This book was so much darker than I expected, mainly because stuff like this can happen and is still happening to this day. I didn't know much about the 90's Satanic Panic as I was only a kid, but the idea that using "Satanists" to create mass hysteria, prejudice, and homophobia and make them "understandable" and "necessary" is barbaric. Characters in this book prey on impressionable young men/women, creating fear & making them feel as there is no one to help them. Using religious beliefs to justify physical/emotional/mental abuse is beyond reprehensible & the idea that anyone different or outside the "norm" (whatever that is) is bound for hell is ludicrous. The main character & her mom are a beacon of hope in this small town of corruption and torture.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this galley.

I liked the book generally. The characters were interesting, as was the town. The dynamics between the religious characters and the non-religious characters were eerie and fascinating. The author's perspective on abuse dynamics were quote well done in my opinion.

This was a good, creepy inventive take America's Satanic Panic.

Content Warnings: Parental/Religious/Domestic abuse, Arranged Marriages, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Kidnapping, Loss of a loved one, Abuse by Police, Grief

Thank you to Gigi Griffis for an eARC as part of being in their street team in exchange for an honest review!

The Satanic Panic was (and still is to some extent) a very real thing. This book might be fiction but a lot of it is based on real things. Religious abuse is still something that happens often in many religions, but it's important to remember that there's many different groups under each religion, not all of them are similar to the others.

Audre and her family move into a close-knit religious town where they quickly realise they don't fit in. After a bonfire with some other kids - and finding a new crush - Audre's world is flipped upside down suddenly as her crush vanishes and her family gets targeted. Can she free her family and solve the disappearance before everyones arrested - or killed?

I loved the characters, all flawed but some are quite likeable. A strong female lead, good subversion of horror tropes. I like this trend of horror lovers being main characters of horror media! I wish it had a bit more time for its queer rep, but for the main character her crush vanishes only a couple chapters in and for the other queer character his sexuality is only mentioned like twice in passing.

The horror was well built up, it felt a tad ham-fisted at the start but it quickly found its flow. By the end though, it was tense and gripping! Small towns, cults and mystery, it was all done very well!!

I loved this book, and flew through it in one sitting! Audre is one of my favorite MCs, and I love her spooky horror loving soul.
This book kept me on the edge of my seat, and I loved all the twists and turns. It gave me all the creepy, culty, overly religious small-town vibes I was hoping for.

Audre is new in town and struggling to fit in. Her new community is very religious, and she is not. The churches in the area believe that satanic cults have been having sacrifices in the woods. When Audre’s best friend goes missing, Audre sets out to find her. Her father is the prime suspect, and her mother seems to have secrets. Will Audre find her friend before things are too late?

When the book included a historical note, and it was based off the satanic cult panic of the 90’s I felt so old because I lived that panic! Regardless, it made me excited to dive into this book. I usually love a good YA thriller, and this one definitely delivered. It was so atmospheric and captivating. I was sucked right into the story and didn’t want to put it down. I loved how Audre’s began sleuthing to find her friend, and crush. It was also a story of how people who are out of place got vilified during this time. I also loved the LGBT aspect of this book. It was done in an appropriate way when were talking about teenagers and having crushes. I liked it. I particularly loved the ending. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Make sure to grab a copy of this one if you are wanting a fun YA Thriller with an LGBT theme.

Thank you so much to Random House Children’s, Underlined, and Netgalley @netgalley, for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review.

I felt like the synopsis promised something that it didn't deliver. I read Satanic cult and thought I would be reading a book about a creepy town harboring secrets. Instead I get a more contemporary book that centers around a teen that is unlikeable in the way that she seems to think she's better than everyone else around her because she's a skeptic. The fact that she has no problem telling everyone, even her best friend, that she is better than them definitely irked me. I take no issue with an atheist character who has these views about religion and other beliefs she views as extreme, but the fact that Audre spent a big chunk of the book acting high-and-mighty. I do, however, appreciate a character that stands behind her beliefs, I just felt like I there wasn't enough plot to justify this.

This book had exactly one scene that made it feel horror and the rest was about yet another character obsessed with horror movies. I am growing tired of the trope where the female main character is a horror aficionado and narrates her life like it was a horror movie. It's been done so many times that each book I read with this type of character brings me out of the plot. I wished the plot lived up to the synopsis and delivered more satanic cult and less religious fanatic. Overall, it was just okay.

If you have religious trauma, this may not be the book for you. If you are a believer, this book may tick you off or it could cause you to take a long look in the mirror. This book is a work of fiction, but it rings of some horrible truths - truths I’ve experienced in my own life.

There are things that happen in this book that sound fantastical, like they couldn’t be real. But there are versions of these things that are, in fact, real. In fact, the author has a note at the end of the book to give the reader insight into what is and isn’t real.

With the exception of Audre’s sexual orientation, she could be me. I don’t believe the way that others do. I listen to “devil music” and I’m sarcastic and spooky. As you can tell, I love her.

I’m also very fond of Elle. She couldn’t be more different from me, but she questions what she’s told when others say they know God’s will for her. I like that about her.

I like that David is a Christian but that he is one of the ones who knows that zealots like those in this book are a problem.

The plot for this book drew me in and kept me wanting to read. In fact, I started the book at 2pm and finished at 9:30pm the same night… I just paused to run to the grocery store and have dinner. It’s a great story, fast paced and easy to follow.

The twists that come up aren’t ones you’ll see coming. In fact a major twist that happened never once occurred to me until it happened. That’s a sign of a great horror book.

I gave this book four stars because it was a great read and a great ride from beginning to end. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting a YA horror novel.

The Wicked Unseen is a captivating and distinctive book that immediately seized my attention and held it throughout. The mystery surrounding Elle's disappearance was masterfully executed, leaving me on the edge of my seat until the very end. Additionally, I appreciated the gradual revelation of the plot and the characters' true natures, which added depth and complexity to the story. Overall, The Wicked Unseen is a must-read for anyone seeking a thrilling and thought-provoking novel.

The Wicked Unseen is centered on Audre, a gothish girl obsessed with horror movies and all things spooky, as she moves to a new town full of Christian extremists. Set in 1996 during the Satanic Panic, a girl named Elle goes missing under mysterious circumstances, which leads everyone to believe some Satanists must have taken her. Elle, along with her friend David, set to solve the mystery of what happened to her and try to get her back.

There were some twists and turns in this book that were unexpected, though most I had figured out before they were revealed. I loved the characters in Audrey’s family and I would have loved to have some more focus on them. Though this isn’t a dual pov, we do have a few times where the story flashes to Elle’s perspective.

I felt this book was geared toward a younger audience, so keep that in mind if you want to read it.
All in all, this was a quick read and I enjoyed this book but would probably only recommend it to younger readers.

Posted on Goodreads, TikTok, instagram, and bookbub.

Though the concept was cool, the execution didn’t work for me. For such a short book, there were a lot of superflous information that just cluttered the story. The characters weren’t engaging. The way they were written seemed a lot more contemporary then they would’ve been when the story took place. I kept forgetting the story was set in the 90s. Everything seemed over the top.

Unfortunately it didn’t work for me.

Black nail polish and scary movies are some of the things Audre Weaver loves most, but she’s not allowed to say that in the new little backwoods town of Pennsylvania she’s just moved to. Not because she’s ashamed, but because she might get burnt at the stake for it. The townspeople are convinced a group of satanists hide out in the woods and that Audre is on the path to join them. All but Elle, the preacher’s daughter, and Audre’s unbidden crush. Being around Elle is like a breath of fresh air—that suddenly gets cut too short, leaving Audre gasping when Elle goes missing.

Could it have been the satanists who took her? The whole town seems convinced that’s what happened—and worse, that Audre’s family are part of the cult and had something to do with it. Incensed, Audre strikes out to find out what really happened to Elle. Come hell or high water, she will bring her home and clear her family’s name too.
•
•
•
Wow what a fantastic ride! I might be saying that because I’m biased against Christians, and horror thrillers about religious cults are a big weakness of mine, but I mean it when I say I loved this and feel everyone would love it too. Audre is a fantastic MC and the premise was visceral, creepy, and so realistic I felt like I was part of Audre’s investigation. I really loved her obsession with horror movies, her family, her and Elle, David and Natalia, and especially how well Griffis captured the Satanic Panic! I nearly ate this one up in one sitting too. Well with an ending like that, how could I not?! This one is definitely one to watch out for. if you see it, don’t hesitate to read it!!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book! All opinions are my own.

Likes:
- To say that a sapphic satanic panic horror thriller caught my attention would be an understatement.
- Audre’s entire family is wonderful, they have such a healthy, supportive dynamic that really carried parts of the narrative.
- I enjoyed Audre’s running comparisons to classic horror film tropes. It helped support the creepy tone of the book and allowed for some satisfying social commentary.
- Similar to Audre and her family, Audre’s budding friendship with David was quite wholesome. He’s gay and Puerto Rican so they bond over being queer in a very Christian town, and they speak Spanish with each other which no one else understands, leading to some funny scenes.

Dislikes:
- I wish we could have gotten a little more exposition at the beginning about the town that Audre and her family are living in and why they’re living there; I think it would have helped establish the tone more.
- If you’re expecting the book to be heavily 90s coded, you might be disappointed. The novel was inspired by the Evangelical Satanic Panic of the 1980s and 90s, but the references within the book are mostly limited to a couple mentions of landlines and old stereos.
- Maybe this is just me, but I would have appreciated a touch more sapphic angst.

TLDR: Worth reading if you like getting angry about hypocritical, fire and brimstone-style Christianity. Also ACAB.

When I heard that this was a sapphic horror story set in Central PA, I was so here for this book and it did not disappoint! The characters felt so real, and being from Central PA myself, I could relate to a lot of this book, especially the religious aspects. I also appreciated that, even though it is a horror, it wasn't super scary so I didn't get any nightmares! I highly recommend this book.

The Satanic Panic meets Fear Street with horror movie vibes, this book had me hooked from the start. I instantly fell in love with Audre’s character and her family so much. They gave me Addam’s Family vibes and I was so here for it. It was creepy and atmospheric and would be a perfect read for fall. This books starts out of the gate with Satanic Panic vibes and doesn’t let go until the end. The number of times I was screaming at characters because of it was too many to count. I did guess what happened to Elle and it did feel like it dragged at times and was repetitive, but I still really enjoyed it overall. The last 10 chapters felt like a horror movie and I was so very much here for it. I also enjoyed the historic information at the end that talked about the Satanic Panic and what the author referenced in the book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it for anyone who loves horror movies and the Satanic Panic.

This book was like the Satanic Panic meets any 80's/90's slasher meets your personal cocktail of religious trauma and I loved it. It was fast paced and the characters were relatable even though they were from a different era. With the current environment of things in the United States, books like these feel more prevalent than ever. Gigi Griffis wrote something that truly had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. Each character, even the side characters, felt fleshed out and well considered, and the turmoil of "the preacher's daughter" was so real and accurate that it surprised me.

The Wicked Unseen is a decent novel during the height of Satanic Panic. Audre and her family have moved to a small town where her mother has a new job as an undertaker. This alone in a very very religious town marks them as strange not to mention that Audra's father while doing research on the occult was once a member of The Church Of Satan.
When the Preachers young daughter Elle goes missing the church blames Satanists practising in the woods. Audra's family is looked at with suspicion. This book is good but very controversial.

I want to thank #Netgalley for the chance to read an eArc of #TheeWickedUnseen in exchange fr an honest review.

Religious horror creeps me out because these things have happened in real life. People can be so easily led into a cult-like mentality and if your religious leader is telling you that you'll go to hell if you don't follow him, people fall in line. In an isolated rural town in the 90's, it's even easier to see how being an outsider could literally get you killed.

This was fast paced and wasted no time jumping into the mystery. With a girl missing, possible Satanists in the woods, and the police set on pinning the crime on the new family, things just keep ramping up until everything explodes in an edge of your seat finale.

I had a great time reading this and the author's note at the end shows that though this is fiction, many of the events actually happened.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Underlined and NetGalley for the copy.

This was a wild book. I had my suspicions about two characters as the villain and one was right. The scariest part of the whole story is that these are things that can truly happen. Probably have truly happened because of the obsession some can get with religion and it driving them to hurt the people they love. The scariest horror stories are the ones based in reality and that is what makes this a 5 star read for me. I just reviewed The Wicked Unseen by Gigi Griffis. #TheWickedUnseen #NetGalley

The Wicked Unseen by Gigi Griffis

Audre is a city kid who moves to a rural town with her family and finds herself struggling to fit in. She meets a girl named Elle and is immediately smitten with her. But when Elle goes missing and Audre's family becomes entangled in a secret satanic cult she is determined to clear her family and get to the bottom of what happened to her friend in the woods. The more she digs, the creepier it becomes when the town's secret obsession with evil begins to unfold.

I realized early on that I was not the right fit for this book, but decided to follow through and give it a chance. To be honest Gigi Griffis succeeded in creating a very unlikable character in Audre. I couldn't deal with all of her opinions and attitude making everything into a hot topic. I found myself angry throughout the whole book and would have been my first DNF if I wasn't feeling obligated to finish. I wouldn't call it a thriller, more of a rant about every controversial subject she could fit in this book. Just not for me.

Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this for an honest review.

I feel very lucky that I got to read the arc of The Wicked Unseen!

To be honest, I tried to read this book slowly, but it was impossible. It was too good not to blast through it!

I've never read anything about the Satanic Panic, but so much of this book was scarily relatable. Audre is this uniquely cool character who loves black nail polish and her parents. She speaks Spanish even though she's not Hispanic and has a collection of Ouija boards!

She moves to this ultra conservative town and starts crushing on the preacher's daughter Elle. It seems that the crush is mutual, but Elle's church family is scary. They do that thing where their sermons are very pointed and obviously about Elle, which was the moment I'd realized this had happened to more people than I thought!

Things go downhill for Audre real quick after she freaks out at the church's hell house. She and Elle have a fight, and even though they make up, Elle goes missing immediately after. But even with that terrible timing, Audre would have been everyone's first suspect anyway because she's just too different from them, and they'd already passed judgment on her.

While Audre tries everything she can to save Elle, the entire town is more interested in saving Audre's eternal soul, which is just too suspicious! This book had me guess who the real villain or villains were! I cannot recommend it enough!