This was a wild ride that took several months for me to read, the weirdness was on the wrong side of weird for me, and I did not vibe with the writing or the narrative voice. Not one of my favorites this year.

This is the longest it’s taken me to read a book this entire year. I have no idea what I just read… it was so hard to pick this up and keep going. I still feel very confused and the description of this book is not fully what it’s about, if this book was actually what the description was - I would have been more interested. The writing and story of this book was interesting which is the reason behind my rating but I wouldn’t recommend to anyone.

i didn't like this. at first, i thought it was mostly my fault (and my personal preferences) that made me dislike it, but i came to realize that it was about 40% my fault, 60% the book's fault. hence the 2 star rating.

starting with my personal reasons for not liking it: i'm not big on sci-fi or cosmic horror and i didn't realize from the book's summary that this would be those things.
i didn't vibe with the narrative voice, nor did i find it very funny.
and frankly, i don't usually love books written by men. pretty much the only male authors i like (besides john green) are horror authors, because men definitely have that covered, and that's why i gave this book a chance. but i think this is the most Written By a Man book i think i've ever read.

which leads me into the problems that ARE the book's fault. from the first chapter, i HATED the writing style. it felt like it was trying to emulate stephen graham jones' effortless conversational style, but it just felt corny. example:
<i><b>[The creatures were s]ome poorly made cross between a man, a leech, and one of those slippery snake tube-toys you find at, like, Rainforest Cafe.</i></b>
at first, i forgave it, because the set-up made it seem like that first chapter was supposed to be written by the main character, a failed novelist. so i was like, "oh haha, this is bad because it's meant to be bad, because the character cam is a bad writer." no, that's just the whole book.

as for the whole written-by-a-man thing, there's a part early on in the book where the female main character is anxious, and the author chose to describe it this way: <i><b>She felt pregnant or something. Dizzy.</i></b> HUH???????????????????
there's also a part later where a ten year old girl <i><b>blooms for me with pure, virginal energy.</i></b> to the powers that be: please take that out of the fucking book oh my god.

so yeah, i would say this is not a very good book, and it was made even less enjoyable because of.... see above. <spoiler>also was it ever explained why yennigen wanted to open the door so bad? i didn't really understand what motivated that, considering for most of the book he was like "fuck you guys i don't care about traveling around the spine, kill yourselves!" but whatever i don't really care</spoiler>

thank you to netgalley for an arc. the quotes in this review may not reflect the final published version (please please please god).

I nearly DNF'd this during the first 10% because it was weird in a way that did not appeal to me. But I kept at it and spent roughly two months on it. Though the weirdness never goes away -- in fact, there's a lot more of it -- it does get much better as it goes along. But the eye cum stuff is gross and I couldn't ever get on board with it. That being said, this story is wild and varied; it's like an onion you strip for several hundred pages. There are elements of science fiction and fantasy alongside the hardcore horror sequences. It is for these reasons EDENVILLE is worth keeping on instead of giving up in its early chapters. It's one I'm not entirely sure how to recommend other than "if you like weird horror blends, give this a chance." I can certainly see the appeal as it does have (again) many layers.

(A slightly longer review is available on our website)

Delightfully off-the-wall, and a stirring horror debut -- perfect for folks who read Scott Hawkins' THE LIBRARY AT MOUNT CHAR and thought "I wish more people would just go /nuts/ with their work." Rebelein makes it clear that he's swinging for the fences from the first pages, which feature a somehow hilarious and terrifying dream-experience with intimations of worse things (and funnier?) to come. He then manages to blend a toxic relationship falling apart with a perfectly-pitched over-the-top campus satire, topping it all off with a community of Very Weird Stuff that should provide a wealth of stories to come. I, for one, cannot wait to come back to Renfield County.

If you are in the mood for a dark twisty, clench your muscles kind of book, then this is a read for you! I could not stop turning the pages.

I just love that kind of unsettling horror which settles into the reader's bones. Very well-written, smart and truly engaging. Recommended, it will be perfect for Halloween season too.

This book was both weird and unsettling but never to the point that I felt like it was too much if that makes sense. I loved the unsettling nature of the book and it made me want more

This was a fun read
You think it’s an adventure with a fun couple
Taking on a new city and new life
But there is something strange

She grew up close to the new city but is seems to be out of this world
Love the descriptive horror

The premise for this book was very cool, but I feel like some of the alternate timeline stuff (and speak of alternate dimensions and such) had me rereading passages a few times.
At the end I was also questioning how the remaining faculty were going to cover up the missing professors in addition to the absolute mess that was left... Nice setup for a potential sequel though.

This is a first. I was actually speechless after reading this. Took me a while to even know how to review it. This book was WILD and full of weirdness. The closest I can get to describing it is that it loosely had Men in Black vibes. While the uneasy feelings started early on, the story was slow for me in the beginning. I had no freaking idea what was going on. I almost DNF’d honestly. I’m glad I didn’t because it really picked up for the second half. It was gross, disturbing, and terrifying. I loved the casual writing style…kinda like I was being told the story by a friend…a very weird friend.

Uggg…Cam was the worst! He was so stuck on himself while Quinn had to be the one to actually think and problem solve. I don’t know what else to say. If you like weird, gross horror stories with a touch of humor, give this one a try.

Oh, what a wild ride this was! There's some gore and humor and small town weirdness and a touch of dark academia, and most of all, an engaging story that is very hard to put down.

Cam's had one book published and has since been having trouble writing anything else. One night, he gets a surprise offer to be the writer-in-residence at Edenville College in up state NY, where the creative writing department thinks he's the key to opening a doorway. Cam's girlfriend Quinn grew up nearby (Go Crows), and knows that there's something wrong with the town of Edenville. They decide to go anyway.

Such an entertaining debut! I loved this and will definitely keep my eyes open for more from Sam Rebelein. Thanks so much to NetGalley for the ARC!