e-Audio, 13:17:50
Narrated by: Khelia Alu
Release Date: May 14, 2024
Published by: Disney Hyperion
Read from: May 20-21, 2024
Stand-alone
Source: Library’s Libby
Content Warning: Medical Content
For Readers Interested In: Ghosts, Paranormal, Romance, Set Outside the USA, YAUnlike the other residents of the small Caribbean Island of St. Virgil, Selina DaSilva does not believe in magic. With a logical mind and a knack for botany, Selina used to dream of leaving the island to study Pharmacology—until a vicious, unsolved attack left her father dead and her mother in a coma.
Now her guilt over her mother’s condition keeps her tethered to the island, relegated to conning gullible tourists with useless talismans and phony protection rituals. But when one of those tourists ends up at the center of a string of strange murders, the truth that Selina has been denying can no longer be there is evil lurking in the forests that surround St. Virgil. Another thing that can’t be avoided? Selina’s ex-boyfriend Gabriel, newly employed at the local newspaper and eager to put his investigative skills to use.
Desperate to put an end to the killings and claim justice for Selina’s family, these two former lovers race to find answers. But evil bides its time. And as long-buried feelings and long-hidden secrets about Selina’s family’s past begin to reveal themselves, only one answer remains—and it waits in the forest.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I heard about this book back in September of last year. And I had this in my sights since then. But come to find out…… It just wasn’t what I expected. This had everything that I would want in a “horror” book (since that’s what it was poised as to me) but it just didn’t deliver.
Ok so even though it was stacked with ghosts and things in the forest, the writing style just didn’t do it for me. Till this day, almost a month later, I still don’t know what the “It” is. Was it a ghost? A real thing? A monster? And if it was supposed to be just considered an “It” like S. King’s It and take the form of what you’re scared of, that should have been better described. Because at this point, I’m just guessing since I’ve read It. ANYWAYS, with all that being said, this wasn’t at all scary and I still don’t know who or what the It is.
The plot twist at the end was cool. I saw it coming, but only because the author starts giving you some info on who it was as it got closer to the end. And then,the big big plot twist was really underwhelming. It came at the very end and it really didn’t serve any real purpose to the story. Because they didn’t really do anything with it. It kind of just happened and then it was over. I don’t’ know how else to really explain it.
The romance in this one was ok. It was all over the place and kind of weird to be honest. It was like a love triangle and this made me cringe. It wasn’t bad, but I think we all knew as soon as the other person came up who she was going to end up with. The two of them couldn’t be more different, but one of them is just weird enough to work with her.
Selina was ok as a character, but she just wasn’t as bad ass as I expected from the picture on the cover. Yes this happens in the book, but it doesn’t really scream the bad-assery that the cover does. Especially since she was running away from something soon after if I remember correctly. I actually liked the Selina from the beginning that helped with that reading, but as the story went on, I liked her less and less.
This wasn’t what I was expecting. I really kept reading it because I was wondering when it was going to get scary or when it was going to actually like give some more information about what the It was. But neither of these things happened and I felt disappointed. It just didn’t work for me. But for whatever reason, I couldn’t stop listening. The narrator was great and the storyline was easy to follow, so I still kept going. It wasn’t what I was expecting, but it wasn’t terrible either.
Overall, I give this
