Thank you NetGalley and Tantor Audio for the ARC of this audiobook for my honest review

I believe this is supposed to be a choose your own path book so listening to it was really interesting where I didn’t actually get to choose. Was kinda fun seeing if I picked the chosen path though. I’d love to read this properly and go through all of the paths. Always have loved a choose your own path. The characters in this were really good, the Halloween facts were great, the whole idea of it was well done. I really enjoyed it even though it took me a bit to get into the “you do this” kind of writing style. I recommend !

I'll be publishing my review on Goodreads and StoryGraph 12th November and on Tik tok most likely will add to a monthly wrap up post with review the beginning of December.

Read this book if you're in the mood for something: adventurous, emotional. funny, lighthearted, & medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
A Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

Book Rating: 4.25 stars
This book was mostly humorous and an overall fun journey. I truly loved the format and would have loved to read the blog and be part of creating this romp. It did get emotional in parts, which I liked as it was balanced out by humor. The ending was excellent as well, a great twist!


The only element that I didn't enjoy was Jim, who got to be a bit repetitive and annoying around 80%. But once you get to the ending his over-the-top character makes more sense. So I guess narratively it worked. It was also a bit too long and didn't keep my attention past a certain point. Overall, a very enjoyable Halloween book that's satirical instead of scary.



Narrator Rating: 4.5 stars
The narrator did an excellent job. While Jim's voice fits his character, it got grating at points. However, the narrator did a great job doing different voices for each character.

This book was freaking amazing! It gave me Brandon Sanderson vibes the way the narrator told the story. The way the years of the reader-driven story were broken down and carried over into the next chapter was genius! The banter, spooky, and comedic elements were spot on!

10 out of 10 recommend for me!

I will definitely look for more titles from this author.

Thank you Netgalley, Tantor Audio, and Drew Hayes for the ALC of this immersive book.

I am leaving this honest review voluntarily and uncoerced.

"Don't forget! Fulfilled or forsaken, you owe me a dream by All Saints dawn."

"Before we venture forth, Merlin, perhaps it is time you knew what to expect this evening. Tonight will truly be one of our most hideous destinations in all our years together. What you see may haunt you. Carve itself into the deepest core of your soul. Take heart and brace for the dangers ahead."

💭 Great writing and narration. Cool concept of using a poll to involve the audience in making a decision (a compilation of a decade worth of story and gets expanded each year depending on the poll results!) The storytelling is engrossing, makes you feel like you are part of the story and company. Like you are also there steeling your nerves whilst hunting a mysterious magical object - dreading whatever unknown horror that awaits. 17 hours and 13mins in audio format. This is something I'd probably enjoy more as a read along if I have either the ebook or physical copy since it's a lot to process in just 2 days.

📖 If you find these interesting:
everkey🔑, time-jumping anomaly, risky magic dust to bring any Halloween 👻 🎃 costume to life.

Thanks to NetGalley and RBMedia for the arc 🖤

I picked up this book without knowing much about it. I simply knew it had a huge jack-o-lantern on it, and seemed to harken of death and choices. So let's just say, I was pretty intrigued.

Drew Hayes started the journey of writing this story in 2013 when he started sharing the beginnings of this with his readers on his blog. Over the course of the next ten years, he provided prompts, expanding the story each year. For his blog readers, it was a choose your own adventure, which unfolded year after year. For the readers of this book, you will see the prompts which were provided but the chosen choices will be the ones which lead the reader further into the story. I had the audiobook, so I had a great time picking what I wanted and seeing if the blog readers also chose the choices I wanted. A lot of times they did but a couple of times they didn't but it was still really fun.

Each year is a different Halloween adventure with the narrator, Jim, his chemically fueled roommate, and a mysterious yet fall connected girl, Victoria, who seems to gain certain abilities around the spooky season. there are a couple other side characters which come along during various other years, such as Thad, the narrator's golden brother, who is actually a super cool and supportive dude. The story does get kind of weird the more years that pass but, dang, what a fun ride. I had a really great time on this adventure!

An author writes 13 days up to Halloween on an online forum where the readers decide what happens next via polls. The tradition continues for 10 whole years before the finale hits everyone.

The plot and the writing style of the book was surely one of a kind! I never had the opportunity to read a story where the plot twists were in the hands of readers. This made the book quite unpredictable & alluring. I wish I had the same luck with the narrative style of the story. For as long as the narration was in the perspective of communicating with the online readers, it went well. Though when the narrative shifted to the actual story, it felt pretty flat.

What I found most interesting about this book, is that it’s a collection of 10 years worth of story. Every year, for 13 days leading up to Halloween, Hayes would post a part of the story. At the end of each section/day, he would take a poll from his readers to decide which direction the story would go. Almost like a modern-day Goosebumps but funny and with way more adult language.

I would have enjoyed this audiobook more if I didn’t listen to all the “years” at once. I also would have loved to have spent multiple days, if not my own years, coming back to it for more. It’s just a lot of Halloween for me at one go. However, the characters are lovable, story can be funny and twisty, and every year there’s a new adventure that will allude to previous years. 3.5 ⭐️ rounded up.

Audiobook narrator was excellent! He made it super entertaining! It’d be great if you have a long commute. Also, I would definitely recommend to listen to two or three of the “years” every Halloween until you finish the whole album.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Drew Hayes, and Tantor Audio for this audiobook Arc in exchange for an honest review.

I loved "you choose" books as a kid, so this adult one based in Halloween and Halloween mythology. I loved how it was pretty hard for you to d** in this book too, but you can make stupid decisions. Really recommend it for anyone's boo baskets this year.

I started listening to this on the peripheral edge while working. But then I found myself being so caught up in the twists of the saga, that I had to stop listening while doing things that I needed to focus on.

The characters really grew as the story progressed, and I found myself in the middle of moments where I got the chills during climaxes in the story. I was so engrossed that I teared up at a certain point.
I ended up caring about all of the main characters without realizing it.

This reminds me of the How to Survive Camping series by Bonnie Quinn. She had a living series on reddit that interacted with the readers, which she turned into 4 books. Though, Drew may have predated that series at the start.

I believe that the combined efforts of the author and narrator really brought this world to life. I can only hope that this gets optioned for a TV series. I would love to see this in a place that's not my imagination. Until then, I'm also going to buy the ebook. I want to experience this via both methods of consumption.

A Decade of Death and Decisions by Drew Hayes is fun and nostalgic Halloween story. This is the first book I've read by the author and just wow. I'm going to have to check out his other stuff because I enjoyed this so much. This book started off as a choose your own ending story that went on for ten years. I find this incredible! As someone who grew up reading Goosebumps books, this felt like pure nostalgia. The plot was fun and engaging.

The audiobook really brought this one to life. Matt Godfrey did a wonderful job at interpreting the characters emotions then portraying them so vividly. I loved the subtle shifts in his tone for each character. It wasn't dramatic but it made it clear who was speaking.

I highly recommend this one if you're a fan of fun Halloween adventures or choose your own ending stories.

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

(4.0 Stars)

There are a few things that can be said about Drew Hayes. He is a great story teller. He is a very good writer. He has a lot of fans of his writing. And he gives his fans what they want.

This book is a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book, ten years in the making... But instead of just turning to page ##, the fans decide the direction of the book by way of "polls" and popular consensus.

The result is a wonderfully written tale with relatable characters, richly detailed environments, and a successful expirimental novel almost guaranteed to be enjoyable.

So, if you like Horror, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, or even just Halloween... this book is for you!

I enjoyed this book greatly. HOWEVER it needs to be physically read and not listened to as an audiobook. As the reader you’re suppose to make choices however you can’t do that with the audiobook. It was fun though. I wasn’t a big fan of 2nd person but it’s fine.

What a fun concept! I love the idea of using a poll to decide what happens next in the story a la Choose Your Own Adventure but for adults. Add in the story continuing over years and it will keep you hooked. For me, I think the thrill would have been in tuning in every day, every year, to see what happened next. I think a lot of the fun is lost in the story being laid out as one long continuous one, even if it has the polls added in. The story didn’t really appeal to me as much as the process but I can see where this would be a fun story for others.