I tried really hard to enjoy this book and I struggled immensely. The writing felt juvenile and I found myself dreading to read it. The idea was there, the plot was doable, but it just wasn’t executed the way I would have hoped. Thank you for the opportunity to read it and I hope for the best for the author, nonetheless. I will avoid rating on GoodReads at this time.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Im really a sucker for these creepy covers with plants/flowers on them. They are my favorite. I also really loved these gothic/supernatural/horror-ish stories. Spooky summer is starting!

3.5 rating

“Are you prepared to love a monster?”

Wil is determined to find out what happened to her mother. After a year, her mother’s disappearance case has been closed. Nobody cares about finding her anymore. She believes it has something to do with the Clarke’s, a religious family that own and operate the town church. Elwood Clarke, her best friend, doesn’t even believe that his father had something to do with the disappearance. Now a year later, Wil has changed. She wants nothing to do with Elwood and is stalking his family to try to get answers. Unfortunately she finds the answers she’s looking for, and they are far from what she could have ever imagined.

This was an enjoyable supernatural/biblical monster book. I really liked Wil and Elwood, but I felt like some of the other side characters weren’t really necessary. Cherry was fun and I enjoyed her. I feel like she can be a mother for Wil now. This was a super predictable book. The synopsis gets it pretty much right with what you’ll expect. I guess with a monster fic I wanted more? Either way, I enjoyed this journey. It gets crazy quickly and if you want something fast paced, I recommend it.

2.5★

Thank you Netgalley for this e-ARC.

First of all, I want to say that I feel bad for rating it this low, but I was quite disappointed with this book. The cover is absolutely gorgeous, and it started strong, but then it just fell flat for me.


Thoughts:

- It started strong, and I was intrigued. I liked the depiction of the woods and moths. It felt very surrealistic, and I enjoyed that. I thought it would be like that the whole time (and I'd prefer it).

- The characters were flat. I didn't get to create any kind of connection to them. In the end, when I was supposed to feel sad for them or believe what they felt for each other, I felt nothing. I wish the characters' backgrounds would go deeper. I honestly couldn't even believe the romance because it came out of nowhere. Yes, it's nice that they are childhood friends, but we are only told that. Never shown.

- The plot started promising, but I was missing some kind of mystery in it. I was hoping that the author had some twists and turns there, but from the beginning, it was obvious who the big bad was and how it would go and eventually end.

- The subplot with Wil's mother could have been more interesting. It just fell flat.

- I very much enjoyed Cherry's character and her cat.

- I also liked the tarot reading scene. I don't think I see that often in books.

- Another thing I liked was the dual POV. I'm always here for dual POVs. However, it could have been used better. We could have seen more of the characters' backstories. I would have loved that.

- One minor thing I was very confused about was the setting of the story. Was it in modern-day? Because at first, I felt like it wasn't, but then out of nowhere, Wil pulled out her phone to start recording. So... modern-day? But then she mentioned it had a tiny screen... So... not modern? But modern enough to record proper videos? Or maybe it was there, and my brain missed it, who knows.

- Lastly, I want to mention that I very much didn't like the ending. We went from surrealistic depictions of the wood and moths to full-on monsters and the power of love.


This story had so much potential, and I wish I could have loved it, but I didn't.

Together We Rot, I feel was a very to the point type of story. If anyone wanted a short read about romance with a hint of cult stuff this is it, but I personally wished there was a little more to it. I felt like it was not developed enough and I did not have much of a chance to get to know any of the characters including the main two. I am very big on a group of friends, which wasn't that apparent until towards the end, even then I barely knew anything about anyone besides their name and maybe one or two facts. I felt like this book should have been a little longer, so that it could be fleshed out more, otherwise it was okay.

I would have been thrilled to find this book as a teenager!

The story is well crafted. The characters, world and over all atmosphere are well fleshed out. There is a creeping discomfort woven into the pages. An eerie, and grungy appeal that the author built into the world around you.

For a YA book, I think this is super successful. I really enjoyed the endearing romance mixed with the horror elements.

I saw this come up on social media, and I needed it in my hands immediately because of the cover art. It's so good. This is a very quick read just over 250 pages in the copy I was reading from.

Personally, as an adult reader I would loved to have seen this story be longer, and really seen the world building come to life, with more strange forest tendrils and bugs. Really let that lurking, eldrich horror seep in with the time it deserves. I love the dark cryptid vibes mixed with the strange cult themes, especially mixed with the depths of the trauma and greif each chatacter is carrying. It's good and I want more of it.

If a sequel is remotely in the works, I would gladly pick it up and go back into that world, and would be hoping for more creepy and lovely bug boy magic. (That may just be my bias as someone who mostly reads fantasy.)

Thank you to Skyla, Penguin Group, NetGalley, and everyone involved in allowing me to read and review this advanced reader copy of the book!

Wil and Elwood are old best friends who can help each other, but Wil's hatred of Elwood may stop her. I really liked the MC's in this story, the cultish vibes were creepy and it kept my attention. It was a fast read! I would reccomend to anyone who loves YA novels with creepy thriller vibes.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

Together We Rot follows teens Elwood and Wil as they reluctantly team up to hide Elwood from his overbearing family and search for evidence that that family had something to do with Wil's mother's death.

This was such a spooky and interesting read! I was on the edge of my seat pretty much the entire time. I loved the dark atmosphere, the absolutely crazy goings-on in the town that Wil and Elwood slowly uncovered, and I adored getting to know our two main characters. I definitely wish we'd had even more time with them! I also thoroughly enjoyed the emotional core of the story, which had me feeling all kinds of feelings by the end of the book.

Overall, this was a really solid debut, perfect for anyone looking for a little bit of twisted, gothic horror, and I cannot wait to see what Skyla Arndt has in store moving forward.

‘Together We Rot’ is the perfect read to either transition from summer into spooky season with its cottagegore/folk horror elements if you choose to read it on or around its August 29th release date, OR the perfect spooky Christmas read, as its snow-covered setting provides the perfect winter mood for those of us who like to read horror and gothics all year long.

Arndt’s YA Horror Romance debut is particularly impressive in its mature prose and balance of target-audience-appropriate body horror and gore. Wil’s and Elwood’s respective points of view are clearly defined and easy to differentiate, something that often slips through the cracks in debuts and YA. She maintains enough horror to capture the right vibes without going overboard and verging into truly disturbing adult territory. Superbly executed horror aside, the characters and romance have so much heart (and heartache) it’s impossible not to root for these traumatised kids.

Set in modern day Michigan and blending religious trauma and conspiracy with a Mothman flavoured mystery, and deftly weaving in a sharp romantic arc, Arndt has crafted a novel perfect for fans of cryptids, gothic suspense, winter horror, and monster boyfriends alike.

A HUGE thank you to Skyla Arndt, Penguin Teen, and Viking Books for allowing me to read an advanced e-galley of ‘Together We Rot’ via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, and for the opportunity to help support and promote Skyla’s debut as a member of the street team for this book.

3.5 stars

Definitely check trigger/content warnings if you have religious trauma or a fear of bugs.

Did I know what was going on most of the time while reading this? No, not really. Did I still have a good time? Yeah, for the most part.

The adults in this sucked. Most of them were just awful people and Wil’s dad, while not evil, was an absent parent for most of the book. The teenagers were just being teenagers though.

I think this would make a good fall/Halloween read. I really enjoyed the vibe of the story.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc of this book.

I'm going to be completely honest with you in saying that I absolutely did judge this book by its cover. It's absolutely beautiful and perfectly portrays the essence of the story.


With that said, Together We Rot is a mesmerizing gothic romance that takes place in a sleepy little town where everyone knows everyone and yet nothing is quite as it seems. For fans of light horror, spooky forests, contemporary paranormal vibes and friends to enemies to lovers. It's a quick read with solid characters and character development.

I do wish that the story could have been a little longer to give the characters and storyline more of a background. I feel like there could have been way more in terms of the history of the town, its people, and the forest. It was just that good!

Together We Rot is the debut book from author Skyla Ardnt which is a paranormal/gothic horror story that writes YA Romance. A guy hiding from his cult-leading family and the girl who hides him in exchange for the truth about her missing mother.

The premise of this book drew me in and that gorgeous cover unfortunately I found myself drifting with less then I'd say 20% left.

People will love this book but I feel like I wasn't the target audience. Horror books aren't really my thing. The whole ending just felt overly rushed to me and didn't give me the scared vibe I was looking for.

I will defiantly give this book another try, maybe I just missed a few things.

There are two players in our story -

Wil Greene's mother has been missing, and the police have already given up. Will decides to start her own investigation to find out the truth about her mother's disappearance, and that's when she discovers that her former best friend, Elwood Clarke, may have something to do with it.

Eldwood's family has been part of the Garden of Adam his entire life. He's been counting down the days until he turns eighteen so he can finally escape and begin his life. That his until he finds out the congregation is planning to sacrifice him.

Now Elwood and Wil have to go on the run, save Eldwood's life, and find out what really happened to Wil's mother.

I would like to begin by saying this story is dark and graphic. The descriptions could be difficult to read sometimes, but that really helped with the horror aspect of the story. I loved both Elwood and Will they had distinct personalities, and I found their love story believable.

My only notes would be the ending felt a bit rushed, and I wished that final act would have been fleshed out a little more. Also the side characters did not feel whole, and I did not find them memorable.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and even felt a few tears coming on towards the end.

There is a lot of potential within these pages, and a story that *could* be a stunning novel, but it just never quite hit the mark for me. With its length, it felt more like a short story. But also like I dropped into the middle of a story, as if this was the second book in a series. More buildup of this world and time spent getting to the meat of the story would have helped flesh this out into a more intriguing novel. The ingredients are all there and the writing is actually strong, it just needs more time to develop.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you @penguinteen and @vikingbooks for the #gifted e-arc of this book! Thanks @thrillerschillersandkillers for hosting our buddy read. 👯‍♀️

What makes you grab a book because of the cover? Is it skeletons lovers?! Me too friends, me too. This cover is amazing! Check it out!

This was a fun, unique, young adult, horror book mixed with paranormal and romance! It was quirky and eerie and I did enjoy it! Wil is a girl who has been hunting for her missing mother for over a year. As the case runs cold and is going to be closed Wil takes matters into her own hands. Elwood is her ex-best friend who used to be close until drama unfolded between their families. Now together the secrets in Elwood’s life just may be what is needed to uncover the past.

Thoughts: This books is a short quick read that sucked me in immediately. I wasn’t sure exactly where it was headed but as the story continued I became more engrossed wondering what had a hold on Elwood. I do enjoy the cult aspect of books so that was a positive for me! 😅 The writing was really well done and I did love the romance, creepy vibes and the relationship between Wil and Elwood. I think my favorite part about the book was the dark vibes it brought on. The bugs! The forest! It was all perfect.

→ a huge thank you to the publisher for providing me with an arc via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

with a mesmerizing cover and a promising synopsis, “together we rot” is a horror fantasy novel that makes for a perfect read if, like me, you’re a fan of nature being used as a horror element. i found myself surprised at how much i ended up enjoying reading the story, as i’m not usually a huge fan of cults being written about in books. the book is perfect for those that relish paranormal romances & the “friends to one-sided rivals to lovers” trope, as both are done wonderfully.

i adored the skillful blend of romance and horror and, dare i say, the found family trope towards the end, even if it’s not as noticeable. wil’s and elwood’s dynamic made for an interesting read because i absolutely love the “soft boy x fierce girl” trope. their relationship evolved naturally and i didn’t feel like it was rushed at any point of the book. wil’s an interesting, complex character, while elwood is a more of a shy, soft boy and i think the dual povs really pulled the book together. i loved both of them, but i did like wil more as she’s completely unhinged – one of those characters that have one thing on their mind and will not stop until they get it, so it made for a fun read. the cast of side characters had their own personalities, even if they didn’t play a huge role in the story.

the plot was interesting and, even if i did think it dragged a bit at the start until the action picks up, i did like it. granted, i do think some of the twists were a bit predictable, but that didn’t dwindle my enjoyment of the book. i wish we were shown more of the lore about the cult and the story behind the forest, as these elements felt severely underused. from the half-way point, the book was well paced and i think the action evolved wonderfully.

for a debut novel, the writing truly stood out to me, as it’s lyrical without teetering on “too much”. i ended up rereading some paragraphs twice because they were that beautiful. arndt creates a deliciously creepy atmosphere and i’ll definitely keep an eye out for her next works, as i liked the writing style quite a lot.

overall, "together we rot" stands as a remarkable debut from an author brimming with potential. it holds immense appeal for enthusiasts of horror-infused romances, boasting not only stunning prose but also a cast of intricately developed characters. i’m looking forward to arndt’s future books, as i really enjoyed reading this one!

First off, that cover is absolutely gorgeous! This YA horror/paranormal romance was everything I hoped it would be. Our MC, Wil, has been looking for answers regarding her mom’s disappearance a year ago. She suspects her ex-best friend, Elwood’s, religious family had something to do with it. Elwood is about to turn 18, and discovers his family’s sinister purpose for him. Elwood goes to Wil for help and everything is a wild ride from there. The plot was fast moving and atmospheric with lovable characters. I look forward to more of this author’s work in the future. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for providing me with an ARC. 5⭐️

A huge thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Penguin Young Readers Group/Viking Books for Young Readers for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There’s so many different aspects of this book that I’m just a sucker for - spooky forests, town cults, romance with a monster - all combined in a horror/romance novel? Sign me up. This book has been on my radar for a while, and I jumped at the chance to read this ARC of it when I got it.

If you liked Hannah Whitten’s The Wilderwood duology, I believe you’ll like this story. The romance while becoming a monster connected to a (potentially) sinister woods between Wil and Elwood reminded me (if only in vibes) of Red and Eammon. (Also the cult reminded me of J.-F. Dubeau’s “A God in the Shed” but I feel like there’s a bigger overlap between people who will read this novel and Hannah Whitten, and less in the strictly horror genre.) This book is a good meshing of these two concepts while still being its own unique (and great!) experience.

This book starts off strong, with Wil’s character fighting the local police about not working to find her mom. She’s rude and abrasive - but you sympathize with her. This book is great at getting you to also feel her anger and the injustice of her situation. The other POV character is Elwood, who is controlled and abused by his religious family and does everything in his power to appease them. Neither of these concepts are too difficult to understand, and I really appreciate the book just starting off with these actions and allowing the reader to infer and draw our own conclusions, instead of doing a lot of flashbacks and story exposition.

Wil and Elwood have recently had a falling out, as Wil believes Elwood’s family has had something to do with her mother’s disappearance. However, once Elwood realizes that his “training” to become a pastor when he turns 18 is really a death-knell to sacrifice him, he runs away and straight into Wil’s reluctant waiting arms. And it is at this point that the story REALLY kicks off in such a delicious way, that I finished this book in one sitting - and at no point did I feel like I was reading, or did I think “How much longer do I have to go to finish this story?” I was hooked from the get-go.

This story is told by dual POVs, and I think it’s done really well. Both POVs work off of each other, and at no point are we simply repeating what we already learned, just from the other character’s point of view. The switches make sense, move the story forward, and provide both needed context and where each character is at emotionally. It’s told in a very dynamic way, and at no point was I bored.

The combination of the horror of the town and the monster that Elwood is transforming into, combined with the romance growing between Wil and Elwood was fantastic. I LOVE horror/romance and I will eat up “person is becoming more and more of a monster, and can you love them when they’re more monster than person” EVERY TIME. That is my jam.

The tension building is great, and you can really feel the slowly tightening of the noose on all the characters as the danger rises and their ability to escape dries up. They’re trapped in this town, and surrounded by a forest that may or may not be sinister (and filled with people who absolutely are), and you can absolutely feel it.

I will say, however, that unless you NEVER read novels like this with these premises, I don’t think too many of the plot twists or surprises will get you. That’s not a bad thing, in my honest opinion, but I wouldn’t expect anything earth-shattering unless A) you didn’t read the synopsis and B) this is so far outside your typical genre that everything is new. However this type of book is SO my jam, and I love how it was put together and told so much that I personally didn’t need to be shocked or surprised by twists that I saw coming. I still loved them.

Also the bittersweet ending made me cry. I don’t know how the author would be able to create a full second book to this, as it ends almost perfectly - but I would NOT be against a bonus chapter or novella of Wil and Elwood.

Overall, I really loved this book and it provided everything I was hoping for when I read the synopsis, and I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy.

For the publisher: I will be also posting a review on my Instagram and Tumblr within the week.

This book was interesting from the first page. The characters were well written and intrigued you immediately. The book kept getting more and more unhinged with every turn of the page.
There are many sensitive topics that this book deals, such as alcoholism, grief, religious trauma, cultism and the author handles them all quite well. As I mentioned earlier, the characters were well written and I loved them both. I loved their dynamic too, but I feel as if their relationship being mended and even the romance part was a bit rushed. Don’t get me wrong, it was quite cute, but the book in itself was very short and fast paced and personally I would’ve loved it if it were a bit longer and more developed. That was my only issue with the book. Every thing else from the characters, to the plot, to the setting, I loved.

As someone who enjoys horror films, but hasn’t read that many horror books; I truly enjoyed this read and I think every fan of YA and horror would too.

Not my cup of tea writing-wise, but could be great for someone in search of a gothic YA. Did not start out very strong.

The story, characters, world and overall vibe developed strongly. It was spectacularly atmospheric, which was what I was wanting more than anything when I started it. My only complaint is that I wish this was a longer more developed story.

That being said, it 100% did it’s job as a YA book.

Plot - 4
Writing and Editing - 4
Character Development - 4
Personal Bias - 4
Final Score - 4