I am never let down by this series and every book is better than the last!! I feel like most of my reviews for this series are just me repeating myself and fangirling over Carl and Donut. I have teared up a few times in the last few books but this one had me crying a couple times. Matt Dinniman creates these wonderfully endearing characters and you follow them on such a harrowing and intense journey that you feel close to them and you hold them near and dear to your heart. I also am always completely blown away by Matt Dinniman! How does his brain even create all these scenarios and floors and intricate plot lines!? I am amazed by his creativity and intelligence! I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do when this series is finally over. Read it again and again just to keep them alive in my imagination I guess. Also if you listen to the audios make sure to never skip an end credit scene this one was by far my favorite!

THIS AUDIOBOOK IS UNMATCHED

ARC REVIEW, thank you NetGalley and Publishers!

Rating: 3.5 stars

First I would like to start with the fact this is a debut novel. For a debut I think this shows A LOT of potential for this new author. She is definitely in the right genre. Her ability to set up creepy scenes and make them feel so real. She can describe small details in a very eerie light that I found very effective! There were a few instances where I was definitely wide eyed. I love paranormal horror that isn’t afraid to be just that. Who cares if something is a “cliche” it works and it sure does send shivers down my spine! I also really enjoyed the pacing of the story. Sometimes it would come in small snippets and I like that! I found it made the story so quick to consume. The pacing slowed toward the end but I believe that was a plot device to show the climax occurring. So I just want to preface this by saying I think this is a great debut. I think Zinnikas has a lot of potential to be a great horror author and I will put any book she publishes in the future on my tbr.

However, I must say I think when it comes to character writing it doesn’t feel like her strong suit just yet. I think with more practice she has the writing skills to make her characters more effective. For me I feel like Willa was constantly contradicting herself. One minute she is a shy reclusive person and the next she is this confident outspoken individual. She would seem very intelligent and then make a decision or act in a way that the other part of her would never decide to do making her come off as a bit dumb. It was hard to figure out who Willa was as a person. I think this is compounded by the fact Willa kept the reader in the dark a bit too much. She would make me very frustrated. She would also never admit to anything. Which I understand for the people outside the characters pov but for the reader it got to a point where I was getting mad at her. She would see something unexplainable get mad when someone wouldn’t believe her in the past and then the next moment chastise someone else for trying to express the same thing. In summary Willa irritated me and her decisions came off as selfish a lot.

I also think there might have been a little too much going on. Multiple supernatural elements that are never fully explained plus a cryptid element plus crime and thriller elements. There was too much and not enough time to explain it all.

But I have to be honest it did keep me hooked. If I picked the book up it was hard for me to put it down.

All in all this was a solid horror/thriller I think it could use some tuning up but I am eager to see what Zinnikas writes next!!