hailey

darkly funny horror with ridiculous characters and surprisingly accurate mental health rep? it's camp. it's everything. 

what the..... 

WOW. i've never felt so transported into the world of a book. i was there with the characters trying to survive alongside cadavers and murderous foliage. a visceral heartbreaking 5 stars. 

i've truly never read a thriller novel in this format! the audio was absolutely amazing, wonderfully produced! however, the book dragged a bit for me. i feel like many small details that were included didn't have any impact on the actual case. i also guessed the murderer correctly after about 3 chapters... sigh. another average thriller. but extra points for creative storytelling! 

if this wasn't so cringe it would've been a great revenge story 😩

this was SOOOO incredibly close to a 5 star read! it moved at a breakneck pace and kept me interested from the first page. it was DARK. i love thrillers with moral dilemmas, and fast paced revenge stories are like crack to me 😩 BUT i don't know if i'm 100% onboard with how it ended. also, i'm fine with featuring unhealthy/toxic therapeutic relationships in thrillers for the sake of the plot. HOWEVER, there was no mention in here that the mc and her therapist's relationship was in fact extremely flawed. i would hate for someone who doesn't have a vast knowledge of therapy to pick up this book and think that this would be a conceivable interaction with a therapist. :// 

a lot of people compare this book to bunny...... but let's not insult mona awod like that. this book is trying way too hard to say something that's already been said a million different ways. the convoluted metaphors didn't do much for me and when the only 2 likable characters were killed off i almost DNFd. i usually love weird books but this one just feels way too pretentious for my taste. 

all these characters need to do some attachment work asap 

the twist at the end shocked the hell out of me but it would've hit even harder if i actually cared about the characters 😬

i love *SELF AWARE unlikable characters. this woman was just an unaware menace who bumbled around hurting people. she needs therapy in a big way. 

almost didn't give a 5 star bc of ledger's weird ass parents but the epilogue and authors note really got me. how does miss colleen continue to wreck me every time?! 

I was going to rate this book 4.5 stars until the last three pages. What was that....

it was an emotional rollercoaster throughout + packed a punch of an ending that brought that darkness i wanted

the parallels drawn to another literary work cheapened the plot and the gritty reality of the story for me. i also went in thinking this would be a quick but impactful read, however it took a while to push through. this is an extremely heavy book!! it is NOT a thriller like it is marketed as. 

slayed if the vmas were a funeral

my best friends exorcism meets bird box & everything i've ever wanted in a horror novel

would have been a 5 star if the ending was more clear and less rushed 

too many characters in such a short story that few were memorable and fully fleshed out. also didn't like the addition of cheating; i don't feel that it added anything to the plot. however, i love the way the story is crafted and the fact that the horror is twofold: the actual monsters in the mist + the threat of your fellow human when things get desperate. 

this book was terrifying, disturbing, brought me close to puking and gave me nightmares. i am not easily rattled by horror so that is saying a lot. i liked the themes and metaphors around power and generational trauma. however some of the disgusting scenes did not add to the story and were just shock for shock's sake. 

in retrospect, colleen should not have given in to us demanding more parts. the happy ending made it a bit cliche and the epilogue was so cheesy. BUT i love this story and these characters so much that i still had a great time!

pros: LOVED the MCs, the sidekick BFF and the single mom rep, mental health rep + addiction rep, the last act didn't annoy me too much

cons: the emotional depth wasn't there and i cared about the characters but i wasn't emotionally invested, it was fluffy and forgettable + the plot was pretty predictable 

pros: i cared about the MC, i felt the emotions she felt, it was frustrating and thrilling which had me turning pages

cons: THE ENDING COULDVE BEEN SO SATISFYING BUT INSTEAD IM FUMING WITH ANGER 

I hope Lena is less of a main character in the rest of the series because her chapters are the reason I had to dock this one a star. That girl needs therapy ASAP.

pros: riveting fast paced plot, in depth character development, twists i didn't see coming, dark/graphic/shocking content, interesting psychological elements 

cons: a couple convenient plot points, a couple weird sentences about women that took me out of the story, ambiguous ending 

LOVE the accuracy of the therapy/mental health rep in here! The only flaw- I would never say hello to a client at the grocery store, this would break confidentiality lol. Other than that, you can really tell A R Torre did her research!