I often find myself thinking about Bird Box by Josh Malerman. How I wanted more stories from more people in the world (not Malorie). I wanted to know about the guy on the boat- the one who tells them to JUST LOOK there’s no problem. I wanna know about him!
Well cue Your Shadow Half Remains. So very Bird Box in the best way.
Story- intriguing.
Writing - immaculate
Ending - perfection.
Once again I’m out here loving a book with a Goodreads rating below 3.4 🤣
Thanks NetGalley, wish I had gotten to this one sooner (particularly because it’s quite short) so I could have championed it before release.

Normally I'm not one to read books about pandemic/epidemics, etc. but I'm pleasantly surprised to say I really enjoyed this one. For such a short book it really packed a punch. I was legitimately spooked and freaked out a couple of times with the author's excellent detailed descriptors. Especially being this author's debut I was super impressed with the writing style and how well this whole book was put together. I loved the short chapters (obviously) and how tense I felt while reading. It definitely reminded me of Bird Box but it was different enough that it didn't feel like copy and paste. The ending left me very curious and intrigued and I'm excited for what the author comes up with next.

Many thanks to Tor Nightfire for the gifted copy for my honest review!

I found the premise to be very intriguing, and the writing style did not disappoint. The author has a way of evoking feelings of horror and upset with very lyrical prose that I found extremely unsettling in a really compelling way. However, I felt that the cliffhanger ending and the somewhat locked room setting left me with more questions than answers, and I would have liked to see more information given about the world as a whole.

"Your Shadow Half Remains" by Sunny Moraine is a hauntingly beautiful exploration of identity and memory, set against a backdrop of dark, evocative fantasy. Its lyrical prose and deeply emotional storytelling make it a memorable and thought-provoking read.

Your Shadow Half Remains by Sunny Moraine: A Haunting Exploration of Isolation

Your Shadow Half Remains is a chilling novella that masterfully weaves a tapestry of dread, isolation, and the primal human need for connection. Set against a backdrop reminiscent of the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the author creates a world where a terrifying disease has transformed society into a desolate, fear-ridden landscape.

The story follows Riley, a solitary figure trapped in a world where eye contact is a death sentence. Her existence is a haunting reflection of the loneliness and uncertainty that gripped us all during the pandemic's initial stages. Yet, the author takes this familiar terrain to a nightmarish extreme, crafting a narrative that is both profoundly unsettling and undeniably compelling.

The novel's greatest strength lies in its ability to evoke a visceral sense of dread. The claustrophobic atmosphere, coupled with the looming threat of violence, keeps the reader on edge throughout. Riley's internal turmoil, a complex interplay of paranoia and desire, is rendered with raw authenticity. Her desperate longing for human contact is a poignant counterpoint to the terrifying consequences of such connection.

While the subject matter is undoubtedly disturbing, the author's skillful prose and pacing make for a truly immersive reading experience. Your Shadow Half Remains is a bold and thought-provoking exploration of the human psyche under extreme pressure, and a testament to the power of storytelling to illuminate our darkest fears.

For such a short book, I had a lot of trouble getting through it. I really liked the premise and really wanted to enjoy it and I did enjoy parts of it but I think the writing style may not have been for me.

The over all story was interesting and the plot twists were fun and the exploration of the character really stuck with me for a while. I think for the right reader this would be a very enjoyable book.

While this had the potential to be a gripping psychological horror book, the rambling twisted turns of Riley's mind felt more like a demented version of Inside Out. By the end, I was more interested in seeing Riley turn Ellis into a crazed killer like her or just straight up murder them. The cliffhanger ending was lacking to me.

I can't believe this author has the talent to make ME really enjoy a postapocalyptic book. what an impressive debut 👏🏼

A short novella that was both haunting and intriguing and just made you want to LOOK.

I found the premise very interesting, with writing that packs a punch. It almost read like slam poetry and added action to scenes that would otherwise have to be very descriptive. I liked the characters and the isolation feeling that really flows through the pages. The cover is super creepy and was one of the initial reasons I picked this up.

Overall, a fun, quick read!

"Your Shadow Half Remains" is an engrossing and introspective novel that masterfully blends psychological prospective, discomfort notes and horror tints.

The book takes readers on an emotional and questioning journey on what is reale, what is not and if, actually ,the only pov in this little novella is reliable: the protagonist is portrayed with striking realism at first - and everything seems "birdboxing" and right, the prose vivid with angst until everything changes and the reader starts to question the main character and her beliefs. this short novel is extremely condensed but full of compelling moments, some disturbing scenes and covid reference. that will make your skin itch for how this actually resembles real life.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with this e-ARC! I do my reviews on my social media platforms. I am currently working on getting through my reviews so stay tuned! Leaving a rating as a placeholder for me and to not effect the books rating in order to post this. Thanks again!

an atmospheric horror with a lot of potential, this is a slow-creeping tale that evokes the anxiety of pandemic-era sentiments. a little too much going on for the short page count here, but still a good, creepy read.

Definitely reminiscent of Bird Box, this thriller novella started out strong. Even though it was quite short, I found myself bored and wishing for it to wrap up. The writing was full of lovely imagery but instead of building tension it seemed to slow things down. In the end, it wasn't a favorite.

Novellas are always hit or miss for me. I wish there would have been a little more insight here into what was actually going on. I know you're supposed to be a little in the dark with the unreliable narrator but I just felt like I didn't get enough to really care and delve into the story. It was really well written though and I would love to give something else by Sunny Moraine a try.


Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the ARC!

This was a poignant and horrific exploration of what it means to be human in the face of civilisation breakdown. The idea of going insane by looking is not a new one, but I thought that Sunny Moraine did a good job at breathing new life into it. This was a study in paranoia and the need for human interaction, despite the dangers and I appreciated the discussion around the dangers implicit in this even without a deadly madness ensuing. The ending was pretty brutal and overall, I thought this was a great and heart breaking read.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book left a lot to be desired and also… I don’t really care enough to desire more anyway? Idk this was just meh

It wasn’t horror in my opinion. It was trying to be Bird Box without any of the attachment to the characters or story. Like everything was surface level and awkward. I didn’t care about whatever relationship Riley and Ellis were building, I didn’t really even feel all that excited by the evil scary mystery of looking in peoples eyes.

The concept was really cool and it had some cool elements. The flashbacks of the mom. The paranoia. But it was missing things for sure.

All that said, this was such a quick read that it wasn’t all that bad to just zip through in a few hours.

This was very interesting in the beginning, but I lost interest as the story went on. For a novella, I felt like very long to me. I liked what the author was trying to say, but it didn't work for me. I would recommend it to people, even though I didn't love it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for my review.

YOUR SHADOW HALF REMAINS by Sunny Moraine is set in a world where eye contact can kill. Riley has isolated herself away from the world, living off online orders for groceries and supplies. As the book opens, she's throwing her phone into the lake, yet another step farther away from any human contact. The story progresses when someone moves in close by and she must navigate how to deal with human contact again (or choose not to) while strange things start to happen to her which may or may not be connected.

I think that this book had a lot of potential to really create a creepy atmosphere and I did find that there were some moments that achieved the vibes I was looking for. That said, there was a lot of time spent in Riley's head that took us onto a lot of tangents and I felt like this was longer than it needed to be. For such a short book, I found it a little too easy to put down.

I would definitely try reading from Sunny Moraine again in the future even if this one fell a bit flat for me.

This was so weird. I kinda feel like it was too short and the pacing was really weird because of that. The ending felt super rushed but worst of all it was basically left up to you to discern what was going on and I didn’t love that

𝘞𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮?

This novella is compared to Bird Box where eye contact seems to cause people to become violent. We meet Riley who has not looked at anyone's face or eyes in a while. A new neighbor moves to town and Riley has an overwhelming need to interact with Ellis. As they grow closer, Riley’s grip on reality begins to slip. Is Ellis trying to drive her crazy, is Riley already infected or is she losing her mind from isolation?

I thought this was an intense read with some gore and violence. We only get Riley's perspective so there's an element of not knowing what's the truth. I wasn't sure if she was really losing her mind or she's just not telling the reader everything. If you enjoy apocalyptic books, make sure to check this out

Thank you Tor Nightfire for an advanced copy.