Thank you to Skyla Arndt, Penguin Young Readers Group, and NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Together We Rot is a paranormal mystery drawing its strength from the eerie small-town aesthetic it curates. The plotline and atmosphere are sinisterly otherwordly. It spans from eldritch cults and ghostly woods to a boy who tries to break from a religious cycle of abuse and turns into something more beautiful than haunting.

The book's length cuts corners on the many relationships and descriptions that could have been fleshed out. Will suspects her ex-bestfriend's father of her mother's disappearance. The tension and angst between both characters, although done well for the short time it's given in the book, could've been elaborated and wielded to create more impactful characters and plotlines.

Together We Rot by Skyla Arndt is unlike any other book I have ever read.
The premise was unique and nuanced, the characters were fully fleshed out for such a short book, and the overall plot was interesting and easily captivating.
Needless to say, this was a pleasure to read.
The characters, mainly Wil and Elwood, were some of the most interesting I have ever encountered. The quirks and nuances of both these characters reminded me of Blue and Gansey from The Raven Boys. Mostly because both of those characters were so fascinatingly unique and practically jumped off the page at me.
Wil and Elwood were the same.
From the moment this story began, I was captivated by Elwood, the shy, sweet, and somewhat naive son of the town pastor, and Wil, the fiery and determined daughter of a woman who went missing two years ago. Not only did I enjoy the fact that Wil, the female main character, was the strong and protective one in the relationship, but I also felt like the chemistry between these two characters was very potent. Their shared past is a huge part of this, but also their warring personalities. Such differences made them way more compatible because they just balanced each other out beautifully.
The side characters, Ronnie, Kevin, and Justin, were rather interesting, too, but their personality traits fell flatter since they hardly had enough page time for me to get truly attached. Elwood’s father, the villain of this story, also was slightly cartoonish and akin to a textbook bad guy. Though that may be true, I was interested in his reasons behind wanting to sacrifice Elwood, but he still had a cookie-cutter-like quality.
Moving to the plot, I have never read a book so steeped in Biblical history. Besides the fact that Elwood’s father is the town pastor, there are several references to Bible passages, mainly ones pertaining to the sacrifice of a son. The whole reason behind the villainous plot is also influenced by Biblical happenings since the fictional town the book is based in once suffered a famine, so the pastor sacrificed his son to God. From then on, the sacrifices continued. It was interesting to read a book so clearly influenced by stories presented in the Bible but to say this book is overly religious is untrue. The story also includes many fantastical themes that tie in well. And I noticed that this book also doubled as not only a brief mystery since Wil is searching for her presumed missing mother towards the beginning, but also a horror, since the ending presented a few frightening themes and descriptors. So many themes might have made another book seem cluttered, but it only added a more unique style to this story and plot.
The premise and writing style of Together We Rot was also something I enjoyed. Arndt is amazingly adept at providing sensory details that will draw readers in and never let them go. The feel of the book was somewhat gothic, almost offering a style akin to Cat Winter’s writing and her ability to spook readers before they are even halfway through the book. While reading Arndt’s work, I felt I was bracing for that horror theme to play a part because, from the beginning, the story was drawing on gothic themes and some elements of horror through Elwood’s hallucinations. Needless to say, when the horror entered near the end I was fully braced for it and glad it was present since it was hinted at from the beginning.
Though I did thoroughly enjoy this book, the overall length of the story was slightly disappointing and the ending felt slightly rushed because of that. I had hoped we would see some more cute moments between Wil and Elwood before we reached the climax, but I blinked once and the end was already upon me. This book could have suffered a few more pages since it was such an interesting read and the end could have been more thoroughly explored. Though I do feel this way about the book’s length, those with a shorter attention span or who feel long books are too long will appreciate the length.
All in all, Together We Rot was a book I will not be forgetting soon. With its fascinating characters, nuanced plot, and captivating premise this story is one I will find myself thinking about often.

I learned about this book through Instagram, and I am so glad I did. This novel won’t be for everybody, but I LOVED it. I devoured the book in less than five hours.

Thank you Netgalley and Viking Books/Penguin Teen for allowing me to read your newest ARC in exchange for an honest review:
Let’s start with the cover of the book—The art is beautifully done & I was instantly drawn to the cover when I was looking for new books to read.
The romantic tension was so good; however,
the constant swapping of POV’s was a little confusing for me at times.
The book was a pretty good read & definitely recommend you guys to read it! 😁

🍂 This is one of those times where the stunning book cover absolutely matches the atmosphere of the story inside!

💀 Together We Rot feels like diving head first into a creepy Stranger Things-meets-Mexican Gothic world. The ambiance is exactly that: a small town surrounded by a deep, writhing forest hungry for a sacrifice.

🥀 On top of all that, there is a friends-to-enemies-to-lovers Beauty & the Beast style romance that is exactly what I didn’t know I was waiting for.

🦋 The perspective shifts between two narrators: Wil is determined to investigate the disappearance of her mother. Her tenacity drives the plot towards its dark conclusion. Elwood is the son of the town pastor, and an endearingly gentle boy who pins moths and sketches insects. He’s my favorite 🥰

🕸️ I absolutely loved the mounting creepiness as we get closer and closer to the terrible climax. Skyla Arndt achieves that perfect balance of horror and the grotesque that’s thrilling without being overly morbid or pandering. And that ending is perfect: a bit feral, monstrous, and so very emotionally satisfying.

🍃 Arndt’s writing style is also fantastic - it kept up a constant momentum so even when I put the book down for a bit, my mind kept churning over events and pulling me back to the story.

Definitely a five star read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Publishing Group for gifting this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This review will be shared on Bookstagram and Amazon during publication week.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating:2.75/5
This book was a mixed bag for me........the cover is fantastic and immediately drew me in. It deserves 5 stars. The book had a lot of potential, but did not live up to my expectations.
First, let's focus on the good. The writing style is quite good, especially for a debut. The setting was atmospheric, spine-chilling and eerie. The concept of the religious cult and the town's history was quite good as well.
Now, onto the bad. Both MCs lacked depth, and the romance was not very well-developed. We don't get to see much of their backstories. This is classified as horror, but pretty much NOTHING happened for literally half of the book. The horror element was lacking throughout the book. The climax was, well, anticlimatic and completely devoid of excitement.

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD:
Elwood just transforms into a monster, and in a rage kills his father and Sheriff Vrees.......how convenient. Wil confesses her love to him, and everything is resolved. Such endings often come off as cringe, and this was no exception.

Honestly I was pretty hooked throughout the book! I would have liked this to honestly be more than one book (maybe a duology) because in trying to fit it into one book, the resolution felt slightly rushed and left me wanting more. There’s so much more I would have liked to read! But really though the writing was stunning and flowery which I love and really fit the vibe that the author seemed to be alliterating towards. I also really love the friend group that came together from everything in the book, they’re so fun and entertaining to read!

Together We Rot was an atmospheric, angsty teen romance-slash-horror with religious trauma and a richly-drawn setting I won't soon get out of my mind.

Elwood and Wil are teens who live in a small town in Michigan, where Elwood's father is the head of a frightening religious cult, while Wil's family live in a rundown motel. We start the story knowing Wil's mom is missing and she is absolutely furious at Elwood because she blames his family. She spends her time spying on them and trying to get any bit of information as relates to her missing mom. We also find out pretty early on that Elwood's parents are horrific people. The two teens slam into each other on Christmas Eve and some startling revelations come out, and pretty soon they're together again, and on the run from the cult. The horror element is kept subtle at first, then gets blown out the more the book goes on.

Overall I really loved the main characters and their relationship with each other, and the setting was top-notch. I felt there were a couple of places where the plot could have been more well-developed, the villains could have had more nuance, and I also think the secondary characters could have used more fleshing out. But overall this was a great, dark read and I would pick up something else by this author someday.

I had high hopes for this this book, I was instantly drawn in my the beautiful cover but unfortunately the content for me was lacklustre.

I didn’t really connect with the characters and the constant swapping of POV’s was a little confusing at times.

More character background may have made it a better read as I felt like we were thrown straight into a situation that we should have already known about but didn’t.

I devoured this book - it was the perfect mixture of contemporary small-town teen angst and creeping, eerie horror where the humans might be the most monstrous of all...

Wil and Elwood were such well-rounded, complex characters who were both so easy to relate to despite their unique struggles, I particularly liked determined, sharp-but-secretly-loyal-and-loving Wil. I enjoyed the side characters too and felt that we still got to know a lot about their personalities from the small glimpses we got of them. The setting was evocative and vividly drawn, and although the buildup to the climax did feel a little rushed, overall I loved this book and will definitely be rereading.

Also, that cover? By far the most beautiful cover I have seen in a LONG time, I can't stop staring at it!

Wil and Elwood were best friends for years until Wil’s mother disappeared and she suspects Elwood’s family the leading Pastoral family the Garden of Adam in Morguewood. As things begin to shift and things change, they are thrown together to resolve the issue arising.

This was an interesting book. This is a YA horror book which I did not initially anticipate to start. The story is clever and was a safe horror story for someone whose easily spooked. For someone wanting some lighter spookiness this book is for you! It’s got some beautiful descriptions of bugs as well, so beware if that’s a phobia of yours as well. A perfectly interesting story.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for my ARC.

3 ⭐️

First of all, can we please talk about this cover… it might be one of the best covers I’ve seen in years. Literally can’t stop staring at it, A+!

“Together We Rot” is an atmospheric and creepy YA mystery, with tons of interesting imagery. I thinking if you’re a fan of creepy stories that are a little off-beat, this would be intriguing for you. Unfortunately for me, I’ve realized that it is not my style one bit. I really tried to keep an open mind, but I think this genre just isn’t what I’d spend my time reading. To that end, this probably was never going to be rated high in my opinion.

Some of my other qualms relate to others’ opinions… that this story was way too short and seriously underdeveloped. It felt very rushed, and I didn’t feel like any of the “creepiness” really sank in. There could have been much more information on the town history, or the religious cult, but it never really got there. Lastly, I just plain hated Wil. I very much dislike the traumatized-girl-who-treats-everyone-like-shit trope. The time I enjoyed her attitude was when she went head-to-head with Lucas. But generally, I didn’t find myself rooting for anyone, because I didn’t feel like there was enough background or development for me to do so.

Long story short: not my cup of tea. Had some faults, but I do think the author is a very talented storyteller with a bright future ahead in the horror genre!

Thanks so much for NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for this arc in exchange for my honest opinions.

4.0/5.0

A hauntingly written YA gothic romance meets paranormal horror.
The friends to enemies to lovers trope woven throughout this book had me screaming.

A great read, I couldn't put this down. Kept me intrigued the whole time and the romantic tension was so good.

This review is going to be one of the more difficult ones I write. You see, the thing is, I love this book. I loved it from the moment I opened it. The dark and imposing atmosphere of the Morguewood, Wil's Snark, Elwood's sweetness. It all built into this tale that I didn't want to finish, but also couldn't put down, and it would have been a hands-down-no-question-full-5-stars (and personal favorite) if it just would've kept up with itself.



Somewhere in the middle, the flow gets a little weird. Some characters leave/disappear and it isn't acknowledged. I could have handled that, whatever it happens. But then the whole middle is just a bit unfinished. It reads like a stretch of film that keeps going in and out of focus, some scenes are crystal clear while others feel like they're missing something important. At first, I thought it was me, that I wasn't paying enough attention, so I went back and reread from a point prior to that. It wasn't me. Then, I thought it was a stylistic choice, but that doesn't seem to fit with where all it happens. While that is still a possibility, it doesn't really work to do anything except frustrate and annoy. It just feels so unfinished. This is under 300 pages, but the story reads like it should be closer to 400, or even more. This is not to say that there is not an ending. The book absolutely has an ending.



Now, the honest and heartbreaking truth is that, even with all of these issues, I still can't rate it any lower than 4 out of 5. The story itself is perfect, and the parts that read as finished are amazing, the characters are very well fleshed out (unless they fall into that middle part), the underlying rules of the myth are complex while also making complete sense. The middle just feels completely unfinished, and I am honestly mourning the finished version of this that never got to be.

Despite everything, I still very much recommend this. It really is a delightfully twisted tale. The exception, of course, being anyone who would be overly bothered by the things I've mentioned above.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and Penguin Young Readers Group for the early copy.

This has been my honest review.

Wow, what a strange little book! It was a fun, quick read. I will definitely be reading more by this author in the future.

This was absolutely fantastic. I saw this cover on tiktok months before ARCs dropped and have been pining for it ever since.

The cover is absolutely gorgeous, one of the best I've ever seen. The title is intriguing and very indicative of what the story holds as well.

Wil and Elwood's darkly romantic story had me hooked from the first chapter. The writing is beautiful and bingable, and I am 100% sure this book will be a HIT. SO well done.

Thank you so much for letting me be an ARC reader before the masses get this. I imagine this must be what it felt like to be an ARC reader for a massive hit like Twilight. AMAZING.

This was a very dark read. I love that it had paranormal elements. But be warned it deals with some pretty heavy topics like abuse, grief, and cults / rituals. This was a very complex story. We had a friendship go threw the ringer, Wils mothers disappearance, and Elwoods fathers crazy cult…. Down to the very end I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see how it all tied together. Wil and Elwood’s journey was so well written, I enjoyed each step hey met in their relationship. I felt like the ending didn’t need to be so rushed but I love how it concluded. This book gave me serious Riverdale vibes. But I still really liked this one!

Thank you Netgalley and Viking Books/Penguin Teen for allowing me to read and review this book! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

"Father always said the cold makes you feel alive in all the worst possible ways. It sparks an energy in you, a desperation that you didn't even know you had. The cold shows you who you truly are. I'm afraid of what it says about me."

The cover is absolutely gorgeous and it's one of my favorites of 2023. I am crossing my fingers that there will be an exclusive edition planned out for its release.

Skyla Arndt's writing is beautifully atmospheric and cinematically dark with tones of grief, abuse, and cult depictions. I am in love with Arndt's tender and passionate Elwood and, filled with rage and determination, Wil. Her tragic characters are well-developed, complex, and leave you wanting to read more about them after their story is finished.

"All that's left is a sticky, consuming grief, and I worry I'll drown beneath its waves. I'll sink so deep that I'll never come back."

I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of Together We Rot. Skyla Arndt did a fabulous job writing out Wil and Elwood's friends to enemies to lovers relationship. Their broken friendship felt realistic and relatable as it began to re-grow and piece together into something new. The mystery of Wil's mother's disappearance and the continuous build-up as to what was going on with Elwood's family and the townspeople was intriguing and kept me on the edge of my seat.

"Best friends until suddenly we weren't. Before everything in my life went to hell in his family's handbasket. Now when I think of him, it's like swallowing a lit match. The longer I dwell on what we were, the bigger the hole burns inside me."

I highly recommend Together We Rot if you enjoyed books from these authors: Erin A Craig, Shea Ernshaw, Andrea Hannah, Holly Jackson, and Kate McLaughlin.

5 stars

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Group, and Viking Books for this ARC!

Firstly I want to say that that cover is absolutely ethereal. I'm just in awe like, that's so metal. I love it so much

The story starts pretty slow, giving background information on Wil, her missing mom, Elwood, and his father's cult. I loved the prose and descriptions, especially about the weird hallucinations Elwood had and,,, yeah it's just so good! There are some really funny moments with the ragtag bunch (wil, ronnie, lucas and kevin) and of course, a lot of epic hard diabolical paragraphs that feel so out of this world like the forest cryptid at the end. Here are some lines I really loved (in no particular order):

"He's Waldo hidden in the middle of a battlefield, giving a little smile while surrounded by fallen soldiers."
"Ezekiel has the right idea to demolish us. As it stands, we're not a graveyard but a neglected shrine for a single, forgotten woman.//But I remember."
"Other people know to draw back when they touch a flame. I only know how to walk through the coals."
"Mercy isn't the idle moments between rage. It isn't just the absence of pain."
"I'm splintered pieces held together by fragile hope. One more death and I will blow away with the wind."

However, everything was squeezed into that last third of the book to the point that it was dizzying and hard to process. But I think that ending makes up for everything (no lie, that's the sweetest ending ever.) The whole forest creature man-eating rampage was written so interestingly from his point of view, but I felt that it resolved too quickly and it was quite underwhelming. I still enjoyed this atmospheric mystery book, and I think it's a very strong effort for a debut author :)

An amazing read full of:
- cults
- rituals
- mild? gore
- forest horror
- cryptids and moth imagery
- a boy who cries
- a stubborn but fiercely loving girl
- sort-of Christmas tragedy
- a ragtag bunch of kids + a crossbow
- family issues (yes, a lot of those)
- a small strange town with a dark secret beneath its roots
- childhood friends to enemies to lovers
- dual POVs