**SPOILERS AHEAD**

This was the first book by this author I have read and the first time I read a thriller in a long time and I was, unfortunately, super disappointed. I just wanted more of everything.

The thing I have noticed about this authors works, is that all of the synopsis sound so eerie but interesting, they sound like they could be 5 star reads but they read like 1 or 2 stars, for me.

This story in particular had to do with 2 friends returning to a summer camp/lake where they had attended when they were younger and they have this giant secret that they haven't told anyone. Weird things start to happen almost immediately. Weird sensations of being watched and stalked in the woods, dead animals being left at cabins, threatening notes. You are left wondering what their secret is and why are they so scared. But the incidents go from 0-100 real quick and the build up just isn't there.

I love fast paced books but this felt like there was something missing in between the incidents that were occuring. And, ultimately, I felt like the characters lacked death. There were no real connections or personalities, even between the two best friends. It all felt surface level. Honestly, there was only one chacrater written well and they appeared a handful of times in the entire story (love Tia).

The twist came suddenly, the information we were gathering for the mask off moment felt disorganized, and it was not what I had expected, but it seemed like a weak explanation for everything that happened so far. The murders at the end felt like someone trying to write grisly, horrific details, but it read like a wattpad horror story. It was somewhere between too many and not enough details for each death.

It had a summer slasher vibe and it tried to deliver but EVERYTHING about this book fell short.

From the beginning, the story was horrible. This was a second chance for the author, I had read The Lake previously and I did not enjoy it. The synopsis sounded so good. People talking about their fears and then they suddenly die that way? Tell me more!

But all of the characters were bland, one deminsional, Natasha Preston somehow managed to make every single one feel unecessary. The personalities portrayed, felt like someone from high school 15 years ago try to write gen z. And the main girl? She has that annoying "I'm not like other girls" and "pick me girl" attitude that I could not gel with.

Also, what is with throwing random crushes or relationships in just for the sake of having them? They might be teens, but it's perfectly fine for there to be no love interest, especially when that love interest has no weight on the story?? It was so...cringe.

So we get our first murder. What's with these kids having the most random, irrational fears for death? Being pushed off a building? And the way the main character and her friends just *stumble* into the crime scene? Come on now. And the police interrogation? What the heck was that? It was written like Natasha Preston had never watched tapes of actual interrogations. The parents reactions? There was literally no loving connection between them and the main character or any of the others. I didn't realize it was so hard to write human emotion.

Anyways, I forced myself to get halfway through and I DNF'd this book. I skipped to the end and it was the most obvious killer and the most obvious motive. You knew who it was as soon as main girl brings them up in the first chapter. Another promising synopsis, another complete letdown.

I felt like a lot of details were lacking and the characters could have been written better. The twist at the end was actually unexpected for me, but it was nothing to write home about. I wish there had been a little more action, my mind wandered a lot while reading this.

**SPOILERS...kind of?**

What can I say? I loved these books! Willa was the sweetest little creature, a heart full of gold, she just wanted to save her father and save the forest. Robert Beatty has a way of writing magical characters, even when it's not a magic book. The forest felt enchanting, Willa making a new friend with the daughter of the man who is hurting the forest was so sweet. Speaking of that friend...the plot twist there? When we find out who she is, really? I audibly gasped, it made so much sense!

Willa and her sister doing everything in their power to bring their father home was heart wrenching to read, the love in this family dynamic was powerful. But the ultimate ending? Whole written beautifully, I hated it. I wanted a different outcome!

These books are perfect for young children, well anyone really, but I think children would love them most. This was the duology that got me interested in middle grade again.

**SPOILERS**

Oh, I was hooked from the beginning. Robert Beatty described the woods around Willa so well, I could almost imagine being there myself. Robert Beatty also wrote so much depth within his characters, I fell in love with Willa's devotion to her clan and family immediately, I fell in love with the animals that formed a fairytale kind of friendship with Willa. I will say, I did not like the clan. They were awful to Willa and her grandmother! Just because Willa has a sort of magic in her?

Her grandmothers death gutted me and I cried with Willa. But Willa's will to survive and save her beloved woods mad me so proud. Watching Willa and "the man" create a friendship over their shared love of the wilderness made my heart soar. Willa sneaking back to her clan to release the imprisoned children, including "the man's" children, was impressive.

This story was full of love and magic and it was perfect. I loved that Willa found a family with the man and his children, even though she first thought of him as the enemy. Such amazing character growth.

*SPOILERS*

"It was not my intention to murder you. Not at first, anyway."

This was the most beautifully written story I have ever read. It was so lyrical and dreamy and the narrator for the audiobook was just so good at conveying every one of Constanta's emotions.

This is a retelling of Dracula's wives from the perspective of one of his wives, Constanta. The opening of this book when she meets him and he turns her into a vampire and she gets her revenge was so intense and the narrator made her words seen almost...heart breaking when she recounted the story.

I love how it's written like a letter to Dracula, its almost like Constanta is getting her final say to every crappy thing he did to her. The vocabulary is so well done, it honestly sounds like this book could have been around for years, it sounds wise and aged.

Listening to this book, it almost felt like I was dreaming the entire time. The story progresses through the centuries, and the two of them are completely unchanged as they add Magdalena and Alexi to their lives. It's a shorter audiobook, but the dreaminess of it makes you feel like you're living in those moments with them. You feel them go from grateful for having an enternity to do what they want to becoming restless as they realize they're being kept as caged animals to Dracula. You feel their fear when he gets angry and lashes out and you go from the appreciation in the beginning, for finding Constanta, to hating him as you realize they all do.

Your heart starts to beat with anticipation when they decide they're going to get out, one way or another, and start looking for a way to take Dracula down. Even the death of Dracula is told beautifully, even though it sent shivers up my spine.

S.T. Gibson created a phenomenal story, and it will remain one of my favorite books for a very long time. Very few stories have left an impression like this.