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.

Wil is a girl trying to solve her mother’s disappearance when it feels like the police aren’t doing anything. Elwood is a boy trying to escape from his secretive cult family. Together they have to repair their broken friendship and work together to solve the case and stop the crimes his family have been commuting for centuries.
SETTING/ENVIRONMENT- this book had some great world building, especially for being set in our world. I felt like I was there in the story the whole time. The cult in this story is a Christian based one, and as a Christian, and someone who has been in a Christian based cult, I thought it was done really well. It goes to show how people will bed the words of scripture to fit their own sick ends. For example, Elwood has been being abused for his whole life. His parents use the scriptures about the importance of discipline while completely ignoring the context and the scriptures about loving your children. They say that God has always required sacrifice for justification for killing animals and ignore the fact that Jesus became that sacrifice and fulfilled the law so that no more death would be necessary. One qualm I had with the setting was that it was set in winter, and my brain was picturing fall, so it threw me off, but that’s more my fault then the author’s.
PLOT- the plot was unique, interesting, and not grossly predictable as YA/NA books are these days. I found it easy to follow while still being deep and nuanced.
CHARACTERS- I have a love hate relationship with the characters in this book. They were well written and intentionally made this way, but personally, I wouldn’t have gotten along with them irl. Aside from Elwood perhaps. Wil was feisty, but I am very non confrontational and so our personalities don’t really fit. I thought it was interesting how the pastor aka Elwoods father called himself the “right hand of God.” Let me tell you, as soon as someone says they speak for God, run. It’s a cult. Only God speaks for God.
PROSE- immaculate and beautiful. Horrifyingly well done. 10/10. Enough said.
OVERALL ENJOYMENT- I liked it. I couldn’t put it down. It’s not my favorite ever, but it was good.

I really wanted to like Together We Rot, however from the start I had trouble getting into the book. Not because of the writing style or anything, because that was great! But because the story just didn’t capture my attention. I know there will be a lot of people who are going to like this book, so please don’t let my review keep you from reading this book. Because this is all based on my taste in books, and everyone’s taste is different :).

Unfortunately this was another one of those the covers so pretty I need it.

I really really thought I'd like this book. But damn if I could stop skimming it and actually read it. Maybe it's not the right time. Maybe I'll try again later on and love this.

Still that cover is so nice

I liked a lot of the elements of this book, like the cult aspect (which isn't often found in ya books). The vibes and atmosphere were impeccable. I loved Elwood, he's just the softest loveliest male character ever, and he deserves the world. Wil sometimes annoyed me though, I felt like she acted as if she was so much better than everyone else too often. Sadly I did not finish the book due to being in a reading slump and wanting very specific books. However, it was not a hard DNF. I will certainly purchase the book and read it again in the colder months when the weather matches the vibes.

I can’t really explain it but if you like Stranger Things, I definitely think you would enjoy this book.
I really enjoyed the vibes of the book, which the cover captures perfectly. Together We Rot is dark and creepy. It is an eerie atmospheric tale with paranormal elements and an interesting cast of characters. Elwood was undoubtedly my favorite one; he is sweet and kind.
The story was beautifully written, alternating between Wil and Elwood’s POVs.

4.8/5.

I loved the cover, the title and the synopsis.

The book itself had so much potential. I think for me the excess descriptive imagery could've been used a little less at sometimes and just used that space to flesh out the characters, the cult and just the town in general. There seems to be potential for a sequel so that's exciting if they do choose to pursue that direction. Maybe Elwood can seen spores and pollen to follow Wil? Not sure. Either way it was a fun read.

Thank you for the giving me the opportunity to read this!

I saw someone on tik tok who was really excited for this book because the cover makes you think it will be the creepiest yet most beautiful love story you have ever read. I am here to confirm that it is in fact, the creepiest yet most beautiful love story you have ever read. It was one of those books I could not put down, and I had tears streaming down my face when I finished it. Absolutely breathtaking, couldn’t recommend more. And, I would like to let my fellow educators know, it is appropriate for a classroom library, but it does have some graphic themes and language.

Together we rot is about Wil, a girl looking for answers about her mother's disappearance, who one day said <i>“you know what? I’m done with this little town”</i> and she abandons her daughter and husband. Or that's what they want everyone to believe, but Wil is positive there is someone behind her alleged disappearance, and all her investigation points to a family: the Clarkes, the family of her former best friend.

The Clarkes are in charge of the church in this little town. Elwood Clarke is about to leave school to start his theological studies and follow in his father's footsteps. Or not? The day before he left, he found out that all this was a farce and that there is something macabre happening in the town, happening to him, and he turns to Wil for help, although she seems to hate him.

The idea behind the book is fascinating and the narration is exceptionally well cared for. I have always liked stories where religion plays an important role. Being in Elwood's head was frustrating, having to read how he felt everything he did was a sin and watching him try to make his abusive parents proud made me want to give him a hug. He is quite an interesting character.

Wil is also interesting, but she sometimes seemed a little exaggerated to me in the discussions she had with the other characters; there were times when it wasn't worth getting involved but there she was, always on the attack. I guess all the emotional baggage she carries around her made her like that, but I would have liked to have seen her let her guard down a bit over the course of the book and not just at the end.

It reads pretty fast, but that's one of its downsides; It seemed to me that it was rushed and there was no time to develop everything as the story required, especially the bond formed by the characters. For most of the book they hate each other but suddenly they put up with each other. The same with the romance, one can say that yes, Wil and El have known each other for a long time, but at the point where the story begins they have drifted apart a long way and there are grudges there that I would have liked to have dealt with more.

Because of how fast everything happens and how short the book is, it seems to me that it does not let you breathe and assimilate things. The part about grief I feel like it's treated in a sensitive way but it's too rushed. The characters show development, but it feels like it's from one moment to the next.

In general, I enjoyed it but it fell short, it would have done amazing with more pages to be able to develop everything better.

I really enjoyed this book!

The plot was fast paced and had one of my favourite underused tropes, aka the “oh no, a creepy cult” trope.
I liked the characters too, especially the soft cinnamon roll hero who’s also a monster.
The book had a nice amount of creepy vibes. Not too much to actually be scary, but brought to make you feel a little unsettled.

Overall I definitely recommend reading this one.

Listen, Linda. Reading about religious extremism and cult behavior is like catnip to me. I absolutely can’t resist it. I knew I would love Together We Rot from the moment I read the description. It’s dark and atmospheric and very, very intense—kind of like the Duggar family, if the Duggar family spent their time sacrificing rabbits instead of breeding like them.

That being said…

I don’t know if the setting fit the mood of the story quite right. When I think of stereotypical Dark and Scary Woods, I tend to think of Appalachia or somewhere in the Deep South during the very hottest parts of summer, not the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the dead of winter. I think the spooky vibes of the story would have been served in West Virginia. Or Louisiana. Or maybe even the swamps of Florida. Basically anywhere steeped in folklore and religious extremism would have made the Morguewood more believable. I would have also liked more of the story to take place within the ceremonies and rituals of the cult itself instead of just vaguely hinting at a lot of them.

Together We Rot was pretty skillfully rendered for a debut novel, and Skyla Arndt shows definite promise in being able to tap into a reader’s deepest, darkest fears. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

I knew I had to read this book the moment I saw that gorgeous cover. It is the best. I was lucky enough to get approved to read this book early as an eARC. I could not resist it. And may have read it too fast this evening. Impossible to stop once I started. I had to know how it would all end. It was a pretty exciting story.

But I am having mixed feelings about it too. There were parts of this book that I loved. But there were also many parts that I were not happy about. Was unsure how to rate it. Ended up at a three star. I wanted to love it more, but that was not possible. But yes. There were parts of this book that I did love. Especially Elwood.

He was the very best boy. Sigh. This book is his story, but also the story of Wil. And that was where my issues began. I did not like her. At all. I wanted to, but I could not. She was always mean and cruel. Sure, her mother had been missing for year. But that is no excuse to act in the way she did. Elwood and Wil had been best friends for years. Until her mother went missing a year ago. And Wil said that his family did something to her. And made him choose between her and his family. He chose his family. I did not blame him. She would have chosen her family too, if it had been reverse. Because where was the proof? I did not get it. She blamed his family right away. But why? It was never said. Sure, there were reasons to be suspicious after a while. But she blamed them right away, for no reason explained. I truly did not get it.

And so Elwood and Wil spent a year not being friends. With her hating him and blaming him. I get that she was hurt. Truly. She wanted her mom and wanted to know where she was. But oh, I did not like Wil. Did not like how she treated Elwood. He was the sweetest and kindest and gentlest soul there was. And she hurt him badly. And to me, she did not make up for it. I kept waiting for that during the whole book. It never happened. Instead he was the one being sorry and trying to make it up to her. That did bother me.

Okay. Enough about that. There was some romance too. After they started getting over their hurts of each other. But I was not very forgiving of it. I did like them together. Elwood had loved her since they were little. And I loved that. Sigh. But after this past year, I did not think she was deserving of this love. Okay, I didn't actually hate her. She did have some good sides too. But mostly she was mean towards everyone and I disliked that very much. Though she did have one other friend, Ronnie. And I liked her.

And now I have talked too much about the characters before I even started talking about the book. Oops. I just had to get it off my chest, haha. First. That cover truly is stunning. I love it so. But it is also a lie. And that hurts me. Because this book takes place during Christmas, in full winter at all times. Yeah. The forest is a huge part, but it is winter and snow. Always snowing. I'm surprised they did not die of cold, honestly. But still. It was about the forest and I loved that. Parts of this book felt a bit magical, which was wonderful.

I very much liked the plot of this book. It is somewhat the story of a cult. A story of a boy breaking free from his family and what they had planned for him. Him learning what his life was supposed to be. And wanting something different. Just. Oh. I very much loved Elwood. He had been abused his whole life by his parents. All for their religion. Ugh. Religion is so not my thing, especially with all of this that do go on. He had few bright spots in his life. Wil being one, until she was gone. Butterflies another. I so loved that.

I just cannot get over how gentle and loving Elwood was. He just wanted to please everyone. And that just makes me more mad at Wil for hurting him. Sigh. I'm guessing it might just be a problem for me, ha. But yeah. It was a problem. I did like her. But I did not like how she treated him for so long. Another thing I disliked was how this book was such a teenage school type of story at times. With drinking and partying, okay, only once, but I did not like it. Fighting with their friends over silly things. Sigh. Just felt a little stupid.

This review of mine may be a little messy. I just have to get all my thoughts down, even though they are not in the right order. The story is about Elwood and Wil. Him trying to escape his fate from his parents. Her trying to figure out where her mom went. We do learn that, but it felt a little weird. I wanted more from it. The cult was kind of creepy and I liked reading about how it came to be. But I felt like his dad was just weird and not scary like he was supposed to be. And her dad was such a drunk then suddenly not. Hmm.

Anyway. I have written too much. Yet not enough. Three stars for me. I wanted it to be better. But there were parts of it that I loved. Elwood especially. Loved the somewhat creepy parts of what was growing inside of it. It was so interesting to read about. Together We Rot was not as perfect as I wanted it to be, but it was still a pretty magical story that I very much enjoyed reading. Thank you the most to Penguin Teen for letting me read this book early via Netgalley. Will still get my hardcover too. You should read it.

Together We Rot, by Skyla Arndt
3.5/5⭐️⭐️

TRIGGER WARNINGS-
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Murder, death, cult

Wil's mother just disappeared one day and her father stopped caring, cooking, and picked up drinking. The police are no help and worst of all, she believes that her now former best friend, Elwood's dad, and his church, (cult), has something to do with her mother's disappearance. So she stakes out at their house on the daily to try to get dirt on them. Wil's hoping that with proof the police will have to believe her.

The start of the book was very intriguing and caught my attention right away.
It has an interesting plot and story line.
I felt like it kind of flat lined towards the middle and became a bit boring, but picked up a but towards the end. I did find parts of the story to be a tad confusing at times.
It's not very thought out though as it seems a bit rushed and tied up nicely at the end. The characters didn't end up having much depth to them. Could have been a doulogy to further explore what she started.

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group and NetGalley for giving me an E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me this ARC.
4.5
I first encountered this book through Arndts instagram and fell in love with the cover and synopsis. The book didn't disappoint.
Together we rot is well written and just amazing. Skyla Arndt has a way of writing that made it all so vivid for me and I almost felt like I was in the book. I was invested in Will and Elwoods story from page one and didn't really want the book to end.
Together we rot is lovely mix of horror, romance and paranormal in YA package.
I'm definitely getting this beauty in hardcover when it's released.

I wanted to love this book with every fiber of my being because I was so excited for it… but it fell flat. It felt a little disjointed and kind of like we were following Nancy Drew and friends around for a little bit - it could have benefited from a bit more polishing.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Together We Rot is a lush and vivid YA supernatural romance unlike anything I've ever read before. The story follows Wil, a fiery girl determined to find her missing mother, and Elwood, a shy boy dreading the day in which he must throw his life away in devotion to his family's congregation. Once friends and now enemies, Elwood is forced to join forces with Wil in order to save himself from his abusive father. Striking a deal to help each other, Wil and Elwood discover more than they bargained for as they begin to unravel the secrets of the church, only to find a sinister cult that hungers for blood.

Skyla Arndt does a magnificent job at describing the setting of the book which I believe to be it's strongest asset. She presents such vivid imagery that it's easy to get lost in the haunting visions of the Morguewood. Together We Rot is a quick and highly entertaining read that will have you feeling the character's emotions and fears in full color. I will most definitely be purchasing a copy upon release.

Thank you to @arndtskyla for hosting a giveaway for an eARC of Together We Rot!

I started reading this last night and I finished it last night. And then I dreamt of scary religious cults trying to off me!

The imagery in this book is incredibly wow-ing, I felt as if I were INSIDE the book. I loved the mystery, the heart pounding scenes, and the dark and eerie atmosphere. The characters personalities and their relationships are so incredibly realistic. Our two main characters, Wil and Elwood, are fantastically written. The romance was super sweet and I absolutely adore first loves. Plus, MOTHMAN. Can’t wait to *add to cart*!

Favorite Quotes:

“Is this the right type of crowbar for this?”

“I don’t think we need a crossbow.”

I've never read a book quite like this, and maybe it was the sweetness of the romance or the setting (my home state of Michigan), but the author sucked me in, and I became so invested in both Wil and Elwood.

This atmosphere made me feel like I was in a forest, and found beauty in the more macabre aspects of the wilderness. I hope this author receives the credit she deserves for her writing--her voice, the way she captured this town and her characters, was nothing short of stunning.

This is obviously not a YA rom-com, so come into this knowing that you'll face the emotions (including sheer frustration) that go with religious cults. How it changes people, how perceptions can be so warped. I loved how Wil and Elwood were how they are (strong and simply good, respectively) despite all of this, and how that core didn't change by the end. I cried a few times, and frankly, would love to see more of these characters even as secondary folks in future books if that were ever possible.

I read this for the romance, but I came away loving the relationship we see between Wil and Elwood, but imagining forests and skies. Perfect for a creepy mood read!

Together We Rot was a short, but thrilling read! When I started this book, I had it finished in a day. It was thoroughly enjoyable and the characters were very real. Wil is grieving the loss of her missing mother and her friend alienated by his family, and her mourning and anger was believable. While her emotions and interactions with other characters can be very frustrating, they were no less true to who she was and what she was feeling.

Religious cult themes can be a massive hit or miss, but this was unique and I haven't come across a similar story.

There were two things I especially loved about this book.

One was the interactions felt real and believable. I especially resonated with the relationship between Wil and her father - I felt like it perfectly encapsulated an estranged parent and the important, mature conversations toward the end of the book were also perfect.

The second was the ending. I was expecting the traditional happy resolution. I felt so sure that everything was going to work out as the characters wanted. And while the ending is arguably a happy one, it wasn't what I expected at all and I was very pleasantly surprised! It's memorable and very cool.

The only issue I personally had with it was I had a hard time believing the connection between Wil and Elwood, which is a shame as they were the main relationship of the book. There were undeniable feelings between them, but I just didn't read chemistry. Maybe it's because the time with them is so short due to the length of the book, we don't get as much buildup of feelings. But also, the book wouldn't have had the same impact if it had been longer, because the main plot was perfectly paced. So I actually understand and accept that we're only scratching the surface of their relationship.

Regardless, I thought this book was beautiful and haunting, and I do love the journey of the characters! Easily a 4.5⭐ for me!