*3.5

Bible thumpers, religious cults, midwestern gothic, and folk horror; what more could you possibly ask for? Together We Rot was a very solid debut novel with social commentary on religion, golden retriever bf x feral gf, and some really weird horror elements. I quite enjoyed this, and I really thought this authors writing and prose was beautiful.

The very purply and colorful descriptions, combined with the weirdness really set the overall tone of this story, and I quite enjoyed it. Wil and Elwood, our MC’s, were also quite nice characters to follow, and really had a lot of depth built into their characters. I was definitely rooting for them and their romance, and I loved their dynamic.

I think my main issue with Together We Rot was the length. This book is probably considered novella length from how short it is, not even reaching 280 pages. The story itself is very straightforward, and doesn’t give the readers a lot of time to breathe. It just happens. Which is fine, but I really think this book could have been something special had we had more time inside.

I wish I had more to say (and I probably do, I’m just lazy), but above are really the only things that come to mind. Regardless, this author really can write and I’m intrigued to read more from her. She has a little bit to go to make a “perfect” story, but I thought this was really solid for her debut. This book doesn’t have nearly enough attention as it deserves, especially with how beautiful the cover is.

* * *

That cover is literally so so stunning, I’m so excited to read this