Disclaimer: I received an e-ARC from netgalley in exchange for a review.

This novel promises to follow a young woman, Jenna, who witnessed the traumatic death of her mother on a lone forest road as a teenager, when evil comes after her once more. This description piqued my interesting and I was excited to pick it up. I also really enjoyed the first chapter and the dread it built.
However, this novel suffers for two reasons: It is too long and the summary does not even hint at a major change in plot at around the 25% mark of the book. As some other reviews have mentioned and which I wish I had read before requesting a review copy of this book, the summary could use some rewording to let readers know which direction the story will go. While the first chapter is really well written and delivers the dread I was hoping for, the story soon switches to that of a pregnant woman kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend and locked up with intention of forcing her to deliver his baby (which is not something I would have picked up had I known as it is not the type of story I enjoy). While it does ultimately tie together with the overall supernatural plot of the story, it was not what I was expecting at all and so definitely negatively influenced my enjoyment of the book.
When the first escape attempt immediately starts after she gets kidnapped, it was clear that one was doomed from the beginning and it was really interesting to read. However, due to the sheer quantity of running away and hiding and running and hiding (and on and on and on) it soon became too much and felt repetitive and tiring. From around 30% to 60% of the story I found myself very bored, as most of it was focused on (a variety of) escapes and particularly the second escape attempt dragged out even longer due to constant POV switches. Despite the many changes in scenery the actions of the villains as well as Jenna’s actions are soon repetitive as well. In the last quarter of the book my attention was piqued once more, as finally the lore was being revealed and we learned more about what exactly was going on and why all these things are happening to Jenna specifically. While I found that part interesting again, at that point unfortunately it was not enough to raise my opinion of this book higher.
I found the heavy inclusion of British vernacular intriguing and enjoyed reading the dialogue. I also liked the short flashbacks to the Templar’s which show which past events caused all this. In general, I think this could have been a fascinating horror story if it was shortened and the description revealed what can actually be expected of the story. All in all, I cannot give this story more than 2 stars.

Tw: slight fatphobia, death of parent, violence and injury, forced confinement, kidnapping, imprisonment, threats of rape, impregnation through deception (hole in condom), forced birth, threats of forced medical impregnation, gun violence, murder, forced institutionalization, graphic attempted suicide, homophobia, (past) bullying, violence, burning alive