krysteendamon's Reviews (199)

I don’t typically write reviews, but I feel compelled to write one for this book. 

If you’re looking for a traditionally told thriller, keep looking. This is not that. If I had to choose a single genre for this book, I’d probably stick it in horror and emphasize its more like a gothic horror than what you’d expect from movies or King. It’s a slow burn with some creep and unreliable narrative. 

I would also tell you to focus less on the why’s or how’s. They’re really not important to the telling. The relationships, both past and current, are really where the story lays. I found this book to be a great portrayal of generational trauma. The constant fear of being a bad parent. The realities of miscommunication. And the signs of potentially inherited mental illness. I related to a lot of things from multiple characters and their relationships with each other, and I think a lot of others will too.

Editing to add: we really really need to start vocalizing our disappointments with the way traditional publishers market their books. This was set up to be shocking and disturbing, like it’s a full on typical thriller or horror, and it’s just not. If you read other negative reviews and decided to pass it up, please use this review as a reevaluation of that decision.

Ultimately it was just really boring. The premise is really cool and I was really looking forward to the nostalgia of the dying VHS, but there was a lot more attention paid to the characters instead of the story, which wouldn’t have been an issue if the characters weren’t so boring.