Together We Rot by Skyla Arndt

🪲🩸🌲🦋🙏🏻"The woods—once beautiful—have become brutal. Screams peel from the bark and the trees are bathed in an otherworldly shade of blue. Wil’s body is crumpled in on itself amid the foliage, constricted beneath masses of green tangles. Ivy bites her skin, digging deep into the delicate flesh underneath. I search for the beast who did this to her, but all I find is my own reflection.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (4.5/5 stars)

Together We Rot is novel in alternating voices - Wil, the daughter of a missing mother and a grief-stricken and emotional absent father, and Elwood, the son of the town’s obsessive & abusive preacher of the local cult-like church.

Wil & Elwood used to be best friends, but when Wil’s mom went missing 3 months ago, she confided in Elwood that she believes his father’s church was involved. He took the church’s side, and Wil threw him out of her life.

However, as the day Elwood is supposed to quit school and take his father’s place as preacher approaches, Elwood learns that his entire life has been a lie, and his father plans on sacrificing him - and that something sinister is growing inside of him. He crosses paths with Wil while escaping through the woods, and the two band together to take down the church and find out what happened to Wil’s mom.

Together We Rot was a good read! I thought the horror elements were really well written, and I really sympathized with Wil and Elwood. Some of fav things were:

- what a soft boy Elwood was. It’s rare to see cishet male leads written as gentle and kind and fragile, but Elwood was all of those things, and it was really cool seeing Wil take on the protector role in the story
- Wil’s relationship with her father, who deeply loves her, but can’t drag himself out of the depths of grief enough to actually take care of her. Seeing him pull it together towards the end was really wonderful.
- The author’s choice to end the novel in a very bittersweet way. I love when books have endings that hurt a little, and that was certainly the case in Together We Rot.
- The beautiful way Elwood’s love (and later entanglement) of bugs and nature is written. It was really haunting and enjoyable to read.

The end of the book felt a little bit rushed to me, but overall, I would absolutely recommend this book and would read it again!

📝strong story? ⭐️
🤷🏻compelling characters? 💫
✍🏻enjoyable writing style? ⭐️
❤️‍🔥did it give me ✨the feels✨? ⭐️
👍🏻recommend? ⭐️

Wil’s best friend’s family has something to do with the disappearance of her mother. She’s trying to figure out exactly what’s going on, but in the process, she lost her best friend. Her family’s motel is crumbling, and the Clarke’s, the same family that caused her mother’s disappearance, wants to demolish it. But Wil isn’t the type to back down from a fight. Her confrontation with Elwood was supposed to provide answers about her mother, not add to the confusion.
Elwood has more secrets than anyone knows. Everything from his family to their hideous plans. It will be as essential for him to escape as for Wil to find answers. Will he survive the fate he was born to fulfil?

It’s a young adult novel filled with horror, supernatural, angsty romance, and gothic elements. The combo of an angry girl and a shy boy felt refreshing in this book as the girl tried to save the boy from a deadly fate. A great read for young adults that combines horror and fantasy perfectly. It’s written in great detail and has a unique plotline.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a thrilling read. But I must warn you that the book mentions cults, abuse, violence, gore, and death. It has a dark fantasy world that reminds me of Tim Burton. A five-star read worth every minute.

I love how different their POVs are. She’s more sarcastic, determined, and focused. Elwood is more hesitant, curious, and caring. I just LOVE Elwood, and yes, having green eyes makes me love him more. Wil is a fierce character that you can’t help but admire her strength and determination. She is loyal to those she loves, and the type you’d want on your side.

I loved everything about this book and wished I could stay enchanted by it a little longer. But even though it felt like it ended soon, it was a thrilling book. I already reread it and let me tell you, all the metaphors and figures of speech that felt poetic at first turned to have more meanings to the plot.

The way this book is written engulfs you in its world. Magic is in every word and detail. Through the author’s immersive style, readers are drawn to the characters, settings, and plot. This creates a sense that the reader is part of the story and can experience the world the author has created. You can experience the characters’ emotions and sense their journey. A true journey into another time and place. It is an interesting story that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.

I think the ending made this book more enchanting and beautiful. It was so good that I can't stop thinking about it. The characters, plot and writing are all crafted in a way that pulls you in like a moth to a flame. 😉

Thank you so much NetGalley and PenguinTeen for giving me the possibility to read this book.
This was such a highly awaited release for me. Full review un my goodreads

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book! The review will be featured on Episode 18 of the podcast. That episode will drop on July 24, 2023. At this time the review will also be available on the website/blog and I'll add it to Goodreads. I will also do promos on Instagram the week that the episode drops.

Review:
This book had a very similar feel to another book that I read earlier this year titled Where Darkness Blooms by Andrea Hannah. Both were small towns with secrets built on land that craved human blood. You can hear my review of Where Darkness Blooms on episode one.

While they had similar vibes, they had very different outcomes. Together We Rot begins with a bang. Wilhelmina (Wil to her friends - Minnie to her dad) is certain that the local church - eh who are we kidding? They’re a cult - is responsible for her mother’s disappearance. Her mother has run off before, and local law enforcement is certain she’s done it again, but Wil knows better. She’s been staking out the house of her former best friend’s father and leader of the Church of Adam. She has proof that he has been sacrificing animals, and she is certain he did the same to her mother. The police are having none of it, though, and Wil’s father is too drunk and despondent to help, so she’s on her own.

The book is told from dual points of view, so not only do we hear Wil’s side of the story, but we also hear from Elwood Clarke, the son of the Church of Adam leader and Wil’s former best friend. When Elwood refused to believe that his father had something to do with the disappearance of Wil’s mother, the two grew apart. This really hurt Elwood, but he has other things on his mind - namely, his commitment to the church. He just turned 18 and while his friends will all be going off to college, Elwood will be prepping to take over the church for his father - or so he thinks. But then one night he discovers that his duty to the church isn’t to take over. His father and some of the other congregants intend to sacrifice Elwood to ensure the longevity of the church and it’s not long before Elwood and Wil are reunited to try to bring the church down.

This was a really fast read. It starts with a bang and never lets up. I always appreciate dual points of view - especially in this case because it gave us the full story by showing both perspectives. The book clocks in just under 300 pages, so it’s one you can easily read in one sitting. The voice is strong, the writing fluid and descriptive and the story is captivating. While I liked it, it left me wanting a little more.
The church/cult had a really creepy history and I really would have liked a chapter or three focusing on the early days of the church. We got a few pages on the history, but I would have loved a deeper dive. I felt like there was a lot of good stuff that could have really added to the creepiness and the dangerousness of the cult. I also feel that this would have given the author an opportunity to really dive into and flesh out the backstory of the character of Cherry - an older woman who works at Wil’s dad’s motel and a friend of Wil’s mom. It’s hinted that she may have a little insight into what’s been going down, or even if she didn’t, she definitely suspected something and I would have loved to find out what it was.

In the end, I enjoyed the book - I finished it in roughly 3 hours or less - but it left me wanting a little more. I would definitely recommend this one to anyone looking for a creepy young adult book with a hint of magic. I ended up giving it 3.5 stars - 3 stars on Goodreads.

Filled with haunting, brutally beautiful imagery and a great sunshine x grumpy romance, I would absolutely recommend for YA folk horror fans. The writing quality itself is the best part about this book, with vivid-scene setting that made it easy to picture everything so well.

The characters are well fleshed out, with a really great contrast in the dual narration from main characters Wil and Elwood. I particularly enjoyed how other characters outside of the narration are viewed from each MC's perspective, which helped to make the supporting cast well rounded.

The pacing of the story is very fast, with quite a frantic conclusion but one I believe reflects the chaos that's happening. It would have been nice for more time to be taken over Wil and Elwood's past - we do get a few flashbacks which helps to cement their friends-to-lovers relationship, but these come quite late on. I can absolutely see how these two characters would be drawn together, but having some flashback scenes earlier on in the story would have made their connection even deeper.

The setting and overall atmosphere was appropriately eerie, but I would have liked to have seen the horror and cult elements leaned into even more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the ARC!

dearest author you made me ugly cry and i thank you for that. the plot, the writing, the characters, i loved everything about this masterpiece. i can't tell you how i felt after its completion because there was this plethora of emotions and its hard to pin point on any one. suffice it to say it was so heartbreaking and so beautiful that i cried my heart out because this is the life that i'll always want but never have. the story was fast-paced and not single dull moment. the characters were flawed, vulnerable and that's what made them so lovable (and simply not because i could see so much of me in wil *wink wink*) coming to elwood, oh my god. it's been sooo looong since i felt this way about a book character you know. so long that I'd nearly forgotten how awesome that feeling is when you love a character sm that you'd fight off the entire world for them and lay off your life if they ever asked to. the last time i felt this way was when i was reading "clockwork princess" and i love will and jem with all my heart and soul. so to me, pulling off a character like el in a debut novel is really big. i can already see Skyla's name in the bestselling authors list. the ending was such a hard pill to swallow but it was perfect. and the feminist in me actually loves that when finally found his home, wil decided to pursue her dreams and didn't settle for anything less and my man, Elwood being the gentleman he is not only respected and supported her decision but also asked for souvenirs lol.

Thank you NetGalley and PenguinTeen for this ARC!

I thoroughly enjoyed Together We Rot. A YA Gothic Horror with the perfect amount of romance and intrigue. It has cults, bugs, crime, romance, and angst. A sad boy, angry girl duo that I was rooting for the entire book! Elwood is adorable and Wil is a whole mood. So many beautiful lines I ended up with so many highlights. My only wish is that it was even longer! I wanted a little more fleshed out ending, but even without that I still totally loved this book!

My Rating: 3.5 Stars

We start the story with our mc, Wilhelmina aka Wil, looking for answers regarding her missing mother.

The Clarkes may have convinced the town that Wil's mom abandoned her and her father, but she doesn't buy it, not after noticing that they've been acting strangely since the day her mother went missing.

Elwood, the Pastor’s son, had broken their long friendship a year ago when Wil accused his family of her mother’s disappearance. He firmly believed they weren’t involved even if they were terrible parents who abused their child to teach the “holy” way.

On stalking Elwood and his parents, she learns some jarring truths about them that the town “wasn’t aware of”

She confronts Elwood at his friend’s party demanding answers. He denies it just as he did a year ago. But when his parents lash out at him after learning he sneaked out to a party and accidentally overhears he has been a sacrificial lamb all along, he rethinks everything he knows about his parents and ends up helping out Wil find answers. He also has to face hurdles of his own in the process.

I was purely curious to read this book for the cult. The town in the story was always cloaked in the snow; added to that, the earthy, decaying houses, moths and the secret tunnel made the setting atmospheric. What made it eerie was the secretly operating religious cult following generation-long rituals without their kids' knowledge.

The pacing of the plot was steady from the beginning but shot up in the last portion, hurrying the events and ending things abruptly.

As a whole, I liked the story but it could have been lengthier instead of rushing it in the end.

Together We Rot is YA Paranormal debut coming out in late August; do check it out when it hits the shelves. It was a quick read with a little mystery, plant magic, metamorphic characters and a disturbing cult that kept me invested.

Thank you Viking Books and NetGalley for this DRC!

AHHH this was perfection! I loved the story and the characters! There were definitely some pretty tough topics brought up but the horror and cult aspect was perfect!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an advance copy!

Three words to describe this book: lush, grim, woodsy

The characters - I'd die for Elwood Clarke. I loved how he viewed the world and his collection of bugs (and friends). I'd also let Wil step on me. Honestly, who wouldn't? Together We Rot is also filled with well-rounded side characters that lend levity to what could othewise be an incredibly dark story.

The plot - What a ride! It's a fast-paced creepy romp that truly defines CottageGore as a sub-genre. A bit predictable at times, but overall a grim delight.

The writing - My highlights number far too high to count; the writing is absolutely gorgeous and sets the perfect atmosphere for both the icy setting and the cultish mystery at the center of the story.

Fans of YA horromance will love this one!

This book was great, but it felt a bit slapped together at the end. All in all, a good read, though. I recommend it.

This stunning cover first caught my attention, and it captures the story perfectly.

If you’re looking for a dark read to sink your teeth into, this novel will easily satisfy that craving. Wil and Elwood couldn’t be more different. She’s hot-headed, stubborn, and impulsive. He’s quiet, obedient, and even-tempered. But they’ve been best friends since grade school up until recent events. Wil’s mom went missing a year ago, and she’s convinced Elwood’s cult family is responsible. Elwood maintains his family’s innocence and says they couldn’t possibly be involved in something so horrible. Until he learns his father and the congregation plan to sacrifice him in a ritual. Then, Wil is the only person Elwood can turn to for help.

With a dark, unnatural forest, a snowstorm that blankets the area, and the rundown motel where Wil and her father live, this novel is atmospheric in the best way. The Garden of Adam congregation (cult) and its pastor, Elwood’s father, wield a lot of power in this small community, and Wil and Elwood soon realize they can only rely on themselves and a few friends. Wil’s father is still grieving the disappearance of his wife and has turned to alcohol to cope with his problems, so that’s just another person they can’t count on. When Elwood experiences some strange occurences, he wonders if he’s hallucinating. He soon discovers something is growing inside him, and he shares an unusual bond with the forest. He and Wil have to figure out something fast because his father and the cult are coming for him. The ending isn’t what I’d expected, but it’s perfect.

A fast pace, paranormal elements, strong characterization, and unique plot make this an incredible debut novel. I’ll definitely be looking for future releases from this author. Another reviewer stated fans of Stranger Things would enjoy this book, and I agree.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

There was a lot to appreciate about this book, while also much to be desired.

The good: strong, evocative writing and witty, biting dialogue. A strong sense of place in a freezing, Michigan town. Rich imagery.

The not-so-good: Despite the writing being beautiful, I often found it overly descriptive and flowery. In any given scene, it seemed the narrative emphasized *vibe* above all else, which came at the expense of the story and the characters. While our two main characters are distinct compared to one another, I, generally, found everyone to be a little flat and one-dimensional.

This book has good bones, but it needed less of some things and more of others.

What first got me interested in reviewing this book was that cover. I am for sure a reader where, if the cover attracts my attention 75% of the time I will read the book. And this cover is a dark beauty. It gives me a dark paranormal romance kind of vibe that instantly grabs my attention.
I absolutely love Wil, she is one of the main characters of this book. She is on a mission to find her mother who recently went missing. When the police say her mom left on her own she calls bs on that and points a finger at a cult like church for her disappearance. ( a church being a cult, sounds about right)
what I love about her is that she’s fiery, determined and a smart mouth. I can relate.
Elywood is the other half of the two main characters and for sure gives me, ‘I’m in said cult unwillingly and my dad is the leader. Someone send help!’ Kind of vibes.
The main point of the storyline is the two of them uncovering what happened to Wil’s Mom while dealing with the chemistry between them.
I love how polar opposite the two main characters. Elywood being a church boy( a cult), shy and not really that outspoken to Wil being a fiery opinionated hot head who will deck you in a heartbeat. Their chemistry is the best part of the book.
Second is that I love is the atmosphere of the small town with its dark, creepy and scary vibes that make my skin crawl. With a good splash of romance that spices it just enough.
My only critique would be that I wish the side characters were a little more fleshed out. They felt a little flat in places and could have used more work. Other than that I can say that I enjoyed this little weird book. Darkly atmospheric,spooky, fascinating, and captivating.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Publishing for an Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for a honest review.

Together We Rot has a very interesting and unique storyline. I wish there was more to the story than there is... it's hard to put into words what I'm missing. This is a quick read and I enjoyed it. Also, gorgeous cover art. Thank you NetGalley for providing an advanced reader copy of the book for an honest review.

Thank you so much to Skylar Arndt, Penguin Young Readers Group, and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I think it's important to express how much I absolutely love the cover; it's initially what drew me to wanting to read this book. I do enjoy a good love story with a happy ending, but I don't typically read them, including fantasy and horror. This just so happens to be a great mix of all of those. I found myself sucked into the story, truly wondering what was going to happen next. I think the story moved at a great pace and was the perfect length to convey what Skylar wanted. I'm not one to pay much attention to cult-related things, so that part was unnerving at times for me.

Wilhelmina, the main character, is a young girl on the hunt to find her mother, who has been missing for a year. Finding out the truth could all hinge on an estranged friend and his family, the Clarkes.

Wil had everything she needed before her mom went missing a year ago. She had a steady family and home life, and Elwood was her best friend. After missing flyers and searches were completed, her mom was never found, and the case is now looking at being officially closed. It's time to take matters into her own hands and get to the bottom of what really happened to her mom. Through the rekindling of a year-long dead friendship, more through necessity than desire, might just be what’s needed to get to the bottom of the missing person and the strange goings on of the Clarke family. In a turn of events, Wil will not be getting the answers she hoped for from her estranged best friend, but she will need to protect him from the inevitable.

You’ll find yourself wondering what has taken hold of Elwood's body and whether or not he can truly overcome it. In my opinion, it's an analogy to overcoming the biggest trial we may face in our lives. Either we face it head-on and conquer it, or we cower in fear and await our demise.

what a read this was. I throughly enjoyed every second of it. Paranormal fiction meets YA romance in such an exciting and entertaining way.

Wil is stubborn and lost, her mother just went missing and she has no doubt her ex best friends family has something to do with it. She continues to investigate to prove they did, which is when she ends up helping her ex- best friend escape them in exchange to find the truth about her mother. What unfolds next is something you’d never expect. Can the two work together so save one another? Or will they fall in love and die trying?

I heard about this book a while ago and couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. The cover really drew me in and it certainly didn’t disappoint. The cover gives you great imagery that actually relates to the story itself, I find not all books have that.

onto the story; this was brilliant, fast paced, well written. There’s a lot to it so you don’t get bored.
I liked the length of this book, not excessively long and not too short so the story wasn’t left unfinished. This book was dual POV so each chapter was either from Wil or Elwood. I fell that give sun an improved way of understanding what each of them is thinking and why.

I liked all of the characters they all had purpose and weren’t over bearing. The chemistry between the two was undeniable, something you could feel straight away.

if you like paranormal fiction and love when books have a subplot of romance, then this is definitely for you. So so glad I could read this one!

Disclaimer: I received an e-ARC of this book. I chose to review it and this in no way impacts my opinion of it.

When I read this synopsis, I was excited. This sounded like such a fun, mysterious read. I had been hearing about this read all over twitter and I was ecstatic to see I was approved for an e-ARC on Netgalley. Unfortunately, this novel was just not it for me.

I really wanted to love this novel but while so much was happening, it just felt as though nothing was happening and it was dragging on. The novel didn’t seem to give me enough to become attached to Wil and Elwood so I found I just didn’t really care for their characters at all.

I really enjoyed the first 60% of this novel and was finding it slightly creepy and mysterious and really fun, but after that it just fell flat and I had to force myself to push through.

There was some really nice flowery writing in the beginning of the novel and the idea behind this novel was awesome so if you enjoy novels involving cults and slightly creepy stories, this novel may hit better for you.

3.5 but i am going to round up. this is definitely different than what i usually read, and it was pretty good! i did feel like some spots were rushed and sometimes i couldn’t really connect with the characters. overall, not bad.

thanks to NetGalley and publishers for this ARC.

CW: gore, murder

Wil Greene is doing everything in her power to try to find her mother who disappeared over a year ago. She has accused her estranged best friend, Elwood Clarke's family of having to do something with her mother's disappearance. Elwood has just turned 18, and is about to go on a trip, but it turns out it's a much more sinister future that the Clarkes have planned for him. Can they come back together and get out of this predicament alive?

I think the cover of this book is absolutely gorgeous. The Morguewood seems like such a creepy place and the author really emphases nature's natural beauty as well. I didn't fully believe the romance because it felt so rushed and the ending was kind of eh to me. It's definitely a different kind of horror book which is great.