I really couldn’t decide where to rate this. But firstly, I wanted to shoutout the narrator! I listened to her recording of another book (The Ones We Sent Away) and very quickly recognized her voice on this one. She really captures the Appalachia accent so well and is a perfect fit for the book. I definitely want to listen to more of her audiobooks.

That being said, I feel like there was a lot of this book I didn’t get, but I still enjoyed reading (and listening to) it. This definitely wasn’t the mystery/thriller I was anticipating, but more of a magical realism story about two sisters in their rural community in the 1980s against the backdrop of a murder. I loved the exploration of sexuality through the lens of someone in this setting, and the imagery was really vivid. (A trigger warning though, there’s some vivid discussions of animal death primarily in a hunting setting a few times throughout). Overall, I definitely didn’t dislike it but I also felt like I was still missing something.

I received a copy of the audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Smothermoss by Alisa Alering was an interesting and imaginative story about two sisters and the danger surrounding them. It was raw and thought provoking. The writing was beautiful as well. Unfortunately I did think the plot was pretty slow and I ended bored a few times. It was still a likeable story and I'd definitely recommend giving it a try. The narration was amazing too. It added so much more emotion to the story.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review

I was once told by a friend who grew up in Appalachia that it’s a place one can visit and love, but that one can’t deeply understand without having lived there. If that’s true, then this book is spot on in its portrayal as there are things I loved, but I’m not sure that I all the way understood it. 

Smothermoss follows two young sisters in a relatively poor family as they start to come of age. They are social outcasts at school due to their economic situations and each girl has a variety of idiosyncratic hobbies and preoccupations that would make it harder for them to relate to children their age. While our MCs are young, this is in no way a YA book. 

Typically, I love when a book takes on complex themes and Smothermoss is full of them. It touches on sexuality, gender, poverty, sexual assault, eating disorders, and more. Unfortunately, this was a case where it felt like nothing got the attention it deserved because it was so jam packed. Add in magical realism and literary elements and you have a book that just isn’t quite sure what it wants to be.

All in all, I feel like this was an ambitious debut where the author tried to pack in every idea she had. A bit more editing might’ve made this more successful. That said, I would consider reading this author’s next book as the ideas are definitely there.

Like most people of a certain age on Goodreads, I sometimes struggle to remember that I've read A LOT more books than many people. And, like many people, what I've read over my lifetime has been weighted toward stories from the region where I live. So I freely acknowledge that a younger person from a different part of the world might find Smothermoss much more original and compelling than I did, and it is not my intention to dissuade anyone intrigued by the concept from giving it a try.

However, for those who have read a modern Appalachian tale or two, not to mention a variety of Coming Out stories in the past several decades, this feels like some sort of school exercise in which you're checking off a list of literary devices and genre markers.

Vaguely creepy setting near a mental institution? Check.

Mythicization of rural Appalachian women? Check.

Semi-developed and inconsistently presented folklore/magic of indeterminate origin? Check.

Bizarre level of focus and description of bodily functions and natural substances? Check.

Overly literal "metaphors" dropped with the subtlety of landslides repeatedly? Check

Lady Who Lives in the Woods level dedication to the idea that Queer women all love nature and want to roll around in a swamp? So many checks.

The narrator does an admirable job of attempting the WestPennTucky accent without completely falling into parody, but it's still a bit cringey to think about how this will sound to people who haven't heard the real accent in its natural habitat. My guess is that she used older people for reference - even in the less homogenized 1980's, a twelve and seventeen year old would have had a little less of the grandma-style honey drip in their voices.

Overall, if you're a completist who doesn't want to miss a single Appalachian story, then this will already be on your list - but I would hesitate to recommend it to a more casual reader or someone new to the genre.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Something about the under dwelling violence made this a very special read to me, as I never felt really comfortable with the protagonist.

The fine like between magic and reality that was crossed a few times together with the timelessness of the setting makes it really worth reading.

Triggerwarnings for Death of Animals, though.

Read it, bu best read it in a very cozy room with tea and blankets to come back from this dark place.

DNF ~10% - I'm not sure if I lack the intelligence to get through this one, I was completely lost through the first few chapters and could not seem to make it through.

I had (digitally) picked this up and put it back down in the hopes to get into it but just could not. The subject matter of a thriller set in Appalachia (close to where I grew up) was so captivating but I felt like this read very differently than I expected.

The Gothic mood and tone of this book is fantastic. I grew up in Appalachia, so I am forever attracted to the books that explore not only this aesthetic but its mysteries. The cover is gorgeously rendered, and the reader did a lovely job. I was not as satisfied with the ending as I would have liked, however, and while I'm not one who needs things tied up neatly, I felt as if there were some missed opportunities here.

I think this one was just a bit too much for me, it was quite repetitive and i kind of lost what what actually going on and what the point of the story was.

This was a very dark read, almost suffocating and at times very intense. The pacing was a bit off for me, it was a very slow ramp up and not a big enough pay off. I did enjoy the dark atmosphere and the writing but the overall story was just lacking to me. I didn't love the narration, it just didn't feel like the right voice for the story so that may influenced me as well.

Smothermoss by Alisa Alering and narrated by Susan Bennett is a tale of the Appalachian mountains and two sisters who live there. The sisters are like chalk and cheese, completely different, but each has their own idiosyncracies that cause them to be seen as outsiders, the others, there to be teased and bullied.

The turning point is the discovery of two murders, which spirals into a maelstrom of events and symbols, imaginings that may not be fantasy and a litany of unexplained events, all coursing from the mountains and through the very blood that runs in the girls veins

Absolutely brilliant. Very well narrated, dark, atmospheric, intriguing, I was rapt and this will be perfect for an autumn read or listen!

Thank you to NetGalley, RBmedia | Recorded Books, Alisa Alering and the narrator Susan Bennett for this awesome ALC . My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

Smothermoss by Alisa Alering hit home for me, especially as someone who grew up in Appalachia. The eerie, atmospheric storytelling really captured the haunting feel of the mountains, and the time period made for an even more eerie telling. Alering’s portrayal of Sheila and Angie made their bond feel real and raw, grounding the story even as the supernatural elements crept in.

The setting, with its mix of rural mountain life and the unsettling, otherworldly forces, is where this book truly shines. I did find it a bit slow at times, and I kind of wished the hikers' murders had been more central to the plot. But honestly, the slow-burn pacing worked in building that deep sense of dread, and the strangeness of the story as a whole made up for any lag in action. The audiobook narrator also did a fantastic job, and I can say I really enjoyed the listening experience!

In a remote community just off the Appalachian Trail, half sisters separated by five years are in unsurprising conflict during a summer in the 1980s that is filled with mysterious happenings and murder. Each girl has her own dream world, her own confusions about identity, sexuality, and purpose. Although both are focused on the murders of two hikers and worried about a murderer in their community, their responses are very different. Neither sister seems quite sane, and I would categorize this Gothic novel as magical realism. The setting is well done and and heavily atmospheric.

The book, although very short is also very dense. A reader or listener must pay close attention, but after spending hours doing so, I have to wonder why. And don't expect to learn everything about any of the women in this family of 2 girls, a hardworking mother, and an elderly relative--the details of their lives dribble out slowly. The book seems like an unfulfilled promise that needed at least one more revision. A little more work and it would have been 5 stars.

🍃SMOTHERMOSS🍃 by @alisa.alering

Thank you to the author, @netgalley and the publisher @recordedbooks and @tin_house for both the audio and e-ARCs. Out on shelves now!

❇️❇️❇️

When murders start to occur around a small Appalachian town, two sisters become obsessed with finding out what is happening. Sheila, the older sister and consummate rule follower who works at the local asylum tries to figure out who is killing these women by tracing through town history while her younger, practically feral sister Angie believes she will be the town hero when she traps the murderer and brings him to justice.

Angie has always created what she calls, Monster Cards full of scary creatures and when the things that Angie says the cards tell her start coming true, Sheila is sure that she and her sister are caught up in something much stranger than run of the mill murder.

🪶🪶🪶

Full of impending dread and the terrifying specter of not knowing, this story was more of a creepy thriller than horror to me although there are a few parts that had me holding my breath. The mystery and fantastical things that occur in the book are intriguing, but the relationship between the two sisters, their cavern of differences yet fierce loyalty to each other was what kept me reading to the end.

This had a similar mysterious magical realism vibe while set in a small backwater town as INSATIABLE VOLT SISTERS which I also read and loved this year. Full of atmosphere, suspicion and survival, this book is a perspective on small town American living, the trials and tribulations of sibling rivalry and spooky middle of nowhere happenings.

Do you live in a city? A suburb? A rural area?

I live in the city limits of Seattle!😎

💚SMASHBOT💚

#smothermoss #reader #alisaalering #tinhousebooks #netgalley #netgalleyreviewer #monsterbooks #magicalrealism #booknerd #bibliophile #bookish #booksta #recordedbooks

I really enjoyed this one! Thank you netgalley for the advanced audiobook copy. I will be telling my friends!

Unfortunately not for me. In a world with SO many books being published, I just don't see this as a must in our collection. I expected this to be weird by the description, but it was just a little too out there for me.

Appalachia horror stories is a growing trend and I am here for it! This latest in the sub-genre follows two sisters and is set in the 1980s. It was hauntingly atmospheric, involved dark secrets, family drama and was great on audio. I look forward to reading more by this author! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

Smothermoss centers around the lives of two sisters, Sheila and Angie, living in a secluded Appalachian community. Their world is thrown into turmoil when a double homicide occurs on the nearby Appalachian Trail. As the investigation unfolds, strange occurrences begin to plague the sisters.

I loved how Alering used the Appalachian setting in this one. The writing was so atmospheric and evocative. The real and supernatural was superimposed in a fascinating way in this one. I loved the way nature along with the folk horror elements was incorporated into creating the unsettling setup. Sheila and Angie were intriguing and well built characters, their perspectives were used well to create tension between them really well. A lot of the symbolism in the book wasn’t explained, which definitely contributed to how vibes heavy it was. Books that are heavy on the vibes don’t always work for me, and I do wish some threads were more explored and explained more. Despite that I really enjoyed being pulled into an uncanny Appalachia setting with this one.

I started reading this one from the galley and eventually finished on the audio. I enjoyed Susan Bennett’s narration of this one, and I do like gothic reads as audiobooks, especially when they are this atmospheric. I think if I had started this one audio, I might have mistaken my confusion to have something to do with the format and missing something, but that’s just the charm of the story.

This was one of those books that was easy to start but hard to finish. The writing was beautiful, the atmosphere was thick, and the premise was promising. I loved the themes of identity and queerness, and the folk horror vibes, but after some hallucinatory sequences I couldn’t make heads or tails of, I really didn’t find myself dying to pick this back up.

This felt like it maybe had too many moving parts, and many of the pieces never fully get develop or resolved. I kept waiting for the threads to come together, but they never completely did for me. Plus, the murder mystery really took the backseat to everything else in this story, and its resolution didn’t feel satisfying at all. Not to mention, the one side character I liked most (the ghost boy) never really gets a resolution or an explanation either, which layered in the disappointment.

Overall, this book was hard to pin down and at times hard to follow, and although it had some great ideas, it seemed like it didn’t fully deliver on them. But I can see the potential here in the author’s writing, and will absolutely keep my eyes peeled for what the she does next.

Visceral and odd coming of age story about two sisters living in poverty in Appalachia. The audiobook narrator mispronounced Appalachia which was off putting. Overall, this didn’t totally make sense to me and didn’t really work for me, but the folksy horror vibes are definitely there

I enjoyed myself while reading, which has to be part of the point, but as soon as I was done I felt as though I'd just eaten a big fat éclair with tons of calories but no nutritional value.