I couldn't get into this. Something about it just wasn't for me and failed to grip me.

Wasn’t a fan of the perspective changes, but I thought this book was enjoyable, albeit unrealistic.

This was a conflicting read for me. I think this book would be more like 3.25 or 3.5/5 stars for me.

This story starts off following Roger, a pessimistic, rude, misogynist man. We meet him in the wake of his wife Daisy's death. As we learn more about Roger, the type of person he is, and the kind of marriage he had, we see Daisy intent on punishing him from beyond the grave. And honestly, good for her because her man is awful!

The blurb calls Roger a "selfish, bitter husband" but that was an incredible understatement. And honestly, all of the men in this book were absolutely horrid. From misogyny, to slurs, to just simply boiling it all down to being hateful men. It was hard for me to read at times because I wanted to throttle them all. I wish there were more likable characters within this story to balance out the hate but it is skillful to be able to elicit such strong emotions within your characters. Also, be prepared for some cat slander as well. I felt like I was in between a battle between cats vs dogs.

Within the same vein, the author did a fantastic job at writing these characters because I truly hated the men in this story. The women were a bit better but they also had little to be desired. And I kept wishing that the women would step up and stop letting these men treat them like absolute garbage. The characters definitely provoked a lot of feeling within me, and even though it was mostly negative, it was strong writing. It also felt very close to real life which I can't fault the author for. I found myself rooting for Daisy. I so deeply wanted her to get her revenge on Roger from start to finish. The more I read about their relationship, the more I found myself understanding what drove Daisy to the brink. Her actions very quickly became justified.

The pacing within this story was fantastic. I didn't find there to be any lulls within the writing where it felt like filler. And I thought the writing itself was good. Everything flowed and was written nicely. But I will say that if you don't like mentions of bodily functions, this book will bother you. There are many mentions of excreta and vomit.

I wish this book was a bit more horror forward and less about the character's hatred. Ultimately, this is what pulled my rating down. My dislike of the characters was slightly outweighing my intrigue for the horror story. It felt as though it took a little while to get to the meat of the horror.

I felt a lot of conflicting emotions while reading this but I still found myself entertained by it. I enjoyed the writing enough that I would read another book by this author in the future. Fingers crossed for more likable characters though! But a reminder that if every book had likable characters, not only would it be boring, but unrealistic.

Thank you to BookSirens, Lethe Press, and the author Christopher O'Halloran for the ARC. All opinions are my own!

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7472859900
Fable Review: https://fable.co/review/1e6e8181-b7f1-41a3-99fb-36a0a3695825/share

For such a short book, I really enjoyed this and I actually read it twice.

The narration was interesting. I was a bit confused on who the narrator was at first and then quickly realized it was actually the house itself. This was a pretty unique change for a haunted house story. This book reminded me a bit of <b><I>Monster House</b></I> and <b><I>The Haunting of Hill House.</b></I>

This story starts off with Eric and his husband Mike moving into a new house with their two daughters. The house has a bit of a reputation and the family soon discovers that there is something sinister going on inside. This was a very fast paced and easy read. I thought the characters were lovable and well-developed for this being such a short book. I loved the dynamic between Eric and Mike along with their kids. The start of this book had such a heartwarming feel but it quickly turned bitter.

I honestly would've loved to have a bit more of this story. While the ending was wrapped up nicely, I still found myself wanting just a bit more. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to the characters and their story yet. I'm impressed by the writing and complexity that was created within such a short book. I'm not always a huge fan of short reads because they can feel lacking in plot or character development but this book didn't suffer from that.

I loved the ominous tone that started to creep up around halfway through this book. It was a steady change from the heartwarming start to one of tragedy.

Thank you to BookSirens, Slashic Horror Press, and Henry Corrigan for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7472864816
Fable Review: https://fable.co/review/3ab96c1d-4e5b-432c-9e9c-cffb4ee44de1/share

3.75/5 stars rounded up.

3.5/5 stars rounded down.

Enjoyable but I think the length hindered this story a bit. If it were a bit shorter, it might've been a higher rating for me. I found myself a bit bored at times and felt as though the story were dragging.

I'll be honest, the cover of this book is what instantly drew me in. The title and blurb ended up being an extra treat.

There have been people going missing in The Clackamas National Forest and no one is really sure what's happening to them. A serial killer? Bears? Lost while hiking? When Erin's brother goes missing, she decides to go looking for him years later. While on her search, she stumbles upon another missing person and she's covered in a mysterious fungus in a creek. Soon, the creek girl goes missing from the morgue and there's something very strange going on with her.

I have to say, I loved this book and I'll be purchasing it once it's published! This story was exciting and well-paced. There wasn't ever a time where I felt bored or as though nothing was happening in the story. The concept was incredibly intriguing to me and I loved how everything was interconnected. The second half was increasingly bizarre and grotesque. The descriptions were so vivid. It reminded me a bit of Annihilation and The Fungus. But just vaguely.

The twist at the end was exciting and I thought it added a nice ominous conclusion to this story.

My only complaints were that this book got a bit confusing at times. I didn't always understand the "science," I guess, behind the explanations of the fungus and I couldn't always keep the characters straight in my head. This is a book that I wish I had the physical copy so I could've annotated and bookmarked along the way.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7178692258
Fable Review: https://fable.co/review/706d6636-3b18-4b91-9bb7-291dd4c8e82a/share