Siblings Lizzie and Dylan experienced a devastating trauma when young. Ten years later, Dylan is back in the San Francisco Bay Area, on a mission to find a missing girl and to protect his sister. Not having seen each other for many years, Lizzie is reluctant to reconnect, but after vivid dreams she knows that she has to find Dylan and make sure he is safe.

Who knew there were so many ways to describe fog!!

This is a first for me by this author. I’m not sure from the style and aptitude of writing if it is a debut? I found the book overly descriptive, showing lack of trust between writer and reader, hence why I thought this was a new, inexperienced author. The actual plot gets hidden in the sluggish descriptive prose

Slow and meandering, the writing missed the gothic vibe it was searching for and at times was like something from a Victorian melodrama, with some gems -

‘their solidity providing no solidity’
‘gifting him back eight bolts of beneficent pain’
‘she did not have enough coin for the egregious fare’
‘the chair alongside its fallen brethren’

A disappointing ending.

A major edit is needed. Sometimes less is more. 50% less purple prose and hyperbole and maybe a decent novel might emerge.

Thank you NetGalley and Fever Dream Books for the arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

C.W. Anderson, you did not miss! The suspense, the horror, I couldn’t put this book down! I made my wife read it just so I could have someone to talk about it with! Don’t sleep on this book, pick it up and buckle up!

The premise behind the book was a good one, but I fee like it could have been executed better. The idea of childhood trauma for the siblings that was actually a supernatural kind of evil was unique. It had chilling moments to the book. I did struggle to finish it at times, but overall it wasn't too bad. I think the description and inner monologue was well done, but a little too much. I think that it needs to be more balanced.

Thank you Net Galley ARC

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I got a definite vibe from this book that was somewhat similar to 'Skinamarink'. I feel like there was a lot of content in here that, when provided to the right person, would bring definite scares and substance, but sadly, I struggled to connect with this book. We follow a brother and sister who return to visit their old trauma, and find that it may not have just been shadows in the dark but a real, actual threat.

I feel like this book danced on the edge of good a lot of the time. There was a great deal of material here that was definitely on the edge of scary, but it got bogged down in exposition and drama between the siblings that just felt really hard to get through. I found that the end of the story as well wasn't quite what I had hoped for, and there's no real resolution from the side of the horror.

I still enjoyed the atmosphere that this book had, I just felt like it could have been better in other respects and tied more together than just the interpersonal side of it. If you are very much into assessing the minutiae of character's lives and getting horror out of processing trauma without an analogy, I genuinely think that you will love this book. For the more hardcore horror fans, sadly, it just doesn't quite hit the mark.

Lizzy and Dylan escape a childhood horror now it's back. Good characters love how the author shows same trauma effects them differently. Plenty of chill and thrills along the way. Slow start but soon picks up. Thanks to Fever Dream books and Netgalley for this review ARC.

I really liked the idea behind this one, a brother and sister dealing with childhood trauma that turns out to be something sinister and supernatural and evil.

The idea itself is chilling.

However, I really struggled to get through this one. There are pages and pages and pages of inner monologue and description, bounding between the two characters. It needed a bit more movement and dialogue to pull me in and to set a pace for the story. It felt bigger down to me.

But, if you like more description and don't want a ton of dialogue, this might be more your speed. So, give it a try.

This book sadly needs a big editing and cutting all the unnecessary details and descriptions of everything that happens. I hope the author starts to believe that their readers have a mind of their own and are being able to deduct things even when it's not described in detail to us. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this free eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I had a bit of a difficult time getting started with this one. My biggest issue was the formatting. I read an e-book and there was no indent, and the chapters were not spaced a part, so it read almost without breaks, outside of dialogue. I found that a touch jarring.

But once I did get into the story, I was able to get a bit more used to it, but I still found myself having a hard time following things. It felt a touch choppy at times, and maybe a bit too atmospheric, if that makes sense.

It wasn’t bad at all, it’s perhaps just not a style that resonates with me. And having said that, I still gave it a 3 which to me is a good solid read.

I felt for both characters. The author’s ability to really delve into both of their siblings’ perspectives and feelings really made the story for me. I do tend to like flawed characters, and these two fit that description.

This does start out a little slow but then it picks up around chapter 2. It's an eerie, creepy story about a brother and sister who went through something horrifying as children. Now that they're adults, they realize their childhood night isn't over. This horror did not disappoint and I'm excited to see what else Anderson comes up with.

This is a novel about a brother and sister who faced something horrifying as children. They each went a different route dealing with this trauma. And now, as adults, they realize it's back and they have been marked.

Taking place in San Francisco and having horrific things coming from the thick fog is a great premise. And there are some truly unsettling things that happen.

Keep in mind that I think this author writes very well and there are some solid scares in the pages. In fact, I KNOW people who would absolutely love this book. But for me, personally, I was taken out of the story due to (for me) excessive descriptions and details which bogged down the narrative.

And that's really a shame because if those were a little tighter this would have been a much better read for me. But, there are still lots to like and I would recommend it to those who love details more than I do.

Children of the Fog
Is a eerie tale of childhood monsters that don't quite leave you, even when you grow up. Though it does have a slow start, it does pick up after the first chapter and is very immersive on some realities. Anderson did not disappoint, enhancing the unsettling element of the fog, and the personification of the main characters nightmares.

I received an e-ARC copy of this book from the publishers on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.