I would almost consider Chills a novella, it’s very short. Moved very fast and wrapped up almost too easily but love that there was a small cliffhanger. The Lovecraft esque creatures were fun and loved the cold atmosphere . I felt I was missing all of Kathy’s backstory which kind of makes me wonder how books 2 and 3 in this series goes. Not bad …3.5⭐️

Let me start by saying I absolutely LOVE a good, creepy, snowed in trap of a story! It’s one of my absolute favorite settings bc the tension is unparalleled. I enjoyed Jack, Teagan, and Kathy’s characters investigating this potential world changing mystery.

My issue here is that I read too much and I saw a lot of the plot coming. But the blue people and the ice creatures were neat and creepy. And The Hand of The Black Stars Cult was creepy and different. It had all the right aspects for some real creepiness. Especially with the monsters undiscerningly attacking everyone and everything in their paths!

The occult aspect was well done. And it was a fun, gory, creepy read, especially if you happen to be in one of the current onslaught of snow storms!

So...I did this kind of backwards.

I'd actually already read the other books in the series and finally stepped back to see where it all started.

What a good book! I'll admit it was a little weird reading the first book last - I mean, I already knew what happened with certain characters, so maybe it lost just a little tension?

But still a good read. Fast paced, extremely dark, and (as always) the author manages to give us extremely complex characters.

Can't wait for the next book - now that I'm all caught up!

Gave me literal chills. I must read everything by May SanGiovanni! The ending was very well done. Did not see it coming!

I have to admit that I started this book 3 times before I finally got past the first chapter. I am glad that I gave it more than one chance. Chills ended up being a fairly enjoyable horror novel. I was pleasantly surprised. In the story, it's almost June and the small town of Colby, CT is having a massive blizzard. A body is found that has cult symbols carved into it. People start seeing things dangerous in the snow. A small police task force has to find out what is going on before it's too late.

I have read some comments that this book reminded some readers of something they would see on the SciFy channel. I have to agree with them. It's like a guilty pleasure b-horror movie. Once you get past the first chapter, the book takes off and becomes very fast paced. It's creepy and is definitely kind of gruesome. I enjoyed the pacing and the way the background information was parsed out. There were no huge info dumps to slow things down.

I liked all of the main characters from the police task force, especially Kathy and Teagan. There was some nice relationship possibilities between the two. I'll admit I was happy that the author decided not to add in the trope of a sex scene in the middle of chaos. So often that happens and I can't understand who in their right mind would take the time to have sex when there is imminent danger around. Along with them, there are other characters introduced along the way. You never know who will be safe and who won't survive. I'm not going to talk plot really, because I don't want to give away any spoilers. The twist toward the end was a nice surprise.

If you are in the mood for a fun horror book, I do recommend this one. There is another book featuring Kathy coming out next month. I'm looking forward to reading Behind the Door.

This book took me on a ride!
I was not familiar with the author when I first started reading, so I expected a cult serial killers on the loose. That's sort of what this is, but then it went in a direction I did not expect at all. I liked it!!
Though, I'm not a fan of the way it ended, I enjoyed the twists and turns of this novel. It is a good one for fans of Lovecraft.

What's better than snuggling up in a blanket and reading a book? Snuggling up in a blanket and reading THIS book. Set in Colby, Connecticut in the middle of a snow storm that only gets colder and snowier the further we get into it, we are faced with snow monsters who can give you the chills so you'll be happy you're in your warm house under your blanket, with the occasional glances outside to see if it's started snowing yet!!

Loved this book and I urge everyone to pick it up and give it a try.

Mary SanGiovanni has written some very good and very scary books. I can still remember when I first read “The Hallower” without knowing anything about the book or the author and was just blown away. I could only hope to get that same “wow” factor from her newest novel “Chills.”

A snowstorm in May was unusual but not unheard of in the small town of Colby, Connecticut. The story shut down schools and roads and reminded everyone that winter could still rule with an icy fist whenever it so desired. Even finding a dead body in such a severe storm would not be too terribly unexpected given the suddenness and severity of the storm. The strange thing is that the body was of a murdered young boy who seemed to be the victim of an occult-related crime. Things became even stranger, and deadlier, when the murders did not stop and the body count rose while the crimes all seemed to point toward a sinister purpose.

Colby has turned into a warzone between the world that everyone thought was real and the supernatural. A cult has started a ritual to unleash the old gods upon the world and their demon army has arrived with the storm to unleash hell on Earth. As winter firmly grasps Colby in its grasp, a small group of people must band together to unravel the mystery of the cult and prevent the old gods from forever taking the world into their icy hands and turning it into their personal demonic wasteland.

Mary SanGiovanni gives the reader a flat-out adrenaline ride in “Chills” that kicks into high gear from the opening chapter and does not let up until the final page. This is not a story that takes a lot of thought to figure out but rather just one that asks the reader to strap in and hold on for a wild ride. There is a lot of carnage in this book and SanGiovanni pushes the violence and gore to about as close to extreme as it can get at times without crossing that line so the weak of heart (and stomach) need not apply. The monsters are bloodthirsty. The pace is breakneck. The violence is brutal. “Chill” is a scary novel and a very entertaining read.

With that being said, the story moved a little too fast at times and that is what keeps it from moving past a very good read to a great one. SanGiovanni keeps the action coming though out the story but there is little time taken to flesh out the details behind the action. The characters do not get much attention in the story with only a quick description of who they are and, essentially, their purpose in the story before moving back to the action and this kept me from getting as invested in the story as I would have if I had cared for the characters. There was also a lack of motivation for the story other than a just a quick explanation of what was going on in the middle of the story that really did not seem all that important. “Chills” is an adventure/horror novel and does a good job at entertaining but it could have been much more if it had a little more substance. I like SanGiovanni’s writing and enjoyed the novel but it did leave me feeling as if it could have been much more.

I would like to thank Kensington Books and NetGalley for this review copy. “Chills” is available now.