Claustrophobic storytelling throws a snow storm around some surface-level characters. Shame, it had a lot of potential.

I liked that the book has multiple POVs, it helped the story unfold and create a more mysterious atmosphere.
I was invested in Holly and Brians story but I felt it took too long to get to what actually happened between them.
The monster felt a little underwhelming. I wanted more gore, more monster. But overall it was an easy, enjoyable read.

I love a good winter thriller and this one sounded good to me - who doesn't enjoy a holiday road trip gone wrong in a storm?? Unfortunately it got a little too out there for even me and I ended up DNFing fairly early on. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read an early digital copy by this new to me author.

Unfortunately I found this one to be quite formulaic and cliched. Characters I wasn't rooting for and a "twist" that just didn't do anything for me. I'm sure a disappointed "oh..." is not the reaction the author was going for.

Thank you Soho Press / Hills Hundred & Dennis Mahoney for this read!

This book started with the perfect creepy setting. I begun thoroughly intrigued. However as it drew on I found it lacked the same appeal and the intensity begun to slow in certain parts. The mixed POVs were clever however at times took the pace down.

This winter horror is not your average creature feature! It ties together multiple themes at once and makes you crave the answer to the reasons why things are unfolding.

While the reveal was slightly less impactful than I thought, it does connect the characters in a unique way.

Overall this book was a hit and miss for me. However it will appeal to many others who love winter horror with creature features with emotional appeal.

3.5/5

ABOUT
Chilling holiday horror about an unhappy couple running from their problems and straight into the maw of a terrifying beast, perfect for fans of Paul Tremblay and Sara Gran.
READ IT IF YOU LIKE
- Supernatural horror
- Creature features
- Psychological suspense
- Crime fiction
- Stories set in winter
- Exploration of PTSD, anxiety
- Stephen Graham Jones, Paul Tremblay, Ian Reid

BRIEF REVIEW
Unique kills and a creative direction I don't see often in creature features along with plenty of twists and turns.

For me, this book was just okay. It has a really interesting concept, and I love the small-town blizzard setting, but I felt it could have been even more atmospheric. A stronger sense of place might have better connected me as a reader to both the story and the monster. While I don’t mind psychological horror, I didn’t care for the twist or revelation about how the monster connected to the two main characters. Another drawback was the protagonists themselves—they both felt whiny and distant, and I never really got a strong grasp on them as a couple beyond their unhappiness. I wish the characters had been more fleshed out. I did listen to the audiobook, and I think the narration helped strengthen some of the characters' presence that I felt was lacking. Overall, this book was just okay for me. I think others might enjoy it more, but I can also see why someone would rate it in the middle or lower.

Took me a while to get into but I will not deny that I slept on this... because when it started going it was GOING. I love a winter horror this time of year and this did not disappoint. I enjoyed the way it actually got pretty deep with the emotional trauma and complex human interactions and relationships and when there are times in our lives that we reflect on that. The characters were all well introduced and I loved the mystery of certain backstories with some. Especially "the bad date". Would highly recommend!

Unfortunately not for me. I struggled to connect with the characters, and found the switches in the POV to be fairly jarring, sucking the momentum out of scenes at times. There's something fun here, but it just didn't come together for me.

Snow yesterday and blistering cold today. Gotta love Minnesota winters – who knows what will come next! BUT one thing I do enjoy is winter horror

A couple struggling decides to have a nice secluded trip away together to rekindle and save their relationship. Holly and Brian’s lives changed last year, and ever since, their relationship and lives have begun to crumble, and bad luck seems to find them wherever they go. On their way to a secluded ski town, they encounter blizzard snow conditions, and things take a turn. As if being stuck in the storm isn’t bad enough, there’s something eerie and monstrous lurking around in the snow.

Going along with Holly and Brian’s storyline, we also meet the sheriff in the small town of Pinebuck. Sheriff Kendra Book is dealing with her own personal struggles on top of numerous missing persons in the area.

In my mind, I was trying to give driving advice for the snowy conditions, but alas, we needed the storm to set the perfect scene. I enjoyed seeing the two stories unfold and the switching POVs. If you’re a fan of thrillers, then you’ll love the back and forth and the pacing. It’s not too intense in terms of horror, but there is a nice little bloody scene in there you’ll enjoy! Some monsters, characters facing their emotional traumas, and trying to work together to survive. There were some good little twists, and while the big reveal wasn’t shocking, I was rather pleased with how things all came together!

I think over all I found this book to just be, alright. In some ways I think the trauma between Holly and Brian was displayed quite well. When someone is suffering, the other will pick up the slack. But at the same time I think these characters were pretty juvenile. They refuse to truly talk to each other in any adult capacity and refuse to even think of the issues they're going through.

Plot wise I think this was just awful. There's zero explanation for anything that's going on. No lore of the "monster" or why this is happening, everything's just dropped in your lap.

Zero character development. The couple goes through something traumatic that starts breaking them apart and then they go through something else traumatic and all of a sudden they're okay again? No. Also every time we get the perspective of the sheriff she's seriously complaining about the exact same thing. She hates snow, her girlfriend left her, maybe she should've gone with. It's always the same complaints and she's never trying to work through it. Again, zero development.

Our Winter Monster had an intriguing premise, but I struggled to connect with the story. The atmosphere was well-crafted, and the writing had a poetic quality, but I found the pacing slow and the characters difficult to engage with. While it may resonate with readers who enjoy dreamy, introspective narratives, unfortunately it just wasn’t for me.

Our Winter Monster has everything it needs to make a good horror novel; a small town, a big deadly snow monster, and a couple with a complex backstory. However, this one just missed the mark for me. About three quarters through, the story became a bit predictable for me and did not have the scare factor. I felt as though many of the characters fell flat and lacked depth that would have brought the story to another level. I really wanted to like this one, but it let me down unfortunately!

**2.5 stars**

Our Winter Monster is set in a small resort town during a blizzard. Holly and Brian are looking for a brief getaway from their daily drudgery. What they get is a snow monster and a blood bath.

I loved the premise of this book. I love books set in winter locations. I love monster stories. On the surface this book had both of those things. But then you add in Holly and Brian’s backstories and I guess I missed the part where what they lived thru one year before the night of our story has absolutely anything connected to the events of the night in the book. It’s a complete head scratcher for me. And it kind of killed the book. You had a great monster story that ended up making ZERO sense. I really want to give 2 stars but I’ll be nice and give 3.


There were a few scary, creepy moments and some body horror but overall not super scary.

**Thanks to the author and publisher for the e-arc I received via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.**

Definitely such a creepy read overall, I was drawn into to the characters and the danger they were in felt very intense.

If you're looking for a scary horror book, I don't think this is for you. If you're looking for a mysterious thriller with a couple working through their relationship, then this absolutely is for you.

Our couple is struggling to stay together so they decide to take a much needed ski trip vacation for a fresh start. Unfortunately they picked to travel here during a wild storm in which they get stranded in while driving through the small town their hotel is in. They get separated and start thinking they're getting stalked by a snow monster which follows them all throughout the town from start to finish.

Things I liked: The atmosphere the blizzard created, the realistic conversations and feelings between the couple, and the flashbacks.
Things I didn't like: The monster itself, how unrealistic some of the monster scenes were, the flatness of the side characters, and the couple themselves.

There were some scenes of this book that I enjoyed and kept me reading, but overall it wasn't my favorite. I can see people who like thrillers or mysteries more than horror/literary horror picking this up and having a good time.

'Tis hardly a winter wonderland when an abominable snow beast is causing death and destruction in a sleepy ski village during a raging blizzard. Holly and Brian are the second couple to disappear in less than two months, a fact that's perplexing the local sheriff. Just wait until she realizes there may be more than one monster stalking the snow-covered landscape . . .

I had a little trouble buying the main premise here, though I did like the subplot, and the ending was YOWZA enough to almost make me raise the rating by a star. I'd rate this one three-and-a half if I could.

Our Winter Monsters is what I would classify as cozy horror—light on the scares and heavy on the atmosphere. While the book starts with a bang, it eventually lost my attention due to the lack of intensity and true horror elements. There weren’t enough high-stakes or chilling moments to keep me engaged, and this will likely feel underwhelming for seasoned horror readers.

I’d also categorize this as politically correct horror. To be clear, I had no issue with the diversity in the book—it was well-integrated and felt natural. However, the overall tone made it feel more like a dark suspense novel rather than a true horror novel. If you prefer your horror with sharp edges and real terror, this one might not be for you.

Holly and Brian have been out of sync for the last year. Neither can forget what happened that one winter evening. They cannot forgive what's happened since then. On their “vacation,” Holly and Brian race toward Pinebuck, New York. They are trying to outrun a blizzard on their way to the ski village getaway that they hope will save their relationship. But soon they lose control of the car—and Brian disappears. The snow monster has taken him. Chief Kendra gets phone calls about a couple in trouble, reports of a monster rushing through town and destroying everything in its path. Chief Kendra has lost another couple to the snow just seven weeks ago, . Holly and Brian are starting to see the past, the present, and themselves in a monstrous new light as they think they may be turning into monsters. Are they?

The author has written a horror thriller with a desperate couple running from their problems. There are surprising displays of gore. It’s a novel that also includes a mystery that adds to the novel. I’m glad that I got to read the novel even though it was different from what I expected. It does show how important communication is.

In this story we follow a couple, Holly and Brian. They are a bit disconnected ever since something happend on one day. The so called bad date. Holly and Brian decide to try and save their relantionship and go to a small town named pinebuck to go on vacation. However on their wat they loose control of the car in the winter storm where there might just be a winter monster out there.

This was quite a read i loved the characters and the multiple povs that we got. In the end i was really hooked and could not put it down. However in the middle I found it to be a bit repetitive. Which made me feel less engaged with the story. Overall I would recommend this book especially if you like a wintery horror mystery for the cold days