3.25 ⭐️

The beginning was phenomenal - I loved the concept, the writing and the atmosphere. But then it just started declining, rapidly and steadily. The ending was very disappointing. I’m somebody who loves having unanswered questions, but the ones I still have after reading this novel are not because it was thought-provoking but simply because the plot was all over the place. Nevertheless, I do love the messaging and the author’s note at the end made me appreciate this book in a different light.

This book contains graphic depictions of sexual violence, abuse, and mental health trauma, which some readers found overwhelming or gratuitous. Others appreciated the way Dawson uses horror to explore gender-based violence and survival.
If you’re drawn to horror that’s emotionally raw, socially charged, and steeped in gothic dread, It Will Only Hurt for a Moment might be a powerful—if unsettling—read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for this ARC!

I really love Delilah S. Dawson. So far I've read The Violence, Guillotine, and now, this. She has such a way of speaking out against issues like Domestic Violence, sexism, and the cruelty and callousness of the wealthy against those they feel are beneath them. Through these books she empowers those who have been oppressed by those in power, and the reader is able to feel some catharsis in those reversals in fortune.

I was really able to connect with this character. She's an artist, I am as well, I'm even a lover of pottery and ceramics like her, although it's not my favorite medium. I definitely felt that fear that my best days are behind me, and that it's too late to follow my dreams. I've also felt the fear of being on my own, especially after leaving a, shall we say, less than ideal relationship? This author draws on her own experience to craft these characters who are layered and complex. They truly feel real, and actually act in ways that shine with authenticity.

The setting of the old hotel, and the secret areas that are exposed through the story, are so creepy. I felt Sarah's tension while there, I was able to visualize the moldy, crumbling building in exquisite detail, and wished I could explore it further. I think a neat possible addition to future printings could be some drawings of the hotel, and maps especially, to give even more oomph to the story.

Really, this was a great, quick read from a talented author, and I cannot wait to read more of her work!

This book was haunting and eerie and stuck with me for days. The FMC was empathic and smart. Hulu recommend, in addition to ALL of this author's books.

I enjoyed the dark eerie feeling of this book and it touches on the important topic of domestic violence and the need to get support / help when things get bad. The supernatural aspect of this book was unexpected but added an element of surprise. Overall, I really liked this one but I like Delilah's other, more stabby books more.

DNF - I've read from this author before and enjoyed it so was hoping for that again! I feel like every book I get by her is totally different and I never can tell what to expect. This one just didn't work for me.

Delilah S. Dawson's It Will Only Hurt for a Moment lures you into a seemingly idyllic sanctuary, only to trap you in a claustrophobic nightmare where beauty masks a horrifying truth. Sarah Carpenter, fleeing a past littered with brokenness, seeks refuge in the secluded Tranquil Falls artist's colony. But her desperate search for healing quickly spirals into a desperate fight for survival.

Dawson masterfully crafts an atmosphere of creeping dread. The isolation of Tranquil Falls, the lack of connection to the outside world, and the unsettling behavior of Sarah's fellow artists create a sense of mounting paranoia that's as captivating as it is terrifying. A dead body is just the beginning.

As Sarah digs deeper, both literally and figuratively, she unearths a chilling past that permeates every corner of the valley and the crumbling resort that looms over them all. Is she losing her mind, or is something sinister at play? Dawson keeps the reader guessing, weaving together psychological suspense with a haunting, gothic sensibility.

It Will Only Hurt for a Moment is a suspenseful and engaging thriller that will leave you breathless. If you crave a story that combines a vulnerable protagonist, a suffocating sense of isolation, and a mystery that will keep you turning pages late into the night, prepare to be captivated.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher!
What an amazing, eerie, read, with a quest for female empowerment at the heart. Mysterious goings on at an artists retreat lead to a chilling story, with an ending you’ll never see coming.

thank you Del Ray for my copy of this book!

This was a ride for sure. the way it built up, I was always looking forward to getting back to this book. Ingrid is def my favorite character 🤌🏻 I love a curious goth. I loved the concept of this. If you read this def check the triggers, bc hot damn, this one is intense. absolutely worth it bc it is a good read

This is one dark, creepy, unsettling story of female rage and self-discovery and I really loved it. I thought the characters were great, the pacing was really good, and it had the perfect blend of psychological thriller and paranormal horror.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

This is a deep story. There are so many layers to this story. It is very intriguing. I love the world building. The complex set up that the author gives is amazing. The characters are very compelling, complicated, and visceral. The plot was a very intense ride. I was on my seat for the entire thing. I still have questions. A great story. Please give it a chance.

It doesn’t rely on cheap tricks or easy drama. Instead, it builds something genuine—layered, thoughtful, and impossible to forget. You close the book, but it stays open in your mind

IT WILL ONLY HURT FOR A MOMENT by @delilahdawson is a historical mystery with deep, violent roots. Thank you to the author, @netgalley and the publisher, @delreybooks for the e-ARC.

💀💀💀

"There is a terrible weight to this kind of grief. To letting go of someone who is still alive but not who they used to be - maybe not ever who you thought they were."

Sarah Carpenter is looking for a new start away from her alcoholic, overbearing mother and narcissistic, controlling boyfriend. She seeks refuge in an artist colony called Tranquil Falls in Colorado where she starts to revisit her love of pottery. Not long after her arrival, she stumbles upon an over 100 year old corpse in a coffin in the grounds while digging a pit kiln which alarms all retreat members. But as she becomes acquainted with the other artists in residence she starts to have terrifying dreams, finds glass in her clay and observes strange behavior from her studio-mate who she starts to suspect is trying to sabotage her. But when her studio-mate turns up dead and fingers start pointing at Sarah she will have to solve the mystery to make sure she doesn't take the fall. As her investigation goes deeper, she starts to uncover a long-dead but still stirring past on the grounds of the retreat.

I love a dual timeline story but one of the pitfalls of those kinds of stories is that sometimes one of the timelines is more compelling than the other. I kind of found this to be true in this one as I was much more interested in the backstory of the historical facility than the current day story of Sarah. I still enjoyed the story overall but found the modern day story to be a bit rougher around the edges in terms of being fleshed out. The historical storyline was very enticing and full of stories we need to tell from actual history. This is a solid book with plenty to say!

This is an absolutely fantastic, disturbing nightmare of a book. A secluded artists' colony holds dark secrets in the abandoned hotel on the property and Sarah has nowhere else to go. This was her escape, her first step towards a new future. She never expected to find a dead animal rotting in her bed or an absolutely horrible misogynist sharing the pottery studio or a long buried coffin at the site where she's digging a pit kiln. She never expected the other residents to be descending into madness or to unearth awful secrets from a past century. By the last chapter, I was completely rattled, something that rarely happens. This one hit me HARD.

The book was intense with each chapter, where resolving one thing opened up three new issues. It rarely slowed down and kept my mind thinking about what will happen next. I can’t say I expected the ending, although I guessed part of it about a third of the way through, but it was one of a few theories I had, so the book wasn’t entirely predictable.

I do wish we had gotten more answers about the artists and what happened with them after the ending of the book

After fleeing her toxic relationship and finally cutting ties with her alcoholic mother, Sarah is ready to take back her life. She used to create beautiful works of pottery so when the chance to participate in an artists retreat pops up she can’t accept quickly enough. As Sarah begins digging for an outdoor kiln, she discovers the unmarked grave of a woman who appears to have been buried alive. As strange things begin happening to the other artists and Sarah begins to have dreams where she’s in somebody else’s body, you can’t help but wonder what exactly Sarah has unearthed.

It took me a little while to get invested in the story, but I’m so glad I kept reading because I ended up really enjoying this one. Setting the artists retreat in such an isolated place really elevated the creep factor and while I was never really scared, I definitely felt unsettled more than once while reading this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for a review copy.

What a harrowing tale. Delilah S Dawson put together a story of anger, betrayal, trauma, community, autonomy and survival.

The novel follows Sarah, a young woman determined to reclaim the life she gave up for her ex-boyfriend of six years. On an artist's retreat, she discovers a trauma bond steeped in the past connected to the very location she is visiting.

The mystery is captivating. The characters are compelling. The narrative is gripping and the book is, at times, difficult to continue in the best way.

I enjoyed living in this world and experiencing what survival actually means from a perspective not my own.

Highly recommended

Thanks to Del Rey Books and Netgalley for the ARC.

This is an intense ghost story! Delilah absolutely has a way of setting a scene and building the atmosphere and then turning and turning it until the creepiness is on maximum. It is also a journey back from an abusive relationship, so you may need to check content warnings, although the abuse is primarily off page. Sarah has left her controlling boyfriend and as a way to restart her life she is participating in a 6-week artist residency in the mountains of Georgia. In a remote area, a group of artists work in studios on the grounds of an old posh resort, Tranquil Falls and Sarah hopes that getting back to the pottery making that she loves that it will give her life new direction. In order to fire her pots, Sarah sets out to dig a pit kiln, and while doing so, she unearths a coffin with the remains of a woman inside. And that's when things really start to get freaky. There are accidents, deaths and a number of her artist colleagues begin to act very strangely, and it all sets Sarah on a path to find out what happened to the woman in the coffin. I was immediately drawn into the story as Sarah is an easy FMC to like and the rest of the eclectic group of artists has some really interesting characters, especially Lucas and Ingrid. The only issue I really had was the ending felt a bit abrupt in relation to the other characters of the story, as we don't find out what happened to a number of them, and I would really have liked to have known what happened to them. Some mystery is fine, but this felt like a bit too much left undone, but it's a small thing. I listened to the audio and very much enjoyed the narrator.

Upon arriving at Tranquil Falls, a secluded artists’ colony, Sarah Carpenter hopes for a fresh start. She recently escaped an abusive partner and hopes to retake control over her own life by returning to her love of pottery. The longer she stays at the colony, however, she discovers disturbing truths about the property's history. Strange, paranormal events begin to happen to her and the other artists...and someone dies under mysterious circumstances.

I entered this book having loved a previous experience with Dawson's writing. Her horror novella, Bloom, was one of my favorite reads of 2023, so I was ecstatic when I was approved for a Netgalley ARC of her most recent publication. Unfortunately, this novel missed the mark. That isn't to say that I don't respect and appreciate Dawson's motivations for writing this narrative. I recommend that if you do read It Will Only Hurt for a Moment, make sure you pause and read her author's note at the end. Dawson opens up about a terrifying experience—a reality that so many women can relate to—and how it gave her the groundwork for Sarah's story.

The first half of the book is far stronger than the second half. I enjoyed the narrative pacing, the eclectic group of characters, and the direct way Dawson addressed issues like misogyny and not believing women when they seek help/support. The latter half is where the narrative action felt too hurried, and there was an awkward imbalance once in a while when the author tries to infuse humor and banter during a serious situation. Moreover, I found the random rivalry between Sarah and another woman at the colony to be odd and distracting from the social commentary at hand. It also seemed that the backstory of Sarah's alcoholic mother went nowhere and had no influence on the plot, so I wonder why it's so heavily included in the first couple chapters.

CW: animal death, forced institutionalization, gaslighting, domestic abuse, SA, some body horror, an alcoholic parent

Actual Rating: 2.5 stars
Original Pub Date: 22 October 2024
Reading Format: audio

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for an E-ARC copy in exchange for this honest review!

the vibes were stronger than the plot. the setting was a lot of fun, and i was definitely creeped out several times.