I almost DNF'd this at about 35% but the reviews on this book kept me reading. In the end, I could've gone without reading this. I thought it was a stretch to classify this book as horror. It was more of a mystery and literary fiction novel.

Maybe I would've rated it higher had I gone into it knowing that the horror element would be lacking but I feel like my expectations were not met and it felt a bit like a slog. I honestly don't have much to say, this felt forgettable to me and I wasn't incredibly impressed.

Naia is a goddess who was born and lives without any power or title. This makes her a disappointment to her mother who is the High Sea Goddess. This story starts with Naia turning to the High God of Death and curses, Cassian, to help her escape her upcoming arranged marriage. But it comes at the cost to accept an unknown curse. After accepting she later ends up in Ronin's home. A mortal who openly takes her in.

Naia was a fantastic FMC. My heart ached for her and everything that her family put her through. At times, it was hard to read her story but I loved that she persevered through it all and came out stronger.

This felt like Greek mythology but at the same time, it was not though there were many similarities. Although this is a story about immortal gods and goddesses. The characters were extremely relatable and faced many human struggles. 

The writing was beautiful and the characters were written strongly. Strong enough that the author was able to precisely evoke the emotions she desired in her readers for each character. I loved the characters I was meant to love and hated the ones I was meant to hate.

The only thing I really struggled with was the wide expanse of time that this book covered. The main character is hundreds of years old and this book covers a wide range of those years throughout the story.

I definitely think this was worth the read. Book 2 releases on March 5th of this year.

I read this through KU and listened with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the audiobook. All opinions are my own.

Five friends in high school make an oath which later gets put to the test when they go for a camping trip and find a staircase in the middle of the woods. One of them is curious enough to walk up that staircase and never returns, leading to the staircase disappearing. In twenty years, the staircase reappears and the group unites to try to find their lost friend.

This reminded me so much of Stephen King's It. A group of friends make a pact and are tied together for life, a tragedy strikes, and then one of them calls the rest back many years later to finish what was started. Even though The Staircase in the Woods reminded me of It, it still had its own mystery and unique twists.

I loved the diversity in each character's personality and how we got to see each of their struggles. This book really emphasized their internal struggles and forced the friends to face them head on. That being said, this book does contain mental illnesses and the struggles that arise within those illnesses. Please check the trigger warnings, as always, if that type of thing bothers you. There is some sensitive content.

The atmosphere in this book was great. It was creepy and mysterious. I enjoyed the writing too. The ending was maybe a little bit too rushed but besides that, it was a pretty good read. 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc. All thoughts are my own.

I liked this but in all honesty I was a bit underwhelmed.

The story was entertaining and I didn't have any problems with staying engaged but I unfortunately found the reveal to be really predictable. I don't want to give anything away, but I figured out who the Phantom Strangler was almost immediately after that character was introduced. I'm not really sure what about this story tipped me off to this, but I had my strong suspicions for most of the book and was ultimately confirmed at the end. Maybe this is just a "me" problem though as I do read and watch a ton of horror/thrillers. Even if it was obvious to me, it might not be for you.

I think my other personal dislike was that I wasn't expecting this story to be so centered around Roz's internal and external struggles with the loss of her hand and addiction. I guess I just really expected something much darker out of this story. My preconception was that we would've had a stronger insight to the murders and even potentially a confliction with Roz being involved in them herself. While I appreciated the insight of addiction and pain, I wish it was more balanced with the murders in this book. I think if I didn't already have a preconception going into this book, I would've enjoyed it more. This is a book that I would've preferred to not have read the blurb prior to reading.

I don't believe that I've previously read any books that revolve around phantom pain like this one, so I loved being able to see some representation there. I know that phantom pain can be a real problem for amputees. While Roz as a character generally annoyed me for a large portion of the book, I didn't dislike her. I think it just made her more realistic. She struggles with addiction constantly throughout the book, and if you have struggled or know anyone that has struggled with addiction, you know that it doesn't just immediately go away. There are a lot of frustrations, relapses, and poor judgment surrounding it and Roz definitely showcased it. I also thought it was a great message that the Roz was suffering from all of this pain, and instead of just immediately being prescribed opioids, she was referred to therapy. 

Not the most exciting horror book I've read, nor the most realistic, but I still think it's worth reading for a lot of reasons. And the cover is absolutely stunning.

I think if Goodreads allowed half ratings, I would give this 3.5/5 stars, but I'm staying with 3/5 to stay consistent across platforms.

This is my third book by Kristin Hannah now and also the third one that I’ve given 5/5 stars. I’m starting to become convinced that Kristin cannot write a bad book. I need to prioritize her remaining works.

This book was beautiful and ugly. It’s always difficult reading about war and all of its accompanying struggles but once again, Kristin did it justice. I loved how tactfully she handles her stories. American history tends to skip over the Vietnam war for a variety of reasons and I’m so glad that this book acknowledged the mistreatment as well as the truths behind the war.

Kristin’s books always do a fantastic job showcasing women, the struggles that women go through, and their unwavering resilience against all odds. Her characters are consistently well-developed. I deeply loved the characters I was meant to love and I disliked the ones I was meant to dislike. But even her unlikable characters are written in a way that you can’t help but still have some sympathy for them.

Fantastic representation of mental illness and trauma and how it affects not only the person struggling, but their friends and family as well. This story was beautiful. I can’t wait to read another one of her books and I’m sad that it took me so long to pick this one up.

I have to say, I think reading about a haunted toy train is a first for me. Kudos to Linwood Barclay for what appears to be an original premise.

This was really well written. I thought the pacing was great. Sometimes books will start strong, taper off in the middle, and then pick back up towards the end but this book was steady throughout. 

I also thought the dual timelines were handled well. One timeline being the before and another being the after. They tied together nicely.

This is now my second book that I've read by this author and I'm impressed enough with his writing that I'll continue reading his work. From what I've seen, this appears to be his first supernatural thriller compared to his normal crime thrillers.

I definitely recommend this, especially if you're looking for a more unique concept. Fans of Stephen King should also enjoy this. It felt reminiscent of King to me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc. All opinions are my own.

Story was enjoyable but I found the characters pretty insufferable. This was a quick, gory, entertaining read though.

3.5/5 stars.

Gruesome, dark, mysterious. 

I listened to this while doing chores and it kept me entertained. 

There were some pretty morbid descriptions of death/injury relating to children. Take caution if that content bothers you.