Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for access to this arc.


I wanted so bad to like this but I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped. The premise sounded promising but the execution fell flat for me. There were some parts I enjoyed but I wasn’t all that excited about the story.

The biggest miss for me was the fact that it wasn’t explained why the woods were haunted, they just were. I believe providing that background would’ve helped me enjoy and understand the story more.

I can’t say I cared for any of the characters either besides Brigit’s friend, Ian. The author does get points for diversity, though. There was more representation than I see in other thrillers so I count that as a positive. And although this story was in dual POV (Brigit and Ian), there wasn’t much discernment between the two character’s thoughts and they sounded the same. I’d sometimes zone out while reading and forget whose POV it was.

Overall I was a kinda bored and it was a chore to get through. Though many have enjoyed it so I just may not have been the target audience.

really atmospheric but the plot isn’t really unique and i didn’t feel particularly driven to finish the book. good spooky atmosphere though

This is a horror story with nothing horrific; a thriller devoid of thrills; a mystery that provides no answers. I found myself confused, annoyed, and bored, but never once did I feel like I understood what was happening or why.

Perfect reading Material for a cold wet night , and your up by yourself , even though it starts out slow , the more you read the more you want to keep going because this story is dark, twisted, spooky as hack and with the right amount of the Supernatural to make you think there's something outside watching you .

Since graduating, Brigit has been running from her hometown, which claimed her sister's life. Now working with one of her best friends, Ian, she helps others solve paranormal hauntings, using her dead sister as part of the gimmick, her spirit guide if you will; they are hoping their show will get picked up. When an ex-girlfriend of her sister calls and offers her a job that pays more than they usually make, she agrees to come home. But as soon as they set foot back in Ellis Creek, Brigit knows it's a mistake. Haunted by memories of her sister and their game Wild Men, hallucinating about a circle of Birch trees and something sinister that lives within them, Brigit wants to escape the town once more. But Ian implores her to stay; two teens are missing, and maybe they can help find them, so they do. But the forest doesn't let go of what it claims so quickly, and it will use anyone to get Brigit back, including Ian and her old friends. Can they solve the mystery of The Dell?

It is a thrilling read filled with hints of horror and mystery. What is lurking in the woods of The Dell? This book is perfect for readers who love suspense and mystery novels. Heavily filled with LGBTIQA+ characters and concerns, this book sheds light on what it's like to grow up in a small town where different people are not often understood. This intertwining of real-life issues and fantasy makes the book compelling yet engaging. The book starts slowly, but the momentum picks up the longer the characters are in Ellis Creek.

Disclaimer: Although I received a complimentary Advanced Readers Copy of this book, my thoughts and opinions are mine.

This book should have been right up my alley, and I was 100% in based on the premise. Creepy trees?! Sign me up.

Unfortunately, the characters were insufferable and not in a fun way. They spent more time making eyes at each other and trying to be super nuanced, than getting down to solving the mysteries at hand.

For a variety of reasons this one dragged for me when it should have been a book I couldn’t put down. Maybe my expectations were too high with this one, and I’m sure it will find its audience.

I would give this author another try in the future but this one ended up not being for me unfortunately.

**Thank you to NetGalley and MIRA Books for the eARC of this title.**

A book full of unlikable characters doing things for over 200 pages and not keeping my attention well at all. Had a decent premise but ended up being like all the others with similar plots.

What a fun and twisty book.

Brigit travels the country with her cameraman Ian, making money be being fake paranormal investigators. When she gets a call from her hometown, the money is too good to pass up. But soon she finds herself and Ian drawn into the disappearance of two local teens, and she realizes she’s going to have to confront what happened to her sister in this town many years ago.

I love a good coming-home story, and this one has a good amount of creepiness and mystery to it. A very good read!

As someone who literally lives in the woods, this brought a lot of creepy feels for me.

Brigit is a fake psychic and cons people with the spirit of her dead sister along with her friend Ian. It’s during one of these cons when she gets a call telling her that people are going missing, just like her sister Emma did 16 years ago.
Brigit heads back to Ellis Creek to investigate the disappearances that are so like Emma’s and finds that there’s some compelling similarities. This is where the story takes off.

I like that this is told from both Brigit and Ian; Brigit is a hard character to like, she’s snarky and often pretty mean to Ian and others but I think her grift and personality are a result of her grief and the unresolved issues with Emma.
I really enjoyed this eerie story and its complex character arc. The twists were unexpected and the secondary characters complement the story.

My thanks to HTP/Mira for this gifted DRC.

Thank you Net Galley for sending me an ARC of this book.
I loved the premise of this book but felt it definitely lacking in execution.

Brigit and Ian are paranormal investigators trying to make it big with their show. However, they are frauds that are using Brigit's dead sister Emma as their fake spirit guide to cleanse supposed haunted places. When someone from Emma's past calls Brigit to come back home to investigate a potential connection between recent disappearances and her sister's death, Brigit and Ian head back to her small hometown.

This book should have been right up my alley, but it felt rushed and all over the place. Nothing felt fleshed out or detailed. There was an attempt to give the main characters back stories but it fell flat. I found towards the end that I just didn't care what happened because it was too disjointed in the plot. Each character has secrets and they were painfully extracted in a way that was too drawn out for me.

Scary woods. Mysterious disappearances and deaths. Hometown issues and prejudices. This book drew me in. It was creepy. I liked the character development. I enjoyed the "horror" part but I wish knew more of the origin. Great debut!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

When I requested wasn't so sure, bur thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Will be looking for more by this author.

Even if it isn't your typical gonre, I think you will enjoy.

Recommend.

This was a very interesting, paranormal horror with almost a gothic edge to it. Brigit gets summoned back to her hometown by her sister's ex girlfriend, who says Brigit may be the only one who can help ind two missing teens who have gone missing in the Dell, the dense forest surrounding the town. When she arrives, she finds there is an eerie connection to the death of her sister, so many years past.

I was definitely not expecting the twists in this book, nor the big bad reveal! The story kept me on the edge of my seat the entire 2nd half and I could not put it down!

The real shining star of What Grows In The Dark is the deep character development and interactions. I felt sometimes that the story took the backseat to focus more on character development which was definitely a good call at the beginning, but late on it came at a detriment to the plot.

I love when a debut slaps!! This didn’t feel like a debut and I can’t wait to read more from Jaq Evan’s.

What grows in the dark is part investigation story, part supernatural thriller, working so ridiculously well together. I was on edge the whole time.

Years ago, Brigit lost her sister. She walked into the woods in their hometown and never came out. Now, people are missing in an eerily similar way and Brigit is called back to investigate. Brigit is a phony, though… She and her camera man go around and search for supernatural activity, faking results for payment, leaving many unforgiving of her predatory practices.

She encounters much more than she bargained for back home in Ellis Creek. With more and more unexplainable things happening surrounding the missing teens, Brigit is putting herself and Ian in danger searching for the truth.

The ways this book freaked me out, OMG! The woods can be a scary place, but in this book, it can be INVASIVE. This takes twists and turns that I wasn’t expecting and I enjoyed it so much.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the e-arc to, “ What Grows in the Dark” by Jaq Evans. This title is set to be published March, 5 2024.

Move over Ghostbusters, Bridgit and Ian are on the case! Haunted woods? No problem! “What Grows in the Dark” takes us down a dual narrative journey of mystery and Intrigue. The small-town trope is alive and kicking as our Heros battle the forces of evil.

“What Grows in the Dark” Is a decent debut from Jaq Evans. Her delivery is well laid out for the most part. There are questions that I would have liked better answered, but that’s life. If you enjoyed Erin E.Adam’s, “Jackal” you most likely will like what is being offered here. I rate this 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4) out of 5.

TW: suicide

3.5 stars, rounded up.

Brigit and her ghost-hunting partner, Ian, are called to Brigit’s hometown of Ellis Creek, Virginia, a place Brigit never wanted to return to as it is haunted for her by memories of her dead sister, Emma, by one of Emma’s ex-girlfriends, now a cop. Two teenagers have gone missing, and Alicia can’t help but think it’s yet another disappearance connected to a series of deaths and disappearances connected to the dark woods on the town’s outskirts- including Emma’s. And Brigit and Ian may be the only ones who will listen to her and can connect the dots. Because Brigit has always had a strange connection to the woods. But is this “connection” deadly? And how many people will go down with her?

The book is told from both Ian and Brigit’s POVs, with some memos/police reports interspersed throughout the book.

I really enjoyed the story and the overall atmosphere of the book. I mean, dark woods that may or may not be haunted - what a creepy treat! The author said he was inspired by the sensation of being “lost in the woods” and you definitely get that creepy feeling as you read. There’s almost a claustrophobic sense as you read which adds to the suspense. The author does a great job creating a scene and really sticking with.

And the twists and turns - including the ending - are quite interesting! There were some things I didn’t see coming, for sure. It definitely kept things interesting. And that kept my attention all throughout the book.

I just wish the nature of everything was more explained. The conclusion/“explanation” was a little too vague for my taste. I wish it had been more laid out how it worked and would work. I don’t want to say more, but once you read the book, you’ll see what I mean. Also, some of the writing was overly wordy. I felt myself reading paragraphs and not absorbing them at points.

But overall, I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend it. It’s creepy and atmospheric; a good book for fans of Stephen King-esque thrillers!

This book was okay. I just was not able to get invested in the storyline or the characters. This was not my favorite.

Very riveting. It was difficult to put down and the writing was fresh and concise. Definitely interested in others from this author

This book had me in a chokehold several times. It's been awhile since l've read a book that I can't put down until I know what happens next. It kept me guessing the entire time. It's shocking, spooky, & unsettling in all the ways horror should be. I’ll definitely be keeping my eye out for more books from this author.

“When phony spiritualist Brigit Weylan is drawn back to her hometown to assist in a case that eerily mirrors her sister's death sixteen years prior, she must confront the secrets she's been running from — because something has waited a very long time for Brigit to come home.“