A little sad to not love this. It wasn’t bad, but something about it just didn’t bring it together for me. The concept is great, but I think it tries to do a little too much.

Thank you NetGalley for this book, this is my first horror book and whilst I did enjoy the book I wish it gave me more suspense when coming to the horror scenes. Overall good book would loved it to been longer

As a dedicated fan of horror, I was thrilled to receive an advanced reading copy of 8114 and even more excited to be auto-approved by @clashbooks for future releases via @netgalley . However, my initial excitement gave way to disappointment as I progressed through the book.

The story follows Paul Early, a small-time podcast host who returns to his hometown to uncover the mystery surrounding a friend's tragic suicide in his childhood home. The premise, as described in the blurb, was intriguing and seemed to promise a chilling exploration of Paul’s past intertwined with sinister forces. Unfortunately, the execution left much to be desired.

Let's start with Paul, the protagonist. He was hard to like from the very first page. He is one of those people who thinks he's funny, but he's really not, and it doesn't help that he constantly reminds everyone about how much of a "jokester" he was. He reminded me of the stereotypical, alpha male podcaster - self important and overconfident - and while that might've been intentional, it made it tough to root for him.

The pacing of the book was another major issue. I love my thrillers fast and my horror slow, but this story felt rushed, leaving no room for tension or atmosphere. Much of the narrative relied on Paul's hallucinations, which, while unsettling, did little to advance the story. The frequent jumps to gory scenes—later revealed to be figments of his imagination—created a jarring reading experience, more reminiscent of a screenplay than a novel.

Additionally, while the book did touch on themes like guilt and the haunting pull of the past, they weren’t explored deeply enough to leave an impact.

In the end, 8114 had an interesting concept, but the rushed pacing and the lack of buildup made it a disappointing read for me. Overall, this wasn’t the kind of horror I enjoy, but readers who appreciate chaotic, psychological horror may find something to like here.

Rating : 🌟🌟/5

Unfortunately I was really disappointed by this one. I was drawn in by the cover and the interesting premise. The main characters selfishness and view of women was hard to read at points. I also didn’t appreciate the way other horror media was copied, then referenced as if that absolved the author of ripping off other horror media (like Sinister). It was formulaic, shocking for the sake of it, and scattered.

An excellent horror psychological thriller. This one has it all, demons, witches, multiple unalivings. Paul Early has a podcast, he had been examining the "disappearance" of a high school friend,  the podcast didn't end as he had hoped. Paul is summoned back to his home towm by one of hus high school best friends. When he arrives he is confronted with thed suicide death of his best friend. And the kicker .. he committed suicide in his best friends former home (now abandoned). 8114 is the address of the house. Paul sets out to discover why this happened, Paul and his friends have always considrrred the property to be haunted. This was one of the most disturbing books I havd ever read.

5 stars

One of my absolute favorite books in a LONG time. Legitimately could not put it down. The style, tone and references made this book felt like it was written for ME. I don’t know how Hull managed to pull off jump scares on the page, but I found myself shocked and startled at certain moments. Very visual, reads almost like a movie which makes for an easy read. Can’t say enough good things about this. Excited to visit if an audio version ever comes out!

I was really excited for the premise of this book and the cover creeped me out enough, but within the first bit of the book I felt more confused than scared. There seems to be both a whole lot going on and not much really happening at the same time. Maybe I need to keep going, but at this point in the book only one scary thing happened and then is never talked about again.

I almost DNF’d this one multiple times and I think the author needs to strongly reconsider some things before this goes to final print.

The amount of italics and bold print in here seem excessive, unnecessary and distracting from the story. Not to mention they are really irritating. And then we had the bold italics. The dialect doesn’t read any differently without them. They are off putting.

The plot, while somewhat likeable, has far too many similarities to some well known horror movies to make it original for my taste.
The author has tried to create jump scares in this story but they don’t, nor will they, have the same impact as in a horror movie.
There are also many references to horror characters within this book and they will be lost in translation if the reader isn’t a horror movie fan. One does not equate to the other.

The MC. Do we as readers ever care of the outcome of a character with such distasteful attributes? Selfish. Arrogant. Cocky. Honestly, I spent the last 50% of this story praying that he get killed off soon because I couldn’t stand him.
The other characters are too fleeting to even think about feeling anything for them.

I was really disappointed by this one. I read Mouth by this author and adored it. This one didn’t even compare.

A really good horror novel. I found it orginal and fast paced. I liked the podcast aspect as it was original and occasionally had some dark humor. A recommended book for horror readers.

(Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.)

I DNFed at about 57%, and even then I think I gave it too much time.
This is a story with a decently interesting concept, and I really wanted it to get better, but it just never did. It's trying to do too many things at once. It's a novel, it's a podcast, it's a murder story, but it's supernatural. It also offers scares in every single chapter, which sounds great in theory, but in practice ends up dulling the reader's senses.
And it's all wrapped around a character that is neither likable nor compelling. The author also doesn't know how to write women. Or write without using five-million ellipses.
I'm not even angry, just disappointed.

I really liked the ghost story, but the narration felt too scattered and busy, and also cluttered with way too many pop culture references. It needed to slow down a bit and take a breath in between each thought.
This is one of those instances where the book could’ve greatly benefitted by adding a lot more pages of development, like a childhood flashback opening to get readers more acquainted with the characters we’re supposed to care about. Instead, it felt like being dropped down into the middle episode of a tv series without watching the first half of the season.

a haunting tale about returning to ones roots. this had me on the edge of my seat the entire time ! read with the lights on.

This is easily in my top five for this year. Haunted houses, haunted buildings, haunted people; it has it all. Our MC is both unreliable and endearing, and the way he interacts with the world around him sets the entire tone for our story. Another excellent look into generational trauma, loss, and how it spreads among those you surround yourself with. Solid five stars!

ARC for review. To be published August 26, 2025.

DNF @ 20%.

Plot:
The small time podcast host, Paul, is summoned back to his old hometown after the discovery of his "longtime" friend committed suicide. Desperate to find some answers as to what is going on, and why his "friend" did this. Paul finds himself going through unwelcoming memories from his childhood home.

My Thoughts:
While I only read about 20% of this book, I can tell you that Paul, right off the bat, is the type of person who is insensitive, and when they hear the word no, they ignore it. I get it. I would be curious too about some little boys death, but when people have told you multiple times to stop you seem to ignore it. In the plot description above, I put "friend" and "longtime" in quotations. Why? Well, Paul is a horrible friend. He really isn't one at all. Just from the get go, he barley goes home, barley talks/ keeps in touch with his so called long term friends. I just had to stop the book. It was getting on my last nerves, and I was not in the mood to read about Paul's journey.

8114
By:Joshua Halle
Clash books
Aug.26,2025
Kindle/E-Pub
218pgs.

“Don’t forget to clear your head. To give your life and join the dead. To close your eyes and join the black. The things out there they want you back.”

When Paul creates a podcast to find an old classmate who he believes went missing, what he accidentally uncovered destroyed his life and his podcast. When he has a new idea to reboot his mystery podcast he is led back to his dilapidated childhood home, after a shocking death of a friend. What he finds at his old decrepit home is worse than he could have ever imagined.
This book was very eerie and uncomfortable. It was creepy as hell and most def. Shocked me in a few ways! The use of podcasts made it feel current and real! This book was disturbing as hell and I couldn’t get enough!
Please exercise caution if you are sensitive to death, suicide, or domestic abuse themes.

Paul Early is impulsive and selfish and can not seem to make any good decisions. A massive oversight on his podcast, Adam Benny is Missing causes a lot of harm and resentment from his hometown, including putting the family the podcast covers in danger. While taking a break from scrutiny, Paul gets a call from his friend Matt that sends him back to his hometown and in the path of distruction from his childhood home, 8114.

Death, grief, and acceptance make this story riveting, original and darkly humorous, as well as making Joshua Hull a name to look out for.

Thank you to NetGalley and CLASH Books for the ARC!

Thank you to Clash Books and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a SCARY book. So many books are touted as “horror” and but they’re not actually scary. Between the imagery and the subject matter, this book is horrifying. It had a twist near the end that I did not see coming and the ending itself was great. I also loved the podcast/found footage element to it. The reason I couldn’t give this book 5 stars is that the main character is absolutely insufferable. He’s a middle aged 12 year old who makes terrible jokes and has an incredibly annoying inner dialogue. Other than that it’s a great haunting/possession book and I would definitely read Hull’s other works.

PUB DAY: AUGUST 26TH 2025 🥳

Horror is not for everyone, and this book will not be for everyone... BUT IT WAS FOR ME!
It gets you right from the start with the and by the time things start to unravel, you're already in and feel like part of the story itself.
I say definitely be aware of your triggers going in and understand that emotional pain can be just as hurtful as physical, especially when we are facing these things head on.
PLEASE READ THIS BOOK.

This is the kind of horror novel that won’t be for everyone, but when it gets into the right hands, it will be devoured. I’ve seen other reviews where this is either a hit or a miss, for me, it was a hit. This book is for the weirdos that like to get that strange itch scratched because this book will scratch it. The pacing was done well, the characters made sense and the ending was realistic enough for me.

This started strong for me, I enjoyed exploring the concept that a true crime podcast could do more harm than good. I also liked the moments where the deceased friend reached out to him, reminiscent of An American Werewolf in London. However… I quickly began to lose interest. You mean to tell me that you either have mold growing out of you or are hallucinating mold growing out of you and you decide to sit down and write, record, edit and publish a podcast?!??

This book did have lots of descriptive horror and some interesting scenes, but overall it felt disjointed and didn’t hold my attention very well. I think there may be an audience for it, but I don’t think it’s me.