This Halloween, a malevolent, creeping horror invades a small, isolated town nestled deep in the Adirondacks.

A perfect way to kick-off spooky season! Highly recommended!

I decided not to finish this book so I feel funny rating it but I would like to give feedback so I have to give a star rating.

Unfortunately there was way too much sexual violence in this book for me.

There are certain tropes that appear over and over in horror fiction. Tropes done to bloody death, of course, but when done well enough they can elevate the trope and the genre itself. In The Horror at Pleasant Brook, author Kevin Lucia brings offers his take on the small-town horror, and in doing so shows a horror both ancient and personal.

You could call Pleasant Brook pleasant if you wanted. It aims to be, of course, but it is just another town kids dream of leaving. It’s got a thrift shop, a dinner diner, a bar, and a strip club, but little else aside from houses and a couple of churches. Nestled in the Adirondacks, it’s the type of place that makes you look up the definitions of “villages” and “hamlets” when trying to describe it. Some places are one stoplight towns, but Pleasant Brook is a one cop town. Constable Grace Matthews is that one cop.

Formerly a detective, Matthews has returned to her hometown to take the gig following the sort of situation that haunts a person. An out lesbian in a town with barely anyone else out, she knows everyone but also knows they don’t like her. Despite that she is good at her job, and when the horror of the title comes around, she’s the first to realize that something is up.

Lucia does a great job hinting at the evil that has arrived in Pleasant Brook. Starting with a failed ceremony born of despair and revenge, the malevolence here can be seen as a combination of various horror archetypes best left undescribed, but in such a unique and specific manner that the reader is compelled further along to understand what is happening. The spread of this evil can seem monotonous, introducing a character to either be brutally converted or to expand the breadth of story, if at least for a chapter or two, but it serves its purpose wonderfully to bring life to this small-town suffering in the aftermath of the Pandemic. Lucia further does a great job of using the various characters at play here to show how society was changed by the Pandemic, and the evil itself can be seen as a metaphor for that whole situation the world is coming out of. Beyond that, The Horror at Pleasant Brook does a great job of showing how people are becoming more themselves in the wake of being forced into their homes, and how it can seem that people are growing less afraid to hide who they are.

The reader can take this novel at surface level if they are so inclined, but at its best horror is a mirror held to society. Horror can be base titillation, or it can be there to illuminate the audience. With The Horror at Pleasant Brook, Kevin Lucia does both. Feeling at times like a classic horror paperback, there is a lot more in this novel, and a lot more for the reader to appreciate. This is a fantastic read.

The description of that dang mask makes me ill and gives me shivers 😱

Excellent horror book from an author that it turns out lives less than an hour from me. Loved the different upstate NY town names throughout the book. It had elements from other legendary horror monsters but it was its own type of creature.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for my ARC!

"They were summoned from the dark by the First, and then they served the First. They would feed, spread, and become more until something made them go back to sleep once more. As always, there was the hope and the hunger that perhaps this time they wouldn’t have to go back to sleep. They could continue to eat and spread, eat spread..."

Halloween this year is very different. I. A quaint small town, people start appearing in strange black masks. And then the townspeople go missing. Something has been unleashed on the town, something ancient and powerful.

This is a horror book about a true evil, an evil without morals, that can't be reasoned with.

This was really good and bloody and gory. I definitely recommend it. Thank you netgalley and Crystal Lake Publishing for giving me an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was just not for me, couldn't not really connect with the characters, maybe just not in mood for it
Dnf

Thank you to NetGalley and Crystal Lake Publishing for this opportunity to read, rate and review this arc which will be available October 13,2023!

The desperation of a sad lonely barren woman brings about the destruction of a town in this bloody, supernatural horror book. Do not mess with the old gods or you will bring them upon the heads of all you know and love. Part thriller part splatter and part supernatural horror. And I had a blast reading it. Yes some parts made me cringe but honestly this book sets the vibe for a fun read on a spooky night. Just don’t google ancient Celtic fertility bs and you will be good!

My thanks to NetGalley and Crystal Lake Publishing for the ARC of "The Horror at Pleasant Brook" in exchange for an honest review.
Hold on to your hats.....and more importantly, your lunches or dinners. This book holds no interest in being some kind of mainstream, all-demographics=included type of frightfest.
Prepare yourself for a deep deep dive into a bottomless abyss of nihilistic carnage. We're talking hardcore, take-no-prisoners horror in all caps here........ drenched in nightmarish imagery, indescribable agonizing deaths, and enough gore that would require Hoover Dam to contain it all.
And I promise I don't exaggerate. It's been awhile since I came across a book so dedicated to taking a reader on such an uncompromising hellish ride. And I loved every oozing blood-drenched page of it.
Pleasant Brook's a sleepy little slip of a town nestled up among the Adirondacks. Unfortunately for its sparse population, one of its residents got a hold of an ancient relic, a grotesque mask that spawns a demonic entity who feeds on humankind. Not only feeds, but converts its horribly slaughtered victims into an army of similar creatures, all of them hive-connected to 'The First'.....human victim zero.
From that point on the town's reduced to a small core number of terrified people who find themselves tasked with wiping out this horrific scourge........which begs the question, can any of them survive the climactic battle? (And I should mention that author Kevin Lucia does a more than worthy job in fully bringing these characters to life so you care deeply for them and fear for their lives every step of the way.
Just keep in mind, this one's not for casual browsers of mild scares and a slightly chilly atmosphere. This is 5 star raw meat, suitable for only the hardiest of horror lovers. Don't say you weren't warned........

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of "The Horror at Pleasant Brook" in exchange for an honest review!

I love a good horror novel, and Horror at Pleasant Brook gave me something not many horror novels do-- I was getting strong "Hellraiser" vibes from it. It's creepy, it sets the scene up well-- I could get lost in this town and wondering what they were going to do with these monsters.

But-- oh my god, I had trouble finishing it. Everything is extremely well written, but there are many many pages with monster encounters to me that began to feel repetitive.

So while the book kind of gives me small-town 80s (even though it's not the 80s) vibes like Stranger Things or something, I was also so disappointed in the ending. It definitely did not fall for any horror tropes we know from movies or other books.

Overall, it's a fun read. It's just long.

This was a good horror novel. It had some gruesome scenes and what a high kill count! It has a diverse set of characters, which I really appreciated. Where else am I going to have a gay teen that loves horror movies, a nonbinary librarian, and a lesbian constable fighting monsters?

I haven't read a lot of old-school horror, but this book gives me those vibes. The way the author set up the plot was really great. It slowed down a little between 50-70%, but once you get over that hump it's quick.

Lots of gore, and multiple POVs that seem confusing but reveal their purpose later on. Very very glad I scooped this one. Had me gaping at some of the twists and gore-description.

As far as horror books go, this one had a great plot device. I won't give anything away, but it's nothing I'd read before. The plot itself was a little bland, with WAY too many recovering alcoholics (at least 4 of the main characters). Some well-written gore, a bit of a surprise ending and some strong sarcasm from a few likeable characters helped a little, but the plot was dry, most of the characters were cookies cutter and there was far too much COVID talk (it was written in mid-pandemic).

I will try a few more Kevin Lucia books, see if they are better.

Thanks to Netgalley, Kevin Lucia and Crystal Lake Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I'm really sorry, but I'm choosing to DNF this book at 54%. I've been reading it for almost 2 months now, and I cannot make myself finish it.

I love the premise. I like some of the characters a lot (Scott, the constable, Julie, Marty). I like the gore and violence. Some of it reads like a movie, and I could see this being an EXCELLENT horror film! I can kind of see the direction the story is going, and it seems super fun.

However, it is WAY too repetitive. I cannot keep reading the same descriptions of the masked people and the COVID shutdowns anymore. My eyes glaze. And on top of that, everything is overexplained, as if the reader can't be trusted to pick up on subtle hints. I feel like I'm being hit over the head with the same information a dozen times.

Also. it became really hard to remember who people are because so many new characters are introduced chapter after chapter with full backstories just to be killed immediately. It's frustrating because I'm trying to invest in them, and then they're gone, and I can't remember who is who. I guess that's when the repetitiveness comes a little in handy, but I just think a lot of editing would be a better solution.

I just can't keep doing it. I tried really hard, and I'm sorry because this seems like a lot of fun, and I really want to know how it ends. I just can't do it. It's causing me to not be able to pick up other books because this one is hanging open, and I dread it every time I open it.

I don't think it's fair to give a star rating since I didn't finish, but NetGalley forces me to. I'm leaving it at 3.

This book had a good thing going on... but for a little too long. By the end, it felt like I had read the exact same description of the masks ("wait, can masks have tongues?!") a hundred times. The baddies became incredibly repetitive. On the other hand, the main characters were pretty great, especially Scott and Marty! And the ending was rewardingly clear cut and satisfying.

Star rating : 3.5 stars

Set in the times of COVID pandemic, the horror at Pleasant Brook was a gory and scary journey to experience.

The beginning of the book was totally exciting and well written but then as we go further into the story, it gets repetitive. My biggest issue with the book was that many new characters were introduced at the start of new chapters, their backstory explained just for them to be dead at the end of the chapter. I didn't see the point of it. It was difficult to care for them or even know who they were as they were totally strangers for me in the story.

Their encounter with the "masks" was just the same. Every time the same descriptions were repeated again and again as if we could not comprehend the gravity of the situation or horror the masks were able to generate anew.

Also the references to horror movies or books throughout made me annoyed. Some character's development was really good. It could have been cut short though as some parts felt unnecessary. Overall a good book for those who like horror genre.

Thank you Netgalley and crystal Lake publishing for the ARC in exchange of and honest review.

P.S. kindly check and correct the ISBN of this number, when shared with Goodreads the review comes under different book by the same publication- Nightwood.

Pleasant Brook is not so pleasant! This book has everything you want for spooky season. Secluded small town in the Adirondacks, malevolent spirits, a band of unlikely heroes, a fight between good and evil. It played out in my head like a horror movie as I read it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me this book.

Well, this was definitely a “take no prisoners” horror novel. It kept me up way past the witching hour!

An implacable and almost unstoppable ancient force has become reanimated in modern, but small town, USA.

As this force gains in power through its gruesome need to feed and grow, a diverse coalition of locals begins to understand what’s going on and band together to fight this evil. Is it already too late for this town?

I could answer that, but you’re going to want to join in on this monster hunt yourself. Bring a stake or be a steak and good luck!

Thank you to NetGalley for this eldritch good time!!

I thought this was a really good story but a bit too long and drawn out. It was a great premise and not something seen very often. It was sufficiently scary, gory and gruesome. It was also really interesting to incorporate the isolation aspects, both of small town life and more specifically during the pandemic. It added a sense of realism and highlighted regular everyday fears.
However, I think the author tried a bit too hard to push the small town narrative element. We got backstory for every single character that appeared. I really didn't need pages of backstory for characters that only really appeared in a page or so of action. I get the author was trying to replicate the small town everybody knows everybody and their story quality but isn't that why everybody hates living in a small town.
The story ended up feeling way too drawn out and had a hard time keeping my interest.

In The Horror at Pleasant Brook, a spine-chilling tale of terror unfolds as a malevolent and insidious force descends upon a secluded town nestled deep within the Adirondacks, just in time for Halloween. This sinister entity cares not for the town's secrets, biases, or shortcomings; its sole purpose is unrelenting destruction and consumption, leaving nothing in its wake but desolation.

As the malevolent influence tightens its grip on the town, a disparate and unlikely group of individuals emerges as the only line of defence against its encroaching darkness. These individuals are the marginalized, the overlooked, and the dismissed members of the community. Despite their perceived insignificance, they find themselves compelled to confront the overwhelming evil that threatens to consume their town.

Against all odds, this motley crew of survivors must summon the strength to confront the ancient and merciless power that seeks to consume everything in its path. The odds are stacked against them, and the malevolence they face is both unrelenting and timeless. As the horror continues to spread, the group's determination to stand and fight becomes their only beacon of hope.

"The Horror at Pleasant Brook" is a gripping and heart-pounding narrative that explores themes of courage, resilience, and the unbreakable spirit of those who dare to face unimaginable darkness. As the battle intensifies and the stakes escalate, readers are taken on a relentless journey into the heart of fear, where the line between survival and annihilation becomes increasingly thin.

Lisa is in a loveless marriage and has finally succumbed to the crushing heartbreaking loneliness, in despair she unleashes an abomination that settles into the house and goes dormant. Two years later squatters in Lisa’s abandoned home awaken the evil and suddenly Pleasant Brook is not so pleasant anymore.

This has one of the best opening chapters to any book I’ve read in a long time, it is gory and visceral and you are left wondering what she has set in motion. Jump forward 2yrs and the horror does not let up, people go missing and weird masked figures haunt the area. There are definite slasher vibes here and it is a blood soaked full throttle ride of a story. The evil is unstoppable, single minded and focused, there is a supernatural/cosmic feel too. This feels nostalgic but is actually set in modern times during the pandemic it also has great LGBTQIA representation.

Set at Halloween to really turn up the creepy factor this is a first class gore fest and would make an incredible horror movie. The cast of characters is diverse, quirky and interesting and frankly I want Grace, the town’s lone police officer, with me in any crisis, she is fearsome. This was a fantastic old school horror!