That Night in the Woods follows the story of a group of childhood friends, grown up and back in town to celebrate the memory of one of their own: the recently deceased Steven. But the town stirs up childhood memories best left forgotten, and the secrets hiding in the woods want their due in blood. Will the group be able to survive the monsters that lurk in the shadows?

This was the perfect scary read for Halloween. This book was dark and atmospheric. I enjoyed the many layers in this carefully woven tale. There were secrets upon secrets that really helped keep things dark and mysterious. Nothing is what you suspect, prepare for midnight plot twists! I really enjoyed the characters, the setting, and the pacing. I love books that keep me guessing and this book did not disappoint.

Thanks to NetGalley and Cemetery Dance Publications for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily and all views expressed are my own.

This is my first Triana's book and I loved the writing style.. Although I was compelled to read it until the end, I have to admit I was underwhelmed by the whole plot and felt the story was dragged most of the time, with sparingly engaging and fast paced scenes.

Loved the setting and the reunion-of-old-friends-as-adults trope and how the characters were introduced at the beginning and were revealed to us throughout the book, through their thoughts, memories and actions.
As one fateful Halloween night as teens they decide to celebrate it camping in Suicide Woods, the woods revealed themselves in all their horror which they never talked about ever again! A secret that stayed with them all their lives.
When the group come together to honour the memory of one of their friends who has died, all the memories of that night come back as a punch and sets in motion something that should have happened long time ago..

Overall, although I expected more from this story from how it was laid out in the beginning, foreseeing some of the plot and getting confused at times toward the end, I did enjoy the writing and Triana's ability of creating the perfect atmosphere, so I definitely will be reading more from him.

Thank you to Kristopher Triana and Netgalley for the copy and this is my honest review.

I adored this book and couldn’t put it down. The pacing was amazing and it kept me on the edge of my seat. No spoilers but I was so happy with the ending too! Just perfection.

I thought many times I knew where this book was going. No I didnt see it coming. It's like the blair witch project on steroids. i enjoyed every minute of it!

That Night in the Woods is about five friends that are now in their forties, all unhappy with their lives (unemployed, divorcee, fails in achieve their dream etc.), has decide to have small reunion when one of their friends from childhood dies. They had all gone their separate ways after a tragedy on Halloween night in 1995.

The premise, the story was so interesting (which what make me want to request this book), the book start off very slow, with each have their own POV. So we get to know gist of their story after growing up. I start to get invested after 2nd part of the book where everything is slowly reveal on what happened in that wood. The atmosphere is creepy, sure. But its not scary enough to make me feel stop reading. It was okay, and I appreciate the writing style. Although I feel like this book could be shorter cause at some parts it feels like the story is dragging. Especially the insane feelings that the characters have toward each other, like who they had a crush on, who did they feel attracted to at the moment which make me goes ??? Their friendship must be the weirdest thing I ever read, it was messy and genuinely make me thinking how did they become friends?

I'm a sucker for something creepy, especially if its involve a huge dark twisted place like the Suicide Wood. Its a great suspense, intense moment but lack of creepiness in my opinion. Not only that, the story kind of goes insane in that 30% at the end. Its predictable and quite rushed.

Thank you to Netgalley and Cemetry Dance Publications for providing me with this ARC.

A group of friends get back together after many years as a request by one of the friends that has passed away. As they come together, they decide to go back to the woods to replay a Halloween night years before.
I enjoyed the authors writing style and also enjoyed the premise of the book. I somewhat knew the characters, but didn’t really have any strong connection to one of them.
I don’t get scared reading stories, but can say that this book is creepy.
I would love to thank #netgalley #cemeterydancepublications for the opportunity to have an ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley and Cemetery Dance Publications for access to this arc.

I have quite a bit of mixed feelings about this book. First, i like the way its written. Even though at first there were quite a few different characters, I didn't feel confused. I enjoyed the read. However, I feel like it's the genre that I didn't really like. Maybe horror is not quite for me and I'll stick to purely thrillers. I would totally recommend to horror fans though.

Absolutely love Kristopher Triana! That Night in the Woods is a perfect read for spooky season. It’s got demons, cults, small town drama, and best friends just trying to not have a lame Halloween. It’s the kind of book that really gets in your head. It definitely made me think twice about spending a night in the woods again. Highly recommend and look forward to reading all of Kristopher’s books!

I have come to the conclusion that Kristopher Triana will never disappoint me. There is something about his writing that just clicks with me and draws me in. His ability to build and sustain suspense throughout a book is incredible.

This book centers around a group of childhood friends who, now as adults, return to their hometown and reconnect for the first time to try and get some answers about the last fateful night that they spent together. From the description, this did not sound like a book that I would normally be interested in, but when I saw the author, I didn't give it a second thought. The story alternates through each character's perspective, which I really liked. I really felt that each of them had their own voice, and I was able to thoroughly understand who they were and what their motivations were.

As a reader, the main driver in this book was the suspense and mystery around what happened that night and what is happening now. With each answer I got, more questions would arise, and nothing was set into plain view until the end. Nothing felt predictable to me, but everything made sense, with just enough breadcrumbs and hints along the way to make you curious, but not spoil anything, which is a feat in itself for a book like this.

I felt a bit disappointed about what I thought was the big reveal at first, but as I read on and learned more, I came back around and felt more satisfied. Also, this is the first book that has made me audibly gasp, so that has to count for something too right?

Things get pretty intense toward the end, but most of the book focuses on suspense instead. Though it is bloody at times, you are spared the grotesque details for the most part, making this a more accessible read for those who tend to avoid splatterpunk and extreme horror. It is very dark, however, so be prepared to deal with some heavy stuff.

“That Night in the Woods” is a gripping horror novel, offering up some genuinely frightening sequences that crawl under your skin and fester. It’s a very fun read, with a great cast of characters and a chilling plot. While the end of the book falls into the realm of predictability, the rest of the novel is far from it.

3.5 stars out of 5

This book has a few familiar tropes like 'adults returning to face there childhood demons' like in IT by King and Black Mouth by Ronald Malfi, and another trope that I will not mention, as it is part of the twist that happens at about the 60-70% mark, and I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but it's something we have seen before but not in this combination.

It was extremely well written, with a great atmosphere and characters, and very enjoyable.

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.*

Having read Gone to See the River Man earlier in the year, I was so excited to see this come up on Net Galley, so thank you Net Galley for the version I received of this!

Enjoyed this so much I couldn't put it down and had to finish it in one day, loved the slowly unfolding mystery and the descriptions of the autumn vibes and spooky woods were absolutely perfect to kick off Halloween season.

I don't know if it's because I was enjoying the book so much, but I was a little caught off guard by the ending. I felt like it just ends and I was like Oh, is that it? But it might have been because I just didn't want it to end.

The copy I received also had some typos and errors which always ends up taking me slightly out of the book, but I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to read it regardless!

I absolutely love stories where people come home and meet up after a long period of time. They are literally my favorite.
This one though didn't do it for me. It just wasn't for me, but I don't read a ton of cheesy tropey horror. I can think of friends of mine who would DIE to read this book and form fan clubs.
So it isn't a bad book at all. I am just not into it.
I want to see what the author writes next because I love the setting.

I tried, I really did. I made it to about 60% before deciding to DNF this book.

I couldn't connect to any of the characters. I found them all unlikeable and just uninteresting. The whole first 50% was just so slow and boring and I was having trouble getting myself to read more. So, for me, I had to DNF.

I've heard so much hype about Triana's writing, so I was doubly disappointed. I will be giving his other works a try, though.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this book. <i>That Night in the Woods</i> releases in October 2023.

<i>That Night in the Woods</i> follows a group of friends who are called to return to their hometown twenty-some years after a tragic occurrence on Halloween.

I liked the framework of this story, and I enjoy narratives that follow a group of people who have to return someplace a certain of amount of time after a huge event. They can be fun stories.

This, unfortunately, wasn't really a fun story. It was entertaining in a B horror kind of way, where you're waiting to see what happens next but cringing on the journey.

I hope this book saw more editing in between the e-arc and its final releases, as there are some hilarious mistakes like saying someone lives "next store" instead of next door and calling spanx "Spankx." My favorite had to be "loving making" though, because oh boy.

My real issue with this book is that the characters are nothing. They are just stereotypical and all of the exposition dumps provided to give them depth and characterization are either unnecessary or just further stereotype them. Mark is the bad boy fuck up and Jenny is the obsessed with her high school sweet heart good girl and Corey is the "nice boy" whose just so nice and nerdy that he's neverrrrr going to really be loved by a woman (incel vibes). There is absolutely nothing to them, combined with the fact that they are all insufferable, made this a hard read.

The novel either needed to be longer to really delve the town, the woods, and the characters, or it needed to be a novella with all that unnecessary exposition cut.

I also yearn for the day when horror writers stop using disfigurement as a way to show someone is horrifying. It's ableist and disgusting. Please stop.

There's also some weird kid stuff in here, a la this book's clear inspiration, <i>It</i>. <spoiler>And the whole cult thing was...weird. Needed more explanation. </spoiler>

So, yeah, overall I wouldn't recommend. It was not great, unless you're in the mood for a B horror read and can deal with some cringy writing.

[Any quotes used in this review are from an advance reader's copy and do not reflect the final copy. Please refer to the finished copy.]

That Night in the Woods is a spooky slasher read for every horror fan and has that ending that you are not expecting. This book delivers the non stop thrills that will leave you turning the pages until you get done reading this book. The book was an enjoyable read with the suspense, mystery and gore and would recommend it to any horror fan. The author has created the perfect spooky Halloween location by putting it in the middle of the woods with a group of friends. Definitely will recommend this one to any horror fans. Thank you to NetGalley and Cemetery Dance Publications for this ARC read in exchange of my honest review.

Scott invites his old love Jennifer and the rest of the crew, Tracey Mark and Corey back to their home town to mourn the passing of an old friend. This group of friends have a secret, a dark secret that happened in the woods known as Suicide Woods and have tried to leave it in the past, however Scott manages to convince them to go into these creepy woods once more. Full of murder with twists and turns this was one I didn't want to put down!

⚠️Slight Spoiler Here ⚠️
The only downside for me was that it wasn't actually Paranormal stuff going down in those woods just normal human horror 🤦

**3.75 stars
okay, I'm a huge fan of creepy books that will have chills running down my spine and this book delivered just that. I've never been a fan of the woods and cabins in the woods and this book has both. From the very first page, you're trying to figure out what is happening and this book has you guessing after every page turn. This book was a great read and this will be going on my list of spooky books to read during October.

I completely devoured this book! I noticed that it is a different type of novel than Triana usually writes. There is amazing character development, which leads you to care about what happens to this group of friends. This book felt very Stephen King-esque! Given King is one of my favorite authors, I loved the feel of this book. I felt like it had "It" vibes because of the relationship with the friends having to confront a dark event from their past. The book is haunting, and the scary scenes are gory, which gives you the Kristopher Triana feels.

This book revolves around a couple friends from high school and a life-changing event that occurs on Halloween. It is a night that has a haunting effect on them for the rest of their lives. One of the friends, Scott, reaches out to all the others because Stephen had passed away and left them in his will. They all go back to their hometown even though they said they would never go back.

Reliving their experiences and trying to correct the mistakes of the past make this book horrifying, intense, and gut-wrenching. I absolutely recommend this book to anyone who loves spooky, creepy stories that are also a smattering of extreme horror.

That Night in the Woods by Kristopher Triana is a story reminiscent of The Losers Club from IT, in that a group of five friends meet up after twenty years to celebrate and mourn the loss of one of the group, Steven. I’m afraid that’s where the comparison ends. This unfortunately wasn’t a book that worked for me. It was a real slog to get through it and I did think about DNF’ing it at several points. The story starts off extremely slow and the POV’s alternating without warning and did find myself getting frustrated.

That Night in the Woods follows Jennifer, Traci, Corey and Mark coming back to Redford after Scott gets back in touch with them to inform them of the passing of their friend Steven. Each friend seems to be at different stages of their lives – some are married, some divorced all still quite immature, but one thing that was blindingly obvious is that they’re all miserable. When they arrive at Scott’s (who still resides in Redford) the awkwardness is off the scale, and they all just seem to immediately fall back into their teenage selves.

This is one of the issues I had with the story – the falling back into past behaviours. Here they are all meeting up again after twenty years and they suddenly forget about jobs, families, responsibilities. I just found I had to suspend disbelief a little too much. Scott presents them with information relating to Steven’s death, mysterious journals, new details and then again with the acting like teenagers, despite hearing about the new details and Jennifer going through a recent divorce, falls into bed with Scott. I mean there’s no way in hell I’d sleep with an ex again, especially after twenty years, I just wasn’t buying it.

They revisit that night twenty years ago, that night in the woods, that night they vowed to never speak of again, and here they are speaking of it again. The story went back and forth and when I got to the scene of them in the woods, I was fully expecting to have the pants scared off me, but it just wasn’t what I had been expecting.

That Night in the Woods had so much potential, but I was just left feeling so deflated by the whole experience. I have the author’s other works on my TBR and will be reading them, but this just wasn’t for me. Again, this is a subjective view and may be different for everyone.