Together We Rot by Skyla Arndt is a quick and fast-paced read with a strong atmosphere. The premise of a teenage girl seeking the truth about her missing mother and forming an unlikely alliance with her former best friend, who she hides from his cult-leading family, is intriguing. The addition of horror vibes, romance, and well-crafted characters made the story even more compelling.

The writing is fantastic, and the anger felt by the protagonist Wil is palpable. Skyla Arndt's gift for prose is evident in the creation of a dark, moody town with intriguing secrets. The themes of grief, alcoholism, child abuse, corruption, and murder blend seamlessly with paranormal elements, making this a book that readers will find difficult to put down.

Although a great debut, what the book lacked for me was depth. The pace was so fast that I wished it had slowed down to allow the characters more time to grow, and for the reader to become better acquainted with all of the characters and their relationships. The romance and angst could have also benefited from a slower build. Although we receive glimpses from the past, I felt it was not enough to establish the characters' relationships thoroughly.

Overall, I anticipate reading more from Skyla Arndt, and I recommend Together We Rot to anyone in search of a fast-paced, gothic, horror-mystery, with some romance and great characters.

4.5*

So much potential in such a weird little book! I was firmly convinced that this was going to be a pleasantly creepy, maybe a little superficial experience, and in a way it was, even if the book itself did leave a sense of lack of depth - there could have been plenty of room for more tense atmosphere-creating scenes, backstory, or even more serious themes (religious trauma, cult activity, parental abuse, etc.).
But the last chapter came and I won't lie, I was in tears. I didn't realize how much I had grown to love the characters, and speaking of which, Elwood is such a simp, and he is so real for it!
It's not fair to make comparisons, but while reading it I was reminded of Shea Ernshaw's Winterwood (small, claustrophobic town buried under snow, a relatively small cast and dual POV) and in terms of character creation, Together We Rot absolutely took the cake.
Thank you very much for thee-ARC! I heartily recommend this book for a good sit in the woods, watching the butterflies fly and spring emerge from the seeds in the ground!

I really enjoyed the premise of this book. It is an earthy gothic thriller. I did feel like the plot was a tad jumbled. There was also a lot of filler and I felt like more questions could have been answered. Over all it was a quick easy read that I would recommend to fans of House of Hollow and What we Harvest. Also, the cover art is just gorgeous and what really drew me in. Thank you for the opportunity to review this ARC.

A stunning cover that masks a plot overtaken by weeds.

“Together We Rot” contrasts Elwoods whispers to escape a cult against his former friend Wil’s shouts to uncover the truth behind her mothers disappearance. As they find themselves together again both must work to put the past aside while outrunning with the horrors creeping in just beyond the tree line.

I wanted to love this so much it has everything I enjoy from small town lore, cults and true crime, and a forest that may or may not have teeth but it never quite managed to take me there like I had hoped.

The plot and characters feel underdeveloped in the sense that they work for this story but with a few more edits could have really packed a punch handling the sinister like secrecy of cults along with their warped belief system and how that can be suffocating to a person trying to get out as well as the conflict it causes when faced with someone who is trying to shine a light on the skeletons in their closet. I felt like the friendship between Wil and Elwood was nice but we only really got those moments at the end which worked in context of the scene but hurt everything that came before.

Like the forest I am left feeling just as hungry for more but ultimately afraid that I’ll have to just take this for what it is and hope the next reader is able to find in it what I could not.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

This debut book was different than what I was expecting. The book gave a gothic meet horror vibes and with mix of paranormal and I enjoyed this YA book! The characters in this book is the strongest aspect of the book and the characters were definitely written well. Please search up the TW before proceeding into this book because there are triggering content. I really liked the friendship between Will and Elwood and this book got me emotional!

What I liked most about this book was the characters themselves. Everyone was very distinct and had their own individual personalities. They felt like real people and not just characters in a book. The group interactions were definitely my favorite thing.
What I didn't like as much was pacing. Pacing is a big thing for me in books and unfortunately this was a bit rushed and I felt like things could have been fleshed out more, especially the romance. It just didn't feel enough.
All in all it's a great gothic YA romance that I would highly recommend.

*I received an ARC thru netgalley for an honest review*

This book had a very strong start! I feel like i got a lot of feel for the characters even though the book takes place in the aftermath of a lot of events, such as:

-wil’s mom going missing. We only hear about this looking back. Not even flashbacks, just upon reflection. Which normally would be okay but it was such a huge event that to have it only told through sentences here and there lost some of its urgency. But you can see how it shaped wil, her dad, and their relationship
-elwood and wil’s friendship break up. You never get a sense of their years long chemistry, even though it is good
-ronnie sticking it to her uber-religious mom and becoming a totally different person.

All of these things shaped the characters which is totally obvious, but it was all in the past.

Also i got suckered into the cult plot and it wasnt really…about that. I mean it WAS, but not enough. I did really enjoy the changing POVs and that the climactic scene was told from elwood’s POV. I feel like a lot of those scenes are not told this way in other novels and it was refreshing to read it in this new way. It doesnt make sense without spoilers, so sorry for the vagueness!


Overall i felt the story was a bit rushed. And i wasnt really expecting the end to go the way it did when i read the synopsis. I think this book was entertaining and heartwarming but also could have been fleshed out way more.

This author has strong potential and i would read more.

When her former best friend, now enemy, Elwood, reveals that he is the next sacrifice for his family's deadly cult, what else is there for Wil to do. but save his life? The two are in a race against time as dangerous things are growing and the woods are calling for blood.

Arndt treads familiar ground here with horror tropes such as murderous cults, timely tarot readings and Monsters in the Woods. But despite being traditional, they are deftly used and move the story along at an excellent pace. Fans of 'unlikeable heroines' will be thrilled with main character, Wil, a young woman with understandable reactions to the hand life has dealt her and her struggle to do the right thing.

I look forward to seeing what else Arndt has in store.

4/5 stars

3 stars!

Together We Rot is a solid YA debut novel.
Fun elements include: creepy woods! atmospheric setting in a wintery small-town in Michigan! feral heroine! soft love interest! dual pov!

First and foremost, I really liked the ragtag group of friends and frenemies that developed over the course of the book. Main character Wilhelmina, her friend Ronnie, Ronnie’s ex-boyfriend Lucas who’s friends with Wil’s ex-best-friend Elwood, and Kevin, another friend of theirs, all have some messy history, but find themselves involved in the same mystery of Wil’s missing mother and Elwood’s strange family.
I loved all their interactions and little adventures, trying to figure out what is going on in that town and how they can help Elwood. I wish there had been more scenes with all of them because I enjoyed them so much.
Secondly, Wilhelmina is such a great heroine. I loved reading about her, the way she did not feel the need to conform to anything and did not mind making others uncomfortable by taking up space. She’s such a force. She aggressively demands answers for her mother’s disappearance and does whatever she deems necessary to achieve that goal. It was a lot of fun to follow her story.
What I also really liked was the atmospheric setting. The author really manages to paint the picture of a forgotten, sleepy little town with weird, sinister goings on. The writing is very descriptive, which I think is a matter of taste. I definitely enjoyed it most of the time.

Now for the things I didn’t like as much:
mostly, I wanted more angst. For a book that’s marketed as enemies to lovers, the romance was a little bland— I liked Wil and Elwood as friends, but I felt they lacked the chemistry and angsty scenes that would have made me really ship them.
Moreover, while Together We Rot is mostly a quick read, the pacing was a little slow towards the middle and I found myself losing interest in the story for a bit. I pushed through and the pacing picked up again, but it’s still something to consider.

Recommended for readers who enjoy YA paranormal books with creepy elements and an atmospheric and character focused plot.

CONTENT WARNINGS:
⁃ death of a parent
⁃ parental abandonment
⁃ abusive parents
⁃ vomiting
⁃ bugs
⁃ substance abuse (alcohol)
⁃ religious cult

I will update this review with a link later (once I’ve posted this review on my instagram).

I want to start by saying that this cover is top tier, absolutely gorgeous and perfectly captures the vibes of the book.

Now about Together We Rot by Skyla Arndt - quick, fast-paced, very atmospheric read.
Loved the premise - a teen girl looking for the truth about her missing mother forms a reluctant alliance with her former best friend in exchange for hiding him from his cult-leading family - throw in the horror vibes, romance, and great characters and this girl here doesn't ask for much more.
The writing is also fantastic, you can really feel how angry our MC Wil is and that should tell you something. SA definitely has a gift for prose and sets up a dark, moody town with secrets you want to unravel. Themes of grief, alcoholism, child abuse, corruption, murder are blended with paranormal elements that will have you reading this in one sitting.

TWR really is a great debut, what was missing for me was more depth. The book was so fast paced that there were times I wish it'd slowed down and given the characters more time to grow, the reader more time to get to know all of the characters and their relationships, the romance and angst more time to build. When we meet our MCs their relationships are already established, we do get glimpses from the past but I don't think it was enough.

I look forward to reading more by Skyla, and if you are in the mood for a fast-paced gothic, horror-y, mystery splashed with some romance and great characters you should definitely check TWR out.

eternal gratitude to the publisher and netgalley for the arc

4.5 stars, rounded down

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin for providing this eARC (:

Wil and Elwood have been best friends since they were young. Until Wil's mother goes missing and she accuses Elwood's family of having something to do with it.

I had a lot of fun reading this and I normally don't care too much when there's multiple viewpoints within the book. Some things could've been fleshed out more, and I would've loved to have learned more about the history of the town and those that inhabit it. I also felt the romance was a tad bit rushed but I still enjoyed it. I enjoyed Elwood's story more than I did Wil, I think I related with him a lot more and felt his story was a bit more intriguing. Overall, I enjoyed the read and read most of it one night!

I wanted to like this so badly. The cover is gorgeous, the plot sounded right up my street.
Unfortunately, it fell short at almost every mark. Despite being on the shorter side, I found it really dragged, probably because I was struggling to care about any of the characters. The main POVs didn't feel deep enough, despite being in first person, and the side characters were completely underdeveloped to the point they felt like caricatures in places. The plot was a bit of a mess generally. The romance felt forced. There were a couple of genuinely creepy moments, but they were the only thing I liked about this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I got over 25% way through and I just felt it was lacking something. I enjoyed Wil’s chapters more than I enjoyed Elwood’s. Something about this chapters felt less and at times I felt the writing was a bit juvenile (yes, I know it’s YA but YA can be gloriously lyrical and have wonderful prose.)

The premise of the story is very intriguing so please don’t let my dislike for the writing style deter you from trying it yourself. Many people I’ve seen LOVE this book. So please try for yourself.

(I tried to read it so I’m giving it 3 stars because all the pieces are there and I don’t want a 2 star review to deter people!)

3.5 Rounded down.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

There was a lot that I enjoyed from this book; the setting, the two main characters, getting two POVs, a lot of the prose. The writing style was phenomenal; read like a poem in a lot of ways and the metaphors were amazing too!
But it felt short on other things- it was too rushed (specially the romance) and there was little to no development on the cult. Also, the ending could have been explained a little better. It definitely was an ending you'd expect but it wasn't clear what had happened until later on and event that lacked more information.

It still makes for a spooky and quick read.

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

I love the cover for Together We Rot, it was what drew me to the book. This was a quick enjoyable read, I loved the characters and the fact that it was dual POV, I feel like it added more to the story as we got to see things from both perspectives.
I do think this book could’ve done with being a bit longer/fleshed out more, some parts especially the romance felt quite rushed. I would’ve also like to see a bit more about the town’s history and when the main characters were younger.

This was an absolutely amazing read, it has: horror, romance, dark secrets and all based in a creepy small town. The storyline is so enchanting with a feeling of old fairy tale's whilst also being so unique. This is also quite a short fast paced book so it's perfect for anyone who want a quick read or if you want to read something new.

"Are you preapred to love a monster? I think I am. [...]
The woods devour what never should have existed in the first place."

This book made me want to rip a heart out of my chest.

It has everything – horror, extraordinary way to write a romance, small town setting and the smell of dark woods. It's all I could ask a story to be and more.

There's an echo of fear, enchanted into pages of "Together We Rot". Fear, and love, and passion, so intense you wish it stayed longer. But it stays, after those three hundred pages you still think about Wil and Elwood, the horrors and secrets they uncovered, the magic that beats like a heart underneath the ground. Comforting in its unhappiness. Loving in its monstrous way.

I can't wait for the moment when I out my hands on a paper version of this bad beauty.

Such an interesting boom. This book hit so many subgenres yet did it so well. The storylines were just so interesting and unique and I was so engaged just because the content was so unlike anything else I've ever read. The child abuse portion was so heartbreaking and deep. Overall definitely a great book if you want something different.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for providing me with this eARC!

A quick, but enjoyable read.

Fierce and determined Wil knows that the local church had something to do with her mom’s disappearance, even if no one seems to believe her. Elwood, the former best friend of Wil and son of the pastor, is fast approaching his eighteenth birthday, and he is sure that is family is out to kill him. With no one else to go to, Elwood turns to Wil for help, and in return, Wil hopes to get more information on what exactly happened to her mom.

This book was very fast paced, and I do wish things had been fleshed out a teensy bit more. I would’ve loved more information about the cult and what they were after, as they were really unique in my eyes. The characters felt a little one dimensional, but they were fun and overall likable. I was a tad bit disappointed by the ending; there was a sadder ending that could’ve happened that made more sense to me what actually happened.

this book was just what i needed on a particular day in april.

i was craving a book that was dark, strange, but at the same time beautiful. and BOOM. netgalley decided to approve an e-arc of this book for me to read (thank you a million!!). there must've been a glitch in the system bc the universe just can't be this good.

first of all, the cover of the book exactly matches the atmosphere, feeling, tone, of the story. that is a form of art itself. the story is dark, harsh, but written beautifully, with underlying tones of horror that made me keep on flipping the pages. i knew that if i stopped, i would not be able to sleep at all for fear of psychopathic cult leaders, random flying moths, ever-growing vines, and blood covered dead rabbits. but the romance, a heart-touching and kind of hopeful romance, was the sweet against the bitter.

i loved the characters. wil is as elwood says, "all thorn, no flower," and i loved her for it. she was angry, impulsive, stubborn, mean, and just sad. i like to read about sad girls (i don't know what that says about me), so thank you skyla arndt for writing wil. then, elwood!! he was such a soft boy, one who liked butterflies and sketching. the way he thought about wil and talked about her was the best. i absolutely loved their dynamic.

i wish i could've enjoyed the ending of this book more though. throughout the story, we are constantly reminded that this strange power/beast that is growing within elwood is dangerous, terrible, and wrong. but then, suddenly in the last few chapters, this power seems to be okay, accepted, and right?? the climax i was hoping for didn't deliver. i also wish the plot could've been a bit more complex. with so many different materials, like the cult, the forest, the power, wil's mother, etc., there was definitely potential for more layers. but i do love how quick and easy of a read this was, one that was still able to incorporate heavier themes.

i really enjoyed this book guys, and i just may buy a physical copy when it comes out, even tho i'm going broke from buying books.