Well, this one sure is taking a bashing and I'm not sure why.

Then again, I'm not entirely sure what I just finished reading. I know I didn't hate it, like others seem to have. I know it's not my newest favorite, either. I do think it's going to be one of those books my brain will keep coming back to over time. It does that sometimes, and then I usually wind up coming back and nudging my rating higher.

What I can tell from the naysayers is that they appear to be huge Disney-ers. And yes, I get that this is based on Disney-esque lore. I loved it for that, but I'm also not a hardcore, Disney-every-year fanatic (would that I only had that kind of money!). I've been to Disney World twice. I ate in a restaurant on the very outskirts of Disneyland once. I get that it's really hard to mess with somethig as deeply ingrained in the American pop culture as Disney and not face some fallout.

I think Ariana Reiche is fully capable of weathering the negativity of initial reviews. I would like everyone who's written this book off for whatever reason, to remember that this book is a debut, and a very <b>ambitiously talented</b> debut, at that. I think the writing was excellent, even brilliant in places. I think the plot was pretty bold and evasive. I had several alternative theories as to how this would end, and while I was somewhat partially right, I was also very, very off-base. I think I'm a little sad about that, because I really liked my alternate ending and it would've explained some of why Brendan occasionally felt like a Ken doll to me.

I'm not 100% sure of what all went on in that last 15% and the timeline at the end kind of totally blew by me. I think that just means Ariana Reiche is a whole lot smarter than me. I think this was a pretty stellar way of describing the various coping mechanisms people employ to save themselves after trauma and "safe" ways of processing grief.

Probably will wind up pondering on this one.

𝕊𝕪𝕟𝕠𝕡𝕤𝕚𝕤:
Delphi has spent years working at a vast and iconic theme park in California after fleeing her childhood trauma in her rural hometown. But after the disturbing death of a beloved Hollywood starlet on the park grounds, Delphi is tasked with shuttering The Park for good. Meanwhile, two siblings with ties to The Park exchange letters, trying to understand why people who work there have been disappearing. Before long, they learn that there’s a reason no one is meant to see behind The Park’s curtain. What happens when The Park empties out? And what happens when Delphi, who seems remarkably at one with The Park, is finally forced to leave?

𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤:
The mention of Iain Reid, Jeff VanderMeer, and Julia Armfield in the blurb combined with weird things happening in a Disney-like theme park was what initially caught my attention with this one. The common theme with all of those authors are confusing weirdness that isn't fully explained, and a sense of dread building up slowly which is something this book definitely delivered on. I thought the slow burn (and it's pretty slow) paid off in the end. While I'm not sure this book will work for everyone, I think careful readers who don't mind ambiguity will enjoy this one.

Unique story set in a fictional amusement park that seem a lot like Disney, the writer had great world building but a story that was convoluted and didn't always make sense. Delphi Baxter is a young woman who works as a ride mechanic at this California park. Delphi hints at a traumatic childhood and always wears gloves. Lots of the book is spent on describing the inside and outside of the rides and this got to be tedious after a point. In addition to Delphi's narration, there are letters from a brother and sister to each other describing the brother's experience as a "bot" designer for the park and the sister' experience with wildfires and a church which is cult like. These letters are interesting but don't have much to do with the over all story besides suggestions that things are not right in the park and the real world. The park is closing after the death of an actress on a ride and Delphi is part of the shut down crew.

Delphi has a boyfriend named Brendan who works as a prince in the park. We are supposed to think the couple are close but every time he is around her she is pushing him away. There is also a strange sex scene that seemed to be trying to say something but I don't know what it is. A lot of information is dumped at the end including a big twist that doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the book. Delphi never seemed like a real person to me and the book kept hinting at the secret about her injured hands but by the time it was revealed I had long guessed it by the clues left. On top of being convoluted, it was depressing and I just didn't get the author's purpose in writing this story. There are incomplete stories here about natural disasters, killer robots, religious cults, possible sex trafficking and a few other things that are thrown in. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for a review.

Was so exited about this one, the synopsis hooked me right away. Felt too confusing for me to enjoy it, there was so much going on, on top of it being pretty weird (which I usually love).

Arianna Reiche, if this is a debut, I can not wait to see what the future holds for you...

Lets combine two of my favorite things, amusement parks and thrilling books. Well, right there you have one happy little camper.

Reiche did one hell of a job putting us on the ride of our lives (quite literally). There was never any pause, one chapter directly led into the next. The writing style was fluid and engaging and my attention was captivated early on .

I loved the letters between chapters! I felt like it added a personal touch of depth to the characters. I did at one point think Delphi was one of the writers but of course I got ahead of myself and I was wrong.

The amount of time, research and thought that went into this book emulates on each page. We all know how much I love debut authors and I have a feeling I am going to be a fan of Reiche for years to come.


Teaser :

This haunting debut novel—perfect for fans of Iain Reid, Jeff VanderMeer, and Julia Armfield—is a “wild genre-and-mind-bending ride” (Laura Sims, author of Looker) about a loyal employee at a collapsing theme park questioning the recent death of a celebrity visitor, the arrival of strange new guests, her boyfriend’s erratic behavior, and ultimately her own sanity.

Delphi has spent years working at a vast and iconic theme park in California after fleeing a trauma in her rural hometown. But following the disturbing death of a beloved Hollywood starlet on the park grounds, Delphi is tasked with shuttering it for good.

Meanwhile, two siblings with ties to the park exchange letters, trying to understand why people who work there have been disappearing. Before long, they learn that there’s a reason no one is meant to see behind its carefully guarded curtain…

What happens when the park empties out? And what happens when Delphi, who seems remarkably at one with it, is finally forced to leave?

I absolutely love Disney and visiting the parks, so when I heard about the premise of this book I knew it was one I wanted to check out. I loved how Reiche took a well known park and the lore associated with it and created a wholly unique story.

At the End of Every Day has a lot going on and it took me a bit to get into the story. There are a lot of themes woven together that I didn’t quite understand how they were linked initially. It took me until about the 100 page mark to really solidify my interest. I really appreciate what Reiche was aiming for with this book and I think it’ll work for people who enjoy a weird story. I absolutely loved the mysterious letters that were added in at the end of each chapter. I thought they were such a fun addition to give the reader a hint that things might not be what they seem on the surface.

This book is so hard to talk about without giving details away and I think it’s a great one to go into blind.

A huge thank you Atria Books for my gifted copy!

3.5 stars.

All your worst fears about Disneyland confirmed.

This is an interesting dive into the surreal perfection of the Disney experience, the idea that everything in the park exists in a kind of utopian dream state, where nothing ever goes wrong or even doesn’t go as planned. There’s something inherently creepy about that kind of veneer of perfection, and this book explores what the ugly trust behind the flawless veneer might be.

I liked this better than many reviewers seem to, mostly because I love the premise of it and was exceptionally impressed by the visual imagery and world building. Most theme park novels disappoint in this regard, but this one really delivers. I was also not bothered at all by the pacing and actually thought the slow burn creepiness was perfect for the story.

I’ll agree with the complaints that the marriage of the two central narratives in the story don’t really come together well in the end, and it leaves the reader a bit disappointed in the conclusion despite enjoying the book for most of the way through. Had the concluding chapters and denouement of action been less messy and more satisfying, this is probably a five star book for me.

I think it’s worth a read regardless, especially if you like amusement parks and enjoy well-executed eerie gothic structure.

I expected so much more from this novel, given the synopsis. I love a good story about an abandoned amusement park. Sadly, this one just didn’t deliver on, well, anything. It was one slow slog through a mildly entertaining story to a turn I predicted early on. Sure, there were some twists along the way that kept the story interesting enough that I didn’t DNF it, but that seems like an almost-desperate branch to throw out to a drowning reader who is suffering from dry, unimaginative prose and stilted, unnatural dialogue.

I can’t say I recommend this book. If you’re looking at the cover and reading the synopsis and think it might be a totally awesome, suspense-filled, crazy time, my opinion is that it solidly is not those things.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. As per personal policy, this review will not appear on any bookseller or social media website due to a rating of three stars or lower. Thank you.

File Under: Conspiracy Thriller/Dystopian Fiction/General Fiction/Genre Mashup/Horror/Just Not For Me/Psychological Fiction/Speculative Fiction/Suspense Thriller

This book reads like it was just cobbled together by AI bots. Nothing makes sense. There is no atmosphere the reader was promised. The whole story is confusing.

Normally, I would start a review by giving you a brief synopsis of the overall story. I know when I read reviews, I look for certain buzzwords and scenarios that sound like the story could be a good fit for me. Unfortunately, in this case, I don't think I could give you even a 20-word description of what this book is actually about. In fact, I can't even recall what the main character's name is and I finished this about 2-hours ago.

It does follow a girl, who wears gloves all the time, who works at a theme park that is clearly, though unnamed, supposed to represent Disneyland. An actress died on a park ride and I think I was supposed to care about that, it was mentioned numerous times, but I didn't. I wasn't given enough coherent info to care.

At the end of the day, for me, this book felt like it had no point. If there was a plot buried deep within here somewhere, I never stumbled across it. There were a lot of words, but none of them seemed to make sense in the order in which they were presented.

I would actually be interested in hearing this author talk about the intent and ideas behind this story. While it wouldn't be likely to change my opinion on it, I would definitely be interested in hearing the inspiration, and honestly, the point. With this being said, just because this book didn't work for me, if you think it sounds interesting, you should absolutely give it a go.

I would never want my opinion to discourage anyone from picking a book up. After all, it's just my opinion, and what the heck do I know anyway? Nothing, is the only correct answer to that.

Thank you to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me a copy to read and review. Even though this didn't work for me, I wish the author the best luck with its release!

I am not sure if this is a book that rewards your patience or punishes it... and if I'm honest, it was a bit of a slog to get through, but then again, I can't stop thinking about it or talking about it. This is one of those books where the author seems to have had a lot of different ideas; this could have been many separate stories, but somehow they all came together in a deep dive into the minutiae of behind-the-scenes amusement park engineering and separately, neon glass crafting? As well as old-world superstitions and modern-day celebrity worship, but not just that, really, how cults and religions are built around these things, and not just cults and religions but maybe entire experiences like movies and theme parks that shape generations and entire cultures? And there's something about twins and doppelgangers and echoes, and oh yeah, L.A. is burning, and what if it's not just L.A. --is there even a world outside at ALL anymore? This book is getting a lot of low reviews, and many folks are saying, "I don't have the patience for this," but people. You gotta. I need someone else to talk about this with. Have the patience. It's not rewarded in the end, not really. But I think it the reward comes somewhere beyond that in some other story. I don't know what I mean by that, but that's why we keep reading, I guess. I'm still giving this book five stars. Don't ask me to explain it.

I so badly wanted to love this book as the premise sounded amazing. Unfortunately, it just didn't do it for me.

I was highly intrigued by the premise of this book - creepy amusement park, mysterious death, uncanny valley & cultish themes, plus being compared to Iain Reid, I thought I would love this book. However, it just did not work for me.

It was a struggle to get through this. The writing style made it difficult to follow the plot, and I also had a hard time connecting with the characters because of it. There is a lot of description and details about the park and it just felt like too much at times. Whenever I felt like the story was picking up and something interesting was happening, the book would then go into another long & excessive description or monologue that would lose me.

I love weird books, especially weird horror, but I don't think this book was executed in the right way for me to enjoy it. I hope this book finds its way to the correct audience!

2.5⭐️


As the story begins, we meet Delphi Baxter, an employee of an iconic theme park, (referred to as “The Park”), which is being shut down in phases after a mishap and subsequent death of a celebrity on the premises. Delphi is one of the last few employees retained till the shutdown is complete. She had a traumatic childhood and has an attachment to The Park where she has been employed for years. As she spends her days and nights on the premises she recalls her experiences and the old and newer attractions that were popular with the visitors. Despite The Park being closed for the most part, Delphi and her coworker /boyfriend Brendan notice strange occurrences and unauthorized visitors after hours. It also seems that Brendan might know more than he lets on. As the narrative progresses, we follow Delphi as she tries to make sense of what is happening around her.

Combining elements of mystery, surrealism, speculative fiction, horror (it wasn’t too scary) and much more, At the End of Every Day by Arianna Reiche is an intense read. The narrative moves between past and present detailing significant incidents from Delphi’s childhood and the events from the present day respectively- from Delphi’s first-person PoV. Interspersed throughout the narrative are letters between siblings who have a connection to The Park, the content of the letters indicating sinister forces at play. I found the premise of the story intriguing and the strong start drew me in.

The writing is atmospheric but the non-linearity of the plot and the abrupt transitions between the events from the past and present rendered the narrative difficult to follow. We meet several characters along the way and the attractions of the park are described in much detail, adding a fantastical element to the narrative, but also adding to my confusion. I found myself losing interest as the plot progressed and struggled to make sense of what was happening. I’m still not sure how all the threads of the narrative ultimately tie together.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I thought I would love this book. When my son was young and we lived in Los Angeles, we had season passes to Disneyland. I am not exaggerating when I say we went over 200 times to the park. I was expecting to love this book. A horror/fantasy book that takes place in a theme park? I thought this would be right up my alley. I was wrong.

Delphi, who fled childhood trauma, has worked for an iconic theme park in California for years. When a celebrity dies at the park, Delphi is tasked with "shuttering The Park for good." What happens when the park closes? What happens when Delphi must leave?

Two siblings also exchange letters about the theme park and the things that happened there.

I struggled with the writing and the slowness of the book. I wish I had known that it would be a slow book, I would have passed. Plus, the writing style was just not for me. I also struggled with the plot. This book was work for me, I don't mind when I am not sure about what is going on, but there is not knowing what is going on and then there is being confused. I was confused.

I was not the right reader for this book. Others are enjoying this more than I did, and I encourage you to read their reviews.

I went into this novel expecting it to be weird and fast paced, like most thrillers. However, it fell a bit flat. There was a lot going on that didn't feel like it needed to be said and it was much slower paced than I expected it to be.

I know it's supposed to depict elements of the uncanny valley and I feel like it definitely accomplished that goal. At times, it feels like Delphi and Brendan don't even really exist, as if they're fictional themselves (and not just because this is a work of fiction). I actually liked that element a lot because it plays with your perception of reality and how reliable the character's POV is.

I think I would have liked this novel a lot more if it had a faster pacing. I was going into it expecting a rollercoaster, but felt like 99% of the novel was trying to get to the top of the hill and very little of the plot was the adrenaline rush of the rest of the rollercoaster.

This book is like when you wake up from a dream and you’re groggy and aren’t sure what is real or not. Plus culty Disney vibes plus speculative tech vibes. I loved it.

OKURRRR. This book was CRAZY, but yall know I love crazy. I AM SO THANKFUL TO ATRIA, NetGalley, and Arianna Reiche for sending me advanced physical and digital access to this wild ride, pun intended. At the End of Every Day comes out on July 4, 2023, and yall don't want to sleep on this one because it's dark, twisted, and jaw-dropping.

Delphi is a burnt-out amusement park worker and is even more mentally drained after watching a famous actress die on a ride days ago. Due to such a catastrophic event, the park is shutting down for good, and it's up to their tiny skeleton crew to dismantle and break down all of the rides and entertainment features. Something fishy is going on, though, for random people begin to stumble onto the park's premises that don't have clearance, and their intentions are culty and conspiratorial at best.

In between Delphi's confusion, we are fed a chain of letters from a former Imagination Ranch employee and his sister, detailing the chaos of the world around them and linking theories on how the madness could be linked to the amusement park and the robots they are mirroring off of their movie stars. How could this be, you might ask? Well, magic and an old-world demon that has implanted its claws in the depths of this happy theme park... Strap in yall; like I said, you're in for a wild ride.

Well that was a mess.

I fully admit that I'm a HUGE Disney fan. I've been to Disneyland more times than I can count, and when I saw the description of this one and looked at the park map inside, I was all in for this futuristic horror theme park book. And while I was okay with the way things all concluded, it was a chore to get there. I never ever DNF books (although I should, I know, I'm just an eternal optimist) but this one came the closest I've been in a long time.

The main premise of the story is that Delphi, a worker at a theme park, is tasked with shutting down the park after a celebrity dies on the premises. But things aren't what they seem and they are scarier and stranger than she can understand.

The narrative is mostly telling rather than showing, the pacing is very slow, and it is just a confusing mess most of the time. I had to work to follow the plot, and I don't even think I was completely successful. There are these letters back and forth between two people and once I finally figured out what they were all about, I had to go back and piece it all together again because they made no sense at first.

The book was a huge struggle fest for me and I thought it was a giant mess. Maybe I was just the wrong reader for it, I don't know.

It has been a few days since I finished reading At the End of Every Day by Arianna Reiche, and I am still trying to figure out how I feel about the book. It is good, but I didn't find it excellent. It is an even paced story that steadily unfolds like a burning fuse. For the first half of the book I thought Delphi was one of the siblings writing the letters. As I ponder the book I mostly feel confusion. I have many questions that seem unanswered. I may very well go back and read the book again in a month or so to see if it makes more sense to me the second time around.

What I like:

The use of the letters between chapters helps the story move along as well as build a level of intensity as they foreshadow climatic events.

The setting of a theme park was important. There is something magical about theme parks, particularly when viewed through the eyes of youth. That magic and mystery play an important role in the story and was brilliantly wielded by the author.

With AI gaining more prevalence in our world it was fitting that it was incorporated into the story. I liked how it was portrayed. Throughout the book it is tough to know if the AI animatronic bots are a brilliant step forward in theme park characters or an evil that is causing people to do bizarre and abnormal things.

Delphi as a narrator becomes increasingly unreliable throughout the book. This may play a part in the questions I still find myself asking and the cloud of confusion I have. It is a deliberate choice on the part of the author, and she does an exceptional job sprinkling inconsistency and ambiguity into the narrative to cause the reader to question things. It adds to the experience.

I don't believe this book is for everyone. As I stated earlier, I am still trying to figure out how I feel about it. I was left unsettled and a little confused. That may very well be the intention. There is plenty that I do like about the book. I would like to thank the team at Atria Books as well as NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for my thoughts and review.