e-Audio, 08:34:30
Narrated by: iiKane null
Release Date: May 16, 2023
Published by: Tantor Media, INC
Read from: April 26- May 3, 2023
Stand-alone
Source: Netgalley (I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
TW: Racism, Possession
For Readers Interested In: Horror, Ghosts, Family Diversity, Racial/Ethnic Diversity, YAShe is the reason no one goes in the water. And she will make them pay. A chilling new novel for fans of Tiffany D. Jackson, Lamar Giles, and Ryan Douglass.
Bronwyn is only supposed to be in rural Hillwoods for a year. Her grandmother is in hospice, and her father needs to get her affairs in order. And they’re all meant to make some final memories together.
Except Bronwyn is miserable. Her grandmother is dying, everyone is standoffish, and she can’t even go swimming. All she hears are warnings about going in the water, despite a gorgeous lake. And a pool at the abandoned rec center. And another in the high school basement.
Anais tries her hardest to protect Bronwyn from the shadows of Hillwoods. She follows her own rituals to avoid any unnecessary attention—and if she can just get Bronwyn to stop asking questions, she can protect her too. The less Bronwyn pays attention to Hillwoods, the less Hillwoods will pay attention to Bronwyn. She doesn’t get that the lore is, well, truth. History. Pain. The living aren’t the only ones who seek retribution when they’re wronged. But when Bronwyn does more exploring than she should, they are both in for danger they couldn’t expect.
*MY THOUGHTS*
This wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. I was thinking it was going to be some type of water monster and that it would scare the pants off me. However it was not exactly that. I wasn’t scared at all and it was a lot of slow happening.
The way I was so upset about this book. With horror you have to grab the reader right away. With this premise I thought this was going to do just that. But when I finished reading it, I realized I had been reading it trying to figure out when that grab was going to happen. It was so disappointing. Then once it started getting scary, it wasn’t really explained well. It like told the facts but there were no details that made it like the reader would be scared of. Like the book was basically like “I kept blacking out and I didn’t know how I got to these places.” And like wtf I could have done that? I guess I’m just really pissed because it wasn’t what I thought it was.
The reason for the ghost character was a little out of left field tho. I know there are some readers who don’t want to read anymore books centering racism, so just a small warning if that’s you. I won’t say anything more to avoid spoilers, but since it is something from the past, racism does play a part in it. I understood it, but a small part of me wanted to keep this all Black. (Meaning I didn’t want it to have to depend on what yte people did.) Since it went that way I was glad that that the history behind it was taught. Many people don’t know about the things like that that were done to them. I wish they had found a way to make it scary without the yte people added and make this all Black, but I understand the way they can be thought of as haunting. But then again, I did like not being the complete villain for once. I had a complex about this book that I clearly haven’t worked through.
What annoyed me the most though was the pacing. There was nothing explained up until page 60. And even then its not a clear one. It’s more than half over when it finally gets actually good. Idk the first half felt like a slog but the second half I flew through. I wish there had been more red herrings or something happening throughout the beginning. And the characters were weird too. Like they just kept popping up out of nowhere. Like that weird reporter? She had absolutely no purpose but to further the plot because she showed up at the places where they otherwise would have gotten caught. It was kind of weird.
This wasn’t what I was expecting, but it was still ok. I do wish things were a bit different, but again I do wish they had kept it all Brown for once. Definitely gave me some things to think about. I hope all of you go read it and let me know what y’all think. I really would like to discuss some things. So let me know if y’all read it!
Overall, I give this
