hook up with anyone because his girlfriend dumped him and he still loves her, and his new roommate telling him he must be demisexual…. And then when he does get a casual girlfriend she says “I guess I was wrong about you being a demi.” *A* demi?? Who asked you in the first place, stranger!? I do NOT trust that girl and I am 1000% convinced she will be playing a bigger role in the sequel. 🧐🧐🧐🧐 Don’t think I didn’t notice [spoiler]’s [spoiler]’s [spoiler]!



And last but not least…. the 1-star Goodreads review of the fake true crime book about the missing hikers KILLED me: “Shelves: nonfiction, garbage-author, fact-check-on-aisle-nine, profiting-from-pain, dnf. Actual Rating: 0/5 stars.” 😂😂😂

Why? Why?! Why did the author treat us this way? I wanted to give a three star review after the ending. It just stops. We don’t even get any kind of closure for any characters. It’s like part one is all. But I had to give at least 4 stars because I loved it so much. It’s so unique. I like horror but don’t read it much. Most is like far fetched things. A lot in this book probably are but it’s written where all of it makes you think there’s a possibility it could happen. If you’ve ever hiked and been afraid of something being out there, you may want to read this. A few things made me so upset. But I got over it. There were times I was like what use happened. Then thinking I had it straight, it changed again. I actually got so scared all throughout that I had to stop reading until the next day. Which wasn’t easy because it’s like a bad car crash you don’t want to watch but can’t stop. Imagine being in the woods and all the trails changing within hours. Nothing is like it was before. Things in your cabin even change. Some things appear and some disappear. People have went missing. Will you be next? Yet, back home, there’s others that come across your recordings you are making at this very moment! You haven’t even finished them but they are found before they even occur. Make sense? It will. I loved all of the characters. I can’t wait to read the next one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher/author for this read!

A dark, scary and fast paced horror novel that anyone who likes horror in the great out doors should clear their schedule for!

This novel took me by surprise. I went into completely blind and left it pleasantly surprised. This book never let's up with the tension. You feel the cold seeping into your bones as you read these pages. You cannot go wrong with this book!

Survival horror is a vibe and Briardark delivers. What it doesn't deliver on is well rounded characters. The characterization was disappointing and I felt had they been more built within the story it would be a better read. Sometimes less is more and in this case the characters were confusing. The writing and story were interesting and I appreciate the creepy atmosphere. This would be a great camping read!

I would recommend this book to those who enjoy a science fiction horror with a bit of survival.

I want to thank the publisher "Compass and Fern" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this novel and all opinions are my own.

This book is horror with a splash of sci fi. Setting up for a series as the ending is abrupt. Not sure if I will continue but was an interesting read.

Thanks netgalley and publisher for my arc

Overall, I really liked this one. Folk horror meets cosmic horror with a decent slice of dark sci-fi, an unflinching look at human nature and just enough mind bendiness. It took a bit of getting into but after about twenty percent the POV changes and podcast/ book/ article extracts all add to the overall ambiance of the novel. In some ways it's similar to The Dark Between the Trees in terms of themes - scientific hubris, human fallibility and the space time continuum misbehaving - but I found this to be a much more satisfying read. If you fancy horror that's more about the traps your own mind sets plus the infinite smallness of humanity in the face of the universe, give this a try.

As someone who rarely reads horror due to being a little chicken, I gravitate more towards atmospheric horror. Briardark delivered all the horror of the mountains and the pines. I loved that Harian chose to include the time-hopping aspect not as just a narrative device but as a plot one. I'm still not totally certain what happened in the book, and I love that my uncertainty is the point of it all. I'm excited to see what happens next in the world of Briardark.

Rating: 3 leaves out of 5
-Characters: 2.5/5
-Cover: 4.5/5
-Story: 2.5/5
-Writing: 2.5/5
Genre: Horror/Fantasy/Scifi
Type: Audiobook
Worth?: Yup

Want to thank Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to listen to this book.

Where to start with this book. I won't lie. I love the story but I HATED the characters, well not all but Siena and Cameron the most... mostly Cameron. She gave off "ALL MEN ARE ASSHOLES AND NONE OF THEM COULD REMOTELY BE GOOD." Did she treat Isaac nicely? Barely. Cam was the one to make a possible 5 star book into a 3.

That being said I still have no clue on what the fuck Emmett did. Honest to God. I don't know if I missed it or if she just didn't say it.

You know how they say men shouldn't write women? I am going to say S.A. shouldn't or at least not Lesbians because the guys were pretty good in this book.

Besides the limp dick characters I adored the story. If I was judging just on the story the book would be about a 5 if not a 5. It felt kind of like Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer in the sense of being in a SciFi bubble.

Extremely gripping from the start, and uniquely blends found footage horror with science fiction seamlessly. I loved the layout of this book, how each chapter is from a different characters point of view, and the writing style is flawless. It had some really creepy element, and was reminiscent of The Ritual, Annihilation, and The Endless. Just when you think you're starting to get the answers you've been dying to know, you get pummelled with a frustrating cliffhanger that is sure to make you get your hands on the next book as soon as possible.