This book is a book within a book. We follow our main character Tom and his wife Sarah. Sarah is shocked when her husband is suddenly arrested for attempted murder after an incident with a man and his daughter in the mall. He wrote a book with some wild allocations about his childhood in it like a talking Christmas tree and a creatures who pretends to be mrs. Claus. He claims that this creature it back and Sarah has to go and figure out the true story and protect her family.

I enjoyed this book! I always love a book within a book and that was a nice way to show flashbacks in the book. The alternating POVs were a nice touch to the story. I also enjoyed the creepy Christmas horror! The scenes were described in such vivid detail and I really enjoyed that.

I would recommend this to people who want some Christmas horror! Thanks so much to netgalley and deadbolt books for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

It's been a while since I could find a book I didn't want to DNF. And this is one I couldn't put down. It had such an interesting mix of thriller and child like horror. The author definitely took some risks and I hope they don't more in future books. I loved this book and I highly recommend it.

“Her heart raced, and fireworks exploded in the corners of her eyes. The rest of her vision went dark. Only, the fireworks weren’t white… They twinkled red and green.”

The books I’ve read by Jon Cohn so far have been exceptional. “Everything is Temporary” is another banger!

From page 1 you’re sucked into a malevolent, evil Christmas tale of terror. Spanning two generations, with an unreliable central character, we follow along not knowing if the events are to believed, or if there are more natural/human causes to explain what has occurred.

Tom has a serious mental breakdown after a bizarre encounter at the mall. Is it his traumatic past catching up to him, or is there something true to the tall tales he begins to share with his wife. Can his family stick together? Or will his claims and actions cause his wife and daughter to shun him? Why does he shun the Season of Joy with a desperate fear?

This is a chilling and a perfect holiday horror tale to add to your winter reading list. I can’t wait to see what the author comes up with next!

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Deadbolt Books for a copy!

This was a fun and creative story. There are some super heavy themes to take note of, don't mistake my use of "fun". The idea for the whole book, starting with the crossing out of the authors name was just really intriguing. I hope to read more books by this author in the future.

A dark and riveting tale the will have your heart pumping. This was a lot of fun. I loved the Claus element. A great adventure.

I read Jon Cohn's "Slashtag" several months ago and was very interested in checking out his follow-up, "Everything is Temporary." It's a great horror/thriller title that brought me back to my days of reading youth mysteries like the Hardy Boys books and the Three Investigator series. But Cohn manages to balance that teen element with a sense of genuine threat and dread, particularly in the first chapter and the climax. Highly recommended.

This right here was such a great book! It had some of everything. From talking trees, childhood trauma, mystery to things that are unbelievable to most but the fraction that do believe are scared of and Christmas horror. You know those movies that are Christmas but some don't believe they are. Die Hard (yes its a Christmas movie and I accept no criticism about that), Gremlins, Leathal Weapon and Edward Scissorhands to name a few. This book made me feel like the first time I watched those movies, I loved the horror/action set to the Christmas time.

Now if you like to see what treasures this book holds grab a copy when it is released. The characters really stand out and you get such a variety of personalities that you enjoy each one for who they are. The references to older time classics (yes I'm in the older time group 80's/90's) was so comforting during these characters time of turmoil. With the way it was told you get way more than what you think you're getting and will grab you from the beginning to the end! The author did such a great job with this and I will be looking forward to more reads by him!

Christmas came early this year!

This was an absolutely chaotic book in all the best ways. The story within a story trope is heavy throughout this book but done in a way that flows so well. A deeply enjoyable read, not just for Christmas time, you can read this any time of year.

Some of my favorite bits: (not spoilers)
Evergreen was probably my favorite character, the description of him looking around the base for a present really made me visualize the scene, it really added to the atmosphere.
The lines from Home Alone being thrown out as threats got me laughing every time.

Something that bugged me:
These children (under thirteen) are insanely smart, and immediately ready to be dangerous. It took me out of the story a couple times with their dialogue towards each other, expressing deep understanding of their emotional and physical wellbeing, it juxtaposed the innocence (say with using Home Alone references as threats)

Again, absolute classic! I highly encourage anyone to read this one. So much fun.

A huge thank you to NetGalley for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.

Just plain fun.

Read this if your favorite part of NOS4A2 was Christmasland. Read this if you prefer movies like Beetlejuice and The Witches over movies like The Exorcist or Omen. Read this if you want to be spooked, without being disgusted or depressed. Read this if you like rooting for underdogs, book within a book, and/or if Christmas and Halloween tie for your favorite holiday. Go in looking for a fun ride that doesn't take itself too seriously. You won't be disappointed.

As a side note, I really appreciated the representation of bullying. The author did a nice job showing how people who are hurting, hurt other people - but also how that doesn't have to be their legacy. I thought this story had a surprising amount of heart for a short horror book. Totally worth the read.

Special Thanks for Jon Cohn and Deadbolt Books for this wonderful ARC copy of this book

This book has crafted a worthwhile and creative Christmas Horror story in this one. I really enjoyed the character progression as the story unfolded always on the verge of feeling like it was going to crash and burn. the dynamic of fighting an evil band of Christmas characters through childhood into adulthood is very reminiscent of Stephen King's IT but I am here for it and loved all of the dynamics and descriptions provided within to immerse myself in this world. I loved reading this one and hope to read more from the author soon! I would 100% recommend this to a friend especially around the Christmas holiday

You know, for something so cute sounding as talking Christmas trees, sentient candy canes, and Christmas magic, this story was surprisingly disconcerting.

I honestly didn't know who to believe right up until the end, and it really took me for a ride. I was practically certain of what was reality, but then Jon would throw something in that had me questioning everything. I was absolutely enamoured with this as it's been a long time since a book left me completely clueless like this did.

Poor Sarah really is a trooper. She was thrown into this awful situation by Tom out of nowhere, and she did her best to carefully navigate everything and support her husband the best that she could right to the end. I really respect that in a person and loved her as a character! She was the star in a dynamite cast of characters already, and I loved her growth in the story.

Everything is Temporary contains some extremely sensitive topics: childhood cancer, death, trauma. Jon was so delicate in presenting these topics, and that really speaks to his ability as an author to handle sensitive topics like that in the best ways.

I really can't say enough about Jon and his work. This was my second read by him and he's blown me away both times. If you've never read anything by him, you're seriously doing yourself a disservice! Jon is one of the best authors I've ever read, and you won't be disappointed by giving him a chance!

Big thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this early!

4 stars

Super fast paced and original novel. Believe the hype, it’s totally fun and unique. The characters are great, and they mystery of it all is intriguing.

Tom is in trouble for arson and attempted murder but he claims the victim is a monster. This monster poses as Mr. or Mrs. Claus and runs a Christmas house all year long. This monster was in Tom's childhood and wants revenge. Is Tom telling the truth about a talking Christmas tree living ornaments and a monster that feeds on its victims. Unique story to bring a terrifying Christmas chill.

Jon Cohn gives readers another fun, engaging, and unique horror story with his 3rd novel about the evils that may lurk around the happiest time of year. Throughout the book two tonally different but deeply interconnected stories interweave with one another, alternately juxtaposing and complimenting the other. At their core are a shared sense of fear. On one side are the fantastical and whimsically nightmarish fears of a child, and on the other the solemn and grounded fears of an adult trying to protect the family unit while navigating legal hardships.

Readers of his prior works will find themselves in safe hands, breezing through the pages and being met with imaginative and entertaining horror elements and plot points, backed by relatable and well developed core characters. I personally can't wait to see what Jon has for us next.

This book was like if Stephen King’s IT had a baby with Christmas. It was fantastic and and I absolutely flew through it. The entire story was a lot of fun and had such a great, steady pace throughout. We bounce between the present with Tom, his wife Sarah, and their daughter Emma struggling through some issues and the past where something traumatic and absolutely fantastical happened to Tom and his friends. I so enjoyed everything about this story and will definitely be buying a copy for my shelves and recommending it to everyone. It is one of my top favorite books I have read so far this year.

I love a good horror book that involves teenagers joining forces against evil. It gives me feelings reminiscent of IT.

A written manuscript explains how Tom Barnes comes to be charged with arson and attempted murder when he confronts a man in his neighborhood. Switching between his wife's point of view and the manuscript, it weaves a tale that seems fantastical. I couldn't wait to find out how it ended.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for my ARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’m not going to lie. There were a couple times while I read this book where I stopped and thought specifically that some of the elements just weren’t going to work. Then they worked. This book is a wild ride, absurd but heartfelt, a twisted Christmas horror that kept me turning the page. It offers an interesting and unexpected combination of elements: It meets Goonies meets A Christmas Story meets Babes in Toyland meets…well, I don’t want to spoil some of the surprises. Most importantly though is that at its core, Cohn provides us a likeable and developed family you both root for and raise your eyebrows at. This book provides the kind of absurd but dark imagination that I suspect only Jon Cohn can offer us.

I've been a fan of Jon Cohn since his debut book - The Island Mother - came out. He's a master at weaving emotion and humanity into horror books that gives you a real insight into the characters.
In Everything Is Temporary, we meet Sarah, Tom, and Emma - who are all reeling from the death of Emma's BFF in different ways. When Emma is detained for vandalizing mall property, Tom and Sarah head down to pick her up from security, setting off a chain of events, each more bizarre than the next that has Sarah questioning everything about who her husband is.
Add in a seemingly charming older neighbor that Emma has been spending time with without her parents knowing, and Dad mode is activated. But all is not what it seems and soon Tom is arrested for attacking a Mall Santa.
If you're a fan of Stephen King and Joe Hill, you'll notice nods to "It" and "NOS4A2" minus the clowns (PTL) and vampires - but it's the way that Jon Cohn is able to bring the past and present together in the last ten chapters that keeps you reeling and clinging to the edge of your seat till the last page.
This is the perfect holiday horror story!

How well do we really know the people sleeping next to us in bed at night?

A very creepy little horror novel. Well done, well-written and well-plotted.

An evil Christmas tree, killer nutcracker statues and candy canes, and Mrs. Claus as an inhuman supernatural creature. If that sounds good to you (and, really, why wouldn't it?) than this is the book for you.

This novel and all of the description above might lead you to believe this is a campy cheesy novel that is more tongue in cheek than scary. But you'd be wrong.

The author takes these elements and has written a straight up horror book that looks at these seemingly humorous things and plays them straight. You KNOW what you're reading is ridiculous but you don't care because you suspend your disbelief and are terrified at the proceedings.

This book takes place with a group of people as children facing this evil and, again, as adults having to fight it again as it comes for family members and loved ones. Yes it sounds a bit like Stephen King's IT but that's where the comparison ends.

It's truly suspenseful, filled with dread, and horrifying what this creature is capable of. And throughout the majority of this book we're left to wonder if our protagonist has simply lost his mind or not. Because there's no proof of his incredible claims and his family starts to see him as someone to perhaps fear.

So you have family drama, suspenseful sequences, a terrifying creature, and some brutal scenes that you can't unsee! I highly recommend this holiday themed terror ride.