Completely over the top. 

 

When burgeoning writer Ali gets invited to a retreat with one of the most prolific horror authors, it turns out to be a cutthroat competition… quite literally.  

 

I was drawn in by the premise of this book and the fact that it had a polarizing effect on its readers.  I have no doubt it will make a great discussion for my book club later.  And maybe, that, in itself, is a huge win for this debut author.  

 

After reading, it was abundantly clear just why this book lends to such strong reactions.  Unfortunately, with the book being so utterly preposterous, it was a miss for me.

 

So why did I finish??? Honestly, I’m not sure.  Maybe I kept hoping that some twist would give just cause for all of the outlandish elements. 

 

The “kitchen sink” approach was off-putting yet it kept me glued to obnoxiousness.  I couldn’t stop reading even knowing this train was going completely off the rails.  

 

And I’m not sure if that’s a nod to the author’s abilities or my continuing lack of ability to DNF.