Thank you to the Publisher Wicked House Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC.

This is one’s got it all trauma, grief, fear, camping, monsters, coming of age, different POV,, and horror. This was a page turner for sure!!! Kind of lagged towards the end but still interesting.

4/5 ⭐️

This was my first novel by William F. Gray and I very much enjoyed his straightforward writing style and rich dialogue. But, more than anything, I very much enjoyed reading a horror story that had actual character development (something I find lacking in many a horror novel). I became very attached to the characters and it was wonderful to watch them figure out their problems and grow from their experiences.

Overall, a very fun story, well worth the read!

A group of boys and their fathers take an annual camping trip to the Appalachian Mountains. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until the boys grew older and found out the real reason for the camping trip.

Our Fathers’ Burden is a creature feature packed full of action, terror, loss, and grief. There was never a dull moment in this book. I found it to be atmospheric, which I love. The buildup creates a lot of mystery and all the pieces falling into place reveal things I never expected. The ending also brings another element of surprise that will really make you think.

Harry was my favorite character but all of them were good and added so much to the story. The tension between them was believable, as were their own personal struggles. Gray did a wonderful job with them. This is an author I will definitely be watching, and I look forward to reading more of his work.

Grief is a monster. Literally. A group of men set off to fulfill their respective father's final wishes by taking a trip together into the woods the same yearly "hunting" trip they used to go on with their fathers, with some mysterious cassette tapes, one for each son, and it quickly decends into terror when an unspeakable creature begins hunting them in gruesome ways. This book checked off so many of my boxes. Creature feature? Check. Some gore? Check. It was definitely right up my alley.

Such a great read with rich likeable characters as well as ones you can relate to. I had to go back a few times to reread( the time switches keep you on your toes. Gray keeps getting better and better. His material is quickly becoming a must read. Amazing job!!

So wow… this book. It pulled me in very quickly and I couldn’t put it down. Not my normal genre but I’m trying to branch out and I absolutely LOVED this book. Very well written and I loved how it used both metaphorical and physical terrors to represent the generation burdens etc. The symbolism was on point. I highly recommend this book. I also enjoyed the ending, which is sometimes rare for me. I thought it was a great way to wrap up this story. This was my first book by this author but hopefully not my last!

Our Fathers Burden was excellent! It’s a story that touches on grief, loss, regret and ends with characters that have experienced so much growth. At the end William Gray discusses how the monster is a metaphor for depression and the stigma associated with men experiencing it. I’m normally not very good at seeing the symbolism in stories, but I immediately knew what the author was referencing. So, if symbolism in literature is not your thing, the book is a great horror story with characters that you can really relate to, root for, and I’m sorry to say, not be sad at some of their fates.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Appalachian Horror is one of my favorite sub-genres of horror and Our Fathers Burden hit the mark!
I truly enjoyed this book and wanted more!
Our Fathers Burden follows a group of men who have all lost their fathers, most of them losing their fathers on the same day. The men used to join their dads on an annual camping trip the week of thanksgiving, as the boys grow older they eventually stop coming on the trip due to various reasons. Now, with their fathers gone they reunite for one last trip to respect their dying father’s wishes. Upon reuniting they are given tapes that had their father’s final words and information about their big secret. On this trip they learn more about their fathers’ friend group and themselves as they fight this century old secret.
I loved the premise of this book. I’m not usually into creature features, but when you add Appalachian lore I’m sold. So, even if like me you’re not a creature feature fan I would give this story a go!
I’m someone who has lost their father and so many of the emotions in this book were raw for me. The anger and the grief being so real and raw in the pages of this story was almost cathartic. Traditionally men show little no emotion so to read the inner monologue of men dealing with grief and anger similar to mine was an important part of this story for me.
While I praise this story, it did have a few short comings. The tapes were such a HUGE plot point for this story and part of the reason you’re interested in this story, but for only 2 of 5 tapes to be included was kind of a let down. I understood why one tape was not in the story, but I would’ve loved to read them all and feel they could’ve easily been incorporated. I also would’ve loved more back story from the dads. Flashbacks woven through the story (outside of the first encounter) would’ve given more context and explanation as to why the dads did what they did. Or even weaving in the Warrens family journals. SOOO MUCH could be added to this book to fully enrich it. I rarely think a book could’ve been longer but i think this one would’ve succeeded expectations if it was!
The cover design, section labels, and pages breaks were beautifully designed and truly added to the book.
In conclusion, this was a well written and well thought out story which truly relatable themes, I just wish there was more book to love!

Thank you to Wicked House Publishing and Netgalley!

Another book about things going wrong in the forest, which seems to be a theme for me this year. This was a great book with a good amount of foreshadowing and foreboding that made me a bit nervous to be in the woods with these guys.

Thanks to Netgalley and Wicked House Publishing for this ARC.

Fans of "The Ritual" by Adam Nevill will love this book! A gripping and horrifying read. Five old friends father's die, one by dementia months earlier and the other four by suicide all within 48 hours. They all have the same request, go on their annual hunting trip together and listen to the tapes. What they find out in the familiar Appalachian mountains is a secret darker than they could have imagined.

I love a good wendigo story! This one had a good twist to it that made the story that much more enjoyable. Once Dave finds the other campground there is a constant sense of dread and tension. I was kept hooked and wondering what the next move was. The nursery rhyme was fantastic and will be stuck in my head for the foreseeable future.

"When thanks is given
To the mountain, do not go
Unless you want to get eaten
By the awakened Wendigo."

Some thoughts:
*This would be the perfect book to read while camping or staying in a cabin. I wish I could have had that experience my first time reading it.
*I liked the initial tension between all of the men before everything went down. It felt realistic given the past and current circumstances.
* The hate on Dennis was real. He wasn't the best but damn.
*I get the moral reason why their fathers carried the tradition. But I would be damned if I carried it on. That'd be the last time you would hear of me going up to those mountains.
*Some parts were a bit hard to follow with all different information and characters being thrown at you.
*Given how the Wendigo was "cased" in the cave will there be another one eventually?
*The fathers leaving this huge responsibility without a single mention of it beforehand is pretty screwed up on their part. Killing themselves to try to force that responsibility on the men is even worse.
*I'm glad not everyone had a happy ending. There is no way all of the average men would come out of that situation unscathed.

Would definitely recommend.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Wicked House Publishing and William F. Gray for a copy of the book. All opinions are of my own.

Thank you, NetGalley for the chance to read this book.

Unfortunately, this one was a miss for me. I had a really hard time getting into it. I also didn’t feel like it was organized at all. The author was all over the place.

I had trouble keeping track of the present and past. It would talk about the past and present in the same chapter which is something I don’t like. I would rather have an author dedicate separate chapters for different time periods.

Following the loss of his father, Harry begrudgingly joins the sons of his fathers friends — also deceased — on an honorary camping trip, just as their fathers had all done. Harry is tasked with carrying five tapes— one for each of them. But this was no ordinary camping trip like the ones they’d taken as youngest and eventually quit doing until their fathers begged them to keep doing it. They didn’t know of the secret their fathers kept about their camping spot. If only they had known before they went back. What unfolds between these pages is nothing short of horrifying— grief, unresolved trauma, loss — so much loss… and a creature feature you won’t soon forget. Definitely recommend.

Wow...this book hooked me from the very beginning. It did not let up the entire way through. If you seek fast-paced, adrenaline induced, and terrifying reads, this book is for you.

This book follows Harry and a group of men he grew up camping with. The boys' fathers shared a secret that the boys would not find out until after their deaths, until it was too late. What ensues is the unraveling of their fathers' secrets and the terrifying nightmare that they cause.

I loved every second of this book and could not put it down. The only negative thing I can even think of to mention is that it's not in your face horror. It is more supernatural horror if you will with some gore mixed in here and there. Overall, great writing, amazing storytelling!.

This is a quick moving creature horror story and was a fun pallet cleanser. I do wish the story contained more of the tapes since it did such a good job building up the anticipation of listening to the tapes. I did feel the story could have used a few more pages to allow for more action in the final sequences, but overall enjoyed the pacing and conclusion.

This is one of the most beautiful paperbacks I've ever bought. I received an ebook ARC from the publisher through Netgalley, and had to buy a copy for my collection.

Before I get into the review, I have to talk about the formatting. I knew from reading the ebook that there would be splash pages for each part of the story, but I didn't know that each chapter would have a gorgeous two page spread of black and white forest art. Those pages really make the book pop on a flip through. If I saw this on a book store shelf and rifled through the pages, it would be an instant impulse buy.

The story itself is one of grief, depression, and growth. Five childhood friends, five dead fathers, and five cassette tapes that hold the secret burden that they took to their graves.

Our Fathers' Burden by William F. Gray tells the story of Harry, Dave, Bob, Lou, and Dennis carrying out their Fathers' dying wishes - to continue the annual hunting trip that they could no longer attend in death. For Harry, this comes with the added burden of carrying five tapes - one for each of them - to listen to once they are all together.

The story is told through third person, switching between character POVs first by chapter, and later by section break. The writing feels very visual and cinematic, almost like cutting from camera to camera.

This is a character driven story at its heart. Some of the boys you'll love, some you'll hate (looking at you Dennis), and some will grow on you as the action gets going.

All in all I have to say it's a masterful story, with as much emotional tension as physical. This is one I'll be sharing with whoever will listen.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Wicked House Publishing for the e-arc of Our Father’s Burden.

This book was fast-paced and a good dip into the horror genre. A monster in the woods is made up of things some people find hard to face. This book took trauma and grief and formed it into something monstrous. It was a lovely read and definitely one I’ll recommend.

Our Father's Burden
William F. Gray
4.25⭐️

Pub date: 2/16/2024

This was introduced as horror but for some reason, the first few chapters tricked me into thinking it's a suspense/Thriller. Oh how wrong I was! It was immediately engrossing. There's cassette tapes and s*icide and it reminds me of 13 Reasons Why but it's nothing like it at all. This "mystery" hangs over the plot, it was written well to keep me reeled in. But not only that, the book also covered grief and how the characters dealt with their personal monsters on top of the physical monster they were introduced to. I thought it also covered how each generation dealt with their issues which is a nice addition and made this book a little bit more relevant. I would've rated this higher but the last 80% of the book felt a little rushed to me. Eitherway, this book is either short or it was just too good that I couldn't stop reading. Gobbled this up pretty quickly. It's not perfect but I was creeped out and was kept at the edge of my seat throughout.

Thanks to NetGalley and Wicked House Publishing. Well that book was something else. Fast paced and just horrific. I was shocked so many times in this book and the book was not very long but quite detailed. Whoa is all I really have to say for this.

Prepare to be consumed by a tale that will leave you breathless and questioning the very fabric of human relationships. Our Father’s burden is a masterful weaving of tragedy, mystery, and suspense that will ensnare you from the opening pages and refuse to let go. The story is a razor-sharp exploration of the secrets that bind and destroy us, set against the haunting backdrop of the Appalachian Mountains.

Harry's journey is a heart-wrenching odyssey of self-discovery, as he unravels the tangled web of his family's past and confronts the darkest corners of human nature. The writing is evocative and atmospheric, with a narrative that twists and turns like a serpentine path through the mountains themselves.

The characters are expertly crafted, their motivations and emotions laid bare with a nuance that's both uncomfortable and compelling. William F Gray’s skillful hand orchestrates a symphony of tension and revelation, building to a crescendo that will leave you reeling.

This book is more than just a thriller – it's a dissection of the human condition, a probing examination of the lies we tell ourselves and the secrets we keep from others. It's a reminder that the past has teeth, and that the truth can be both liberating and devastating.

Read this book if you dare, but be warned: it will leave you changed, like the characters themselves, forever scarred by the weight of the secrets they uncover.

I am at war with myself over what to think about this one. At it's core, this creature feature digs into fallable humans and their various multigenerational missteps. It's solid content with an interesting theme.

I found the various characters and hopping back and forth in time to be a bit jarring and hard to follow. I was mixing characters up most of the way through the book.

Still, I appreciated the quick pace and thought the monster was violent, odd, and that it fit well into its environment. Things were action packed for about 70% of the book. Stuff starts and then never really stops happening until the book comes to its messy resolution.

But, I'm left with questions. There's just so much packed into the book that I wish it was a little longer so things could really be flushed out. What was on those other tapes? Inquiring monsters want to know!

Overall, I did enjoy my read and I was invested in the narrative. I hope you'll give it a chance.